The two remained frozen in the courtyard until the girl's clear voice broke the awkward silence.
Wang Xueru carried two food boxes, and Wei Jingnian, who was following behind, also carried two. They entered the inner yamen one after the other.
Sun Miao'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she arrived in time. She really couldn't think of how to deal with her master, nor did she know how to face her own heart.
"Miao'er, Xianweilou has launched many new dishes. I specially bought them for you to try. The food in the inner palace is too poor."
Wang Xueru hurriedly opened the food boxes. Each food box had three layers, and each layer contained two exquisite dishes, making a total of twenty-four dishes.
Sun Miao'er stared in disbelief as she took out the dishes one by one. The stone table in the inner office was already overflowing with food, packed full. There were five of them in total, and Shan Qiu hadn't returned yet. For four people to eat twenty-four dishes was truly extravagant.
"There's so much, can we finish it all?"
Sun Miao'er unconsciously swallowed. Although the dishes were all exquisitely presented and their aroma filled the courtyard, the astonishing quantity of food made her unable to help but ask a sincere question.
Wang Xueru set out the chopsticks. Even without a maid to serve her, she handled the situation calmly and neatly, setting out the bowls and chopsticks. She smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Mr. Fu saved my life, and Miao'er, you promised to help me. It's only right that I entertain you. I wouldn't be happy if I didn't!"
As she spoke, she handed the chopsticks to Sun Miao'er, very politely, "Eat quickly, I don't know when Officer Shan will let us go home, my father is still waiting for me!"
Wei Jingnian chimed in, "Yes, Miss Miao'er, you should try these dishes. They were all carefully prepared by Xue Ru and me."
Staying at the Wang family's house was not his original intention. He had only come to discuss dyeing and weaving techniques on his father's orders. However, after spending time with her, he realized that Sun Miao'er was not just an ordinary country girl, as his aunt had said. She was a woman with courage.
When young people make friends, they need nothing else but sincerity.
Sun Miao'er looked at the dishes. Seven or eight of them were desserts. Combined with what she had eaten that morning, it was not hard to see that Wang Xueru had a sweet tooth, but her master had a very poor interest in sweets.
Not to mention the dim sum, even the hot dishes are mostly sweet, such as sweet and sour pork ribs, braised fish in sauce, honey-glazed braised pork, and rice wine soup with glutinous rice balls. It seems that it would be difficult to satisfy the chef's taste.
Indeed, she guessed correctly. Having dined with Fu Yuchi so many times, this was the first time she had seen him put down his chopsticks after only a few bites, wipe his mouth with a handkerchief, and signify the end of the meal.
Wang Xueru, however, was eating with great relish. Seeing that Fu Yuchi had a poor appetite, she asked, "Doctor Fu, why aren't you eating?"
Sun Miao'er was about to answer for him when he unexpectedly stepped in front of her and said indifferently, "It's a little worse than Miao'er's cooking."
Wang Xueru exclaimed in surprise, "Miao'er can cook? Since Doctor Fu has said so, I must try your cooking next time."
Her master's public praise caught her off guard. She realized that it was less of a compliment and more of a blatant display of his possessiveness.
"Mr. Fu, please come with me."
While they were eating, Shan Qiu strode into the inner office, walked straight up to Fu Yuchi, and said decisively.
Fu Yuchi stood up, his expression unchanged. "Is there anything else I, Fu, can do for you?"
"What happened?"
Sun Miao'er also chimed in with a question, noting that it seemed urgent and that it was something only her master could handle.
Shan Qiu said solemnly, "The scene is strange. It seems that we have found clues about Datura poison. Please come with me, Mr. Fu, to find out more."
"kindness."
He responded, knowing that once you get involved in these things, it's hard to get away with it completely.
"Master, I'll go with you."
Sun Miao'er knew that this matter was caused by her, and that her master had been dragged into it for no reason. She couldn't just wash her hands of it.
Dan Qiu hesitated, unwilling to agree. "Miss Sun, the scene is currently guarded by government officials. I'm afraid there are still criminals lying in ambush nearby. We will protect Mr. Fu."
Sun Miao'er remembered what her master had said. He was the one who wanted to stay with her, so what reason did she have to abandon him? "Officer Shan, since the people in the yamen can protect my master, it wouldn't matter if I were added to the list, would it? Besides, I was closest to Dongli at the time. Maybe when I get there, I can still remember something."
She rubbed her temples and feigned a sigh, "I was poisoned yesterday and was quite delirious. My mind is much clearer now, but if I miss any important clues, it will be difficult to find Miss Dongli..."
Upon hearing this, Shan Qiu, considering the urgency of the case, could only agree despite feeling that the girl was a burden. He turned around and said, "Alright, since Miss Sun is with me, Miss Wang, you can go back now. Things are not peaceful outside lately, so please tell Master Wang to take good care of himself and not give the thieves any opportunity."
His words clearly indicated that he did not want young ladies and gentlemen like Wang Xueru and Wei Jingnian to accompany him. Firstly, they were not really of any help, and secondly, it would require diverting the manpower of the yamen to protect them, which would be a loss.
Wang Xueru was already tired of waiting at the yamen, and when Shan Qiu gave her the order to leave, she couldn't wait to go back. "Miao'er, be careful, I'll wait for you at home."
Knowing he was useless in this situation and might even be outdone by Fu Yuchi, Wei Jingnian wisely followed Wang Xueru back home.
The scene of the lantern-lighting ceremony was surrounded by government officials, and some daring people even came to join in the fun. Although the bloodstains on the ground had been washed away, they were still shocking to behold.
Not only were there people from the government office, but people from Duhuanlou were also keeping a close watch, afraid of missing any information.
Danqiu ordered someone to bring over a tray, on which were placed the smoke cakes used to create fog that day, which were burned black and only some remnants remained.
"The fog smelled wonderful that day, so why can't I smell anything in these smoke bombs?"
Sun Miao'er picked up a small piece of residue and sniffed it; it really didn't have much of a smell.
Fu Yuchi's indifferent gaze swept over, showing no surprise. "The fragrance was emitted along with the flower poison. It wasn't mixed in during the making of the smoke cake. Someone deliberately added it later. Once it's burned, it naturally has no smell."
"Someone, go and fetch Hu Tingzhi!" he roared, his eyes filled with a deep chill.
Danqiu's doubts lay here. He initially suspected the smoke bomb, but he found nothing unusual about it. He even asked Duhuanlou to bring a brand new smoke bomb, and after comparison, it was no different from the one used that night.
"It seems the thugs were well-prepared, even concealing the smoke bombs. Hu Tingzhi has a mole in his pocket," Shan Qiuping said sarcastically, his expression calm.
Fu Yuchi fiddled with the crumbs in the tobacco cake, gently sniffing them. "Datura flowers are colorless and odorless; this fragrance is merely a smokescreen."
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