Dandere General and his Lord

Chapter 18

18. Indisputable Evidence

Xiao Xiu took the dishes from Mo Qiao Sheng and placed them on the table.

He took out a silver needle before testing the dishes one by one.

Then, using a pair of silver chopsticks, he took a bit of each type of food and put them into a small dish.

After which he proceeded to pass the small dish to Biyun who was waiting at Cheng Qianye’s side. She raised her chopsticks, preparing to try the dishes.

Cheng Qianye was calm and didn’t bat an eyelid as she stretched out her hand and blocked her movements. She didn’t seem to be paying much attention as she casually said, “I don’t need you sisters to serve here. You can step down and leave Xiao Xiu and Qiao Sheng here.”

Presently, Cheng Qianye gave off the impression that she was sitting down indolently, her manner laid-back. But no one knew that on the inside, her heart was actually seized by an intangible anxiety.

She sensed that many of the people at this banquet were rather abnormal.

First of all, Weibei Marquis’ body was shrouded with excitement, as if in anticipation of a scheme about to come into fruition. Although she couldn’t tell what he was up to, she could affirm that he had done something, and whatever it was, it would probably happen soon, which was the source of his excitement.

Underneath his perpetual mask of geniality, Zhang Fu who was sitting next to Cheng Qianye seemed to be watching with a sense of schadenfreude as he waited for a good farce to play out. 1

Furthermore, there were one or two servants in the corner of the main hall who appeared to be smiling, but were actually concealing sooty black, malicious thoughts in their hearts.

Nevertheless, these people were not her principal concern. The most crucial issue lay in Xiao Xiu who was standing in front of her.

Xiao Xiu’s body was enveloped in thick, black animosity.

This animosity actually did not seem to be directed towards Cheng Qianye.

But his pretty face appeared to be the same as in the past with his eyes full of affection, soft and gentle as water as he smiled and approached her.

Seeing that sinister dark colour churning around that delicate face as beautiful as a spring blossom seemed to be especially terrifying in her eyes.

Something’s wrong. These people are fishy. What are they up to? What’s going to happen?

Cheng Qianye surveyed her surroundings. She saw that when she looked at He Lanzhen who was in charge of the security in the hall and Yu Dunsu and Xiao Jin who were sitting together, these three people still had an edge of gold surrounding their auras, greatly relieving her. These people were reliable.

She was unable to help leaning backward and furtively touching Mo Qiao Sheng’s hand, pulling him over and bringing him closer to her side.

At present, that steady ring of gold around him was the most reassuring existence for her.

Zhang Fu, who was sitting to her right, leaned forward slightly and reminded in a low voice, “Xiao Xiu, the Lord’s food still hasn’t been tested. Get a move on, don’t let our guests see a joke.”

Xiao Xiu seemed a little stunned. Soon after, he nonchalantly picked up the chopsticks and tried all of the dishes personally.

As soon as he released the chopsticks, his smile froze on his face. His countenance changed drastically and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

He covered his stomach as he pointed at the dishes and managed to scream, “Poison!” before collapsing.

Cheng Qianye had noticed previously that he wasn’t in the right state of mind, however she hadn’t expected the situation to take such a radical turn, watching Xiao Xiu almost dying in front of her.

She stepped out from behind the table and saw that Xiao Xiu was curled up on the floor, his complexion blue as he frothed at the mouth.

Cheng Qianye pinched his jaws, forcing him to open his mouth, and crammed the silver chopstick down his throat, inducing him to vomit. Then, she took the milk from the attendants and poured it into his mouth.

At the same time, she shouted, “Call the military doctor!”

The hall erupted into chaos. Everyone present nervously checked over their physical conditions as they whispered to each other.

Xiao Jin was in a towering rage and stood up and commanded, “Detain everyone from the kitchens at once! All the servants serving in this hall must stay where they are and are not allowed to leave this hall!.”

In an instant, the whole hall was filled with the sounds of the soldiers’ armour as they ran around inside.

Within a short time, there were cooks, attendants from the kitchen and servers all kneeling on the ground.

The steward in charge of the meals trembled as he knelt on the ground and said, “The dishes made for all the nobles today were all cooked together. It’s impossible for there to be an error with only My Lord’s dishes.”

“Steward Lu is not here today. This humble servant feared this one might commit an error within the rush and the meal boxes of My Lord and Weibei Marquis were watched carefully by this humble servant and both assistants until we handed it over to Xiao gongzi. So many eyes were watching, and…. and no one else touched it at that time. This humble servant is really wrongfully accused! My Lord, Minister Xiao, please judge clearly!”

A footman in the hall timidly lifted up his head, “Um…. it’s not that no one else touched it.”

Xiao Jin shouted angrily, “Say it quickly! Who is it?!”

The man raised his head and darted a glance at Mo Qiao Sheng who was standing beside Cheng Qianye.

