As luck would have it, one of the guests, Mrs. Yan, happened to come from a medical background. She immediately gestured to Manager Wei, saying, "Bring that here; let me have a look."
Manager Wei handed the blister pack over.
Mrs. Yan took it and examined it, quickly making a judgment. "Alprazolam? This is a sedative. It certainly has side effects like nausea and vomiting. Does Zhiyue suffer from anxiety?"
What?
The group was stunned once again.
Yao Chunling immediately protested, "There must be a mistake! Our Zhiyue is perfectly fine. How could she have an anxiety disorder?"
"Perfectly fine?"
Lu Jingxi could no longer restrain herself and spoke up directly. "She has been taking medication since she started university. Auntie Yao, as her mother, have you really been in the dark all this time, or are you intentionally trying to frame our Xiao Xia?!"
What?
The crowd fell into a state of shock once more. Jiang Zhiyue had been taking anti-anxiety medication since university?
However, Yao Chunling frowned and began to complain about Lu Jingxi. "Jingxi, you are a young lady from a prestigious family. How can you speak so recklessly? When has our Zhiyue ever taken medication?"
Heh.
Lu Jingxi let out a cold laugh. "You think just because you're her mother, you know everything? She went to university in Shanghai, and you went from North Capital to visit her every week. Every time you went, her anxiety would flare up, and she would secretly take her pills. I saw her in the piano room once, and she only told me the truth after I questioned her..."
"Jingxi..."
Before she could finish, Jiang Zhiyue suddenly interrupted her with tears in her eyes. "Please, stop talking... I don't want people to know..."
Lu Jingxi nearly rolled her eyes. "You think I want to talk about this? I have no interest in getting involved in your family affairs, but you can't just let your mother pin false accusations on someone else. Our Xiao Xia has an injured foot, yet she painstakingly prepared all these delicious dishes for everyone tonight. To eat her food and then maliciously frame her—don't you have any shame?"
"That's enough,"
As those words fell, her mother, Mrs. Shen, stepped in to stop her. "The innocent have nothing to fear. There is no need to say more. For now, it's best to take Zhiyue to the hospital. We should listen to the doctor regarding the specific diagnosis and treatment."
She then gave instructions to Manager Wei. "Xiao Wei, please follow up on this."
"Understood."
Xiao Wei nodded and immediately signaled two waitresses to help the pale-faced Jiang Zhiyue out.
Knowing she could no longer stay, Yao Chunling had no choice but to follow them out.
The remaining guests looked at one another, unable to stop themselves from whispering.
"No wonder they say her daughter has never had a boyfriend. That level of control is just too much."
"Exactly. When children reach the age where they should be independent, they should be allowed to be. She's literally driven the poor girl sick."
"That girl, too... her mother was there accusing someone else, yet she knew the truth and didn't say a word to explain..."
However, they were all high-society ladies after all, so they moved on after a brief chat.
Mrs. Lu continued to host with a smile. "Just a small interlude. Let us get back to enjoying the moon. I heard the youngsters have arranged a qin and flute ensemble. Shall we go listen?"
"That sounds wonderful."
Everyone rose and headed into the courtyard.
In the pavilion by the pond, two performers were already seated. One had a guqin placed before them, while the other held a xiao flute.
Once everyone was settled, the music began.
The melodious ancient tunes flowed through the traditional courtyard, echoing the bright moon in the night sky. Combined with the moist night breeze blowing in from the nearby lake, the atmosphere was truly intoxicating.
After six consecutive ancient pieces were performed, the night had grown late.
The men on the third floor had finished their drinks, and the family banquet was drawing to a close.
Upon leaving, Mrs. He made a point to say to Xu Yanxia and Mrs. Lu, "You must contact me whenever you come to North Capital. After such a wonderful meal today, it’s my turn to host next time. When that time comes, I’d like to ask Xiao Xia to give our family chef some pointers."
This was a significant gesture of goodwill. Mrs. Lu immediately smiled and replied, "With such a sincere invitation, it seems we must pay you a visit the next time we are in North Capital."
Xu Yanxia smiled along. "I will certainly come to visit if I have the chance."
Mrs. He waved to her again. "Let's keep in touch on WeChat."
With that, she got into her car.
As the other guests said their goodbyes one by one, only the five members of the Lu family and Xu Yanxia remained at the entrance of the clubhouse.
Lu Jingming, who had finally seen Xu Yanxia again, was about to ask how her foot was doing when he saw his mother, Mrs. Shen, apologize to her first.
"Xiao Xia, I didn't think things through tonight by inviting those two, and I almost let you suffer an injustice. I offer you my apologies. The food tonight was excellent and very well-prepared. On behalf of the entire Lu family, I thank you."
