Chapter 11 Does His Highness the Crown Prince like this type? ...
The young eunuch who was tasting the food stood to one side, his hands trembling as he took out silver needles and silver chopsticks.
Just as they were about to test the poison, the Crown Prince suddenly spoke up: "Yesterday you said that you used to work in the Imperial Kitchen?"
When Yun Kui was suddenly asked about her, she quickly and obediently nodded in agreement.
The Crown Prince lowered his eyes and glanced at the dining table. "How about this, from now on you will taste the food for me?"
Yun Kui stared in astonishment at the table laden with sumptuous dishes, remaining dazed for a long while. "Is this servant here?"
With so many dishes, let her try a few bites of each first, and she'll be full without even needing to eat rice!
Back when she was in the Imperial Kitchen, she envied the palace servants who tasted the food. They were the first to taste the food of the nobles, especially the Crown Prince's meals, which were all delicacies from land and sea, phoenix marrow and dragon liver. The ingredients were extremely precious, and each dish went through dozens of complicated processes. Just looking at them made people's mouths water.
How could such a good thing happen to her?
The eunuch who was tasting the food happily handed her the silver chopsticks, and she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Chengguang Hall is fraught with danger. There have been many similar incidents to the assassination attempt last night. The Crown Prince's meals are also the easiest place to be tampered with. Silver needles cannot detect all poisons, and the eunuchs who taste the food are the first to bear the brunt. They eat each bite with extreme caution, fearing that some dessert may be poisoned and they will die on the spot.
The young eunuch felt a great sense of relief upon handing over the task.
After Yun Kui learned how to test for poison from him, she had just inserted a silver needle into a bowl of chicken slices with egg white and then took it out. The tip of the needle was completely black!
“This…” Yun Kui was dumbfounded and almost threw the poisoned needle away.
Her mind was in complete chaos, and she didn't know what to say. The first dish she tested had been poisoned. If she had tasted it first, she would probably be dead on the spot.
Others might be blessed with good fortune after surviving a great calamity, but for her, surviving one calamity only means facing another, and another... In short, she has already left her mark on the King of Hell's eyes.
Before she could recover, the cook and a group of palace servants had already knelt down and begged for mercy.
Cao Yuanlu stepped forward with a cold face and gritted teeth, saying, "Today, everyone involved in preparing, cooking, serving, and arranging the dishes should be detained in the torture chamber for interrogation. I refuse to believe that even with all eighteen cruel tortures, we still won't be able to pry out a single truth!"
Because of the Crown Prince's constant assassination attempts over the years, the Eastern Palace also set up a special torture chamber. The tortures inside were even more terrifying than those in the Imperial Prison. Anyone who went in would have to suffer a severe skin injury.
The crown prince's face was frosty, and he did not express his opinion. He simply walked forward and his sharp gaze swept over the kneeling crowd.
Yun Kui was still feeling lingering fear. Cao Yuanlu's words had sent chills down her spine. It turned out that the seemingly kind and benevolent eunuch Cao could also be so ruthless.
These people in front of her were all people she had met in the kitchen. The aunt in the lead had even given her meat. Now, they were all kneeling on the ground in a sorry state, crying and begging.
She followed the Crown Prince's gaze, her heart clenching with each passing moment, until she saw a familiar face.
Chrysanthemums...
She had seen her outside the side hall last night. She rushed up, picked up the things that had fallen on the ground, and left without saying a word. There was nothing strange about that, but Yun Kui dreamed about her last night.
Unlike reality, everything in the dream was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Caiju was very elusive, sometimes sneaking around in front of the boiling casserole in the kitchen, sometimes looking around in the tea and food serving line... Yun Kui suddenly remembered the last scene in the dream, where Caiju took out a small paper packet from her sleeve and quietly sprinkled some white powder into the soup bowl.
Yun Kui shuddered.
The prince had already walked up to Caiju and seemed to be stopping. Yun Kui stared intently at the scene and saw that although Caiju had her head down, she was secretly reaching into her sleeve to take something out.
Yun Kui instinctively shouted, "Your Highness, be careful!"
At the same time, Caiju took out a paper packet from her sleeve and was about to throw it at the prince's face.
Upon hearing Yun Kui's cry, Qin Ge, who was standing beside the Crown Prince, immediately locked his sharp, hawk-like eyes on Cai Ju and kicked her three zhang away.
Caiju was kicked to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood before fainting. The paper packet in her hand fell to the ground, scattering fine white powder all over the floor.
Qin Ge stepped forward, took a small amount through the handkerchief, and after identifying it, reported, "Your Highness, it is arsenic."
Cao Yuanlu was quite frightened and hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "Did that woman hurt Your Highness?"
