Chapter 83 Addictive Hibiscus
"yes!"
Liuyun left quietly without attracting anyone's suspicion or attention.
Yu Youning supported her fair cheeks with her hands, staring at the food on the table without blinking.
Seeing her like this, Huo Qingchen felt strange, "Youning, this is something that can harm people, why are you still staring at it?"
Yu Youning swallowed, "But, it tastes really good! Actually, I will be fine if I eat it——"
"No!" Chu Huaixu immediately interrupted Yu Youning.
Because of his urgency, his voice was a little harsh.
After saying this, she was afraid of scaring Yu Youning, so she quickly softened her voice and explained, "Youning, I didn't mean to be mean to you. But since you know these things are bad, you definitely can't eat them! Otherwise, your mother, father, and grandfather will definitely be worried if they find out."
Yu Youning sighed, "I know, I'm just saying."
Once, she also ate something poisonous, and it tasted really good!
Although nothing happened to her after she ate it, she was still severely beaten by her master. Her mother did not stop her and even told him to beat her harder.
Master and mother said that we should not stand under a dangerous wall.
You can't just eat it and have no worries.
How many strange and bizarre things are there in this world?
If the poison of some thing is too strange and overbearing, and her body cannot dissolve it, it will be too late then.
Seeing that Yu Youning agreed obediently and indeed had no intention of eating, Chu Huaixu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The four of them stopped talking, just staring at the food on the table without blinking, each with their own thoughts.
After a while, the shopkeeper came with his men, still delivering food.
The big round table was filled to the brim and there was no room left.
But all the food was left untouched!
The shopkeeper's face wrinkled when he saw this.
"Young masters and young ladies, I just told you that you couldn't finish the food, so I told you not to order so much. Now look at this, isn't this a waste? We've only made fifty dishes! How about we not make the rest?"
Chu Huaixu raised his eyes and looked at the shopkeeper. "You are the shopkeeper, but are you also the boss?"
The shopkeeper didn't know why Chu Huaixu suddenly asked this, but Chu Huaixu had a noble temperament and must be no ordinary person, so he didn't dare not answer.
"In reply to the young master, I am only the shopkeeper, responsible for business management, not the owner."
"Who is your boss? Where is he now?"
The shopkeeper looked puzzled. "Master, what's the matter with our boss? Is it because the food is not to your liking? But you haven't eaten yet!"
Chu Huaixu did not answer, but just looked at the shopkeeper calmly.
The shopkeeper felt uneasy after being looked at and turned to leave.
At this moment, a scream was heard from downstairs, followed by a scolding.
The shopkeeper's heart tightened, and he hurried out to look down from the railing, and saw many soldiers in armor coming below.
"How...how could this be?"
Liuyun had already come up with Sima Yuwencheng, the city patrol officer.
Yuwen Cheng knelt down upon seeing Chu Huaixu, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
"Tai...Prince?"
The shopkeeper exclaimed, his eyes widened, and he almost fainted.
It turned out to be the prince!
The prince actually came to their Baiweizhai to have dinner!
But why did the prince have this place surrounded?
The shopkeeper felt puzzled and looked at Chu Huaixu eagerly, but did not dare to ask the doubts in his heart.
"Master Yuwen, please get up!"
Chu Huaixu said this and looked at the shopkeeper again.
"I'll ask you again, who is your boss? Is he here now?"
The shopkeeper fell to his knees with a thud, trembling with fear. "Your Highness, the boss is not here. I don't even know who the boss is!"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Cheng immediately glared over, "Nonsense! You've already called me the boss, how could you not know who I am? You dare to lie to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? I think you're tired of living!"
"I'm innocent! I really didn't know! I originally opened this restaurant, but business has been getting worse over the past two years, and I can't make ends meet. I'm planning to sell it and go back home."
"Two months ago, a woman approached me and said she would buy the restaurant and change its name to Baiweizhai. She asked if I was willing to continue to be the manager and offered me a generous salary."
"I thought I could make money without taking any risks. Plus, I've put a lot of effort into this restaurant and didn't want to leave just like that, so I agreed."
"After that, the restaurant closed for renovations, and the chefs learned to cook according to the recipes she gave them. After everything was almost ready, it reopened five days ago."
"But after the opening, she never showed up again!"
After the shopkeeper said this, he kowtowed repeatedly, as if he wanted to prove that what he said was true.
Chu Huaixu thought for a moment before asking, "Did she give me anything else besides the recipe?"
"this......"
The shopkeeper looked hesitant.
Just looking at him like this, what else is there to not understand?
The shopkeeper must know about the hibiscus flowers.