Xu Yanxia hurriedly replied, "Madam, there is no need to apologize. You cannot control the thoughts or words of others. Besides, this incident didn't affect me at all, so please don't take it to heart."
Since Chairman Lu and his two sons had been drinking upstairs, they were unaware of the small commotion that had just occurred. Hearing this, Lu Jingming immediately asked, "Did something happen?"
Lu Jingxi gave them a general overview of the incident.
After listening, the third son, Lu Jingyao, frowned. "No way. Did you ladies drink too much? How could Auntie Yao, at her age, be so reckless?"
"She did it on purpose."
Mrs. Lu sighed. "Fortunately, Xiao Wei was keeping a close eye on things, and our conscience is clear. Otherwise, things would have turned quite ugly."
Lu Jingxi asked with a frown, "Mom, I don't really understand. That woman doesn't have much connection to our family. Why did you invite her to such an important occasion today?"
Mrs. Lu sighed again. "It’s because I owed her a favor back in North Capital years ago. Somehow she found out we were hosting a party and insisted on coming. I found it hard to refuse."
At this, Lu Jingyao asked again, "How did you owe her a favor?"
Mrs. Lu explained, "That year, the national television station held a singing competition. The academy had to send someone to participate. During the internal selection, I didn't beat her, but the academy ended up sending me to compete anyway."
"And then?" Lu Jingyao prompted.
Chairman Lu smiled as he took over the story. "And then your mother became an overnight sensation, a household name, and even performed on the Spring Festival Gala for several years in a row."
Xu Yanxia nodded in confirmation from the side. "I used to listen to Madam's songs often when I was a child. Madam was indeed a household name."
"Let's not dwell on past glories," Mrs. Lu said with a wave of her hand. "That was many years ago."
Lu Jingxi countered, "Your vocal range and technique were much better than hers. It was only right that the academy sent you. You don't need to feel like you owe her anything."
Mrs. Lu sighed. "But it felt somewhat unofficial! I wasn't feeling well during the selection; I had diarrhea for two days and had no strength. I really did perform worse than she did."
Lu Jingxi, who had seen plenty of dark dealings in the entertainment industry in recent years, snorted. "Who knows if she was the one who played dirty back then?"
Having witnessed many treacherous schemes in the imperial court, Xu Yanxia nodded in agreement. "It is indeed possible. Since you are allergic to peaches, consuming a large amount at once would certainly cause a severe reaction in your digestive system."
"Could it really be?" Mrs. Lu’s brow furrowed. "Back then, she certainly did know about my allergy..."
Chairman Lu spoke up, "That was over thirty years ago; there’s no way to investigate it now even if we wanted to. Besides, whether she played dirty or not, she didn't gain anything from it. Let's not dwell on the past. Tonight’s events can be considered as paying back the favor we owed her. From now on, we don't need to carry that burden anymore."
Turning to Xu Yanxia with a smile, he added, "Xiao Xia, you worked truly hard tonight. The guests were all praising you, and we really must thank you properly."
Xu Yanxia smiled back and said, "It was only my duty. Knowing the guests enjoyed my cooking is a great form of validation for me. There's no need for such formalities, Chairman, Madam."
The quirky second Lu daughter nudged her father’s arm with her shoulder. "Dad, Mom, give her something practical! Give our Xiao Xia a big bonus! Otherwise, she’s definitely going to be headhunted by someone else."
Mrs. Lu laughed immediately. "That goes without saying."
Chairman Lu nodded quickly. "Include mine as well. Tell the finance department to send it to Xiao Xia along with the rest."
Xu Yanxia felt a bit embarrassed by the attention and hurriedly said, "Really, there's no need to be so polite."
As her voice trailed off, Lu Jingming, who had been silent until then, asked her, "How are your feet? You’ve been standing for at least the whole day."
"I’m fine," Xu Yanxia replied quickly.
Beside them, Chairman Lu gave a quiet cough and addressed the others. "It’s getting late; we should head back."
The third son, Lu Jingyao, spoke up immediately. "I have classes tomorrow, so I need to head back to campus tonight. Don't worry, I haven't been drinking, so I can drive myself."
The second child, Lu Jingxi, added, "I have to get back to record a show. My assistant is waiting for me at the airport."
Their mother, Mrs. Shen, began making arrangements. "In that case, Jingyao can drop you off. Jingming, you’ve been drinking, so don't drive. Let Lao Li drive your car back for you."
Lu Jingming gave a soft grunt of affirmation, then looked at Xu Yanxia. "Coming with me?"
Xu Yanxia blinked, startled. "I... I'm fine with whatever."
She wasn't sure if it was because he had been drinking, but she felt his gaze was somewhat... overbearing.
