Chapter 25 The Mystery of the Jade Pendant "Is this... Yang Qing's jade pendant?" Liu...

This was exactly what Liu Yeshu wanted to bring up, but she didn't expect Qi Yu to speak first.

She smiled to herself; now was a good opportunity to bargain. Since the general had already mentioned it, she could naturally take advantage of it to get some more benefits.

Liu Yeshu raised her head, her eyes meeting Qi Yu's without wavering, and she said in a steady voice, "Thank you for your trust, General. However, this mission is of great importance, and I have to organize a birthday banquet soon. I'm afraid..."

Qi Yu looked over and saw those grape-like eyes rolling around, their eyelashes fluttering, like a cunning little fox calculating. He smiled and said, "If you accept this job, your monthly salary will be doubled."

After hearing this, Liu Yeshu patted his chest and changed the subject very naturally: "...I'm afraid I'll have to do my best to live up to your trust."

Qi Yu nodded. "You will have a hard time these days. All the staff in the mansion are at your disposal. If you need anything, just let me know. Tomorrow at noon, I will formally inform all the servants in the mansion to let them know your identity and responsibilities."

*

The next morning, as soon as Liu Yeshu entered the backyard, he heard a slight noise coming from the kitchen.

"Who's in there?" She picked up a machete hanging on the wall in the yard, pushed open the door, and saw a figure busy in front of the stove. The firelight reflected the serious profile. It was Chun Xing.

"Miss Liu," Chun Xing heard the noise and turned to salute, a look of nervousness and anticipation on her face. "I... I thought you'd be busy today, so I came to light the fire and prepare."

Liu Yeshu turned the knife in her hand and was a little surprised. She had only thought that she was nimble and skillful before, but she was unexpectedly a smart person who knew the current situation. She smiled and said, "Miss Chun Xing, you are very attentive."

Chun Xing mustered up her courage and spoke quickly, as if reciting a text: "Miss Liu, I know you're very busy right now. If you don't mind, would you mind if I could help you out? I... I may not be well-educated, but I'm diligent and will definitely not cause you any trouble."

Liu Yeshu carefully studied Chun Xing. She saw her hands clasped together nervously, but her eyes gleamed with determination. She must have taken the general's instructions to heart in the front hall yesterday.

"This is hard work, why do you want to come?" Liu Yeshu asked gently.

Chun Xing said frankly, "Miss Liu is a skilled doctor and has the general's trust. I...I want to learn from you and make a difference in the future. Besides," she said with a shy smile, "the snacks you make are so delicious. I want to learn how to make them for Chun Tao in the future."

Liu Yeshu was amused by her last words. "I wouldn't say I've accomplished anything, I've only earned my living by my cooking skills. It's not that I don't want to keep you, but work in the kitchen is tough. Just chopping wood is exhausting enough. By the time night falls, my back is soaked with sweat, my clothes stick to me, and even moving feels heavy." She paused. "If you really want to stay with me, then remember, we have to be careful and make absolutely no mistakes. Do you understand?"

Chun Xing nodded excitedly: "I understand! I will definitely not let you down!"

Liu Yeshu smiled and patted Chun Xing's shoulder: "Let's start now. I need to prepare the general's breakfast now, so come and help me wash the vegetables first."

Chun Xing responded happily and immediately started to get busy.

Liu Yeshu first prepared the medicine for the day, three doses a day, all to be taken after meals. After boiling the morning's herbs in a clay pot, she began to prepare breakfast. The boiling of medicinal decoctions was a serious matter, and she watched over them herself to ensure her safety.

The soybeans and pig's trotters had already been soaked last night. Now all that was left was to blanch the trotters in boiling water to remove any blood and impurities. While they were blanching, she placed the washed millet, red dates, and longans in a small casserole, added an appropriate amount of water, and simmered them over low heat. Once the trotters and soybeans were blanched, she added sliced ​​ginger, chopped scallions, and an appropriate amount of water, and continued to simmer in the stew pot. Chun Xing helped stir-fry some spinach and eggs.

When the aroma of meat permeated the air, Liu Yeshu lifted the lid of the pot. The pig's trotters were already tender, and the soybeans had absorbed the essence of the broth, creating a fragrant aroma. Millet porridge was poured into a delicate porcelain bowl. The porridge was milky white, dotted with red dates and longans, and exuded a faint sweet fragrance.

After placing the three dishes and the soup on the tray, Liu Yeshu walked towards the front hall.

Before leaving the kitchen, Liu Yeshu turned around and said to Chun Xing, "Chun Xing, clean up the remaining soup base." Chun Xing was overjoyed and nodded hurriedly in response, which meant that the food at the bottom of the pot was all hers. Seeing this, Liu Yeshu smiled and added, "Once you've cleaned it up, call two or three free servants to go clean up the vegetable garden in the general's mansion. As much as you can."

"Bai Ke, I have a question..." Liu Yeshu asked in a low voice while holding the plate, thinking, with a hint of tentativeness and caution in her tone, "If I assign others to complete the daily tasks, can the points still be counted towards me?"

The system was silent for a moment, as if calculating some logic. After a moment, it slowly replied: [Theoretically, it can be considered...]

Liu Yeshu was delighted when he heard this. If he could assign some simple tasks to his servants, he would not only save a lot of time, but also be able to concentrate on more important matters.

The system seemed to sense her thoughts, paused, and then added: [However, host, please note that the final results of all tasks are still your responsibility. If mistakes are made, you may be deducted points due to wasted manpower.]

