The food-tasting eunuch stood to the side, his hands trembling as he retrieved the silver needle and chopsticks. Just as he was about to begin testing for poison, the Crown Prince suddenly spoke, "Yesterday, you mentioned you previously served in the Imperial Kitchen?"
Yun Kui was caught off guard by his question about her and hurriedly bowed her head in obedient acknowledgment.
The Crown Prince glanced over the lavish spread on the table and said, "Very well. From now on, you shall taste-test my meals. How does that sound?"
Yun Kui stared at the table laden with sumptuous dishes, stunned for a long moment. "Me?"
With so many dishes, just sampling a bite of each would leave her too full to eat another meal! Back in the Imperial Kitchen, she had often envied the palace attendants tasked with tasting the nobles' food—especially the Crown Prince's meals, which were extravagant feasts of rare delicacies, each dish requiring dozens of intricate steps in preparation. Just the sight of them made one's mouth water.
Could such good fortune really fall upon her?
The food-tasting eunuch happily handed her the silver chopsticks, inwardly heaving a sigh of relief. The Crown Prince's residence was fraught with danger—assassination attempts like last night's were far from rare, and his meals were the easiest target for sabotage. The silver needle couldn’t detect every poison, and the taster was always the first to suffer. Every bite was a gamble, each morsel potentially laced with lethal poison that could kill on contact.
Now that the duty had been passed on, the eunuch felt an immense weight lifted.
After learning the proper tasting procedure from him, Yun Kui dipped the silver needle into a bowl of hibiscus chicken slices—only to pull it out and find the tip pitch black.
"This…" Yun Kui gaped, nearly dropping the poisoned needle.
Her mind reeled. She hadn’t even tasted it—had she taken a bite, she would have dropped dead on the spot.
Others might say, "Survive a disaster, and fortune will follow." But for her, surviving one calamity only meant another was waiting, and another, and another… as if her name had already been registered in the underworld.
Before she could steady her nerves, the kitchen staff and serving attendants had already dropped to their knees in a panicked chorus of pleas for mercy.
Cao Yuanlu stepped forward, his face dark with fury. "Everyone involved in today’s meal—from preparation to cooking, serving to plating—should be hauled off to the interrogation chamber. Let’s see if the eighteen methods of torture can’t pry the truth from them!"
Due to the Crown Prince’s long history of assassination attempts, the Eastern Palace had its own specialized interrogation chamber, where the methods were even more brutal than those of the palace’s disciplinary bureau. Few emerged without losing at least a layer of skin.
The Crown Prince’s expression was icy, but he remained silent, stepping forward to scrutinize the kneeling crowd with sharp eyes.
Yun Kui was still shaken, and Cao Yuanlu’s words sent a chill down her spine. The seemingly benevolent Chief Eunuch Cao had such a ruthless side.
These were people she had crossed paths with in the kitchens—the head cook, Auntie, had even slipped her extra meat before. Now, they knelt in disarray, weeping and begging.
Her heart clenched as she followed the Crown Prince’s gaze, until it landed on a familiar face.
Cai Ju…
She had seen her last night outside the side hall, rushing past in a hurry, picking up something she’d dropped without so much as a greeting. At the time, it hadn’t seemed odd, but Yun Kui had dreamed of her.
In the dream, everything unfolded like clockwork—except Cai Ju appeared unpredictably, lurking by the boiling pots in the kitchen one moment, then peering around among the tea servers the next… Yun Kui suddenly recalled the dream’s final image: Cai Ju pulling a small paper packet from her sleeve and sprinkling a white powder into a soup tureen.
Her entire body stiffened.
The Crown Prince had stopped in front of Cai Ju, and Yun Kui watched intently—just in time to see Cai Ju, though her head was bowed, stealthily reaching into her sleeve.
Without thinking, Yun Kui shouted, "Your Highness, be careful!"
At the same moment, Cai Ju flung the paper packet toward the Crown Prince’s face.
Qin Ge, standing beside the Crown Prince, reacted instantly to Yun Kui’s warning. His hawk-like eyes locked onto Cai Ju, and with a swift kick, sent her flying three zhang away.
Cai Ju crumpled to the ground, coughing up blood before losing consciousness. The paper packet burst open, scattering fine white powder across the floor.