The crown prince's expression turned slightly cold as he shook his head.
He had personally stepped forward just now to listen to what they were thinking. Everyone else cried out that they were innocent, but this woman, seeing that the poison in the soup had been detected, was plotting how to harm him again. When she saw him approaching, she thought of using poison to destroy his eyes.
Unfortunately, the campaign got off to a bad start.
The crown prince turned around, looked at Yun Kui who had just screamed, and walked closer step by step.
Yun Kui was so frightened that she took two steps back, her legs went weak, and she knelt down.
She only came to her senses after kneeling down. She had reminded the Crown Prince to be careful of danger, which could be considered a merit, and she could have answered with her head held high.
The Crown Prince stared at her with cold, dark eyes, a cryptic smile playing on his lips: "You reminded me."
“Yes…” Yun Kui swallowed hard, feeling that the Crown Prince’s smile was rather eerie.
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, his gaze scrutinizing: "I am quite curious, how did you know she was going to attack me?"
Yun Kui's heart pounded, and she carefully replied, "This servant saw her reach into her sleeve and guessed that she was going to harm Your Highness, so I blurted it out in a moment of panic."
You can't exactly say it was a dream!
A dream? The Crown Prince narrowed his phoenix eyes. "You detected a deadly poison in the very first dish. Is that a coincidence?"
Yun Kui stared blankly: ...Isn't that right?
Could it be that the Crown Prince suspects she and Caiju are in cahoots? So he knows all of Caiju's plans, even participated in them, knows which dish was poisoned, and then betrays Caiju to gain favor and merit?
Yun Kui collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
"I'm tired. Let's destroy it."
"Whoever wants to be a concubine can do this damned job! I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to be assigned to serve this living ancestor in the Eastern Palace! What a dog of a prince! If you want to die, just die already!"
However, the expected punishment did not come; instead, a soft laugh was heard from above.
Everyone in the hall dared not breathe, and Yun Kui tremblingly raised her head.
A faint smile appeared on the Crown Prince's usually icy face. "What are you afraid of? I'm not blaming you."
Yun Kui's jaw trembled: "Thank...thank you, Your Highness."
The crown prince was about to suggest giving her a reward when he suddenly remembered the time when she served medicine. The girl had been talking dirty, saying she wanted to see his chest muscles, so he swallowed his words.
"In that case, continue to taste the food for me."
Yun Kui: ...
No way, they're doing it again!
Was her worthless life destined to end?!
The Crown Prince sat back down, and Caiju was dragged to the torture chamber by Qin Ge and his men. Although the group from the kitchen had temporarily escaped death, they could not escape interrogation and all left with Cao Yuanlu.
Yun Kui steeled herself and continued to test the food with silver needles. Fortunately, after a round, the silver needles did not show any signs of turning black. However, this did not mean that there was no danger. Next, she would have to test for poison with her mouth.
If you're lucky, you'll enjoy a life of luxury.
Bad luck, and you die.
Haha, she's not crazy.
The prince was drinking tea when he suddenly noticed that the girl had glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and then he heard her reckless inner monologue.
"If I find the food poisoned, I'll pounce on the prince, pull him into my arms, kiss him, and then spit all the poisoned food into his mouth! Haha, then none of us will survive!"
Crown Prince: ...
He should have dragged that girl out and fed her to the dogs long ago!
Yun Kui ate every bite with a bitter taste, and she had no appetite for delicacies that she would never normally eat.
"I'm still so young, and I haven't even found a tall and mighty guard to marry yet, sob sob sob."
"I've never kissed a man, never even touched his abs, and he just died like this, I'm so angry I can't accept it!"
The crown prince was about to have a splitting headache from the cacophony of wailing and screaming in her mind when Yun Kui had already finished tasting the last dish of Osmanthus Shark Fin.
She closed her eyes to clear her head, made sure she was still alive, and finally breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"This shark fin soup is truly delicious; no wonder the wealthy love it. It's a pity there wasn't a second bite... The pork tenderloin and candied water chestnuts were the best, and the fatty goose was also good. It would have been even better if it were a bit spicier..."
The tasting had strict portion sizes; each dish could not exceed five qian (a unit of weight) and could not be less than one qian (another unit of weight). She could not eat more or less whenever she wanted.
She had been on tenterhooks, fearing that one bite would cause her to bleed on the spot. Now that her life was saved, the delicious food she had swallowed whole still lingered on her lips and teeth, leaving her with an unforgettable aftertaste.
The Crown Prince, still recovering from his serious illness, had little appetite to begin with. He glanced indifferently at the food on the table and said listlessly, "Since there is no poison, I will reward you with this meal."
