My Fantastic Chef Wife

360. The Death of Mrs. State Preceptor

Translator: ChowvanLee

Empress Dowager toyed with her newly-made fingernails and said absent-mindedly, “Go back and ask your wife. It was she who asked people to spread rumors in the teahouse. It’s about the reputation of you and me. Well, I don’t care about any reputation anymore. But look at you, your family can blacken you, which means you’re lax with them. I’ll get over this matter with your wife, but please let her behave. I don’t care about her blackening me because I won’t get hurt at all, but you… it seems you don’t care, either, do you? After all, you’ve gotten a bad reputation. But I don’t know if Princess Ning Yuan would care about her reputation. She has been conferred princess for just a few days. Now she, as a member of the loyal family, is slandered like this, and we’re disgraced, too.“

Empress Dowager only cared about Ye Xiaoxian. Ye Xiaoxian had no foundation in the capital city, so she couldn’t carry such rumors without any reason.

State Preceptor noticed that Empress Dowager was annoyed. He also knew that Empress Dowager was sparing his feelings, so she didn’t punish his wife personally, but left her to him.

State Preceptor yelled angrily, “How dare she! I’ll deal with her when I go back!”

Empress Dowager smirked, “Would you be reluctant?”

“How could I be reluctant? She is old and ugly.” State Preceptor knew that Empress Dowager was unhappy and he tried to hug her, but his waist hurt once he moved, so he had to give up.

…

State Preceptor was supported back to his residence.

As soon as he returned to his room, he lay down, and then he asked two servants to rub medicinal liquor on his wound and give his back a rub.

At the same time, he thought about Empress Dowager’s words, so he ordered, “Call Mrs. State Preceptor over!”

Mrs. State Preceptor was delighted at this moment. She had been wandering in the teahouse recently to hear rumors in the capital city. Every time she heard them talk about Empress Dowager and State Preceptor, she was very complacent.

She had been neglected by State Preceptor for so many years and was jealous of Empress Dowager. She felt that she had to get them into trouble or it would be too cramped for her.

Even though the slightest rumor couldn’t knock down them, it could at least disgust them and Ye Xiaoxian.

When the chief steward came to her house, Mrs. State Preceptor had just returned from the teahouse. She was rattled when she heard that State Preceptor was going to see her.

‘Could it be that I was found out?’

She tidied up herself and put on plain clothes, just like when she abstained from eating meat and prayed to Buddha.

‘This look of me is calm and detached, right?’

…

“My dear, you ask to see me?” When Mrs. State Preceptor arrived at State Preceptor’s room, she still looked calm and pretended to know nothing.

When she saw State Preceptor lying on the bed with the thick smell of medicinal liquor in the room, she quickly walked over and asked, “Hey, what happened? Are you injured? How? What kind of medicinal liquor are you using now? Do you want to try the miracle cure in my room? It was prescribed by a doctor surnamed Xiao.”

State Preceptor snorted and said, “It’s none of your business!”

“Then… why do you call me here?”

State Preceptor asked the two servants who was massaging him out of the room, then turned over with difficulty, and said, “Don’t you know what did you do? Stop playing dumb!”

“Playing dumb? Oh! My dear, are you mistaking me? I’m at home, abstaining from eating meat and praying to Buddha every day. What could I do?”

“You’re still playing dumb! Let me ask you: there are rumors in the capital city that  Empress Dowager and I have a daughter, who is Xiao Baoshan’s wife. You spread it, don’t you? Do you think that others don’t know what you’ve done? Now Empress Dowager knew and the Emperor knew it too. However, they didn’t directly throw you into the prison because of me and leave this matter to me!”

Mrs. State Preceptor’s legs trembled and her calmness disappeared in an instant. Even her lips started to tremble.

She straightened her back and said, “There’s no proof. Why do you blame me? Just because I’ve been to the teahouse a few times?”

State Preceptor was so angry that he smashed the medicine jar next to him and said, “Well, you still don’t admit it. Do you want me to bring the witness here? You let those gangsters in Dong Er Alley spread the rumors with ten taels of silver. Do you want me to find those gangsters for you? At that time, you’ll confess, right?”

Mrs. State Preceptor knew that she couldn’t hide it anymore. Her legs grew weak and she knelt down. “It… it… It was a one-time lapse in judgment. I was wrong.”

“Then what punishment should you get?” State Preceptor asked.

Mrs. State Preceptor asked trembly, “What do you… think?”

State Preceptor said, “Since you know that you’re wrong, then I’ll give you two options. Twenty strokes or a two-day fast?”

“Dear, this…” Mrs. State Preceptor didn’t want anything.

