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墨書 Inktalez
The last words caused a subtle change in the expression of the Imperial Chef. A flicker of something crossed his eyes before he let out a deep sigh, hunched his back, and slowly walked away.
Watching that desolate figure, Qing Luan felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. Today’s scene was a significant blow to the Old Imperial Chef, yet it had nothing to do with her!
“It’s not your fault,” Yun Yiqing said as she noticed Qing Luan's serious expression and the myriad of inexplicable emotions flashing in her eyes. She stepped forward to offer comfort. “If he hadn’t harbored such ambition, he wouldn’t have ended up like this…!”
“Actually, he should have won today; it was just that Fu Jun’s meddling allowed the common people to participate in this competition. Otherwise, I would have lost without a doubt!” She still held onto that realization.
If someone from a prestigious family had come today, someone who had tasted the finest delicacies, then her little tricks would have been child’s play and ineffective. Those whose palates had been spoiled would only recognize the dishes made by the Imperial Chef. But Fu Jun insisted on involving the common people, which led to his defeat.
Those commoners lived at the bottom of society, enduring oppressive and painful lives. Although they longed to taste palace food, Fu Jun and the Old Imperial Chef always wore disdainful expressions, looking down on them, which made them hesitant to approach. They could only come to her… After tasting the noodles, they felt embarrassed to return.
She had won the hearts of the people. Fu Jun had lost his life.
“No matter what, you won, and that’s a skill!” Yun Yiqing smiled brightly because she didn’t realize just how nervous she had been; her palms were so sweaty they could have dripped.
“Haha…” Feeling her sincerity, Qing Luan smiled back.
Fu Jun lost, and those who had placed bets supporting Qing Luan laughed. However, since there were more who believed in Fu Jun, this competition unexpectedly brought Qing Luan a significant amount of silver, leaving her both amused and exasperated.
Qing Luan still had leftovers from what she made. Following through on her promise, she prepared the remaining dishes and distributed them to the commoners. She also fulfilled her promise to that little boy. Afterward, they tidied up and returned to Ruyi Tower.
“Miss,” A-Song returned after following Fu Jun for a long time, his face darkened as he said, “Fu Jun is dead!”
“How did he die?” Qing Luan asked in astonishment.
She hadn’t expected Fu Jun to die. Even if he lost and left the capital, the Fu Family wouldn’t let them leave empty-handed—they would take what belonged to the Fu Family with them. She wouldn’t have said a word about it since it wasn’t hers anyway. But how could it end up like this?
"Is he really going to commit suicide over losing?" Yun Nishang mocked from the side.
"No," before A-Song could speak, Qing Luan interjected, "Fu Jun is being used by others because he has ambition. An ambitious person values their life greatly; as long as they are alive, there is a chance for a comeback. So he was murdered, A-Song, right?"
"Yes!" A-Song nodded, his face darkening. "It's all my fault. If I had stayed close to him, this wouldn't have happened!" In the blink of an eye, Fu Jun was dead, leaving this world with unclosed eyes.
"Do you know who Fu Jun was meeting?" Qing Luan asked in a low voice. This person was malicious, using Fu Jun and then killing him to silence him. Such a person was a constant threat; she had to find out who it was, or they would be in danger.
"It was Liu who followed him; they said it was someone from the Prime Minister's Residence," he explained. At that time, he had been busy and couldn't leave too obviously.
"Someone from the Prime Minister's Residence..." Qing Luan murmured softly, then looked up with a puzzled expression and asked, "Could it be Huang Pinyan?" With the Eldest Son of the Huang Family dead, the illegitimate son wouldn't amount to much, so the most likely suspect was Changsun.
"If it is him, we will know once we investigate," Yun Yiqing said decisively without any hesitation. "If it really is him, we need to be fully prepared against this treacherous person!"
Huang Pinyan thought to himself: I haven't even made my entrance yet, and I'm already being judged like this. How am I supposed to find a wife in the future? Boo... this is just unfairly taking fire.
"Mm!" Qing Luan did not refute this point. She understood very well that with Yun Yiqing's current status, he no longer needed to stand by her side. Yet when faced with danger, he still stood with her; such camaraderie made her feel grateful.
Su Yuanhang had known Qing Luan from the very beginning when she hadn't yet met Chimera. Therefore, Liu did not know Su Yuanhang's identity and almost made a mistake that would haunt Qing Luan for life.
Prime Minister's Residence.
"Su Yuanhang," Prime Minister Huang glared at the man before him who was humbly bowing his head and said darkly, "Is this your guarantee? A guarantee that you will hand over my property?"
At that moment, Su Yuanhang was terrified but tremblingly explained for his life, "This... this is all Fu Jun's doing." When he initially agreed to do this task, Fu Jun had strongly supported it and even promised a great reward upon success. But now... it was difficult for the servants!
"Who told you to find that useless one?" Prime Minister Huang didn't think he had done anything wrong and shouted angrily, "You put Huang Family's resources into supporting Fu Jun; Zhu Qingluan will definitely suspect that the Huang Family is behind this! Tell me, how do we resolve this matter?"
He really shouldn't have trusted that guy; he had no skills at all and just knew how to bluster.
"No, no way," Su Yuanhang's face turned pale. Afraid of angering him, he quickly explained, "These are all under-the-table dealings; she won't know!" A small businessman like him didn't know much, but Su Yuanhang had made a mistake—Zhu Qingluan was not just any small-time trader; she was a major player in the business world. As long as you were in business, she could usually find out quickly.
"Sigh..." His heart was filled with rage, but since things had come to this point, he felt helpless. He could only murmur in a low voice, "I refuse to believe that Zhu Qingluan has no weaknesses at all..."
"Weakness?" Su Yuanhang's eyes lit up, and he excitedly nodded. "Yes, she has weaknesses..." How foolish he had been; why hadn't he thought of this sooner? If he had, he wouldn't have been so terrified.
"What weaknesses?" Compared to his excitement, Prime Minister Huang seemed overly calm.
"When I met Zhu Qingluan, she had a younger brother and sister with her. Now she is alone, which means her siblings must be hidden somewhere. As long as we find them, things will be easier!" Their bond was strong; if anything happened to one of them, Zhu Qingluan would definitely be unable to handle it.
"Younger brother and sister?" Prime Minister Huang tapped his fingers on the table. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Su Yuanhang, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. If you can find Zhu Qingluan's siblings, my original promise to you will remain unchanged. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things had gone smoothly for so long; it was time for some obstacles to arise.
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