*

Liu Yeshu gently pushed open the door of the front hall and saw Qi Yu leaning on the couch with a letter in his hand, his face still a little pale.

She bowed respectfully, placed the tray on the table, and began to set the table.

"General, it's time to eat." Liu Yeshu said softly, placing the steaming porridge in front of Qi Yu, and then stepped aside.

Qi Yu nodded slightly, but did not pick up his chopsticks. He glanced at the food in front of him and frowned slightly: "I don't have much appetite now."

Liu Yeshu said softly, "General, although you've just recovered from the poison, it's time to replenish your nutrition. Today's millet porridge has red dates and longans added to it. It can nourish the spleen and stomach without adding any burden to your stomach. If you really have no appetite, why not have a few mouthfuls of porridge first?"

The food looked really good. Qi Yu reluctantly picked up the spoon and took a sip of porridge. His brows relaxed a little: "Not bad."

Seeing that Qi Yu had finished his meal, Liu Yeshu started to clean up the dishes, but was stopped by Qi Yu.

"Miss Liu," Qi Yu's voice was low and slow. He stared at her, as if weighing every word. "I just received a letter from the capital today. The head of the Liu family... has passed away in prison."

"Dead?" Liu Yeshu's body trembled slightly, and his face turned pale in an instant.

She understood what this meant - the family's previous hope of overturning the verdict in Beijing and getting rid of their citizenship had probably become a pipe dream.

Her hands were clenched so tightly that her fingertips almost dug into her palms, but she quickly steadied herself, took a deep breath, and regained her composure. After a moment, she lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you, General, for telling me. I'll go home and tell my parents."

Qi Yu's eyes never left her, carefully observing every subtle reaction of hers. He had thought that this news would make her lose control of her emotions, or at least make her cry bitterly, but she regained her composure so quickly.

Liu Yeshu stood to one side with her head lowered, wondering what she was thinking. From Qi Yu's perspective, he could only see Liu Yeshu's fair chin with soft lines. Her head was slightly lowered, her soft hair drooping on her shoulders, but her body felt slightly tense.

After a while, she finally spoke: "General, I wonder...how can I escape from being a criminal slave?"

Qi Yu looked at her, thought for a moment, and then slowly said, "Generally speaking, military merit is the most direct way."

Hearing this, Liu Yeshu seemed to see some hope. She looked up at Qi Yu, a hint of anxiety in her eyes: "Then... then did I count as saving the general yesterday? Can it be considered a military achievement?"

Qi Yu thought she was going to ask if he could let Brother Liu go to the battlefield to earn military merit in the future, but he didn't expect to be asked this question. It caught him off guard for a moment. When he came to his senses, he was amused by her straightforwardness. "I'm afraid not. If you save the lives of an entire battalion one day, maybe it will count."

The room fell silent again, the air frozen, the only sound outside the window piercing the incessant chirping of cicadas, which stretched the awkward silence. Liu Yeshu pursed her lips, pondered for a moment, and said calmly, "Thank you for your guidance, General." She bowed slightly, making a gesture of farewell. "Then... I'll take my leave."

Just as she was about to leave, Qi Yu's voice rang out from behind her: "Miss Liu."

Liu Yeshu paused, turned around, and just as she met Qi Yu's gaze, Qi Yu looked away: "You can work in this mansion, and no one will make things difficult for you."

Liu Yeshu was stunned for a moment, replied "yes" in a low voice, and then closed the door gently.

Outside the door, she leaned against the wall, looked up at the sky in the distance, sighed deeply, then straightened her back and stepped forward.

On her way back to the backyard, Liu Yeshu's mind was still reeling from the previous conversation and her emotions. Passing her former home, she paused. She looked up at the charred wooden door, still untouched after the flood. She reached out and pushed it open, its hinges creaking softly. The house was a mess, with broken furniture strewn about. The floor was streaked with traces of smoke and fire, and the air still lingered with a faint smell of burning.

The clothes she had brought with her had all turned to scattered ashes. Liu Yeshu walked with exceptional ease, her gaze sweeping over the shattered screen and charred bookshelf. Suddenly, a faint green light flashed through the ashes, like a spark of life emerging from the ruins.

Liu Yeshu stopped, crouched slightly, and carefully removed the source of the green light from the ashes. She gently wiped away the dust covering its surface, and her heartbeat suddenly quickened. It was actually a jade pendant!

This is a jade pendant that is as smooth as jade, with a delicate texture and exquisite carving. It looks very familiar.

She searched carefully in her memory for the owner of the jade pendant and finally remembered.

"Is this... Yang Qing's jade pendant?" Liu Yeshu muttered to himself.

Yes, this jade pendant has always been hanging around his waist and almost never leaves his body.

Her fingertips gently stroked the surface of the jade pendant, and various possibilities quickly rolled through her mind. Some details that she had not noticed before became conspicuous at this moment.

Yang Qing was one of the masterminds behind the fire. Logically, he should have escaped immediately after setting the fire. However, that night, Yang Qing did not leave immediately, so he was caught by the servants who woke up. Why?

And why would his jade pendant appear in his room?

She muttered to herself, "Why did Yang Qing set the fire?"

Slowly, a bold guess emerged in Liu Yeshu's mind.

She clenched the jade pendant in her hand, and the warm jade felt slightly warm in her palm.

Suddenly, in a flash, all the clues came together, she suddenly understood something, and immediately turned and walked towards the front hall.

"I want to tell the general that this birthday party can't be held." Liu Yeshu murmured.