Zhong Muyu didn't want to explain it too complicatedly, so she simply said, "This stuff is poisonous. If you eat too much of it, you'll become addicted and it can kill you."
Upon hearing this, the two were both startled: "That powerful?"
"Extremely serious, beyond cure."
Chengfeng's expression hardened: "It's so serious, we must report it to the authorities immediately!"
Zhong Muyu said, "These things are rare, and even the government may not recognize them. The fact that they were able to acquire so many suggests that they have established business relationships with them. It seems that we need to tighten control over foreign merchant ships in the future. In any case, we need to wait for Lu Ziyuan to return and discuss this matter in detail."
"Your Highness is absolutely right. I was rash."
Zaochun said smugly, "It seems that Xihe Restaurant will use any underhanded means to retain customers. If this matter blows up, not only will they have to close down the restaurant, but all the people involved will also go to jail!"
"That's right, after all, this thing is extremely dangerous."
Zhong Muyu gestured for Zaochun to deal with these things. Just as Zaochun was about to tidy up, she suddenly picked up a few grains and seemed to have discovered something.
"What is this? Is it sand? If it's sand, how come there's so much?"
"What is that?"
Zhong Muyu curiously leaned closer.
"Your Highness, look."
In early spring, he picked out about ten black things from the condiment stand and placed them in Zhong Muyu's hand.
The things were so small and few that they didn't even notice them.
Zhong Muyu picked it up and smelled it, then placed it in front of Chengfeng: "It doesn't look like a seasoning, Chengfeng, come and take a look."
To everyone's surprise, Chengfeng was shocked after just one glance: "This is!"
What is it?
"Your Highness, this is gunpowder!"
Zhong Muyu asked in disbelief, "Are you sure?"
“Absolutely true. I have served Your Highness in the army for many years, so I naturally recognize gunpowder!”
"That's strange. Why would they mix gunpowder into the seasonings?"
As Chengfeng pondered the situation, a bold guess suddenly flashed through his mind: "Your Highness, perhaps they hid the gunpowder under the seasonings. Since I took the seasonings from the top, I could only get a little bit of gunpowder mixed in with them."
"So that's why the spice shop was located in such a remote place. Turns out they were secretly storing gunpowder. But why were they storing gunpowder?"
Chengfeng seemed to have thought of something, and his expression turned frightening: "I'm afraid... it's a very serious matter..."
Early Spring was startled: "Chengfeng, don't scare us."
"Your Highness! This matter is of utmost importance. I cannot remain by your side any longer and must immediately proceed to Ling'an County to report to the Prince!"
"Okay, go ahead."
Zhong Muyu agreed without hesitation. The presence of gunpowder in a small restaurant—it was obvious what was going on behind the scenes.
Not long after Chengfeng left, Xihe Restaurant also discovered a problem.
To prevent others from seeing them transporting gunpowder, people first moved the food out, and then secretly moved the rest of the items to an underground chamber.
Just as the servants were preparing to separate the seasonings and gunpowder, a mysterious man suddenly appeared.
"Young master, what brings you here?"
When Manager Luo saw the visitor, he walked over cautiously.
"Is everything arranged?"
"Don't worry, young master, everything is going smoothly, just like before."
"Smoothly? I doubt it."
The man sneered and walked to one of the sacks. He saw that the sack, which had been sewn shut, now had a small tear the size of a fingernail.
The slit was cut with a knife. If it were an ordinary spice bag, no one would notice, but they weren't transporting spices, so they were naturally much more cautious than others.
The man noticed the bag as soon as he came in.
Manager Luo was shocked when he saw it: "This! Could it have been done by some greedy servant?"
The man didn't reply, but instructed his men to check the other bags and boxes.
The end result was that the box was fine, but two other bags had almost been torn open.
Knowing the situation was bad, Manager Luo quickly stopped the servants from working and called out all the servants who were transporting ingredients.
The man asked, "Have you seen any strange people along the way?"
The servants looked at each other and all indicated that they had none.
The man pondered, "Xiangmanyuan and the restaurant are not far apart. The person who made the move either infiltrated Xiangmanyuan or did it on the way. Either way, their strength should not be underestimated. We may have already been exposed."
Manager Luo was already feeling very anxious: "Then I'll take some men to Xiangmanyuan now and see if there are any clues."
"No need, you stay here, I'll have my men investigate."
The man gestured to his attendant behind him, who immediately obeyed and led the men to Xiangmanyuan.
After questioning and searching to ensure there were no undercover agents in Xiangmanyuan, the group returned.
After the attendant reported the matter, he said worriedly, "Young master, the only possibility now is that we were discovered on the road. I wonder who has the audacity to do this."
None of them could understand why they had gone wrong, given how discreetly they had handled the matter.
At this moment, the man remembered Linggang Restaurant, which had always been their competitor.
Could it be...?
Impossible. He had also had people intentionally or unintentionally monitor them, and apart from being Lu Ziyuan's business, there were no problems with Linggang Restaurant.
But he was still worried.
"Dillon, you will personally monitor the Linggang Restaurant. Report back immediately if anything unusual happens."
The man gave instructions to his subordinates.
Meanwhile, at Linggang Restaurant, Zhong Muyu was more worried about the background of Xihe Restaurant across the street.
In her eyes, anyone who could do that was no different from a terrorist.
Now, all they hope for is that Chengfeng will bring Lu Ziyuan back quickly, so that they won't notice and move away early.
At night, only the Linggang Restaurant remains brightly lit.
These things were too wondrous for Dillon to get too close, but as a nearly omnipotent subordinate, none of them posed a challenge for him.
He returned quickly and reported the situation.
The man stroked the folding fan in his hand, his eyes narrowing dangerously: "That guard is gone."
That was Lu Ziyuan's subordinate, his strength goes without saying. He suddenly disappeared, so what's there to think about?
"It really was them. That guard should have already gone to find Lu Ziyuan. Young Master, we must move everything before Lu Ziyuan returns!"
"Okay, hurry up and get it done, try to move everything out by tomorrow."
"Don't worry, young master, our men are always on standby."
But the man hesitated to put his mind at ease.
That Zhong Muyu is no ordinary person.
Xihe Restaurant's response was brilliant, even ingenious and efficient, but they never expected that they would be defeated by high technology.
This is thanks to Zhong Muyu's fondness for watching surveillance footage.
The front hall, back courtyard, and back entrance of Linggang Restaurant were all equipped with tiny surveillance cameras, and upon inspection, the problem was immediately apparent.
Dillon was already very cautious. Each surveillance camera could only capture a small part of him, and his face was not clearly visible. But when you put them together, even a fool would know that someone was up to no good.
Zhong Muyu immediately stood up, indicating that the other party was also very fast.
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