246 Officers
Shang didn’t look happy, but when he saw the two people in front of him with messy hair and black stains on their faces and bodies, he suppressed the suspicion in his eyes. “The food is ready. Since the backyard is on fire, would you like to move to the front hall?”
“C-can you untie the rope?” Li Xiangjun’s tone was unhappy. “Don’t worry, Madam Zhao is too weak to walk now. I can’t escape by myself.”
“That would be best.”
As Shang spoke, he stepped forward to untie the knot between the two. When he walked to the front hall, he waved his hand and called the guard who was guarding the door. He whispered, “After the fire is put out, go in and see how the place started burning.”
Yue Jiaojiao sat at the dining table and took a long look at Shang, which was at the entrance, but she immediately turned away before the other party noticed her gaze.
“Madam Zhao, because you ordered it in a hurry, I don’t have any precious ingredients in my house. I hope you don’t mind.”
“There’s nothing to worry about.” Yue Jiaojiao shook her head slightly, “You’re being kind and generous. It’s already good enough that you’re willing to prepare food for us.”
“Jiaojiao, stop talking and eat something. Otherwise, you might faint at any moment.” As Li Xiangjun spoke, she picked up the long chopsticks and placed some food on her plate with a face full of concern. “Although it’s a little simple, it’s better than nothing.”
Shang wanted to interject several times, but he couldn’t find a chance to. He looked at Yue Jiaojiao’s pouting face as if she was going to fall seriously ill at any time, and he held back his temper.
“Master.”
The servant’s voice came from outside the door and Li Xiangjun’s chatter stopped abruptly.
“Madam Zhao, Miss Li, please excuse me.”
Shang stood up and smiled at the two of them, then quickly walked to the door.
“Jiaojiao what do we do!”
Li Xiangjun was anxious and whispered in her ear. If they found out that the fire was deliberately set by the two of them, it would be even more difficult to escape.
Yue Jiaojiao glanced at the plates and bowls on the table and said softly, “If the situation goes overboard, just smash the plates. Then, I’ll pretend to be too angry and faint. He won’t do anything no matter how angry he gets, not until he gets the secret recipe.”
“The only thing we can do now is to delay the time.”
Li Xiangjun nodded her head heavily, her fingers quietly approaching the plate closest to her.
The two people in the room had their hearts in their mouths.
“Master, I just went to the backyard to take a look. The room was-”
“Someone reported that there was a fire here. Open the door!”
A commotion suddenly broke out outside the main door. Yue Jiaojiao and Li Xiangjun looked at each other, their eyes sparkling.
The guard was interrupted by the noise outside the door. He looked at Shang hesitantly. “Master, it’s the Lantern Festival today. The government is very strict about fires starting. I guess the neighbors saw the fire and ran to the officers to report it. They must be alarmed.”
“Open the door and bring those officers to the backyard to see where the fire started.”
“Yes, sir.”
Shang sent away the guards and walked into the room. He looked around and found two pieces of cloth and stuffed them into Yue Jiaojiao and Li Xiangjun’s mouths. Then, he used two long strips of cloth to tie a knot behind their heads.
This was definitely not the first time that Shang had done something like this!
When the cloth was stuffed into her mouth, Yue Jiaojiao had already subconsciously retracted her tongue, thinking of pushing the cloth out later. In the end, the other party didn’t play by the rules and actually had another move!