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墨書 Inktalez
Liu Susu cautiously slipped into a secluded room.
"Madam Gu!" A person inside quickly approached her as she entered, clearly waiting for her arrival.
Liu Susu handed over a paper package and lowered her voice, "Have you noted down everything I instructed you to do?"
The shadowy figure replied promptly, "Rest assured, Madam. I will take care of it."
"That's good." Liu Susu said no more, only instructing, "Make sure not to mistake the location of the Bitch. Remember, if you don't find an opportunity to act, don't force it. Wait for the next chance."
With that, she didn't linger and quickly left the room. After glancing around, she hurried away.
Not long after Liu Susu departed, another figure emerged from the room, dressed like a palace maid.
The maid looked around briefly before leaving as well.
After a while, the silence was once again broken.
A slender young man crawled out from behind the window of the room.
It was Liu Yang.
His eyes were filled with doubt and anger as he watched Liu Susu and the maid leave before he hastily followed in their direction.
This time, Liu Yang had come with Gu Bei. He had drunk a bit too much earlier and stepped out to relieve himself when he spotted Liu Susu on his way back.
Out of caution towards Liu Susu, his first instinct was to conceal his presence and follow her.
Liu Susu and the palace maid exchanged words that were vague and unclear, leaving the details unheard. Following the principle that Liu Susu's appearance would never lead to anything good, Li Yang immediately informed Ye Xiaohan about the incident upon returning to the banquet.
"She really is incorrigible!" Ye Xiaohan thought bitterly, not only towards Liu Susu but also towards the entire Liu Family. Just because they held a bit more power than others, they fancied themselves capable of shielding their daughter while allowing her to harm others.
"What should we do?" Li Yang asked quietly.
After a moment of contemplation, Ye Xiaohan replied, "Let's turn the tables! Whether Liu Susu is targeting me or not, we cannot let her have the upper hand!"
"Understood!" Li Yang scanned the venue and discreetly pointed to a corner. "Sister-in-law, that's the maid!"
Having noted the maid's appearance, Ye Xiaohan remained composed and observed from a distance while Li Yang stealthily followed her.
There weren't many maids in the Empress Dowager's Palace; most of them had been brought over from other parts of the palace. Due to a slight shortage of staff, the tasks assigned to them were complex and varied.
For instance, that particular maid was constantly shuttling between delivering food and arranging dishes for the guests.
Ye Xiaohan began to understand; it seemed Liu Susu had found this maid to exploit her position for convenience. The paper package that Li Yang had seen was certainly not something beneficial for health.
After giving Li Yang a few instructions, he nodded and continued to follow the maid while Ye Xiaohan returned to the banquet.
"Why were you gone for so long?" Gu Bei asked upon noticing her and Li Yang's secretive behavior. "Did something happen?"
Ye Xiaohan gave him a half-smile and straightened up. "Oh, just waiting for an exciting show to begin. I'm quite looking forward to it!"
"What kind of show?" Gu Bei asked, intrigued by Ye Xiaohan's sudden enthusiasm, which inadvertently brought a smile to his face.
Ye Xiaohan raised a finger and placed it on her lips. "Spoilers ruin the fun! Don't rush; the best performances are always saved for last!"
Meanwhile, Liu Yang, who had been following the palace maid, noticed that after she brought out the food and drink, she did not proceed to the banquet as expected but quietly slipped aside.
From Liu Yang's vantage point, he couldn't see her actions directly, but he could clearly see the maid take out a paper packet, pour the powder inside into the soup, shake it a bit, fold the used packet back up, and tuck it away before returning.
"What are you doing still here, moving so slowly? Are you itching for trouble?" a Manager scolded the maid as he approached.
To facilitate his tracking, Liu Yang had previously knocked out a eunuch and donned his clothes to blend in with the kitchen staff.
