Chapter 21, Section 14 of the Imperial Kitchen
When Princess Han was informed that she was to go to the palace to see Prince Han one last time, she felt as if the sky had fallen. Completely disregarding her composure, she grabbed the prince and hugged the princess, running all the way to the front of the Xuanyuan Hall. Even the eunuch leading the way could hardly keep up with her.
"Mother, you run so fast! This is the first time I've ever seen you run so fast!" Although the prince was also panting heavily, he found it very amusing and grabbed Princess Han's finger, shaking it.
"Mother, take a rest..." The little princess wanted to wipe her mother's sweat, but found that no matter how much she wiped, she couldn't wipe it all away, as water kept running down her mother's face.
Princess Han looked up, trying to see the palace gate clearly, but everything in front of her was blurry. Tears that she could no longer hold back blocked her vision.
Perhaps it's just a misconception, or maybe things will get better? Princess Han's heart pounded like a drum. She breathed heavily, desperately trying to encourage herself.
But just as she took a step, the eunuch who had led the way into the hall suddenly screamed and ran out, shouting, "Assassin! Assassin!!"
Upon hearing the commotion, the guards on duty or patrolling nearby immediately rushed into the palace.
Before she could catch her breath, Princess Han was struck by the devastating news and immediately fainted.
"Mother—"
"Ouch, Zhen'er fell! Waaaaah, Mother—"
Inside the hall, the guards quickly searched and found many palace servants frozen in place, offering no response. They did not appear to be injured, but rather seemed to have been acupunctured and unable to move.
One of the servants, dressed in dark robes, was half-squatting in front of a basin of water. His slightly lowered eyes were golden, reflecting the candlelight and the water's shimmering light, giving the impression that they were subtly moving.
The guards waved in front of him, but he still didn't react.
The guards had no choice but to push further into the bedroom. As soon as they entered, they saw several palace maids and servants lying on the ground. Their hearts jumped into their throats, and they became extremely vigilant.
Upon closer inspection, they found the Prince of Han lying peacefully on the bed with his eyes closed. The guards quickly surrounded the bed and, after checking the surroundings, sent someone to reach under the Prince of Han's nose.
A gentle, even warmth was sprayed onto my knuckles.
The guard withdrew his hand, looking astonished. Everyone assumed he was dead and looked regretful. But then the guard checked his pulse again and exclaimed excitedly, "Prince Han is still alive!! What are you standing there for? Quickly go to the Imperial Hospital and find a physician. That old physician outside can't move him!"
"...What did you say?!" Now it was the others' turn to be stunned.
Then came a cacophony of clattering and clanging. Amidst the chaos, a figure swiftly darted out of the Xuanyuan Palace, attracting no attention. A short while later, the palace servants who had been unable to move suddenly returned to normal, and even the Cold Prince slowly awoke.
Zhao Kelin, who had just left but was called back, took the pulse and administered acupuncture to Prince Han. To his surprise, he discovered that the poison in Prince Han's body had disappeared, and he showed no signs of poisoning at all. Even the unconscious Princess Han beside him looked more like a patient than he did.
"How could the poison be neutralized so completely? The poison had already spread throughout his body. Even with a detoxifying pill, it wouldn't be possible..." Zhao Kelin murmured.
The other two imperial physicians were even more skeptical. Even if the diagnosis came from the usually reliable Imperial Physician Zhao, how could the poison have disappeared on its own? However, after personally examining the body, they found that there was indeed no poison to be found in the Prince of Han's body, and they couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief.
"Strange, very strange! Oh, I did not mean that Your Highness should be cured by medicine. I was wrong, I was wrong."
The Prince of Han smiled, indicating that he was fine. He felt full of energy as soon as he woke up, unlike before when he had difficulty breathing. He thought it was just a temporary respite before death, but the imperial physicians all said that he was alright.
Soon Princess Han also woke up, and the whole family hugged each other and wept with joy.
Outside the palace, Zhen Su, dressed in a dark robe and hiding in a secluded spot, listened to the harmonious scene of the Han King's family. He looked down at the dark veins on his palm and smiled with satisfaction.
Unexpectedly, this poison-absorbing technique was so effective. After breaking through to the mid-stage of the Poison Mastery realm, he quickly deciphered the spells available for mid-stage study. He then discovered a spell called Poison Absorption, which could absorb poison from others, whether they were naturally poisonous creatures or poisoned individuals. It could be achieved by placing the Laogong acupoint on the palm of his hand where the poison was concentrated.
He had just visited the rooms of a Noble Consort and a Talented Lady. Both of them, like the Prince of Han, had been poisoned and were in extremely bad condition. However, after he secretly removed the poison from their bodies, they both recovered their health.
Now, with the ink he obtained from the Cold King, his palms are filled with a thick layer of black ink, which he needs to refine as soon as possible.
Just then, Shinju noticed that the imperial procession was heading this way. To avoid being discovered by the perceptive emperor, he immediately turned around and left in the opposite direction.
Shortly after arriving at the Xuanyuan Palace, King Zhen sensed a familiar aura lingering within. He glanced around discreetly but couldn't find the figure he remembered. King Zhen's eyes darkened, and he stepped into the bedchamber.
.
