"Why... is there an ark shell in my dinner?"
Xiao Che's icy, knife-like question was like an invisible giant hammer that slammed into Liu Fu's skull, shattering all his luck and illusions.
He collapsed to the ground, trembling violently, his mind blank.
Ark shell!
It really is an ark shell!
He never imagined that his little tricks to curry favor and gain credit would actually... would cause such a monstrous disaster!
Fear overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.
He knew that violating the palace's greatest dietary taboo and harming the emperor's health was a grave crime!
He can't admit it!
Once he admits it, his life, and even his entire family, will be over!
His survival instinct kicked in, and his terrified mind began to work frantically.
"Injustice! Your Majesty! This servant is innocent!"
Liu Fu suddenly raised his head and cried out in tears. He kowtowed heavily, swearing oaths to clear himself of all charges.
“Even if this servant had the greatest audacity, I would never dare to tamper with His Majesty’s food! This…this sauce, although it was made under my supervision, was actually prepared by a new young cook in the Imperial Kitchen! It must have been that little beast who, with his unclean hands, obtained this filthy substance from somewhere and offended His Majesty! It must have been him!”
Without hesitation, he shifted all the blame onto a non-existent cook.
Sacrificing a small pawn to save his own "chariot" was a survival rule he had mastered through years of experience in the palace.
As long as there is no way to prove him dead, what can anyone do to him?
Xiao Che was currently burning with rage from the excruciating itching on the back of his hand, and had no patience to listen to his explanation.
In his view, no matter whose fault it was, he, as the head of the imperial kitchen, was to blame!
"A little cook?" Xiao Che's eyes flashed with murderous intent. He sneered, "Fine, very well!"
He abruptly waved his hand and shouted sternly at the guards outside the door:
"Guards! Drag that little cook from the imperial kitchen who's making the sauces out! Execute him on the spot! And bring that derelict lackey here..."
Just as Xiao Che was about to order Liu Fu to be dealt with as well, a weak voice with a sob in it suddenly broke in.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
Lin Wanwan, who had been kneeling on the ground trembling like a quail, suddenly seemed to be terrified and rushed over with tears streaming down her face, grabbing Xiao Che's sleeve.
Her strength was negligible, almost insignificant, yet she successfully stopped Xiao Che from uttering the command he was about to give.
Xiao Che lowered his head impatiently, looking at the woman who was crying her eyes out and whose face was covered in tears, and his brows furrowed tightly.
Upon seeing this, Liu Fu was overjoyed!
He thought the empress was terrified and wanted to plead for him!
If the Empress speaks up, His Majesty might spare her punishment out of consideration for her!
However, he never expected that the Empress's next words would not plead for him, but instead... plunge him into an abyss of no return.
Lin Wanwan didn't look at Liu Fu. She just clung tightly to Xiao Che's sleeve, her tear-filled face looking up as she cried uncontrollably.
She didn't plead for anyone; she was just... desperately blaming herself.
"Your Majesty... Waaah... It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault!"
She cried her heart out, as if she had committed a grave sin.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty shouldn't have spoken out of turn, shouldn't have said I wanted to try Chief Steward Liu's cooking, and even more so... shouldn't have asked the Imperial Kitchen to 'innovate' dishes for you! It was Your Majesty's fault that gave those cunning villains... an opportunity to take advantage of you!"
While crying, she took all the blame for the incident upon herself, putting on an appearance of extreme guilt and self-reproach.
Liu Fu was taken aback, and a bad feeling rose in his heart.
Seeing her like this, Xiao Che's anger subsided a bit, and his tone softened: "This matter has nothing to do with you; it's the servants' incompetence."
"No! It's related! How could it be unrelated?"
Lin Wanwan shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face like beads from a broken string.
Her tone suddenly shifted, her voice filled with an extreme, lingering fear.
"Your Majesty, what I... what I'm afraid of isn't this!"
"What I fear is..." She looked at Xiao Che, her tear-filled eyes filled with terror, "Today, that scoundrel only added clams to the sauce, which caused Your Majesty's allergy. But... but what if tomorrow he adds arsenic? Or arsenic?! What if it's real poison?!"
These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Xiao Che's anger, instantly calming him down and making the hairs on the back of his head stand on end!
Seeing this, Lin Wanwan knew the time was right and immediately pressed her advantage.
In an almost accusatory and indignant tone, she shifted the blame from the personal mistake of a "junior cook" to the management level of the entire imperial kitchen!
"Has the management of the imperial kitchen become so lax?!"
"If the highest-ranking cook can arbitrarily and privately alter His Majesty's dishes without any explicit instructions, what about others? Can't others do the same?"
"This is simply...this is simply treating His Majesty's health and safety as a joke!"
“If what happened today is not severely punished, if the root cause is not eradicated, then what guarantee is there for His Majesty’s safety?! Your Majesty… Your Majesty dares not think about it! Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine! Waaah…”
Lin Wanwan's words were heartbreaking and piercing!
She seemed to be blaming herself and feeling lingering fear, but in reality, every word she uttered was subtly blocking all of Liu Fu's escape routes!
She categorized a simple "servant's mistake" as a serious "systemic management loophole"!
Find a cook to be a scapegoat?
Can.
But you, Liu Fu, as the head of the Imperial Kitchen, failed to govern strictly and were lax in your management, which allowed unscrupulous people to take advantage of the situation and almost caused a terrible disaster! You cannot shirk this "leadership responsibility" no matter what!
Upon hearing Lin Wanwan's words, Liu Fu felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, and the last glimmer of hope in his eyes was completely extinguished.
It's over.
He knew that this time, he was completely finished.
After hearing Lin Wanwan's words, Xiao Che's face was beyond ashen.
It was a terrifying expression, so somber it seemed to drip with gloom.
Lin Wanwan's words, every single one, struck him precisely and fiercely in the heart!
He's got it!
He thought of that bowl of herbal soup, which he had been drinking day after day for countless years!
yes!
Today, even a junior chef can manipulate the sauce.
Then what about those servants who were responsible for decocting and preparing his medicine? Were they also bribed and tampered with his medicine?
New grudges and old hatreds surged into his heart like a volcano at this moment!
His eyes, which were already red from an allergic reaction, were now bloodshot from the overwhelming rage and murderous intent!
He looked at Liu Fu, who was now trembling like a lump of mud on the ground, and his eyes were as cold as a knife coated with deadly poison.
The volcano eruption emoji above his head disappeared instantly.
Instead, there is a cold, black-and-white image of the Grim Reaper with a sinister grin.
[You're finished.jpg]
Xiao Che slowly, very slowly, curled the corners of his mouth, revealing an extremely cruel and cold smile.
He spoke softly, in a voice that was almost a whisper, yet clear enough for everyone present to hear:
"Lax management?"
"I see that your good days in the palace are over, Liu Fu!"
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