Chapter 688   - Futile

Yu Xiaocao clutched her stomach as she took out a jade bottle from her embroidered pouch. Then, she poured out two sparkling and translucent jade white pills and stuffed them into her mouth like she was eating jelly beans. She chewed the pills a few times before swallowing it.

“You...are you stupid?! If you have the antidote, why didn’t you take it right away? Are you waiting until you see the King of Hell before taking the antidote?” Zhu Junfan was angered to the point where he started laughing. Just what kind of person was she?!

Yu Xiaocao smiled weakly at him and said, “Your Imperial Majesty, can you scold me later? Can you give me a cup of boiled water?”

When the empress heard her request, she immediately ordered her most trusted personal maidservant to fetch a pot of boiled water from the small kitchen located in the Kunning Palace. She was still afraid that something was wrong, so she used her treasured parrot to test whether the water was poisonous or not. Parrot: ‘...is the life of a bird, not a life as well? I’m getting implicated in this when I just happen to be present here!’

The empress personally helped Xiaocao up, then she took the cup of boiled water from her trusted maidservant to feed Xiaocao. Xiaocao expressed her nervousness as she endured the pain from her stomach——if she drank directly from the cup, how could she let the little divine stop release spiritual power into the boiled water?!

After she drank a cup of water that was filled with lots of mystic stone water, Yu Xiaocao felt as if her small life had been saved. Sigh! Why did this happen to her? Why would the traitors attack her when she was merely an innocent bystander? If they wanted to rebel or something, then they should just kill the emperor and the empress. Ahem...Amitabha, it wasn’t that she had a vicious heart——it was because...it was because the poison had penetrated her brain and took control of her thoughts. That must be it!

The person who had planned this conspiracy had actually planned on killing the emperor, the empress, and her altogether. However, when Xiaocao entered the palace today, she didn’t bring pastries like she usually did. The emperor and the empress hadn’t touched the pastries on the table before Xiaocao arrived.

If Xiaocao brought pastries into the palace like she usually did, and if the emperor and the empress accompanied her to eat the poisonous pastries that Xiaocao had made by herself, then it would be a mystery as to what had caused the poison.

If an ordinary person had taken the poison, then the effects of the poison would’ve started to act up an hour after consumption. However, Xiaocao’s body was different from ordinary people; her body was very sensitive to poison. She had a clean physique, so whenever she consumed poison, the effects of the poison would immediately take effect. This was the reason why she started to have stomach pain instantly after eating two pieces of pastries.

If everything had gone according to the traitor’s scheme, then approximately one hour after Xiaocao left the palace, the emperor and empress would suddenly be poisoned. Although Xiaocao would also be poisoned, she had a panacea that could detoxify all kinds of poison. Nothing would happen to her after she takes the antidote. However, the same couldn’t be said for the emperor and the empress...

When the time came, the traitor was just going to frame Imperial Prince Xu for poisoning the emperor and empress as an act of rebellion. Zhu Junyang definitely wouldn’t idly stand by after being accused and would certainly resist. Then, the capital will be thrown into chaos and the traitors would take advantage of the chaos...my god! It was such a ruthless plan!

It was a pity that Xiaocao acted out of their expectations. Not only did she not bring pastries, but the effects of the poison also displayed itself in advance. She had unintentionally exposed their scheme. Otherwise, why would people say that transmigrators were the favorite children of the heavens?! Ahem, these children didn’t know anything; they were only innocently stir-frying chicken!

When the imperial physician arrived, Yu Xiaocao had already recovered. She was inspecting the pastries on the plate. Although she didn’t have much knowledge about poisons, the little divine stone was able to analyze the contents of the pastry in detail, including the effects of the poison as well as its toxicity.

The imperial physicians were tormented left and right when they arrived. Many of the imperial physicians were old and had white beards. They were impressed when they heard Xiaocao’s detailed analysis of the poison. She was still in her teens, yet she had such a profound knowledge of medicine and medical expertise. It was no wonder the medicine manufactured by her shop was far superior in effect compared to the medicine manufactured by other shops!

