Chapter 17: Poison Testing

The mask of composure on Wu Lingyi's face finally cracked. She stared into Xiao Jin's piercing red eyes, a chill running from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. Her knees buckled, and her voice lost its usual calmness. "Of course... Your Majesty has the final say!"

"Get out!" Xiao Jin squeezed out a word from between his teeth, like thunder. "Before I change my mind and don't want bloodshed to be seen in Yanying Palace tonight, get out of here immediately!"

Wu Lingyi felt as if she had been pardoned. She could no longer maintain the dignity of a palace lady. She almost staggered backward, turned around in panic, and disappeared outside the palace gate with her legs weak as if she was escaping. Her back looked in a miserable state.

[Amitabha, God bless you! I'm so scared!] Yun Zhao's heart dropped, and cold sweat broke out on his back. [Going head-on with the Queen Mother is so foolish! She's been running the harem for decades, and she has deep roots. It's not worth it to openly rip her off! If we want to do something, we have to do it in secret... Making a fortune quietly is the best way!]

Xiao Jin's gaze was like lightning, piercing towards Yun Zhao, who had "survived the disaster" at the desk. The complexity of his eyes was beyond words, containing the pain of betrayal, the sadness of being trapped in loneliness, and even more so, an unspeakable disappointment: "Yun Zhao! I trust you so much, I keep you by my side, and yet you spend every day plotting how to escape! The so-called loyalty to the emperor and the country of your family is nothing more than this in your case!"

"I…I didn't do that!" Yun Zhao's heart tightened as she flatly denied it. She just didn't want to die, didn't want to be drawn into this deadly vortex. Was that wrong?

"It's better not to!" Xiao Jin sneered coldly, no longer looking at her, and picked up the red brush again, but the force he put down was so heavy that it almost pierced through the back of the paper.

The long torture began.

The tea is scalded—"Are you dumb? Can't you remind me?"

The tea is cold—"Are you deliberately trying to make me drink cold tea and harm my health?"

The palace was too quiet—"Are you a piece of wood? Can't you even speak a word?"

Yun Zhao was spinning around like a top, and was so hungry that his chest was sticking to his back.

The little food he had eaten at dinner had long been digested, and now his stomach made a long and clear "gurgling" protest, which was particularly harsh in the silent hall.

[You bastard emperor! You absolutely did this on purpose!] Yun Zhao's vision darkened. [You've been tossing me around so hard this afternoon I didn't even get to eat, and now you're making me work like a slave tonight! Now you won't even give me food to eat. Are you planning on starving me to death?! What a vicious, ruthless scheme! First I'll tire myself to death, then I'll starve to death!]

The "gurgling" sound and the subsequent "starving to death" in his heart finally broke Xiao Jin's tense nerves.

He slammed his pen on the desk with a slap, and said with a kind of almost vindictive pleasure: "Zhang Fuan!"

Zhang Fuan rushed in, a cautious smile plastered on his face. "Your Majesty, your orders! Should we flip the card, or move to... Noble Concubine Su's Zhaixing Tower?"

"I'm hungry!" Xiao Jin's voice was unquestionable. "Send snacks to the small kitchen! Now! Immediately!"

"Yes! Yes!" Zhang Fuan responded repeatedly, feeling relieved, and backed out of the palace. Once he reached the outer corridor, his smile instantly vanished. He stamped his feet anxiously and growled at the eunuch in a low voice, "Quick! Go to the imperial kitchen! Bring us some ready-made snacks, no matter what they are! Quick!"

The young eunuch outside the door was confused: "Grandpa Zhang... Your Majesty... Your Majesty never has extra meals at night? Dinner is also served according to the rules... This... This is so hasty..."

"You bastard!" Zhang Fuan was so anxious that he was sweating. He almost hit the eunuch on the forehead with the handle of his whisk. "Just go when I tell you to! Why bother with so much? Pick out the finest and hottest ones! If you delay His Majesty from enjoying his meal, you'll be in trouble!"

He looked at the dark palace road and felt that this mission tonight was really going to cost him his life!

Exquisite snacks and side dishes, and even a bowl of warm bird's nest soothing soup, were soon placed next to the imperial table.

The aroma filled the air, making Yun Zhao's stomach so hungry that he almost drooled.

What a sin! The eldest daughter of the Duke's family has fallen to such a state that she's starving and drooling over the emperor's snacks!

Xiao Jin didn't even touch his chopsticks, but just winked at Zhang Fuan.

Zhang Fuan immediately understood and called out in a shrill voice, "Xiao Guizi! Try the food!"

"No need." Xiao Jin's eyes turned and fell on Yun Zhao with a kind of bad interest. "Let her try."

[Oh! The dog emperor is really afraid of being poisoned!] Yun Zhao complained in his heart.

Zhang Fuan respectfully handed the silver chopsticks to her: "Miss Yun, please."

Yun Zhao accepted it resignedly.

I was so hungry that I didn't care about anything else. I picked up the small bowl, picked up a piece of each dish with my chopsticks, and started eating in small bites.

[Hmm…the pea yellow is melt-in-your-mouth delicious…the emerald dumplings are fresh and fragrant…the plum blossom crisps are sweet but not greasy…perfect for filling your stomach! They shouldn't be poisonous, right? Using poison at this critical moment is so stupid. The target is too obvious…]

"Huh? Why don't you stop? I've already tasted everything and even had a couple of sips of the soup..." She slowed down. "I'm so full... My stomach's about to burst..."

Xiao Jin propped up his chin, admiring her transformation from wolfing down the food to swallowing it with great interest. He slowly said, "Keep going. You are not allowed to stop until I say so."

[It's over! Tyrant, are you trying to stuff me to death? Are you torturing me in another way?] Yun Zhao felt the food pressing against her throat. Quickly thinking, she put down her bowl and chopsticks, clutching her stomach tightly with both hands. Her face instantly wrinkled, and a few drops of cold sweat even broke out on her forehead. "Ouch... Your Majesty... Your servant, your servant, has a terrible stomachache! I'm afraid I need to... go to the bathroom! Please grant me permission, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Jin glanced at the half-eaten meal, then looked at her "painful" appearance, and waved his hand in disgust: "Get lost!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yun Zhao felt as if he had been pardoned. He covered his stomach (pretending) and ran out of Yanying Palace. He did not straighten up until he turned around the corridor and patted his slightly bulging belly with satisfaction.

[Huh… I finally escaped! I've eaten and drunk enough, now it's time to go back to sleep! Even if the sky falls, we can still deal with it tomorrow morning!]

Inside the hall, Xiao Jin stared at the barely touched snacks and waited for about a cup of tea before his expression darkened. "Zhang Fuan!"

"The servant is here!"

"Go! See which rat hole that rascal has snuck into to hide away again! Bring her back to me!"

"Yes!" Zhang Fuan did not dare to delay and took action personally.

Poor Yun Zhao had just touched the pillow and the quilt was not even warm when Zhang Fuan and two young eunuchs "politely" "invited" him to get up, and dragged and "supported" him all the way back to Yanying Palace.

She was sleepy, yawning, and her mind was still not clear: "Your Majesty... I'm back?" As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she froze.

"Me?" Xiao Jin's voice was so cold that ice chips could fall off.

Yun Zhao shuddered, instantly awakening as if she had been doused with a basin of ice water. She sank to her knees, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! I know I was wrong! What are your commands? I will serve you wholeheartedly, even if it means death!"

The rapid change in attitude is exemplary.

Xiao Jin looked at her cowardly expression, and a barely perceptible wicked smile curled up at the corner of his mouth. "You, and my little boy, follow me immediately—serve at Zhaixing Tower."