Chapter 183: King Xuan is having a hard time suppressing his laughter

King Xuan bit his lip and nodded, then turned and rushed out quickly. However, he didn't actually go to the kitchen; instead, he ran to the next room to chuckle to himself: "Hehehe, hee hee hee, ahahahahaha, this is hilarious, you pig."

Miss Su snorted coldly and looked at Liu Ye with a provocative expression: "Miss Liu Ye, you're likely to get beaten up for talking like that. You're so impolite and ill-mannered. Your Majesty the Empress should have the headmistress teach her manners, lest she go out without respect for elders and disgrace Your Majesty the Empress and Prince Xuan!"

Consort Su echoed with a dark face, "That's right. None of the noble ladies in our capital are like her. If Your Majesty doesn't have a good governess, I have one in my palace. I'm willing to take her place and teach her manners properly!"

The Empress ignored Consort Su's words and looked at Liu Ye with a loving expression, asking in a very gentle tone, "Miss Liu, would you like to learn? If you do, I will have the nanny teach you. If you don't want to learn, that's fine too. I like your genuine nature and love hearing you speak the truth."

Consort Su immediately understood what this meant and wondered who was being insulted this time!

Miss Su San also disliked hearing this: "Miss Liu, I advise you to learn some manners. You're not pretty, and you're just a country bumpkin. If you don't learn manners, you won't be able to get married in the future. If you had always been a lowly commoner and hadn't recognized Prince Xuan as your sworn brother, it wouldn't matter if you were a little uncouth. No one would laugh at you for not knowing manners. But now you are Prince Xuan's sworn sister, a pheasant turned phoenix. If you still don't know manners and speak with a lisp, then the Empress and Prince Xuan will be the ones laughing at you. Don't you agree with me?!"

Liu Ye thought to herself, "Damn it!" She scratched the back of her head with a blank expression and said in a soft, sweet voice, "I think I know my manners quite well. It's Miss Su who doesn't know her manners. In front of the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, aren't you talking a bit too much? Did the Empress allow you to speak? You just kept saying a bunch of things. I am the Empress Dowager's honored guest and Prince Xuan's adopted sister. If I do anything wrong, the Empress has the right to speak, not you."

"You're still sticking green onions in your pig nose, pretending to be an elephant, an old sow wearing a bra, spewing insults one after another. You're the one with the crooked eyes and shrewish looks, yet you say I'm not good-looking. You're really upside down, completely blind, a hen hatching bastards, just worrying about nothing, your ass is itchy."

"This world is truly dazzling and bewitching. If I don't say anything, you'll really embarrass me. A toad on your foot doesn't bite, but it's disgusting. In front of the Empress, you're like a slipper in a bathhouse, disrespectful and disrespectful. If you're getting cupping done in your anus, you're asking for trouble. Humph, life is so boring and tasteless. A toad judging humans. Miss Su, you should mind your own business first!"

Liu Ye's voice was soft and sweet, but her words were exceptionally sharp, leaving the Su sisters unable to get a word in edgewise. Her mouth was like a rented machine, rattling off one sentence after another, which the Empress thoroughly enjoyed, almost to the point of applause.

This infuriated Consort Su and her sister. The third Miss Su was so angry that her nose almost twisted out of shape. She had never been insulted like this before, especially when she was told she was ugly. She couldn't stand it.

Enraged, she pointed at Liu Ye, ready to retort, but Consort Su stood up and stopped her, pretending to be angry as she slapped her hand away: "Alright, you were the one who was rude just now. How could you be so disrespectful in front of Her Majesty? As the old saying goes, even if you don't respect the monk, you should respect the Buddha. Miss Liu is a distinguished guest of Her Majesty the Empress, so we really have no right to criticize her."

Miss Su lowered her hand with a wronged expression and knelt on the ground unwillingly: "Your Majesty, I was wrong, please punish me!"

The Empress smiled happily and said, "Yes, it was indeed Miss Su's fault just now, but I am magnanimous and will forgive you this time. If there is a next time, even Consort Su will not be able to protect you. Get up!"

Miss Su got up from the ground, feeling aggrieved. She looked at Liu Ye with hatred in her eyes. "You wretched girl, you're dead! I'm going to kill you and use you as fertilizer!"

Liu Ye also sensed her malice. "You want to kill me? Let's see if you have the ability!"

Consort Su curled her lips without showing any emotion. "That old hag is getting cocky. Humph, let's see how long you can be so smug. My birthday will be your death anniversary!"

With a forced smile, she said, "It's almost noon, Your Majesty. I must go back to have lunch with you. I'll take my leave now."

The Empress waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away flies: "All of you, step back."

Consort Su, looking frustrated, flung her sleeves and stormed off with Miss Su. With no one to bother her anymore, the Empress called Liu Ye to sit down, took her hand in hers, and fondled it with obvious affection: "Hahaha, your little mouth is so sharp! It's so satisfying to hear, it makes me feel so good. I really want to use your words to scold the Emperor, hahaha, just kidding..."

When Prince Xuan learned that Consort Su and the others had left, he returned, and the imperial meal was quickly served. Liu Ye looked at the table full of delicacies in front of her, which looked and smelled delicious, and her mouth watered. Just by looking at them, she knew they were delicious.

A palace maid served the Empress a dish. Liu Ye only dared to pick up a dish after seeing the Prince Xuan take a bite. Sure enough, the dish was incredibly delicious. It was fragrant where it should be fragrant, sweet where it should be sweet, and the flavor was just right. The broth was rich and sweet. It truly lived up to its reputation as imperial cuisine.

During the meal, neither the Empress nor the Prince spoke, and they ate in silence. Liu Ye did not dare to speak either, for she was not to talk while eating or sleeping. Since she had nothing to say, she picked whichever dish looked good on the table and ate it without any politeness. The palace maids even put dishes from a distance into her bowl.

At this moment, a eunuch entered and respectfully reported: "Your Majesty the Empress, Consort Su has sent five dishes, saying they are for Your Majesty the Empress and Miss Liu to try."

The Empress frowned and put down her chopsticks. "Hmph, they're trying to annoy me again," she thought. "Let them in!"

Five palace maids carrying food boxes entered and respectfully bowed to the Empress: "This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress and Prince Xuan."

Yun Gu, the Empress's head maid, said sternly, "Open all the food boxes!"

Five palace maids brought out the dishes from the food box and held them above their heads. Yun Gu took out a box from her sleeve, and then took out a silver needle from the box. She tested each of the five dishes one by one. Seeing that the silver needle did not turn black, she allowed the palace maids to put the five dishes on the table.

Five palace maids placed the dishes on the table and then respectfully withdrew. King Xuan looked at his mother and asked, "The dishes look quite good. Would Your Majesty like to try some?"

The Empress said with a look of disgust, "Hmph, even if the food she sent wasn't poisoned, I wouldn't eat it. Who knows... maybe she spat in it!"

King Xuan laughed upon hearing this, and then looked at Liu Ye: "Miss Liu, which dish would you like to eat? I will help you pick it up."

Liu Ye put down her chopsticks. Each of the five dishes that Consort Su had sent over had a problem: "I won't eat them, and I advise Prince Xuan not to eat them either. There's something wrong with these five dishes."

Upon hearing this, the Queen and Prince Xuan exchanged a glance, then both looked at the willow leaves. Prince Xuan asked in confusion, "What's the problem? The palace maids didn't detect any poison."

Aunt Yun quickly took out her silver needles to examine the area carefully: "It hasn't turned black!"