Chapter 42: The Final Decision: Mushroom, Chestnut, Chicken Risotto, and Jasmine Wine...
The crystal chandeliers set up by the servants illuminated the Duke's Mansion as if it were daytime. Jenny, wearing a coarse cloth dress, hid behind a huge rose rack. Elegant music came from the ballroom, and the silk skirts of the ladies swept the ground.
The Countess was tall and plump, dressed in a dazzling blue brocade. She glanced arrogantly toward the garden and sneered in a low voice, "Look at the young lady from the Duke's house. She looks so timid, she doesn't look like an aristocrat at all."
The Duchess sat aside and frowned slightly. She was wearing a large pearl necklace today, which could well cover the bruises on her neck.
The Duke was talking to someone, his arms wrapped around her slender waist like a slimy snake.
Jenny looked over from a distance and saw her hands trembling slightly under the lace gloves.
This home hides secrets.
She noticed the pain hidden in her two sisters' eyes and the scars on her stepmother's body that she tried hard to hide.
Most of the time they ignored her, but occasionally a small bowl of hot onion soup and bread would secretly appear outside the room.
Sometimes Jenny would be scolded loudly by them, which was just before the Duke got angry, so that the Duke would forget Jenny and find another target.
The atmosphere in the Duke's Mansion was like a balloon about to explode, under high pressure. Jenny knew that at the first opportunity, this high-pressure balloon would burst.
A strange tacit understanding was formed between Jenny and her stepmother. They became a strange alliance whose only goal was to make the cruel Duke disappear forever.
The opportunity came from the betrothal gift from the Ice and Snow Kingdom. It was heard that the prince fell in love with the Duke's youngest daughter at a night banquet in the palace, and all kinds of jewelry gifts were sent to the Duke's mansion.
The Duchess was a little hesitant. She had never met the Prince of the Ice Kingdom in person and didn't know what his character was like.
The Duke slapped her in the face and said, "Why do you care about these things? Keep a good eye on Jenny and don't let her try to escape."
The stepsister wasn't pretty enough, and no one showed up at the balls she attended. The Duke was furious: "She's wasting food staying in the palace. If all else fails, send her to a monastery."
Soon the betrothal gifts from the Ice and Snow Kingdom were delivered, and some huge and magnificent ice sculptures were transported into the cellar. The cellar was ancient, remote, and deep underground, and usually no one went down there.
This is a perfect "execution ground".
All the stepmother had to do was make up a reason to get the Duke into the ice storage, the stepsister would attract the servants' attention at home, and the second sister would accompany Jenny to the bridal shop. Everyone had their own responsibilities.
The iron door of the cellar was rusted, and a cold air came out from inside. The muffled sound of a heavy object falling to the ground came from the depths of the cellar. Jenny and several relatives walked out together, and the Duke's angry roar was heard behind them.
Finally, the Duchess slammed the heavy iron door with all her strength. Before that, she hesitated for a moment and threw the pearl jewelry on her feet into it.
The Inquisition is cunning. If they find any clues, everyone will be thrown into jail together. It would be better for her to be thrown into jail alone.
When such a thing happened in the serious courtroom, not only the audience, but also the presiding judge and prosecutor were all caught off guard. They had no choice but to handcuff the suspect and postpone the trial.
Before Ye Wan could come to her senses, You An stuffed a muffin into her arms, said "I have something to do", and left.
The reporter sitting behind Ye Wan's face flushed with excitement, and he couldn't stop writing with the quill in his hand. He wrote something on the parchment while walking excitedly.
Ye Wan had no choice but to go out with the pancake in his arms.
Outside, a group of women were protesting, holding colorful banners and demanding a lenient sentence for the poor Duchess who was being abused.
Qiara, who was standing in the middle, noticed Ye Wan coming out. She looked anxious and asked, "What's going on in there?"
Ye Wan was a little dazed facing the dazzling autumn sun in the afternoon. She told Qiara what happened inside.
The Iron Skirt Rose Alliance on the opposite side immediately broke into an uproar. They had no sympathy for the Duke who was frozen into a popsicle in the morgue, and believed that this was a great sign of female power. They marched even harder, this time demanding not only the release of the Duchess, but also the acquittal of Jenny and the other two.
"Oh, it might be difficult to get her acquitted." Lawson was a little embarrassed. He already had a general idea of the case and had used his connections to make some arrangements in prison to make Jenny's life a little more comfortable.
"Oh, he is always so considerate." Bai Xue leaned against his side and gave him a kiss in front of everyone in the tavern.
Ye Wan wondered whether to post a notice prohibiting kissing in public in the tavern.
She still had things to do. Ye Wan ordered a lot of fresh chestnuts from Green Sand Dune Farm. Those brown chestnuts were covered with a layer of furry, thorny shells.
Youan hadn't come back yet, so she had to ask Pancake to help her peel the golden flesh and prepare to make mushroom, chestnut and chicken risotto.
Cut the fresh chicken thighs into pieces and marinate with black pepper for a while. Wash the shiitake mushrooms and mushrooms and set aside.
Take out a large thick-walled casserole, put hot oil in it, add minced garlic and stir-fry, then fry the chicken legs, followed by various mushrooms and diced onions.
Pour the washed rice in and add the broth to simmer. In order to make the risotto thick, add some Parmesan cheese to melt in the pot.
When the casserole starts to emit steam and a strong autumn aroma, you can open the pot. Don't forget to sprinkle a handful of fresh green parsley as a garnish.
