Chapter 3 Why is he looking at me like that while I'm serving food? Could it be that he's taken a liking to me...?
Adding something to the emperor's food was no simple matter.
Su Panyue had been working in the Imperial Kitchen for a while, but she was just a maid who did odd jobs and helped out. The real chefs were all recruited from all over the country, and there was absolutely no chance for a maid like her to get involved.
Her only chance to access the imperial cuisine was to try and get a chance to deliver meals to the emperor.
In her previous life, she spent half a year in the palace before she had this one chance, and she died because of it.
Su Panyue felt she was developing psychological trauma, but after hesitating for two days, she still took the initiative to talk to the eunuch who came to collect her meals.
"You've worked hard, Eunuch. Is His Majesty also dining in the Hall of Mental Cultivation today?" Su Panyue asked with a smile.
You can't hit someone who's smiling, let alone a beautiful woman.
The young eunuch casually replied, "Yes, I need to send it over quickly."
"Please wait a moment, Father-in-law. The kitchen has prepared quite a lot of dishes today. Let me help you deliver them," Su Panyue said sincerely.
The young eunuch looked her up and down, and was about to refuse when Su Panyue took out a silver ingot from her sleeve and handed it to him, her watery eyes looking at him hopefully.
The young eunuch weighed the silver ingot in his hand, put it away discreetly, and said to her, "I happen to need someone's help. You're quite perceptive, girl. In that case, hurry up and get ready to come with me."
Su Panyue quietly touched the porcelain bottle in her sleeve before saying, "No need to pack anymore, Eunuch, let's go quickly, don't keep His Majesty waiting."
The young eunuch glanced hesitantly at her plain palace maid's clothes, wondering why she would dress like that to seduce His Majesty. He turned his gaze back to her beautiful and delicate face, shut his mouth, and picked up the food box to lead the way.
Su Panyue followed behind him, walking once again on the path to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, three ministers knelt, shouting things like "seeking peace and ending the war." Su Panyue understood immediately; she had also fought a war in her previous life, which ended two months later.
She waited at the door for a short while before a round, old eunuch came out. She recognized him; he was the chief eunuch by His Majesty's side, and it was said that he had watched His Majesty grow up, so his status was extraordinary.
"Eunuch Fu, would His Majesty like to have his meal now?" the young eunuch asked as he stepped forward.
"Go and prepare the meal," said Eunuch Fu.
"Alright, alright." The little eunuch said and walked inside. Su Panyue followed behind him with her head down, but was stopped by Eunuch Fu.
"Who are you?" Eunuch Fu asked, glancing at her.
"Greetings, Eunuch Fu. I am a palace maid from the Imperial Kitchen. There are many dishes today, so I'm here to help set the table," Su Panyue quickly explained.
"Give it to me." Eunuch Fu knew that His Majesty disliked being served by palace maids, so he tried to take the food box.
Su Panyue panicked. The Gu pill hadn't been administered yet; she couldn't let all her efforts go to waste. She was clutching the food box, trying to think of a solution.
A voice came from inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation: "So noisy." It was tinged with impatience.
"His Majesty is about to have his meal. Gentlemen, please come with me." Eunuch Fu, disregarding everything else, gave a wink to the guards and dragged the three kneeling officials away.
Taking advantage of his departure, Su Panyue hurriedly entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The layout of the hall was exactly the same as when she came in her previous life, except that there was a man sitting by the table, with one leg bent and leaning back in a chair with gold-edged dragon patterns, in a lazy posture.
Several memorials were still lying on the ground. Su Panyue lowered her head and carefully walked around them, not daring to look up at the man sitting next to her.
The emperor usually dined at a round table made of gold-threaded wood inside the room. She deliberately chose a spot where her back was to him and stopped, taking plate after plate of delicacies from the food box. Her movements seemed careful, but in reality, she was looking for an opportunity to poison him.
Finally, she put the red Gu pill into the walnut meat and yam, and the green Gu pill into the braised gold and silver thread. The medicine dissolved in water without leaving a trace.
With the mission accomplished, Su Panyue breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside with her head down.
Next, all she had to do was watch His Majesty eat those two dishes, but she forgot an important step before the emperor ate—serving him his meal.
The young eunuch who brought her here skillfully took out silver needles and tested each poison in front of the emperor, making Su Panyue's heart jump again.
Fortunately, the silver needles did not change color throughout the process. Next, someone would come to serve the meal, and His Majesty could only eat after the servants had eaten and everything was fine.
Su Panyue immediately felt a chill for the little eunuch and began to think of ways to prevent him from eating the two dishes at the same time. She wanted to complete her mission, but she didn't want to implicate innocent people.
Seeing the young eunuch try making the braised gold and silver threads, Su Panyue took a deep breath and took two steps forward: "Let me do it."
Before the eunuch could react, she swiftly took a bite of the walnut and yam.
Her sudden movement drew the Emperor's attention. His deep eyes swept over her casually, with a hint of a half-smile.
Su Panyue immediately stepped aside respectfully and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, please have your meal."
"Didn't you say you were going to serve me meals?" The man's deep voice startled Su Panyue, and when she turned her head, she saw him looking at her.
"Yes." Su Panyue reluctantly picked up her chopsticks again and put some food into the emperor's bowl.
Su Panyue had previously heard Aunt Cui say that serving food required a keen eye; one had to serve food promptly, but not too much, and constantly observe the man's expression. One had to give him the dish he wanted with just a glance.
Good heavens, what is this man doing with such a blank expression? How can you tell what he likes or dislikes?