Seeing the old woman kneeling on the ground, aged and timid, State Preceptor couldn’t help but get angry again, “You! What else can you do besides giving birth over the years? You never do anything beneficial to me but ruined many things. Over the years, I’ve raised you in the residence. You’ve behaved so I never scolded you, but I didn’t expect that you give me such a big surprise this time. You’re useless!”

Mrs. State Preceptor was really scared just now, but after she was taunted by State Preceptor, she could not help but feel wronged, “Do you really think I’m useless? Then tell me, who gave birth to children and brought them up? All these years, you’ve been busy in the court. Isn’t the businesses in this house handled by me? Aren’t the children raised by me? You said these words just because of the skank in the palace. You’re old but shameless now. You always go to the palace for that woman. I’m your wife, but you never look at my face. Well, I’m old and useless now, but you can’t ignore me like this! ”

Hearing this, State Preceptor became even angrier, “You married me, so it’s your responsibility to give birth to children and bring them up! Since you know I’m busy in the court, then you also should know that everything I do is for this family. As long as you stay put at home, I would treat you well. But now, you not only have made a mistake, but you don’t repent. It seems that you will never know why you’re wrong if I don’t punish you this time!”

After State Preceptor finished, he ordered the chief steward. “Take her down and give her twenty strokes!”

The chief steward hesitated. “Eh…”

“What? Do whatever I ask you to do!”

Mrs. State Preceptor stopped crying for mercy. Instead, she started laughing, “Well, well, you only care about that skank. All these years, I’ve only been a tool for giving birth to children. Alright, hit me, kill me! You’d better beat me to death! Then you can take that skank from the palace so that you can live a happy life forever! Hahaha…”

State Preceptor was annoyed and ordered the chief steward to do it faster.

The chief steward had no choice but to ask guards to drag Mrs. State Preceptor out.

…

The chief steward had already asked guards to be as gentle as possible, but Mrs. State Preceptor was old after all. These twenty strokes could make her stay in bed for a month.

When Mrs. State Preceptor was beaten, she kept scolding State Preceptor and Empress Dowager, and also called the world unjust.

Because of the great fuss, the news of Mrs. State Preceptor being beaten spread throughout the capital city.

Many people heard about this and their jaws dropped. It turned out that Mrs. State Preceptor was the one who schemed to spread the former rumor!

A lot of people pointed fingers at Mrs. State Preceptor. Only a few people pitied Mrs. State Preceptor. They thought State Preceptor was having an affair with other women outside and her wife just spread some rumors and she was beaten in front of the servants. This way, Mrs. State Preceptor had lost her face and how was she supposed to live in the future?

When State Preceptor’s children heard this, sons who had their family and daughters who were married all rushed back to visit their mother.

After being beaten by servants, not only was Mrs. State Preceptor’s body seriously injured, but she also suffered a heavy psychological injury. She did not want to live. She could not eat at first and now she refused to drink any medicine.

When her children returned, she lay on the bed and kept crying. She was victimized by her own life and scolded State Preceptor for his ruthlessness.

The children advised their father to visit their mother, but State Preceptor didn’t want to. He told them that Mrs. State Preceptor made such a dumb mistake and she deserved the punishment.

The children had long known that their father didn’t like their mother, and now they saw their father being so ruthless, they couldn’t help but feel desperate.

As for Mrs. State Preceptor, who was seriously injured and depressed, she lay in bed for half a month before passing away. The children felt even more disappointed.

After holding their mother’s funeral in a hurry, the children returned to their own place and decided to not return to the State Preceptor’s residence.

…

After the funeral of the State Preceptor’s wife, people in the capital city kept talking about the affairs in State Preceptor’s residence at their leisure.

In the past, they had thought that Mrs. State Preceptor had crossed the line inappropriately to spread her husband’s rumors. But now that Mrs. State Preceptor was dead, everyone thought that State Preceptor was the one who should be blamed.

No matter what, he couldn’t kill his wife. She was the mother of his children. In this way, the children would be so disappointed.

However, no one talked about Ye Xiaoxian anymore.

After Mrs. State Preceptor died, Ye Xiaoxian disappeared from this rumor.

The rumor in the past had nothing to do with her.

But when Ye Xiaoxian heard the death of Mrs. State Preceptor, she still felt cold. She knew Mrs. State Preceptor and in her opinion, Mrs. State Preceptor was just a woman who had been neglected for many years. She was not an evil person.

If State Preceptor could care for her a little, she wouldn’t end up like that.

She would not believe a single word about her being Empress Dowager and State Preceptor’s biological daughter.

…

In the palace, Empress Dowager also heard the death of Mrs. State Preceptor.

When she heard the news, Empress Dowager sat still in the room for a long time.