Seeing the maid being reprimanded amidst the crowd, he took advantage of the situation to feign losing his balance and bumped into someone next to her, inadvertently jostling several people nearby. A number of fruit pastries fell to the ground.
The Manager grew even angrier, shouting louder at them, "Hurry up and pick that up! If you make a mess, you'll pay for it!"
The people below hurried to gather the fallen items. The maid initially hesitated to move, but when the Manager shot her a glare, she trembled in fear and quickly squatted down, setting her tray aside to help pick things up.
Liu Yang wore a smile as he finished picking up first. He naturally swapped out the tainted tray with another one on the ground. The dishes at the banquet were all identical and could not be distinguished by sight alone.
The commotion quickly settled down. Aside from the Manager still grumbling, the palace maids and eunuchs returned to their posts like ants, each completing their tasks one by one.
Unaware that what she was carrying had already been switched out, the maid lowered her head and slowly approached Ye Xiaohan's table, placing the food in front of her.
"Thank you," Ye Xiaohan said with a smile as she nodded at the maid.
The maid appeared flustered and hurriedly excused herself.
After she walked away, Ye Xiaohan raised her chopsticks, pretending to eat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Liu Susu across from her, staring with a mix of tension and ecstatic joy.
At the same time, Ye Xiaohan spotted the eunuch lurking behind Liu Susu—it was 6 Yang.
6 Yang quickly arranged the items and soon left with the other palace maids and eunuchs. Liu Susu's full attention was on Ye Xiaohan, especially as Ye Xiaohan deliberately picked at the dishes, pretending to decide whether to eat or not, which made Liu Susu anxious and completely oblivious to the eunuch beside her.
6 Yang soon returned to the banquet and made a gesture towards Ye Xiaohan.
"Well done!" Ye Xiaohan secretly gave a thumbs-up, then, under Liu Susu's watchful gaze, tasted each dish and snack.
"Truly worthy of imperial cuisine; this vegetarian banquet is so exquisite and delicious," Ye Xiaohan remarked while eating. "Perhaps we should try offering a fully vegetarian menu at our restaurant next time to change things up."
6 Yang nodded. "That's a good idea!"
Before long, the surrounding unruly guests joined in, starting discussions among themselves.
When Liu Susu saw Ye Xiaohan take her first bite, her heart raced wildly, and an overwhelming joy surged within her that she could no longer contain.
"Bitch! Let's see how you escape this time." If it weren't for the crowd around them, she would have burst into laughter.
With this sense of satisfaction, Liu Susu's appetite grew as she became captivated by the exquisite dishes before her. In truth, her heart was filled with the thrill of watching Ye Xiaohan about to fall into despair right in front of her, leaving her with no sense of hunger whatsoever.
However, she feared that if she didn't eat something, she wouldn't be able to suppress her delight.
Liu Susu ate while secretly calculating the time it would take for the poison to take effect. Her gaze towards Ye Xiaohan was filled with immense malice.
"Go ahead and laugh; this might be your last chance to do so. From now on, your life will be filled with tears every single day!"
However, instead of hearing Ye Xiaohan's cries of pain, she suddenly felt a sharp sting on her face as the time came.
"Ah!"
The sudden and intense pain overwhelmed Liu Susu, causing her to lose control and scream in shock, forgetting her surroundings.
"Sister! What happened to you?" The maid beside her panicked and rushed forward to support her. But in her agony, Liu Susu had no strength to focus on anything else; she struggled violently, pushing the maid aside.
The commotion quickly drew attention, and people gathered around to see what was happening.
"Quick! Call for the imperial physician!"
Someone soon realized the urgency and went to summon the doctor.
The Emperor furrowed his brow tightly; nothing about this banquet had gone smoothly from start to finish!
"Liu Susu, what’s wrong? I’m your father! Wake up!" Liu Chancellor held down Liu Susu's hands as she clawed at her own face, his heart racing as he saw the blood seeping through his fingers from where she had scratched herself.
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