There were a lot of people in the tavern today, led by Kiara and her allies from the Alliance. Ye Wan served them a pot of mushroom, chestnut and chicken risotto.
But obviously no one was interested in the food. They were expressing their opinions loudly, believing that the court should release the four women in court.
They even hope to let the Duchess be the president of the Iron Skirt Rose Alliance. Her tenacity, bravery, and courage to sacrifice herself to protect the girls are truly admirable.
The speech was delivered passionately, and the diners in the pub applauded sparsely along with their speeches.
Finally, Kiara said a lot, making herself hungry and thirsty, and then she remembered Ye Wan: "Is there anything to drink?"
"Try the new Autumn Jasmine Bar." Ye Wan recommended.
Kiara first opened the casserole in front of her. The white steam came with the wild scent of mushrooms, the sweet fragrance of chestnuts and the mellow aroma of chicken. Ye Wan took a spoon to help her stir the rice until it was golden and smooth, which looked very tempting.
Kiara swallowed, picked up the spoon and took a bite.
The tender chicken thighs are stewed until they are soft and tender, the chestnuts are soft, glutinous and sweet, and the various mushrooms become plump, delicious and juicy after being baptized by the sauce. The risotto is made with thick cheese, so every spoonful is stringy and has a rich milky aroma.
Ye Wan took out a bottle of chilled jasmine wine from the freezer. There was a thick layer of frost on it. The amber wine had a sweet scent of jasmine, and it was warm and refreshing.
Kiara raised the bottle, stood up and said loudly: "Cheers to Catherine! Cheers to Jenny!"
The others also raised their glasses.
But before they could say anything, the door of the tavern was pushed open again with a creaky sound.
The one who came in was Jenny, followed by Youan.
There is a huge question mark on everyone's head.
She was still wearing a low-key but luxurious black dress, with a huge pearl ring on her hand, and she no longer showed any fear in the face of the gazes of a group of people.
Ye Wan went up to him awkwardly: "Jenny, are you okay?"
In fact, she wanted to ask how Jenny was released from prison. It couldn't be a replay of "The Shawshank Redemption".
Jenny knew what she meant and nodded calmly: "I have already signed a marriage contract with the prince. Now I am a native of the Ice and Snow Kingdom. I will be extradited there for trial."
As we all know, the Ice Kingdom is not as good as Oceana. I heard that there is no legal system there and the king is above everyone else. This means that Jenny should be fine.
"I came to say goodbye to you. Thank you, Ye Wan. I had the most delicious tofu pot in your tavern." She put her slender hand on Ye Wan's cheek, and quickly retracted it.
She turned to Youan again, gave him a meaningful look, and then left.
After Jenny left, the crowd was silent for a moment, and then burst into applause: "This is really great."
Kiara said excitedly: "Next, we must wholeheartedly defend the rights of the Duchess and others."
After they finished their meal, they left with the colorful banners. The tavern became quiet again, with only Ye Wan and You An left.
"Where have you been?" Ye Wan asked as he went to clean up the casserole on the table.
"Something's going on." He said vaguely, seemingly unwilling to explain in detail. Ye Wan didn't really want to know, so he just said, "There are so many guests today. Go wash the wine glasses."
Youan sighed, "I should catch a cleaning slime in the dungeon."
"What is slime?" Ye Wan walked into the kitchen carrying kitchen waste.
Thanks to the efforts of the Iron Skirt Rose League, the court quickly ruled on the case and posted a notice on the bulletin board at the intersection.
The Cross Street Square was packed with people, but Ye Wan didn't want to join the crowd. After all, there would be corresponding reports in the newspapers soon.
She was right. Almost every newspaper reprinted the announcement of the trial result:
To all the people:
The recent, highly publicized case of the Duke's murder has concluded its trial. Verification has confirmed that the Duchess and her three daughters committed acts of violence, meeting the criteria for intentional homicide.
However, during the trial, as many details and motives for the murder emerged, as well as considering the complex relationships and background, the royal family expressed their opinion of leniency to the court. At the same time, the public also expressed their views through various means, believing that although the Duchess and the young ladies committed crimes, there were extenuating circumstances.
After considering the opinions of the royal family and the public, the court finally decided to strip the Oslov family of their dukedom titles, confiscate all their property into the national treasury, and exile the duchess and two daughters to the Ice and Snow Kingdom.
The majesty of the law does not allow any violation. Under the watchful eye of the goddess of justice Themis, fairness and justice are no longer absent. This judgment is in line with the legal balance between emotion and legal principles. We hope that people across the country will take it as a warning, abide by the law, and maintain social order and morality.
Calmette Tribunal I
Probably, except for the Duke who was frozen into a popsicle, no one would be dissatisfied with this verdict. After all, although she was exiled to the Ice Kingdom, it was already Jenny's second home.
Ye Wan nodded at the newspaper: "Hey, all of Oslov's property went into the national treasury. Our prince is quite stingy."
"I learned it from you." You An said from the side.
Ye Wan didn't hear clearly: "What?"
"Nothing." He folded his arms and looked into the distance.
It was the season of clear and crisp autumn weather. The sky was as clear as water, and cotton-like white clouds floated lazily. The red maple leaves dyed the royal capital crimson. In this beautiful gilded painting, a carriage was slowly driving out of the royal capital.
"It's a nice day today," said Youan.
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