The following day, the palace returned to normal, a stark contrast to the somber and gloomy atmosphere of the previous day. In some places, there was even a festive mood, especially in the Bureau of Ceremonial Affairs.
When Manager Chao was imprisoned in the torture chamber, Shan Yuan'an, who was also a manager, naturally saw his status rise, and the eunuchs waiting for their assignments rushed to curry favor with him.
After the "heavy stone" was removed, Manager Shan was extremely relieved, smiling and chatting as he slowly strolled back to his resting cubicle.
As soon as he entered, he noticed someone leaning against the door out of the corner of his eye. He immediately stopped smiling and prepared to kneel down.
"No need to kneel, get up." The King of Zhen crossed his arms and, using his tall stature, glanced down at him.
"Yes." Steward Shan stood respectfully to the side.
"How is the investigation going?" the Poison King asked.
"Previously, we only found out that someone in the Imperial Medical Academy was in charge of preparing poisons, but this time the other party is suspected of also stealing the antidote pills. Presumably, we will be able to identify the specific person within two days..."
The King of Zhen listened to the report from Chief Steward Shan without uttering a single word, which made Chief Steward Shan extremely uneasy.
After thinking for a moment, the official in charge of the banquet tried to say, "The case of poisoning at this banquet is very strange. I believe that the poison was still intended for Your Majesty, but Your Majesty's health does not seem to be affected."
The King of Zhen's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he remained silent.
"I wonder if they're trying to highlight Xiao Qingzi's special status so that Your Majesty will trust him and give him important responsibilities." The official's tone turned serious. "I believe we must be wary of Xiao Qingzi."
"..." The image of the boy greedily tasting the dishes in front of him flashed through the mind of the Prince of Zhen. He vaguely wanted to refute something, but he was at a loss for words and gave up. Instead, he casually said, "I don't care whether he was brought into the palace by Pan the traitor, nor do I care what his purpose was in asking to go to the Imperial Kitchen. Anyway, we must not let them sacrifice him."
Manager Shan was shocked. Even after being a smiling tiger for so many years, he couldn't quite keep up the act.
How foolish! Your Majesty, can't you value your own safety more? Don't be such a tyrant! Sigh, it seems that in the Emperor's eyes, Xiao Qingzi's importance will only increase further…
The official managed to force a smile and accepted the order, saying, "Your subject will certainly do his utmost, even at the cost of his life."
After thinking for a while, Steward Shan suggested, "Why not arrange for another person to serve the food and taste the dishes with Xiao Qingzi? With more variables, Pan's side will definitely be more constrained."
This move sounded quite feasible, but King Zhen inexplicably felt something was amiss, though he eventually nodded in agreement.
"Then leave this matter to me. I will certainly select a candidate that will satisfy Your Majesty!"
.
Several days later, at the Imperial Kitchen.
The yamen was bustling with activity today, but Uncle Wu's constant sighing and lamenting seemed particularly out of place.
Shinju hasn't managed to get any poison these past few days. He's thinking that the person behind this has retreated too quickly. Even Guan Shiyi has become much more cautious. Apart from going home after being given a key in the palace, he's hardly left the Imperial Hospital.
So he and Uncle Wu ate the snow-white red bean paste together, using the sweet treat to soothe their wounded hearts.
Snow-white red bean paste is a dessert made by whipping egg whites into a paste, coating red bean paste balls, and then deep-frying them. Visually, it resembles a fluffy white snowball. Upon tasting, it's soft and fluffy like cotton, yet dense and delicate in the center, offering a sweet but not cloying flavor with a pleasant red bean aroma.
"Is this very troublesome to make?" Masaya asked, licking the sugar off his lips.
"That's how imperial cuisine is; there are so many steps involved, and it's hard to make a good finished product on the first try, but we're used to it. This snow-white red bean paste is not easy to fry until it's pure white."
But what they eat has no color other than white.
At this point, Uncle Wu straightened his back slightly with a hint of pride. Shinju caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but smile.
When Uncle Wu saw that Shinju was smiling, he realized that this was to encourage him. So he poured out his heart to Shinju, "Hey, I'm not upset about the new batch of people in the bureau. You should have heard about it, Xiao Qingzi. Before, several of the prince and his concubines were poisoned. Their condition was quite critical, but for some reason, they got better later."
Masakatsu glanced at Uncle Wu and asked, "Wasn't it because the Imperial Hospital gave them detoxifying pills in time?"
“If there really is something with such miraculous effects, why not use it sooner? If there really is such an antidote, why can’t it be used on Consort Shao…” Uncle Wu became more and more dejected as he spoke, his long, white eyebrows drooping.
Consort Shao… Seeing Uncle Wu mention this consort again, Zhen Su silently made a mental note of it. He'd better go and check on her sometime.
“Perhaps one day, a turning point will come,” Shinjuku said.
"I hope so." Uncle Wu sighed, then picked up two small stools and went back to the imperial kitchen.
As soon as he entered, Uncle Wu bumped into a tall, burly man who was like a doorway. The man's chest was thick and hard, and the impact made Uncle Wu's nose hurt. But before Uncle Wu could even utter a half-finished "Ouch," the man rushed towards him like a whirlwind. Uncle Wu's wheat-colored hands were at a loss for what to do, and finally they were nervously clasped together. He called out in a trembling voice, "Master!"
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