I Am Already A Queen

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Disgusting Traces

Considering the hostile servant’s disrespectful attitude just now, Qiao Meixia would not be at all surprised if someone tried to slip into her room to rummage through her things while she was away.

A locked door was a simple, effective precaution.

She then walked down the hallway toward the formal dining room. When she arrived, she discovered that the entire family was already seated at the grand table and had already begun eating their meal without her.

Feng Lan, who still appeared deeply dissatisfied and resentful about the confrontation that had happened earlier in the afternoon, merely shot her a cold, venomous glare before turning away to tend to Jiang Yanna without saying a single word.

As was her usual habit, Qiao Meixia chose a vacant seat at the far corner of the long table, completely detached from the family unit, and prepared to start eating her dinner. However, just as she reached her hand out for her dining utensils, she suddenly paused in her tracks. Her sharp eyes landed directly on the porcelain bowl placed in front of her.

There was dark dirt inside.

"Excuse me. Please change this bowl for me." Qiao Meixia called out calmly to the servant standing guard by the dining room doorway.

"What is it now?" Jiang Lukang asked, frowning as he looked over from the head of the table, his tone tinged with annoyance at another disruption.

Without saying a single word in reply, Qiao Meixia casually lifted the bowl and tilted it to show him its contents under the dining room chandelier.

There was highly visible dirt smeared inside. In fact, if someone looked closely enough at the grime, they could even notice disgusting traces of dried saliva mixed in with it.

Qiao Meixia genuinely did not know what to say about the sheer pettiness of it all.

The malicious servants had probably assumed she was a weak country bumpkin who would remain silent and silently endure the humiliation just to avoid causing a scene, allowing them to continue bullying her indefinitely.

Unfortunately for them, she was absolutely not that kind of submissive person. She had a mouth. And she had absolutely no intention of staying quiet while being stepped on.

"What on earth is the meaning of this?!" Jiang Lukang shouted furiously, slamming his hand down on the table as his face darkened. "Who exactly dared to serve something like this to a member of this family?!"

His intense, booming anger was directed entirely at the trembling servants standing around the room.

The moment Jiang Lukang’s furious voice echoed like thunder through the spacious dining room, all of the servants standing around the area froze completely in their tracks. Not a single person dared to speak, and not a single person dared to move even an inch. Their faces turned completely pale as a cold sweat broke out among them.

"I asked a question. Who exactly prepared this bowl?!" Jiang Lukang demanded, his eyes scanning the room with a dangerous intensity.

The terrified servants looked at one another nervously, their eyes darting back and forth. They seriously did not know the answer to his question, as the serving process usually involved multiple hands.

"I... I don’t know, Master." One maid stammered out.

"I also don’t know. I did not even touch that specific bowl today." Another added quickly, desperate to clear her own name.

The servants shook their heads one by one, each of them eagerly denying any involvement in the blatant act of sabotage.

"If none of you standing here know anything about it, then who on earth does?" Jiang Lukang questioned, his tone growing increasingly hostile.

"The dishes and bowls were all prepared ahead of time in the main kitchen, Master." One of the older servants finally gathered enough courage to state, bowing her head deeply.

"Go and call every single servant working in the kitchen to come up here right now." Jiang Lukang demanded coldly, his expression entirely dark.

Butler Jun received the direct order and immediately rushed out of the dining room to round up the entire kitchen staff before the master’s temper worsened. With his departure, a heavy, suffocating silence fell over the dining room.

Qiao Meixia calmly put the contaminated bowl back down onto the pristine tablecloth. She sat there quietly and elegantly, looking completely unbothered, as if this high-stakes matter had absolutely nothing to do with her.

Feng Lan furrowed her brow deeply as she watched the chaotic situation unfold at her dinner table. She hated how this country girl always seemed to bring drama into the house.

"Could this perhaps be some kind of simple misunderstanding or a mistake by the washing crew?" Feng Lan voiced her question, trying to downplay the severity of the issue in front of her husband.

Qiao Meixia glanced briefly at the filthy bowl, and then she shifted her calm gaze directly onto Feng Lan.

"You should actually look inside the bowl before calling it a mistake. There is clearly dirt smeared inside, and there are also visible traces of saliva." Qiao Meixia pointed out, her voice entirely flat and devoid of any emotion.

Feng Lan reluctantly leaned forward and glanced inside the bowl. The moment her eyes focused on the grime, her facial expression immediately stiffened in absolute disgust. Only now did she truly notice the horrific details. The bowl was indeed incredibly filthy. It was so bad that anyone with a functioning brain could easily tell this vile act had been done deliberately to humiliate the girl.

Jiang Chinan and Jiang Yanna also leaned in slightly to take a quick look inside the filthy porcelain piece. The moment her eyes processed the grime, Jiang Yanna immediately twisted her face into a deeply disgusted expression, while Jiang Chinan merely let out an arrogant snort.

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