I am the champion of palace intrigue, and even the proud prince bows his head in submission.

Chapter 56 This medicine is the most potent.

The poetry gathering didn't end until dusk. As twilight fell, the afterglow of the setting sun, like a layer of golden gauze, gently enveloped the earth.

"It's getting late, let's have dinner here with the Imperial Uncle tonight," Gao Xian said casually.

Although he didn't encounter any good poems today, he had a very enjoyable chat with Xie Yanli and wanted to stay a little longer.

Upon hearing this, the King of Qi felt a pang of anxiety.

He forced a smile and quickly bowed, saying, "The Prince's residence has been short-staffed in the kitchen lately, and the dishes are rather simple. I'm afraid we won't be able to entertain you properly..."

Gao Xian's expression remained unchanged, and he insisted, "It's alright, I don't care about these formalities, I'll just treat it as a simple home-cooked meal."

King Qi unconsciously clenched his fists inside his sleeves.

The original plan was to kill Xie Yanli today, but after the assassination failed, they planned to poison him during dinner.

Unexpectedly, Gao Xian arrived, and the emperor's meals had to be inspected by his personal eunuch.

It seems that the plan to kill Xie Yanli first to create chaos and then seize the opportunity to rebel is not going to work...

We have no choice but to find another way.

kitchen.

"Sister Yu'er, you've arrived."

Mrs. Zhang asked respectfully, "Is there anything you need?"

Yu'er straightened her back, glanced around at the busy people in the kitchen, and said calmly, "It's nothing. It's just that we have distinguished guests in the manor today, and Miss specially ordered me to come and take a look."

Her gaze fell on the blue and white porcelain bowls and plates beside her. The set of bowls and plates was very exquisite, with elegant landscape patterns painted on the bowls.

Zhang's mother immediately explained, "These are the bowls and plates that the prince will be using at his table; they are all the best."

Yu'er walked closer, picked up a bowl, and suddenly said, "Why isn't this bowl clean?"

"It shouldn't be like that." Mrs. Zhang frowned, but she didn't dare to doubt it and quickly said, "I'll take it and wash it right away."

"No need, the kitchen is busy right now, I'll go," Yu'er said calmly.

Zhang's mother quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Miss, what are you saying? How could I trouble you to do it? These rough jobs will be done by the servants."

Yu'er frowned, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes, and scolded, "Why do you talk so much? The princess ordered me to supervise, so naturally I must attend to every detail."

Seeing that she brought out the princess, Zhang Mama dared not say another word.

Yu'er raised her chin, carried the porcelain bowl to the sink. The kitchen was very busy at the time, and no one noticed her. She took the opportunity to take out a small paper packet from her sleeve and pour the powder into the bowl.

The powder dissolved in water, and Yu'er shook the bowl to leave the liquid residue on the bowl's sides.

This is the most potent medicine; just a little bit is enough.

The main courtyard of the Prince Qi's residence.

The room was brightly lit by candlelight, and an exquisitely carved round table sat in the center of the room.

Gao Xian sat in the main seat, with King Qi and Xie Yanli on either side of him.

Qin Jiuwei sat next to Xie Yanli, with Xie Jingchun beside her.

One after another, exquisite dishes were served.

After testing each dish on the table with a silver needle, Eunuch Li said in a shrill voice, "Your Majesty, there is nothing wrong with the dishes."

Gao Xian nodded casually.

Although he grew up in the royal family, he was actually extremely impatient with these rules.

In his opinion, there was no need for this. The Prince of Qi was his uncle, who had treated him very well since childhood. How could he possibly harm him?

Although he was the emperor, many rules were not entirely up to him, and he still had to abide by them.

As he pondered this, Gao Xian suddenly missed Qing Kui very much.

His Qingkui was different; she dared to defy these rules and was unlike anyone else.

Yu'er secretly mingled among the maids and saw the marked celadon bowl placed in front of Xie Yanli, and instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Miss, this time, you will surely get what you want.

Qin Jiuwei looked at the food in front of her and tightened her grip on her chopsticks.

She distrusted the King of Qi, feeling that he must have ill intentions.

However, Eunuch Li has already tasted the food, so it should be non-toxic.

Qin Jiuwei had dealt with a lot of things today, and was already quite hungry.

After much deliberation, I picked up my chopsticks and reached for the golden minced meat and jade-like slices in front of me.

This dish features sea bass slices, each slice as thin as a cicada's wing and translucent, arranged on a plate in the shape of a blooming lotus flower, and sprinkled with a prepared sauce.

Qin Jiuwei ate one piece, and couldn't resist picking up another.

Gradually, I forgot what I had been thinking about, and now all I felt was that filling my stomach was the most important thing.

Qin Jiuwei was right; Prince Qi indeed dared not do anything while the Emperor was present.

But what she didn't expect was that his daughter dared to...

Although Gao Xian and Xie Yanli met every day at court, they rarely had the chance to chat like this.

The two had known each other since childhood and had a very good relationship, so they always had a lot to talk about.

Xie Yanli still didn't say much; Gao Xian did most of the talking, with Xie Yanli occasionally interjecting.

Gao Xian's voice wasn't deep, but rather somewhat hoarse.

Qin Jiuwei was extremely familiar with this voice; she had heard it for ten years in her previous life.

Her thoughts began to drift away, and she gradually slowed down her eating.

In her previous life, she had been in the palace for ten years, but after obtaining what she wanted, she was poisoned to death within three days.

Does she hate him? Hate what? Does she hate that Gao Xian doesn't love her?

But love is something that can't be forced.

She felt mostly resentment, resentment towards his cold-heartedness and indifference.

However, that was all in the past.

She avoided entering the palace in her lifetime, and never had to come into contact with people like Gao Xian again.

Fortunately, Gao Xian was not reborn, and he had a good relationship with Xie Yanli, so he probably wouldn't make things difficult for her.

There's nothing wrong with living a peaceful and stable life in this world.

Xie Jingchun ate heartily on the side, finishing one dish and then moving on to another.

I couldn't help but admire how delicious the food at the Prince Qi's residence was!

He quickly finished everything on the plate and turned to see his mother about to drink the chicken porridge beside her.

Xie Jingchun nodded secretly. This chicken congee was delicious, and her mother still ate it as always.

But soon his hand holding the chopsticks stopped. It seemed that his mother had served the porridge when they had just eaten, and it was probably cold by now.

Xie Jingchun recalled the two coughs her mother had made that morning.

"Mother," Xie Jingchun called softly. Qin Jiuwei put down her spoon, looked up at him, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xie Jingchun pointed to the bowl of porridge beside her and said seriously, "This bowl of porridge has gone cold. Why don't you get another bowl, Mother?"

Although Xie Yanli was talking to Gao Xian, he was also paying attention to Qin Jiuwei.

Hearing this, he turned around and said, "You caught a chill this morning, so you shouldn't drink cold porridge."

As he spoke, he picked up the bowl beside him, ladled out a bowl of chicken congee, and handed it to her.

"I haven't used this bowl before. If you don't mind, please have a drink from this bowl."

Qin Jiu blinked, then smiled and said, "How could I possibly dislike it? Thank you, my husband."

Xie Jingchun nodded secretly, thinking that it was fine for his father to drink the cold porridge.

Mother still prefers to drink warm, hot porridge.

Qin Jiuwei took the porridge from Xie Yanli and stirred it with a porcelain spoon.

Then scoop up a spoonful and put it in your mouth.