In the beginning, the group of old imperial physicians was discussing and analyzing the poison in the pastry. However, it soon became a discussion where the old imperial physicians were asking the Clerk of the Capital for Grain for medicine and medical advice.

On the other end, the emperor had arrested all the servants who had contact or who possibly had contact with the poisoned pastries. The key suspect was the newly appointed imperial chef, who was now imprisoned.

The imperial chef: ‘I’m being wrongly accused! Isn’t it simply a suicide mission if I poisoned the pastries that I personally made?! I’m not that stupid! Who did it? Who caused me to be wrongly accused? That culprit better not let me catch him, otherwise...I will stuff the entire plate of poisonous pastries into that man’s stomach!!’

All the people who were working in the imperial kitchen that had contact with the ingredients as well as the people who took part in making the pastries, as well as the imperial chef who had left his post when the pastries were made, were all locked up. Even the palace maidservant who had brought the food from the imperial kitchen, as well the eunuchs and the maidservants who the palace maidservant had met on her way to serving the pastries, were all locked up. He would rather kill someone who was innocent rather than accidentally letting the culprit roam free! This just showed that the emperor had attached great importance to this matter!

Su Ran, who had recovered his health and was semi-retired, was also invited over. To be more precise, he actually took the initiative to head over to take care and interrogate the suspects after he heard that Xiaocao was poisoned in the imperial palace. The palace maidservants working in the imperial kitchen and the palace eunuch all turned pale and began to tremble like a quail when they saw Su Ran, the living King of Hell. Even if they haven’t seen Head Steward Su Ran’s methods of interrogation, they had at least heard of it from the rumors. The word ‘extremely brutal’ wasn’t even enough to describe it!

Su Ran actually didn’t need to use any method of torture to get information from them. The workers working in the imperial kitchen, the palace maidservants, and the palace eunuch that were involved in the incident spilled out all the information like they were pouring beans. They clearly explained in detail, everything they knew, including every sneeze or cough. They feared that those terrifying punishments would be used on them.

“How is it going? Are there any clues?” It was in the evening now and the emperor was sitting with a gloomy expression on his face. He drummed his fingers rhythmically on the table.

Su Ran’s beautiful eyebrows were wrinkled into a tight knot as he faintly shook his head, and said, “This official suspects that this incident was a carefully thought out plan that was designed in advance. Otherwise, it would be impossible for it to be so flawless.”

“What? Even you couldn’t see a flaw in the scheme?” The emperor’s complexion turned even uglier. Although Xiaocao had recovered, she was still poisoned in the palace. She had suffered and he needed to give her an explanation!

“This official believes that this incident should be related to the surviving members of the previous dynasty that are hiding in the imperial palace! In the past, there were thirteen spies who infiltrated the palace along with me. Over the years, we managed to only get rid of ten. There are at least three other spies hidden deep within the palace...” Since the spies hadn’t made any movements over the years, Su Ran believed that the spies either chose to betray their original master or to hide themselves carefully until an opportunity arises. Could it be...this incident was the opportunity that they were waiting for?

“Use the ten great tortures on them. I don’t believe that they won’t confess the truth!!” Zhu Junfan was very anxious; he no longer cared about this title as the ‘wise emperor’ anymore! If he continued to tolerate this, then shouldn’t he be embarrassed to call himself the emperor?

The anxiousness displayed on Su Ran’s face did not disappear, “If they really are spies from the previous dynasty, then even if we slice off their flesh one piece at a time, we still would never get the information we need from the. Unless...”

“Unless what?” Zhu Junfan asked quickly.

Su Ran narrowed his eyes as he stared at Xiaocao who was resting on her cheeks and said, “Unless we have the legendary medicine that will allow a person to relax their mind and tell us all his secrets...”

