Chapter 288: Was She A Demon
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“All of you go out first.”
The two maidservants excused themselves.
In this courtyard, only the few people Su Ying trusted could get close to the two children. Those unfamiliar maidservants could only wait outside the door.
Su Ying picked up the bowl and chopsticks on the table and examined them. She didn’t find anything unusual. She had also tasted the dishes on the table one by one, and there was nothing wrong with them.
Just as Su Ying was about to turn around and leave, she noticed a stack of unfinished snacks on the desk. It was the two children’s favorite date-paste cake.
Su Ying took a bite of the date-paste cake and immediately spat it out. There was a fine layer of powder sandwiched within the paste cake. If not for the fact that she was extremely sensitive to the smell of medicine, she wouldn’t have noticed it.
Su Ying narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and turned to leave the room.
“Uncle Hea made those snacks too?”
Lin Zhuyu saw that Su Ying’s expression was not pleasant and hurriedly said, “Yes, Uncle Hea also made the dessert. After Uncle Hea made them, he gave them to me and 1 brought them here.”
“During that interval, was the food container touched by anyone else?”
Lin Zhuyu shook her head. “No. I left the kitchen and came here straight away. I am the one holding onto the food container all the while.”
“Go. Summon everyone from the main kitchen to the front courtyard.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
What Su Ying hated the most were scumbags who picked on the weak. The well-being of her two children was the absolute line that no one could cross. If anyone crossed it, he would die a horrible death!
Soon, everyone in the main kitchen was brought to the front courtyard to kneel.
Uncle Hea was also among them.
Su Ying walked up to them without any emotion and threw the date-paste cake on the ground.
“These are snacks for the Young Prince and Young Princess, but there’s a layer of medicinal powder that irritates the stomach sandwiched in there. It caused the Young Prince and Young Princess to vomit and have diarrhea. There’s no need to rush to proclaim your innocence. I also know that the snacks were made by Hea Shouyi. But there are many people in the main kitchen so everyone is a suspect.”
After she finished speaking, Su Ying paused for a moment and her icy almond-shaped eyes quickly swept across them. “1’11 give all of you a chance to live. Tell me, who tampered with the snack?”
“Your Highness, the main kitchen was under Chef Hea’s charge these few days. We couldn’t get involved at all. I was sick a few days ago and just recovered today, so I haven’t even entered the main kitchen.” The first to speak was the supervisor of the main kitchen.
“That’s right, Your Highness. Chef Hea said that we couldn’t do anything well and were of no help at all, so he chased us out of the kitchen. We couldn’t possibly have the chance to put the drug into the food.”
“Your Highness, we’re really innocent.”
Su Ying slowly turned her gaze to Hea Shouyi.
“Hea Shouyi, do you agree with what they said?”
Hea Shouyi raised his head with a frown. “Your Highness, may I know how are the Young Prince and Young Princess doing? This matter is indeed my negligence. Please punish me, Your Highness.”
“Hmph! Hea Shouyi, don’t be so hypocritical. It’s obvious that you put the drug in the snacks. You wanted to harm the Young Prince and Young Princess. Your Highness, such a person must not be allowed to stay in the main kitchen. He is a walking disaster. Today, he dared to attack the Young Prince and Young Princess. Tomorrow, won’t he also have wicked thoughts about Your Highness and Prince Qi?” The kitchen supervisor was filled with righteous indignation. Those who didn’t know better would think that Hea Shouyi was really behind this.
Su Ying raised her eyebrows slightly and her gaze landed on the kitchen supervisor. “You are the supervisor?”
“Yes, I’m in charge of the main kitchen, but Hea Shouyi is so domineering that he doesn’t let me get involved at all…”
“If he doesn’t let you get involved, you simply don’t care? Then why do I need a useless supervisor like you?”
When the supervisor heard this, he quickly defended himself, “I thought that he did this with the permission of Your Highness.”
Su Ying raised her hand, signaling him to shut up. “Since none of you are willing to tell the truth, then I’ll just take action right away. Hea Shouyi, since something happened to the snack while it was under your charge, you have to bear the bulk of the responsibility. Guards, take him to the torture chamber.” Upon hearing that, the two guards went up and brought Hea Shouyi into the room behind them.
When he saw Hea Shouyi being taken away, a hint of success flashed across the supervisor’s eyes.
“Your Highness, don’t worry. 1 will strictly supervise everything in the future.”
Su Ying raised her eyelids. “You reminded me. You’re the supervisor. If something happens in the main kitchen, you are also responsible.”
Su Ying waved her hand, and two guards came over to drag the supervisor to his feet.
The supervisor panicked. “Your Highness, 1 have been wronged.”
“You didn’t supervise well. You deserve to be beaten.”
Su Ying immediately ordered the guards to set up a bench in the courtyard and pressed the supervisor on it.
“Hit him. Hit him until 1 see blood.”
If the wooden pole hit him until he bled, it would truly be equivalent to taking his life!
“Your Highness, spare my life… Oof!”
Su Ying found him too noisy, so she got someone to stuff a rag into his mouth.
Pow! Pow! The sound of the pole hitting the flesh, again and again, made one’s skin go numb.
“Don’t be impatient. Everyone will get a share.”
The people kneeling in the courtyard were shaking with fear!
For what seemed like an eternity to the kitchen staff, the courtyard was filled with the sound of poles hitting flesh until the supervisor no longer had any reaction.
Only then did Su Ying ask her men to stop.
“Let me see. Who’s next?”
“Your Highness, spare my life. Your Highness, please spare my life. 1 really don’t know anything, Your Highness…”
“We really didn’t do it, Your Highness…”
Those people kept kowtowing to Su Ying, but Su Ying ignored them and ordered the guards to pull them away immediately.
“No, Your Highness!
By the time Wei Xi rushed over, he saw a courtyard full of people begging for mercy. The kitchen supervisor was thrown to the ground, and it was unknown if he was dead or alive.
“Your Highness, please calm down. Don’t get angry over these lowly, unpresentable servants and damage your health.”
Su Ying glanced at him indifferently. “Since you delivered yourself to my door, if I don’t beat you as well, wouldn’t you have come all the way here for nothing?”
Before Wei Xi could react, he was already pushed onto the bench by the guards.
When the pole fell on him, Wei Xi was completely dumbfounded!
He was also furious.
“I… I was sent by His Majesty to serve His Highness! How dare you!”
Su Ying stood up and walked over to Wei Xi. She extended her hand to the guards, gesturing for them to give her the pole.
“When I beat a dog, I never look at the owner.”
Su Ying’s brows furrowed as she swung her pole down.
“Argh!”
The entire courtyard was filled with Wei Xi’s terrified screams which were so ear-piercing that it hurt people’s ears.
This was too terrifying!
Those people on their knees did not even dare to beg for mercy.
Help! Was the Princess Consort a demon?
Su Ying personally hit Wei Xi, and he fell unconscious after only a few hits.
When Su Ying’s gaze swept across the courtyard, those people no longer dared to beg for mercy.
A kitchen assistant with a strong desire to live kneeling in the midst said in a hoarse voice, “It’s… it’s the supervisor. It was Supervisor Li who told me to add the drug. Your Highness, please spare me. 1 had no choice. If I did not do as 1 was told, they would beat me to death. Please, Your Highness, give me a chance…”
Su Ying’s gaze swept across the courtyard and landed on that kitchen assistant. “You are saying that you added the drug?”
“Yes, it’s me. I really had no choice. Your Highness, spare me…”
Supervisor Li, who was lying on the ground, twitched a few times as if he was struggling to make a final defense for himself..