Chapter 68: Emptying the Imperial Kitchen

Ye Chutang did not give Kong Ru the antidote to the Heartbreaking Powder.

Instead, she gave her poison to counter the poison.

The poison could temporarily counter the Heartbreaking Powder’s effects, but it would not alleviate the symptoms of poisoning.

The effects of the poison were quick, and the damage was doubled!

Kong Ru not only felt as though there was a rod stirring in her stomach, but it also felt as though a hammer was striking her head.

The pain was so intense that she rolled off the bed and onto the floor, feeling as if death would be better.

Ye Chutang glanced at her and turned to leave.

Returning to Ningchu Courtyard, the servant named Shan’er immediately approached.

“Miss, you’re back! I’ll prepare a bath for you.”

“I can do it myself. You rest,” Ye Chutang replied.

Shan’er noticed Ye Chutang’s exhaustion and quickly said, “My body has already recovered, and I can handle this kind of work.”

Ye Chutang was indeed a bit tired, so she nodded.

“Alright, you can help.”

Soon, the bath tub was filled with water and scattered with flower petals.

Ye Chutang began to remove the hairpins from her head while saying, “Shan’er, you can rest. I’ll finish the rest myself.”

“I’ll stay and help with your hair afterward,” Shan’er insisted.

“No need. Just leave it to Jin Zhi,” Ye Chutang replied.

Shan’er understood. Although Jin Zhi could be silly or unpredictable at times, she would always follow the Miss’s instructions meticulously.

“Understood, Miss.”

Before leaving, Shan’er brought in a bucket of cold water to help Ye Chutang clean the bath tub later.

Once Shan’er left, Ye Chutang undressed and sank into the warm water of the bath.

As the warm water enveloped her, she sighed in relief.

“Baths are really relaxing.”

Jin Zhi offered to help Ye Chutang wash, but she was politely declined.

“Jin Yi, you should rest. I’ll manage my hair myself.”

The modern towels in her space were much more effective than the cloths used in ancient times.

Jin Zhi stood behind the screen, not leaving.

“Miss, what happened at Liuli Courtyard? You seem unhappy.”

Hearing this, Ye Chutang hesitated, unsure whether to tell the truth.

If she did, Jin Zhi might not be able to handle the brutal reality.

But if she didn’t tell her, Jin Zhi was one of the few people left in the world who truly cared for her and her mother.

“Jin Yi.”

Jin Zhi immediately responded, hearing the seriousness in Ye Chutang’s voice.

“I’m here, Miss. If you want to talk, please, I’m listening. After all, I’ve seen it all.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Chutang decided to tell Jin Zhi the truth.

“Let me finish my bath, and then I’ll talk to you.”

“Alright, I’ll wait.”

After soaking for almost fifteen minutes, Ye Chutang rose from the tub, her skin flushed and tempting from the warm water.

After dressing in undergarments, she emptied the water from the tub and rinsed it clean.

When she came out of the bathroom, she saw Jin Zhi sewing clothes.

“Jin Yi, it’s getting dark. Don’t strain your eyes with needlework.”

“Miss, don’t worry. My eyes are fine,” Jin Zhi reassured her.

Since Miss had been sent to the countryside, she had been so busy that she hadn’t even made Miss any clothes. She felt guilty just thinking about it.

Plus, during the day, she had to pretend to be crazy, and she hadn’t touched needlework in over a decade. She could only work on it at night.

Ye Chutang approached and took the cloth from Jin Zhi’s hands.

“This fabric isn’t great. Once you’re feeling better, I’ll buy you some high-quality material to work with.”

Jin Zhi knew Miss was just trying to avoid her working too hard.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Miss.”

She put away her sewing kit and asked, “Miss, what did you want to tell me?”

Ye Chutang got straight to the point.

“Jin Yi, my brother wasn’t a stillborn. He was suffocated to death by Kong Ru. And my mother wasn’t worn out by illness; she was poisoned by Kong Ru.”