“Is there such a medicine? Can you actually believe something that only exists in the legend?” Zhu Junfan secretly thought that the legendary medicine probably wasn’t as effective as hypnotism! But the crucial point was where would he find a hypnotist?

“If we don’t give it a try, then how would we know? Isn’t Official Yu’s existence a legend as well?” Su Ran looked at Xiaocao, whose head was nodding off while she was pouting in her sleep.

The corners of Zhu Junfan’s mouth twitched. He wondered if Xiaocao had heard this, would she think of the outdated celebrity saying, ‘please don’t crush on me anymore, for I, your fairy sister, is just a legend’?

“What?” Xiaocao rubbed her eyes and looked outside. She saw that the sky was already getting dark, so she asked, “Ah? It’s already dark now, will we be having dinner soon?”

“Little girl, why are you acting so carefree?” The person who poisoned you hasn’t been found yet, and you still have the heart to eat dinner?” Zhu Junfan was both amused and angry!

“A person can’t function properly on an empty stomach. I will lose my cool if I don’t eat! This official hasn’t eaten anything else from this morning until now besides the poisonous pastry! Had I known that I wouldn’t be served lunch in the palace, then I would’ve eaten the entire plate of poisonous pastries. After all, the poison won’t kill me, but I will definitely starve to death!” Yu Xiaocao rubbed her stomach which was growling in protest. She felt that today was quite an unfortunate day for her!

“Listen to her! She’s only saying that because she has the antidote to the poison! The remaining poisoned pastries are evidence, so even if you want to eat them, you’re not allowed to! Enough, I’ll order the imperial kitchen to prepare a few simple dishes for you. It is as you said, people work better when they’re full!” Zhu Junfan squeezed the bridge of his nose and stood up in an exhausted manner.

Yu Xiaocao stroked her embroidered pouch. It was a pity that she didn’t bring any small snacks for herself when she entered the imperial palace today. Otherwise, she could’ve eaten those to sate her hunger for now. Upon hearing the emperor’s word, she asked, “Your Imperial Majesty, aren’t you afraid that the spy will try to make another attempt since we haven’t caught him?”

“Do you think everyone else is as stupid as you? Since their attempt on your life was unsuccessful, do you think they’ll try to commit another crime instead of hiding themselves? Besides, even if the spy is braindead and tries to poison my food, don’t I still have you? I assume you don’t only have one antidote pill in your jade bottle, right? I also want to taste what the poison tastes like!” Zhu Junfan unhappily replied.

Yu Xiaocao smacked her lips, shook her head, and said, “I’m afraid that I’ll have to disappoint Your Majesty! The more complex the poison is, the more colorless and odorless it is. Think about it, only a fool will eat a pastry if it’s exuding a strong scent unless they’re looking to die!”

“Aren’t you the fool? Weren’t you the one who said earlier that you wanted to eat the poisonous pastries to fill your stomach?” Zhu Junfan glared at her.

Yu Xiaocao was not convinced, “I’m bold and daring because I’m confident in my skills. I’m confident in my antidote pill’s effectiveness.”

“Alright, that’s enough! Don’t be too smug, otherwise, you will fail a simple task due to overconfidence, causing you to lose your life!!” Zhu Junfan waved his hand in front of her with an impatient expression on his face.

Su Ran was long accustomed to the way the emperor and Official Yu interacted with each other. However, his successor, Su Chi, looked as if he had seen a ghost: this just goes to show how much the emperor favors Official Yu. Even when the emperor talked with the empress, he had never been as relaxed as he is right now. Official Yu was also courageous. The emperor merely said a word, but she had ten words ready to counter the emperor!

“Close your mouth quickly and look at the way you’re acting. Even if you’re not my proud successor, the most basic requirement for a servant is the ability to conceal your happiness and anger! At times like this, you should treat yourself like a piece of wood. You’re unable to see or hear anything...do you understand?” Su Ran instructed his successor. Su Chi nodded his head firmly and lowered his eyes, pretending to act like he was a man that was made from wood.