Su Panyue was internally devastated, but on the surface she was obedient, putting her favorite food on his plate and adding a little of the two dishes that had been seasoned, as if afraid he wouldn't eat.
However, this man, with his tall stature, ate very little. Su Panyue had only picked up three rounds of food when she noticed he stopped eating.
She stopped what she was doing and thought to herself:
We work hard all day, and they only eat a couple of bites. What a waste!
Emperor Xie Lanzhou suddenly heard a woman's voice and turned his head to look at her in surprise.
Why is he looking at me like that? Could it be that he's interested in me?
It was the voice of that little palace maid, but she didn't speak and stood quietly to the side.
Xie Lanzhou raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering if what he had heard was the palace maid's inner thoughts.
"Pour me some water," he ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Su Panyue replied respectfully, picking up the teapot beside her to pour him water.
At the same time, he was internally complaining.
[Can't the cup just pour itself when it's right next to you? I'll scald you to death! Hey, is this teapot made of jade? So extravagant!]
Xie Lanzhou is now certain that she did indeed hear the palace maid's thoughts. Although she doesn't know why, she is truly audacious.
He slowly picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.
Wow, his Adam's apple is huge! I wonder how big it is...
Xie Lanzhou nearly choked on his water. He looked up at the palace maid and asked coolly, "What's your name?"
"Ah, Your Majesty, my name is Su Panyue."
"No way, what does he mean by this? Could he actually be interested in me?"
Xie Lanzhou remained silent, and an eerie silence fell over the hall.
Su Panyue observed his expressionless face, which was practically flawless.
[No, nobody's ever said the emperor was this handsome!]
Upon hearing the palace maid's inner thoughts, Xie Lanzhou frowned almost imperceptibly and immediately lost interest.
She's just another vulgar woman.
At this moment, Eunuch Fu returned, bowed, and replied, "Your Majesty, I have already silenced those three censors."
Xie Lanzhou nodded and got up to go to the back hall.
Su Panyue watched his retreating figure, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
[She really has a great figure with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, what a pity!]
Upon hearing her thoughts, the man who was about to go around to the screen suddenly stopped, turned around, and saw the palace maid staring blankly at him.
Ha, what is she regretting? Xie Lanzhou only glanced at her coldly before turning away.
Su Panyue was startled by the intimidating gaze. The little eunuch beside her tugged at her sleeve, and the two of them began to clear the dishes from the table.
On the way back, Su Panyue couldn't help but ask the young eunuch, "Is His Majesty like this every day..."
"Uh, cold-hearted?" Su Panyue carefully considered her words.
The little eunuch gave her a look that said nothing at all.
"Have you always been the one serving His Majesty his meals? What does His Majesty like to eat?" Su Panyue continued to ask.
The young eunuch replied this time, "I was just transferred here to serve meals, and I don't know how long I'll be able to do it. I just hope there will be fewer people who are courting death."
He sighed as he spoke, "As for preferences, how could we servants possibly fathom them?"
Su Panyue looked at him with sympathy.
Back in the Imperial Kitchen, she immediately threw away the two plates of leftover food that had been served.
When she wanted to eat something, she felt a severe stomachache, so she told Aunt Cui and went back to her room.
She thought it was her period coming, so she didn't pay attention and lay on the bed pretending nothing was wrong. She just wanted her body to know who was in charge.
Thinking this to herself in a comforting way, she fell asleep without realizing it.
When I woke up the next day, my period hadn't come, and my stomach didn't hurt anymore.
Su Panyue had a great appetite and ate an extra bowl of rice than usual.
Aunt Cui came in from outside, her expression somewhat grave.
Su Panyue asked, "What's wrong with Auntie?"
"I heard that His Majesty summoned the imperial physician last night," said Aunt Cui, glancing around the room.
Su Panyue felt a little guilty, but still pretended to be calm and asked, "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"
"It's still unknown, but our Imperial Kitchen needs to be prepared." Aunt Cui didn't specify what preparations were needed, but simply sat down listlessly to the side.
Su Panyue's heart pounded. Recalling her abdominal pain from last night, she began to worry whether the medicine she had given her yesterday had worked.
He then suspected that the guard Sun Shi might have lied to him, that even consuming just one type of Gu pill could be fatal.
Thinking this, Su Panyue felt her stomach hurt again. Was she going to die again?
She pouted, tears welling up in her eyes, feeling deeply wronged.
But she was more unwilling to accept it. After thinking for a moment, she wiped away her tears behind Aunt Cui's back and slipped out through the back door of the Imperial Kitchen.
She had never walked so fast before. She needed to find Sun Shi and get to the bottom of things. If he had truly lied to her, and the Gu pill was poisonous once ingested, then she…
Su Panyue pulled a silver hairpin from her hair, held it in her hand, and hid it in her sleeve.
She died an unclear death in her past life, so in this life she must die knowing the truth and die a quick and painless death!
With that thought in mind, she moved with incredible speed and soon arrived near the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where the emperor held meetings during the day.
All she knew was that Sun Shi was an imperial bodyguard and must be constantly around the emperor, but where exactly was he?
Su Panyue stood behind the two-person-high stone lion in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, peeking out and not noticing when the crabapple blossom tucked in her hair had fallen to her feet.
She was intently searching for Sun Shi's figure among the distant guards when she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, as if a faint scent of ambergris was wafting over.
She slowly turned around and saw a man standing a step away, looking down at the fallen crabapple blossoms on the ground.
She knelt down abruptly: "This servant greets Your Majesty."
A note from the author:
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Yes, the female lead in this book is another adorable little yellow girl [covering face and peeking], full of witty remarks, so stay tuned!
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