Qin Ge stepped forward, pinching some between a handkerchief, and reported, "Your Highness, it’s arsenic."
Cao Yuanlu paled, rushing to the Crown Prince’s side. "Did that wretch harm you, Your Highness?"
The Crown Prince’s expression remained cold as he shook his head.
He had approached them deliberately—to listen to their thoughts. While the others had cried innocence, this woman, upon seeing the poison detected in the soup, had been plotting another attempt. As he drew near, she had resolved to blind him with the poison.
A pity her plan had failed so spectacularly.
Turning, the Crown Prince strode toward Yun Kui, who instinctively backed away before her legs gave out, sending her to her knees.
Only then did she realize—she had warned him of danger. That was a merit! She should have stood tall to answer.
The Crown Prince’s dark eyes bore into her, his smile unreadable. "You were the one who alerted me."
"Y-yes…" Yun Kui swallowed hard, unnerved by his eerie grin.
His brow arched, gaze sharp with scrutiny. "I’m curious—how did you know she would attack?"
Her heart pounded as she carefully replied, "This servant saw her reaching into her sleeve and suspected ill intent. In the heat of the moment, I spoke without thinking."
She couldn’t very well say she’d dreamed it!
"Dreamed it?" The Crown Prince’s eyes narrowed. "And the first dish you tested just happened to contain poison—another coincidence?"
Yun Kui stared blankly. ...Wasn’t it?
Did he suspect her of colluding with Cai Ju? That she knew the entire plot, had even participated, knew which dish was poisoned—then betrayed Cai Ju to gain favor?
She slumped to the floor in defeat.
I give up. Just end me.
Whoever wants this cursed job of serving the Crown Prince can have it! What rotten luck landed me in the Eastern Palace, waiting on this nightmare of a man! Damn Crown Prince—just die already!
Yet instead of punishment, she heard a soft chuckle above her.
The hall was deathly silent. Trembling, Yun Kui looked up.
The Crown Prince, whose face was perpetually frosty, wore a rare, faint smile. "Why so afraid? I’m not blaming you."
"Th-thank you, Your Highness," she stammered.
He almost considered rewarding her—then remembered the last time, when she’d served him medicine and her mind had been full of indecent thoughts about "wanting to see his chest." The words died on his lips.
"Since that’s settled, you may continue tasting my meals."
Yun Kui: "..."
You’ve got to be kidding me. Again?!
Is my worthless life doomed no matter what?!
The Crown Prince returned to his seat. Cai Ju was dragged off to the interrogation chamber by Qin Ge’s men, while the kitchen staff, though spared immediate execution, were taken away by Cao Yuanlu for questioning.
Yun Kui steeled herself and continued testing the food with a silver needle. Fortunately, after checking every dish, the needle showed no signs of turning black. But that didn’t guarantee safety—next came the real test: tasting for poison.
Good luck, and she’d feast like royalty.
Bad luck, and she’d meet her maker.
Hah, she wasn’t crazy.
The Crown Prince sipped his tea nearby when he noticed the girl stealing a glance at him. Then, he heard her reckless inner monologue:
"If I find poisoned food, I’ll tackle the Crown Prince, shove him into my arms, plant a kiss on his lips, and then spit all the poisoned dishes right into his mouth! Hah! If I die, we all die!"
The Crown Prince: "..."
He should’ve fed her to the dogs long ago.
Every bite Yun Kui took tasted like sawdust. The delicacies she’d never dream of eating in her lifetime now passed her lips without a second thought.
"I’m still so young—I haven’t even married a tall, strapping guard yet, wuwuwu…"
"I’ve never kissed a man, never touched those sculpted abs—damn it all, if I die poisoned now, I’ll never rest in peace!"
The Crown Prince’s head throbbed from her mental wailing. Just as he was about to snap, Yun Kui finished testing the last dish—shark fin soup with osmanthus.
She closed her eyes, steadied herself, and confirmed she was still alive before exhaling in relief.
"This shark fin is divine, no wonder the nobles love it. Too bad I can’t have a second bite… The lotus-wrapped pork tenderloin and candied water chestnuts were the best, and the roasted goose was good too—just needed more spice…"
Food testing followed strict rules—no more than five qian per dish, no less than one. She couldn’t indulge or skip at will.