The gazes of everyone in the hall converged on Mo Qiao Sheng. Just now, beneath a thousand eyes, only Xiao Xiu and Mo Qiao Sheng had served Cheng Qianye, and only the two of them had been in contact with the dishes.

At this moment, Xiao Xiu had been poisoned and fallen unconscious to the ground, leaving Mo Qiao Sheng as the prime suspect.

Mo Qiao Sheng rose to his feet in alarm, a terrible sense of foreboding washing over him.

A cook raised her head from within the crowd and echoed, “Yes, that’s right! I saw him take the meal box from Xiao gongzi in the corridors. It must be his fault! Check him, it has nothing to do with us!”

He Lanzhen, who stood behind Cheng Qianye in order to protect her, furiously grabbed Mo Qiao Sheng by the collar and threw him onto the ground.

Two bodyguards stepped forward and held him down from both sides.

“It wasn’t me! My Lord! It really wasn’t me!” Mo Qiao Sheng struggled to lift up his head and look in Cheng Qianye’s direction.

Cheng Qianye had yet to speak when Xiao Jin cupped his hands in obeisance and urged, “My Lord, please don’t be swayed by your emotions/act impetuously. Right now, this man is the most suspicious person. If we find out he is blameless after the investigation, it will not be too late to restore his innocence.”

At this junction, Weibei Marquis led his people forward as he laughed, “It seems that this is my worthy younger brother’s private matter. This old man will not disturb you and will take my leave first.”

Cheng Qianye sent him off with the proper social niceties. She looked at his retreating figure which was enveloped in a disappointed hue.

Looks like he was trying to poison me and now he’s disappointed by his failure?

She stroked her chin, feeling like her mind was a mass of paste. 2

She decided to first wait and observe what happened before doing anything.

Several soldiers rushed into the hall, one of them carrying a wooden box with him. Mo Qiao Sheng looked at that box, his face contorting into a mask of horror.

It was the little box inside his wardrobe where he kept his personal belongings.

The soldier fell onto one knee, presenting the box to them.

Xiao Jin’s expression was composed as he opened the small box with its lock already destroyed.

As soon as he lifted the lid, the dazzling gold within was exposed to everyone. Furthermore, there was a small porcelain bottle amid the golden coins.

A cry of surprise resounded within the hall.

It would be absolutely impossible for a slave to possess so much gold. Unless, he did something shady.

Xiao Jin opened the little bottle before handing it over to the military doctor.

The doctor analyzed the medicine inside with the food on the table and nodded his head at Xiao Jin.

The hall was immediately suffused with a cacophony of discussion.

“No! It wasn’t me!” Mo Qiao Sheng’s eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to rise.

He Lanzhen knocked him to the ground with a blow and kicked him two times.

“I’ve kept an eye on you for a while now since you bewitched My Lord. Sure enough, you’re nothing good!”

Cheng Qianye stopped his actions.

Mo Qiao Sheng was forcibly pressed down on the ground. He anxiously raised up his head, looking at her with desperation.

Cheng Qianye couldn’t bear to look at him and sighed in frustration.

She beckoned Yu Dunsu to step forward. “General Yu, take him down and lock him up. You must personally guard him.”

She pressed close to his ear and whispered, “Don’t let anyone near him before I get there, and don’t beat him.”

Hearing Cheng Qianye’s words, Mo Qiao Sheng appeared to have lost all hope as he gave up all resistance, despondently allowing Yu Dunsu to lead him away.

Once the chaos settled down, Cheng Qianye returned to her quarters.

She sat at the table and slowly sipped the fragrant tea as she sorted out the messy thoughts in her mind.

Xiao Jin came in from outside and bowed.

“How is Xiao Xiu?” Cheng Qianye inquired.

“The doctor said that fortunately, he only ingested a little bit of the poison and thanks to My Lord’s timely action of inducing him to vomit, there isn’t any major damage. He should be fine after taking medicine and resting for a few days.”

Cheng Qianye nodded, finally laying down the worry weighing on her mind.

Xiao Jin continued and asked, “Requesting My Lord’s instruction, that Mo Qiao Sheng, how should we deal with him?”

Cheng Qianye scrutinized him and laughed. “Do you seriously think he was the one that did it?”

“Why does My Lord ask such a question?” Xiao Jin asked in astonishment.

Cheng Qianye’s face was somber as she looked at him wordlessly, watching as he gradually became increasingly uneasy.

“No. With your intelligence, you can see at a glance that there is something fishy about this whole matter.” She said slowly.

“Mo Qiao Sheng is a person who is very close to me. Supposing that he wished to poison me, there is no shortage of opportunities for him to do so. How could he do it so publicly, while still leaving such obvious evidence of his crime in his room?”

“You and Zhang Fu can easily conclude that there is someone else behind this. Yet both of you didn’t say anything to me, why?”