Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 100: Fight with reason
The emperor walked into the hall, followed by Helian Xuan.

Everyone shouted "Long live the emperor" three times in unison. The empress dowager said angrily, "Emperor, look at your subjects. Do you still have respect for your subjects? You are so presumptuous."

The emperor sighed inwardly, Chunyu was absolutely right. Pampering someone will only harm them. Liuli is already sixteen years old, and it is time to discipline her. However, the empress dowager is so protective of her that she won't listen to anyone and no one dares to say anything. This is really a headache.

"Chun Yu, you are a minister whom I rely on. I have always felt that you know when to act and know your limits. Why are you so unruly today? Why don't you apologize to the Queen Mother as soon as possible?" The emperor wanted to excuse Chun Yu.

Xia Chunyu kowtowed to the ground and said, "I know my crime, please calm down, Queen Mother."

"Is it enough to just admit your guilt? Liuli has been bullied like this by you before she even entered your house, and you even dare to talk back to me in person. How can I be confident in handing Liuli over to you?" The Queen Mother was still angry.

Xia Chunyu thought to himself: Then don't give it to me, I couldn't ask for more.

Xia Youshi thought to herself: How dare we accept a daughter-in-law like this? What if we offend her and she asks the Queen Mother for support? Will we still have a way to survive?
The Queen Mother had hoped that the mother and son would confess their sins and express their stance in front of her, but in the end, both mother and son remained silent, and the atmosphere became awkward.

What does this mean? Do you dislike Liuli?
Yide could see that the atmosphere was not right, so he had to bite the bullet and smooth things over: "The children were just playing around. They were angry today and made up tomorrow. We don't have to take it too seriously. But Xiaojing, no matter what, Liuli is younger than you, so you should give in. If you dare to bully her again in the future, mother will be the first to not forgive you."

Xia Youshi also scolded her son with a threatening face: "Listen carefully, both of you. Go back and apologize to Liuli. If you do it again, you will be punished by the family rules."

The emperor took the opportunity to say, "It's just a misunderstanding. Your Majesty, please don't bother with the children. It's already this late, and it's time for you to rest. Let's all go!"

Everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the Queen Mother said sternly, "For the sake of the Emperor, I will not pursue you guys, but the cook must be severely punished."

Helian Jing said in panic: "This has nothing to do with Li Yao."

Xia Chunfeng also said: "At that time, Liuli went out of the palace incognito and dressed as a man. Besides, it was Liuli who made the mistake first. Li Yao just said a few words to her. What's her crime?"

Xia Chunyu said sternly, "Today at Lantingxuan, many princes and nobles are present. Everyone knows what is going on. If the Queen Mother is determined to punish Li Yao, I am afraid people will not accept it. The Emperor has allowed officials to give advice. If Liuli is wrong, do you allow others to point it out?"

The Queen Mother was furious: "Who is Li Yao? Why do you guys want to protect him like this? Are you crazy?"

Helian Xuan, who had been silent the whole time, said, "Your Majesty, Li Yao once saved Xiao Jing, so he can be considered a benefactor of the Helian family."

These words clearly show the attitude of the Helian family. If the Queen Mother insists on punishing Li Yao, the Helian family will definitely argue with her.

Helian Xuan did not say this for Li Yao. The two people kneeling in the hall were his younger brother and his best friend. It looked like they were willing to commit crimes for Li Yao. If he did not express his opinion, things would be very troublesome.

The Queen Mother snorted coldly, "The benefactor of the Helian family is of great rank. So, he dared to tease Liuli because of the courage of your Helian family."

"Empress Dowager, Li Yao is definitely not such a person. He has been kind to me, but he does not ask for anything in return. He hides in heaven and works as a cook. If it were not for chance, I would probably never find him in my lifetime." Helian Jing defended Li Yao.

The Queen Mother sneered: "Coincidence? There are not so many coincidences in this world. Who can guarantee that he is not playing the long game to catch a big fish? Only a young man like you would believe it."

"Empress Dowager, this time it was Liuli who went to Tianshangju and clamored because she couldn't have ice drinks. She wanted to tear down the restaurant and arrest the cook and put him in jail. Li Yao couldn't stand it and ridiculed Liuli. As a result, Liuli designed to frame him for stealing silver and instigated the onlookers to arrest Li Yao and bring him to see the officials. Li Yao quickly resolved the situation. What did Li Yao do wrong? It was Liuli who should be punished for being a princess and doing such a thing, disregarding the dignity and respect of the royal family." Helian Jing was determined to do it. He could even risk his brother Chunyu's life. What was he afraid of?

"That's not all. Liuli dragged His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to cause trouble for Li Yao. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince admired Li Yao's cooking skills very much and didn't listen to Liuli's instigation. Liuli also threatened the landlord of the restaurant to take back the restaurant and close Tianshangju. Queen Mother, a desperate dog will jump over the wall! Li Yao wanted to apologize to Liuli, but Liuli wouldn't give in. That's why the Lan Tingxuan incident happened. Li Yao has his point both morally and logically." Xia Chunfeng also jumped out to argue.

The Queen Mother was secretly surprised. Why were their words different from what Liuli said? Could it be that Liuli was lying?

The emperor frowned: "If that's the case, then it's Liuli's fault."

"Your Majesty, everything I said is true. So many people witnessed it today at Lantingxuan, and Liuli herself admitted it." Helian Jing said.

When the Queen Mother heard that so many people had witnessed it, she was furious to think that Liuli had made such a fool of herself and had become a laughing stock. She shouted, "Even if Liuli was wrong, wouldn't you have come to tell me? How can you let her live in the future when she is still an unmarried woman? Where do you put the reputation of the royal family? Li Yaochu didn't know Liuli's identity at the beginning, so he could not be held accountable. But he already knew Liuli's identity and still dared to do this. He is so audacious and presumptuous. He deserves death."