Earlier, she’d been too terrified of dropping dead mid-bite to savor anything. Now, with her life secure, the lingering flavors of those hastily swallowed delicacies danced on her tongue, leaving her oddly nostalgic.
The Crown Prince, still weak from illness, had little appetite. He cast a disinterested glance at the table and said flatly, "Since there’s no poison, this meal is yours."
Yun Kui was stunned. She’d have been happier if he hadn’t only given it to her after she’d risked her life testing it.
But she was just a lowly maid. Even if her master slapped her before offering a sweet, she could only kneel and thank him obediently.
When Cao Yuanlu returned and saw her trudging away, he snorted. "That girl’s not too bright. If any of those dishes were poisoned, Cai Ju wouldn’t have risked assassinating His Highness as a last resort."
The Crown Prince shot him a cold look.
Cao Yuanlu quickly straightened up and reported, "Cai Ju is dead."
The Crown Prince wasn’t surprised.
"She took Seven-Day Powder in advance," Cao Yuanlu continued. "Whoever ordered her must’ve given her a deadline—today was her last chance. If she failed to kill you, she wouldn’t get the antidote. She was doomed either way. Your Highness… any guesses who’s behind this?"
The Crown Prince twisted the black jade ring on his finger and smirked coldly.
Too many in this world wanted him dead, and now was the perfect time. But in the capital, only a handful could brew Seven-Day Powder.
A few names quickly surfaced in his mind.
...
Back in her quarters, servants soon arrived carrying trays of food.
Between poison-testing, near-death terror, and witnessing an assassination attempt, Yun Kui was drenched in cold sweat and thoroughly shaken.
She hadn’t expected her dream to accidentally reveal the assassin.
But thinking about it, it made sense—like when she overslept and dreamed she’d already dressed, washed up, and started work, only to wake up still in bed.
Maybe Cai Ju had been the same, rehearsing the poisoning in her sleep out of nerves, and Yun Kui had somehow glimpsed it.
So dreams could be useful after all!
She’d thought the heavens were just spicing up her dull life, but who knew they’d help catch an assassin?
After resting, the aroma of the food rekindled her appetite.
Yun Kui licked her lips and devoured two pearl duck feet, a plate of jade-white dumplings, half a serving of phoenix-tail shrimp balls, and the remaining shark fin.
The Crown Prince’s meals were lavish—even if she stuffed herself, there’d be enough for three to five days. Assuming it didn’t spoil first.
...
News spread fast in the Eastern Palace: Yun Kui had served the Crown Prince last night, identified an assassin today, and been rewarded with a feast.
"Did you hear? She attended His Highness last night—probably his first woman."
"But she was only in the palace for less than half an hour before he kicked her out."
"Half an hour? You think all men are like those romance novels, going all night? Half an hour’s plenty! Especially with His Highness’s health… trust me, half an hour’s enough to get everything done."
"She’s always been a schemer. If she hadn’t volunteered to serve His Highness’s medicine, she’d never have caught the Empress’s eye and been promoted to bedchamber maid. Now she’s practically a phoenix rising! Soon she’ll be a consort."
"But with His Highness so ill, how long will her luck last?"
"One wrong move, and he might just slit her throat…"
Discipline in the Eastern Palace was strict—no one dared gossip openly, but behind closed doors, whispers flowed freely.
The maids were jealous, tossing out snide remarks, but most just watched and waited.
After all, the Crown Prince was on death’s door—who knew if he’d even survive the month?
Others stayed detached, but the other bedchamber maid, the Keeper of the Bedcurtains, seethed with resentment.
Now that Cao Yuanlu was back, he handled most of the Crown Prince’s personal care. The prince disliked close attendants, so today, the Keeper only assisted from a distance, waiting for orders.
From yards away, the Crown Prince caught her silent grumbling:
"What’s so special about her? Just because she’s prettier, bustier, and has a tinier waist?"
"Is that the Crown Prince’s type?"
The Crown Prince: "..."
He closed his eyes, and her delicate, alluring face flashed in his mind.
The faint scent of grass and flowers lingered in his nose. Her undergarments clung to her slender frame, her soft, snow-white skin trembling under his rough palms.
The memory of that fleeting touch left him momentarily dazed.
His gaze darkened.
Outside the hall, Cao Yuanlu was stunned to hear his master’s rare summons:
"...Bring Yun Kui in to serve."
