Li Xuanji took a bite, then immediately spat it out, his expression extremely complicated.
"It's not your fault you don't recognize it. This is a type of chestnut from the Yun Kingdom. It can cause hallucinations and addiction, and long-term use can make people lose their minds."
"I think about this all day long."
Manager Zhu slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Oh my, I knew it! I ate it once, how could I keep thinking about it every day? I thought it was because it tasted so good!"
After saying that, he knelt down with a thud, moved to a spot not far from Murong Yue's bed, and banged his head on the ground with loud thuds.
"Your Majesty, it is all my fault."
"Your Majesty, I beg for death. This servant should not..."
The bed curtains were pulled back, and Murong Yue sat up. She wasn't as angry as before because she now knew that the poison wasn't released by these people, and she suppressed her desire to leave.
"Kill the person who poisoned him."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Qi Yuan immediately clasped his hands in salute and replied.
The poison in the dish couldn't possibly be from the ingredients, but just to be on the safe side, Chief Steward Zhu still sent Lord Qi and the Imperial Advisor to the Imperial Kitchen.
They gathered everyone together again and searched the place thoroughly once more.
When His Majesty fainted last time, the Imperial Kitchen had already conducted a thorough investigation.
The palace servants, thinking they wouldn't be searched again before the new year, became somewhat complacent.
Sure enough, Qi Yuan discovered some problems, but compared to poisoning, they were insignificant.
A palace maid had hidden an erotic painting.
A young eunuch had hidden two small white powdered undergarments.
A brief interrogation revealed that the two were a couple, commonly known as "dating each other".
Steward Zhu was so angry he laughed. "This is a small matter, but you shouldn't have kept it a secret."
"The Emperor Emeritus has rules that if a couple becomes a 'couple,' they must report to their supervisor and cannot work in the same courtyard."
"Are you trying to get me to kick you all out of the palace by breaking the rules like this?"
The young eunuch immediately knelt down and moved in front of Chief Eunuch Zhu and Qi Yuan.
He kowtowed and begged for mercy, saying, "This servant knows he was wrong, this servant knows he was wrong."
“Grandpa, I am an orphan. My aunt sold me to a black kiln. It was His Majesty who led people to rescue me back then.”
“This servant has been imprisoned in the water dungeon for too long, and his manhood is ruined. He might as well go to the palace to repay his debt of gratitude.”
"What happened between this servant and Xiao Ying was all this servant's fault. Please, Grandfather and Lord Qi, don't send us away."
"We can go to the Department of Punishments to be punished."
Indeed, there were many eunuchs and maids in the palace before. The late empress had many concubines and many children, and the growing number of palace staff consumed a lot of resources.
After the retired emperor ascended the throne, he immediately dismissed all of the late emperor's harem.
Only a few masters remained in the palace; four-fifths of the eunuchs and maids were gone.
The palace expenses have decreased significantly, and the rules have also changed.
Men and women can eat together, but they must not be in the same courtyard or department.
Murong Gan wasn't stupid. A person without roots has no worldly desires; at most, he's greedy for money.
Therefore, the eunuch system had to be preserved, but they could be allowed to live better lives and be paired with palace maids who did not want to leave the palace. This made them more devoted to the palace.
Moreover, it can sometimes become a weakness.
Why not?
Unfortunately, they failed to report the food consumption this time, and His Majesty was poisoned again.
However, this matter had nothing to do with His Majesty, so Qi Yuan didn't care. He took Chief Steward Zhu and the Imperial Advisor and headed straight for the spicy hot pot restaurant in the capital.
Li Xuanji's eyes were terrifyingly deep. "Back then, when I accompanied the Emperor Emeritus to Yun Kingdom for training, we encountered this kind of chestnut. The people there would put a little bit in their cooking and soups, which the Emperor Emeritus strongly disliked."
"He even took me there once and told me to remember the taste."
He turned to look at Qi Yuan, "The Emperor Emeritus said that this kind of thing must never appear in Qing Kingdom, no matter what."
"He also said... if the world is unified in the future, the first thing he will do is burn this thing."
Qi Yuan gripped the reins tightly.
His lips were pursed into a thin line.
Whether this thing appeared directly in the palace or in the capital, it was his responsibility.
Li Xuanji followed behind on horseback, the snow piled up by the roadside being kicked up by the horse's hooves.
Actually, there was something he didn't say. The retired emperor had said that this stuff could be used as medicine, but he couldn't find a way to make it work, so he might as well destroy it.
The sound of the Imperial Guards running in unison carried far down the street.
Xiao Yuanshuang was in the most famous silk shop in the capital when she was attracted by the sound. She got up and looked at Qi Yuan, who was riding at the front.
Beneath the fox fur cloak, her small, palm-sized face was framed by phoenix eyes that followed Qi Yuan's figure.
The boss could tell what was going on just by looking at her expression.
He took the initiative to introduce them, saying, "This young lady is from the south, right? And that gentleman is Lord Qi, the commander of the Imperial Guards."
"He enjoys the deep trust of His Majesty."
That's all I'll say; I'll leave it at that.
They come from the south, they're not locals, yet they want to be the favorites of our Emperor?
What are you thinking about?
Xiao Yuanshuang withdrew her gaze, curled the corners of her lips into a smile, and said, "Boss, the texture of this Yan Yu brocade is three-tenths similar to that of the Fu Guang brocade. I'll take them all."
"All of them?...You want them all?"
The boss looked surprised.
One foot of this swallow feather brocade costs twenty taels of silver, and a set of clothes would cost around two hundred taels just for the fabric.
This doesn't even include the embroiderer's wages.
A bolt of cloth is about a hundred feet long, and the piece of Yanyu brocade in his hand can make several sets of clothes, worth at least a thousand taels of silver.
Even wealthy families in the capital only used such expensive materials during festivals and coming-of-age ceremonies.
The boss knew that people from the south were rich, but it was still surprising how rich they were.
Xiao Yuanshuang wanted to see her boss act like someone who had never seen the world.
She touched the pearl hairpin the size of a pigeon's egg on her head, and the maid immediately stepped forward, "Boss, don't worry, we can afford to pay for this."
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