The problem is getting more and more serious. The Queen Mother's words make everyone shudder. Is she going to sentence Li Yao to death?
Helian Jing kowtowed heavily: "Queen Mother, this was all my idea. I was not thoughtful enough. Li Yao was not aware of this and only thought that today was a day to apologize to Liuli. I called so many people just to find a few witnesses to prevent Liuli from bringing up the past later."

Xia Chunfeng also knelt on the ground and confessed: "This bad idea was discussed by Xiao Jing and I. It really has nothing to do with Li Yao. If the Queen Mother wants to punish you, then punish me."

Xia Chunyu bowed and said, "Queen Dowager, after all, it is my fault. I did not see clearly and rushed over rashly. When I saw Liuli holding a sword and ready to kill someone, I scolded Liuli in a moment of desperation. If I knew there were others around, I would never embarrass Liuli."

The emperor said, "Chunyu, Li Yao is Xiaojing's benefactor. It's understandable that Xiaojing stood up for him, but what's going on between you and Li Yao?" Xia Chunyu said seriously, "Your Majesty, Li Yao played an indispensable role in breaking the Black Wind Village. If it weren't for his help, I would have been discovered by Bai Chongye and died in Black Wind Hill. So, it's not an exaggeration to say that he is my benefactor, but he is a low-key person and doesn't like to show off, so he didn't let me report his achievements."

Helian Xuan was puzzled. Was this true? How could he not know? No wonder Chunyu said that he owed Li Yao a great favor.

Helian Jing and Xia Chunfeng were both stunned and looked at each other. After some searching, they found out that Brother Chunyu had known Li Yao for a long time.

Xia Youshi was trying hard to recall the young man named Li Yao, who had delicate features and looked like Pan An. It turned out that he had saved Chun'er's life. If she had known this, she would have been more polite to him. However, she also made sure that the birthday banquet was held, so she could be considered as repaying a favor!

The emperor looked at Helian Xuan and asked him to confirm whether what Chunyu said was true or false.

Helian Xuan said calmly: "It is true."

Can he say he doesn't know?

The emperor nodded: "It seems that Li Yao is a man of integrity. I have also heard that a certain ice drink is popular in Nanjing recently. Was it invented by him?"

Xia Chunfeng quickly replied, "Yes, yes, it's delicious. Li Yao said he will launch something even more delicious in a while."

"He was the one who organized my ancestor's birthday party. I heard that he was going to make crystal mooncakes and ice cream mooncakes. He said that these were new things he learned from a foreign country across the ocean, and they were incredibly delicious." Helian Jing also came to offer his treasures.

"Oh? Has he ever been to a foreign country?" The emperor was very interested.

Xia Chun smiled in his heart. Yaoyao was really good at making up stories. A foreign country, a rich lady who never left her house, she must have dreamed of going there! Only these two brainless guys would believe it.

The Queen Mother was dumbfounded. How could they start talking about food? The topic had completely gone off track.

"Emperor, how do you plan to deal with this matter? Even if Li Yao's mistake was unintentional, the incident was still caused by him. Does that mean Liuli's grievance was in vain?" The Queen Mother brought the subject back.

The emperor coughed twice and said, "Since the incident started with the ice drink, then punish him to deliver a portion of ice drink to Liuli every day. If there is anything delicious, send it as well, as an apology to Liuli. As for you two..."

The emperor pointed at Helian Jing and Xia Chunfeng and said, "You two have good intentions, but unfortunately you don't think things through. It seems that you need more training. From tomorrow, Xiaojing, you will officially join the Ministry of War. Let Helian Xuan arrange a job for you. Chunfeng, you will also go to the Zhanshi Mansion to get a job. If you perform well in the military examination, I will consider re-employing you."

Helian Jing and Xia Chunfeng were overjoyed and kowtowed to express their gratitude. They did not expect that this would be a blessing in disguise.

Yi De and Xia Youshi were also delighted, but the Queen Mother still had a gloomy face, so they didn't want to show it too obviously.

"Chun Yu." The emperor called Xia Chun Yu's name again.

"Your humble servant is here." Xia Chunyu respectfully awaited the emperor's order.

"You talked back to the empress dowager today. Although your circumstances are understandable, it was impolite. I punish you to go back and reflect on your mistakes. You must hand in a letter of repentance in three days. If you fail, you must write again. Keep writing until the empress dowager and I are satisfied." The emperor was openly punishing Chunyu, but in fact he was protecting him. The empress dowager was very angry this time. If he was still hanging around in the palace, the empress dowager would be even more upset.

Xia Chunyu naturally understood the emperor's painstaking efforts, and kowtowed to accept the punishment: "Your humble servant obeys your order."

The Queen Mother was stunned: "Emperor, is this a punishment?"

What kind of punishment is this?
The emperor waved his hand and said, "It's getting late. Please all leave!"

Everyone kowtowed and bowed and left.

The emperor then said, "Mother, Liuli was indeed at fault for what happened today. If we punish them, our royal family will lose face. Besides, Helian Xuan and Xia Chunyu are both outstanding young people and pillars of the country. How can I let my subjects down because of such a small matter?"

"What about Liuli..." The Queen Mother still felt sorry for Liuli.

"It's good to let Liuli learn a lesson this time. Liuli is not young anymore and has reached the age to get married. If she doesn't change her temper, how can she get along with her husband and in-laws in the future? With her temper, can she be respectful to the elders and respectful to her brothers and sisters-in-law? I'm afraid that she will make trouble every other day and cause unrest in the whole family. How can she be a good mother to the family when she is transferred to her fiefdom in the future?" The emperor said earnestly.

The Queen Mother remained silent, but had to admit that the Emperor was right.

(End of this chapter)