Yuwen Cheng stepped on the shopkeeper. "How dare you hesitate and refuse to tell the truth in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? I think you are really looking for death! If you don't say it now, you will never have the chance to say it again. There are so many people in Baiweizhai, you must be more than just one who knows about this, right? Do you think others will tell it?"
The shopkeeper closed his eyes and begged for mercy, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything! Please, Your Highness, spare my life!"
"In addition to the recipe, the woman also gave us a kind of medicinal powder, saying it could enhance the flavor. The cooks were skeptical, but they added some when cooking, and when they tasted it, it really tasted much better."
"But after a few days, we realized something was wrong. The food without the powder tasted bland. I had no appetite, no appetite, and couldn't sleep all day. All I wanted was another bite of food with the powder added."
"I realized something was wrong. When the woman came again, I threatened to report her to the police. But she said we were addicted and if we didn't continue taking it, we would die in the end."
"We have no choice! We are ordinary people. We just want to survive. We are forced to do this!"
The more Yuwen Cheng listened, the angrier he became, and the strength in his feet increased a lot.
"You're making a specious argument! You're just ordinary people, but aren't those people eating here ordinary people? What did they do wrong? They were poisoned without even realizing it! You've aided and abetted this evil, harming so many people. How can you really sleep at night? Do you really dare to close your eyes?"
The shopkeeper's body was shaking and he was crying, but no one present felt sorry for him.
There must be something hateful about a pitiful person!
This shopkeeper is already in hell, yet he wants to drag others down with him. How despicable!
"What does that woman look like? What are her physical features?" Chu Huaixu asked coldly.
The shopkeeper was still sobbing.
Yuwen Cheng pressed harder on the shopkeeper's foot, causing him to cry out in pain. Only then did he stop crying.
"I can't really explain it. She's just a woman in her forties, with some elegance and a pretty face. But if you ask me what's so special about her... I really can't think of anything!"
Seeing that he couldn't make any sense, Chu Huaixu looked at Yuwen Cheng, "Master Yuwen, take him to find Furonghua, and then interrogate all the people in this restaurant separately, and show me their confessions."
After a pause, Chu Huaixu continued, "Call all the great portrait artists in the capital, and have them draw portraits according to each person's description, and then present them together. Go!"
Yuwen Cheng agreed, picked up the shopkeeper like a chicken, and walked out with big strides.
As soon as Chu Huaixu turned his head, he saw Yu Youning looking at him without blinking.
"Youning, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing... I just felt that the way you spoke just now was a little different from usual!"
Chu Huaixu smiled gently, "No matter what, I'm the same in front of Youning!"
After laughing, Chu Huaixu's expression became more serious. "Youning, I have another thing I want to ask you for help with."
"What's the matter?"
"I'll have Liuyun bring some people to find everyone who has eaten at this restaurant in the past few days. Can you check them to see if they've been poisoned? If so, is there an antidote?"
Yu Youning's face wrinkled into eighteen wrinkles. "Ah! So many people came to eat! Do I have to check alone?"
That’s too tiring!
"Since this concerns the safety of the people, Youning might endure some hardship. I'll have the imperial chef prepare delicious food every day and deliver it to you at any time!"
Have something delicious to eat? That's not impossible!
Yu Youning thought for a moment, "It's not that troublesome. I don't need to check them one by one. It takes at least three or five times to become addictive. Have someone check carefully. If someone eats once, record it on a piece of paper. If someone eats twice, record it on another piece of paper..."
"For each piece of paper, I only need to find three or five people to come over, and I can take their pulse and prescribe medicine for them!"
This will not only reduce her workload but also improve efficiency.
She is so smart!
Yu Youning gave himself a thumbs up in his heart.
Chu Huaixu listened attentively and praised sincerely, "Youning is so smart! I'll have someone prepare it right away! I'll also have someone go back to the palace to fetch the imperial meal!"
Chu Huaixu stood up and gave instructions. Huo Qingchen looked over at this time, "Youning, is there anything I can help you with?"
For some reason, watching Chu Huaixu and Yu Youning discussing serious matters, Huo Qingchen felt that he couldn't just stand there and watch, he had to find something to do.
Wei Zhao also nodded, "And me."
Yu Youning thought for a moment and looked at Wei Zhao. "You're from Nanzhao. Hibiscus flowers are a specialty of Nanzhao. Did you know that?"
Huo Qingchen immediately jumped up and leaped two meters away, pointing at Wei Zhao and saying, "You, you, you! Could it be that someone from Nanzhao did this?"
Nanzhao actually had rebellious intentions!
He is simply despicable!
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