Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Ye Qing walked out of the laundry room calmly and headed to the kitchen confidently.

The small kitchen’s manager saw Ye Qing arrive and asked respectfully, “Miss Ye? Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll have someone prepare it immediately.”

Ye Qing replied, “There’s a wedding banquet tonight. I’m worried I won’t have time to eat later, so I want to eat now. What’s prepared for today?”

The manager answered eagerly, “We slaughtered some chickens today. We also have fish, horse meat, and various pastries, but the dishes are fewer compared to usual.”

Ye Qing nodded and said, “Fine. Bring some fish soup and stewed chicken. Also, get some milk. And prepare three sets of bowls and chopsticks. Have someone deliver them to me later.”

The manager smiled and said, “Alright. I’ll have them sent to you soon.”

Ye Qing asked, “By the way, what about the wine for tonight? What kind is it?”

The manager smiled at Ye Qing and said, “To be honest, there’s a special jar of wine for you and the leader’s brothers. It’s good wine. For the others, their wine is over there, diluted with water. It just needs a hint of flavor.”

Ye Qing nodded with a smile and said, “Alright. Go do your work. Where’s the wine? I’ll pour half a bowl to taste it myself.”

The manager offered eagerly, “Let me help you.”

Ye Qing declined, “No need. Hurry and get my food ready. Is it that jar over there?” She pointed at a large wine jar on a cabinet.

The manager confirmed, “Yes, that’s the one.”

Ye Qing ordered, “Go make my food quickly.” She then walked to the wine jar casually.

She lifted the lid and sniffed the strong wine aroma. Ye Qing grabbed a bowl, tilted the jar, and poured half a bowl.

She turned her body, using her sleeve to block the view from behind. She had hidden laxatives in her right sleeve, with the cap already loosened. Ye Qing quickly shook the laxatives into the jar, letting a large amount of powder fall in. She then capped the jar with her right hand and, with a thought, stored the laxative bottle in her space.

Ye Qing placed the jar back and checked inside. The powder had fully dissolved into the wine.

She covered the jar tightly and took a sip from the bowl.

The ancient distillation techniques were poor, so the wine’s alcohol content was low. Ye Qing tasted it and found it unappealing.

She turned and grimaced. The manager, who was watching someone prepare chicken, saw her expression and said apologetically, “Miss Ye, is the wine not to your liking?”

Ye Qing replied, “The taste is just average. It’ll do.” She placed the half-empty bowl on the table in front of her.

She added, “Hurry and send the food to me. I’m done drinking. I’ll head back now.” Then Ye Qing walked out.

A cook in the small kitchen whispered, “This Miss Ye is so picky. This is the best wine in our stronghold, and she still complains.”

The manager snapped, “Shut up. You want to lose your head?” He picked up Ye Qing’s bowl and drank the remaining half in one gulp.

He commented, “It’s pretty good, isn’t it?”

Ye Qing went to the main kitchen. The manager there recognized her, as she was one of the wedding’s main figures.

The manager asked eagerly, “Miss Ye, do you have any orders?”

Ye Qing replied, “No. I’m just checking how the dishes and wine for tonight are coming along.”

The manager explained enthusiastically, “The brothers are preparing everything. Look, these two big pots have cooked horse meat. That pot has stewed horse offal. The steamed buns over there are ready too. They can be served tonight.”

Ye Qing nodded and asked, “What about the wine? Is it ready?”

The manager pointed and said, “It’s over there. Those three big jars labeled ‘wine’ are full.” He lifted the lid of one jar eagerly.

Ye Qing grabbed a bowl, took a sip, and wrinkled her face. “What’s this? It’s so weak. How can anyone drink this?”

The manager apologized, “Miss Ye, you don’t know, but we have many brothers in the stronghold. We have to dilute the wine so everyone gets a few bowls. It’s enough to taste something.”

Ye Qing conceded, “Fair enough. Go do your work. I’ll look around.” She dismissed the manager, who had no time to deal with her. The main kitchen was chaotic, with people chopping vegetables, kneading dough, and making barbecue sauce.

Ye Qing lifted a wine jar’s lid casually, used her sleeve to hide her actions, and shook laxative powder into it. She did the same for the other two jars. Her angle and sleeve blocked the view. The people behind only saw her opening the jars, and the manager, thinking she was being difficult, glanced twice before organizing tasks.

Ye Qing poured half the laxative bottle into the three jars. She then walked to the pot of horse meat. She had a laxative bottle ready in her left sleeve. She lifted the pot lid slightly, quickly opened the bottle, and shook some powder into the pot.

She capped the bottle and moved to the pot of horse offal. Using the same method, she hid her actions with her sleeve and the lid, adding powder to the pot.

The large pots were easy to tamper with. Ye Qing finished, called the manager over, and said, “You’re just boiling this horse meat plain? It looks too bland. Add some soy sauce.”