Yun Kui was extremely surprised. If she hadn't personally tested these dishes to ensure they were safe before giving them to her, she would have been even happier.
But she was just a lowly palace maid. Even if her master slapped her and then gave her a sweet treat, she could only obediently kneel down to express her gratitude.
When Cao Yuanlu returned, he saw her leaving with a sullen face and chuckled, "This girl isn't very bright. If the remaining dishes were poisoned, Caiju wouldn't have risked everything to assassinate His Highness."
The Crown Prince gave him a cool glance.
Cao Yuanlu hurriedly replied solemnly, "Caiju is already dead."
The crown prince was not surprised.
“She took the poison of the Seven-Day Powder in advance,” Cao Yuanlu continued. “Presumably, the person behind her gave her a deadline to assassinate Your Highness. Today is the last day. If she can’t kill you, she won’t get the antidote, and she will only face death. Your Highness… can you guess who is behind her?”
The prince twirled the black jade thumb ring on his finger and gave a cold laugh.
There are too many people in this world who want him dead, and now is the best time, but there are very few people in the capital who can concoct the Seven-Day Powder.
The prince quickly narrowed down several names to himself.
...
When Yun Kui returned to the side hall, palace servants began to bring in trays of food.
In the short time that followed, Yun Kui had been testing poison, living in fear, and even witnessing an assassination attempt. She was drenched in cold sweat and felt terrible.
She never expected that she would accidentally dream about an assassin.
However, upon closer reflection, it makes sense. Just like when she couldn't get out of bed in the morning, she often dreamed that she was already dressed, washed, and going to work in the kitchen, only to find herself still in bed when she woke up.
Caiju was perhaps the same; she was so nervous before the assassination that she kept thinking about how to poison him even in her sleep, and coincidentally, she was seen in his dream.
So this is what dreaming is all about!
She thought it was God's way of giving her a taste of life because she felt it was so dull, but she never expected that God would also be able to catch an assassin.
After a short rest, the fragrant food on the table stirred up her cravings again.
Yun Kui licked her lips, ate two pieces of pearl duck feet, a plate of jade dumplings, half a plate of phoenix tail shrimp balls, and finished the remaining shark fin.
The Crown Prince's meals were far too lavish. With her appetite, she could eat until she was stuffed at every meal and that would last her for three to five days, provided the food didn't spoil.
...
The news that Yun Kui had served the emperor last night and had earned merit by identifying the assassin today, and was rewarded with a table of delicacies by the crown prince, quickly spread throughout the Eastern Palace.
"Have you heard? She was the one who served the Crown Prince last night. She must be His Highness's first woman."
"But she only stayed in Chengguang Hall for less than a quarter of an hour before His Highness kicked her out."
"What's wrong with half an hour? Do you think all men are like those in picture books, all of them can be vigorous all night long? Half an hour is a lot! Besides, His Highness the Crown Prince's health isn't very good to begin with... Half an hour is all that can be done."
"She's always been good at getting things done. If she hadn't taken the initiative to serve His Highness medicine, she wouldn't have won the Empress's favor and been promoted to a palace maid to serve him in bed. Now she's really risen to a high position! In a few days, she might become the Empress herself."
"But given the Crown Prince's current health, how many days of good life can she possibly have?"
"Who knows, one day he might displease His Highness and slit her throat with a knife..."
The Crown Prince's rule was strict, and no one dared to speak recklessly outside, but they couldn't help but gossip in private behind closed doors.
Although the palace maids were also jealous and envious, and couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks, most of them adopted a wait-and-see attitude.
After all, the crown prince's life is hanging by a thread, and it's hard to say whether he will survive the month.
Others remained uninvolved and didn't think much of it, but the palace maid in charge of the bedchamber was somewhat indignant.
Now that Cao Yuanlu has returned, he is in charge of most of the duties of serving the Crown Prince personally. The Crown Prince does not like people to be close to him, so the accountant is only on duty today and is just helping out and waiting to be summoned at any time.
Several feet away, the crown prince heard her whispering to herself.
"What's so great about her? Is it just because she's prettier, has bigger breasts, and a smaller waist?"
"Does His Highness the Crown Prince like this type?"
Crown Prince: ...
As I closed my eyes, that delicate and beautiful face indeed appeared in my mind.
A faint scent of grass and flowers lingered in the air, and her small clothes clung tightly to her slender body, her soft, white flesh trembling slightly under his rough palms.
The faint, almost imperceptible sensation, when recalled, left him momentarily lost in thought.
The crown prince's eyes darkened.
Outside the palace gate, Cao Yuanlu heard his master summon him for the first time ever: "...Summon Yun Kui to come in and serve."
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