The manager, exasperated but不敢得罪, thought Ye Qing was nitpicking. He said, “Miss Ye, to be honest, we don’t have much soy sauce in the stronghold. We usually cook the meat like this.”

Ye Qing retorted, “Tch, you said ‘usually.’ It’s my wedding today. Everything should be the best. Add soy sauce so the meat doesn’t taste gamey.”

The manager reluctantly sent someone to fetch soy sauce. Ye Qing bossed the kitchen staff around, keeping them dizzy with her demands. When done, she returned to her residence leisurely.

After she left, the main kitchen’s cooks complained. One muttered, “She’s pickier than the young leader. We’re doomed.”

The manager warned, “Keep it down. If someone hears, no one can save you.” Though he agreed, Ye Qing’s nitpicking had made him sweat.

When Ye Qing returned, the small kitchen’s food arrived. She had the system scan it to ensure it was safe, then divided half and took it next door.

Jiang Jinhuang sat at the table, playing with the little one. Seeing Ye Qing, she raised an eyebrow and said, “You wrote the divorce letter, yet you still remember us.”

Ye Qing, acting oblivious to her tone, smiled at Jiang Jinhuang and said, “I worried the stronghold would be too busy tonight to send you food, so I had them deliver it now. Wait a moment—there’s more. I’ll bring it over.”

Ye Qing made several trips, filling half the table. She reminded, “Make sure Yangyang drinks the milk. It’s good for her.”

Ye Qing looked at the little one. The little one had been listening intently. Hearing her name, her eyes lit up, but thinking Ye Qing was abandoning them, her eyes reddened. She turned away, refusing to look at Ye Qing.

Ye Qing met Jiang Jinhuang’s gaze, winked, and left.

Back in her room, Ye Qing ate heartily. Tonight would be physically demanding, so she needed to prepare.

Soon, night fell. A bandit came to invite Ye Qing to the main hall.

When Ye Qing arrived, she saw the stronghold leader, Wei Zicheng, and all the leader’s sworn brothers gathered.

The leader looked at Ye Qing and said, “We’re just country folk. We don’t know much about wedding rituals. You and Zicheng figure it out.”

Ye Qing looked at Wei Zicheng and said, “Let’s eat first. After everyone’s had their fill, we’ll perform the ceremony. It’ll be livelier.”

Wei Zicheng nodded and said, “Good idea. The brothers worked hard all day. Let’s serve the food.”

The leader nodded and said, “Alright.” Someone went to arrange it.

Ye Qing sat at Wei Zicheng’s table. Soon, various dishes arrived, along with the large jar of wine from the kitchen.

The stronghold’s men used big bowls for wine, but Wei Zicheng, particular, used a wine pot.

Ye Qing saw the pot, frowned, and said, “It’s our wedding today. Drinking more is fine. Your pot’s too small. Is your tolerance that bad?”

Wei Zicheng, provoked, called a lackey over and said, “Take the pot away. We’re using bowls today.”

The lackey replied, “Right away,” and brought bowls quickly.

Someone soon filled both their bowls with wine.

Ye Qing stood, holding her bowl, and said, “This bowl, I toast everyone here. Thank you for taking me in and treating me so well. I’ll drink first.”

Using her sleeve to hide her actions, Ye Qing poured the wine into her space, pretended to drink, and turned the bowl upside down to show it was empty.

The leader, impressed by her boldness, urged everyone to raise their bowls. “Good! Worthy of Zicheng’s choice. So bold! Come, everyone drink!”

“Drink!” the brothers shouted, drinking together.

Ye Qing had her bowl refilled and walked to the room’s center. She said, “This second bowl, I toast all the brothers in the stronghold. I’m one of you now.”

She pretended to drink, pouring the wine into her space again.

The bandits, including the lackeys outside, drank along.

Ye Qing refilled her bowl and said, “This third bowl celebrates our wedding today. Let’s drink together!”

She faked drinking again, pouring the wine into her space. The others drank too.

After three toasts, Ye Qing returned to her seat. The leader and his brothers took turns toasting, and everyone drank heavily.

Wei Zicheng felt dizzy. Ye Qing, who hadn’t drunk a drop, was fine. She clutched her stomach, pretending to need the outhouse.

She said, “I’m going to the outhouse. I’ll be right back. We’ll keep drinking.” She smiled at everyone.

Having drunk six or seven bowls together, the old leader’s opinion of Ye Qing improved. He laughed and said, “So young! Just a few bowls, and you need the outhouse. Haha, go ahead. We’ll drink more later.”

Wei Zicheng, displeased, said, “Father, don’t make her drink more. She’ll get drunk.”

The leader dismissed, “Drunk’s fine. It’s a great day. Everyone should drink happily.”

Wei Zicheng, unhappy, ate his food sullenly.

Ye Qing staggered to the outhouse. Seeing no one around, she removed her conspicuous wedding dress. She considered tossing the gold hairpins but couldn’t bear to. She stored them in her space instead.

She changed into plain clothes and prepared to act.