Jin Zhi broke down in tears as soon as she heard this.

She pressed her hands to her mouth and pounded her chest, crying uncontrollably.

It was all her fault. If she hadn’t left for just a short while, the young master wouldn’t have died!

If she had been more careful, the Miss wouldn’t have been poisoned and died young!

Her heart felt like it was being pulled in all directions, her whole body shaking with pain. She wished she could just die right there.

Her Miss, her young master, they were so pitiful.

“Wuwuwu…”

Ye Chutang embraced Jin Zhi, who was crying so hard she was almost gasping for breath, and gently patted her back.

“Jin Yi, don’t blame yourself. Kong Ru meant to harm people, and you couldn’t have stopped it. We’ll avenge my brother and mother together!”

“Miss, it’s my fault. I didn’t know the truth all these years. I thought… I thought…”

“It’s not your fault. Kong Ru’s schemes were too deep. My mother was too kind and wasn’t her match. But I’m no good person or saint—she won’t be able to outwit me!”

Jin Zhi gently pushed Ye Chutang away and shook her head.

“No, Miss, you’re the best person in the world. If not for you, the young master wouldn’t have been saved.”

If it had been her, she would have vented her anger on the innocent young master.

Ye Chutang looked at Jin Zhi, whose eyes were swollen and lips cut from crying.

“Jin Yi, pull yourself together. The time for the hunt has come. I will make Kong Ru lose everything—everyone will abandon her, and she’ll die a miserable death!”

She wouldn’t spare a single person from the Ye family except Ye Anjun!

Upon hearing this, Jin Zhi’s spirit was renewed, and her determination burned bright.

“What should I do, Miss?”

“Rest and recover your health first. Otherwise, you won’t be able to help me. Go to sleep now.”

“I understand.”

After Jin Zhi lay down in the outer room, Ye Chutang dried her hair, lay down on her bed, and entered the space.

She glanced at her moral points.

She had killed four people today and injured two, gaining a total of thirty-four points.

“They really deserved to die!”

She entered the rest area and looked at the leeches and the cold cicadas on the vanity.

“Time to take care of them.”

After saying that, she took the two items and left the space.

After lighting a calming incense, Ye Chutang decided to leave the courtyard underground.

She suddenly remembered that people from Qi Yanzhou might be watching her, so she used her earth element ability to raise the floor beneath her feet and walked directly out of her room.

Her first stop was the palace’s ice cellar.

The cold cicadas loved the cold, and the ice cellar was the perfect place for them.

It would also give the dog emperor a taste of a scorching summer without ice.

Ye Chutang had originally planned to go to the market early tomorrow to stock up on vegetables.

But since she was already in the palace, she didn’t intend to leave empty-handed.

Before leaving the palace, she headed to the imperial kitchen.

By now, it was well past the time for the evening meal, yet the imperial kitchen was still brightly lit, with the chefs working tirelessly.

Some were preparing food for the morning, some were making tonics for nobles, and others were preparing late-night snacks for palace guards.

Groups of people gathered, gossiping.

“At the Duchess of An’s birthday, the emperor will send imperial chefs. I hope I get chosen.”

“Who doesn’t want to be chosen? At least there’s a reward of fifty taels!”

“I heard that the Duke of An is throwing a grand birthday feast for his wife to help the Princess of An find a husband.”

“Isn’t the emperor also pushing the Prince of Chen to choose a wife? They’re a good match!”

“That’s nonsense. The princess is not a match for the prince at all…”

After overhearing a few conversations, Ye Chutang entered the warehouse of the imperial kitchen.

The warehouse was vast, divided into several sections: grains and oils, dried goods, fruits and vegetables, seafood, snacks, poultry, fresh meat, cooked foods, and seasonings.

Each section was neatly organized, with everything carefully arranged.

Except for the fruits and vegetables and fresh meat sections, which were almost empty due to daily deliveries, the other sections were all well-stocked.

Ye Chutang smiled, her eyes narrowing with satisfaction.

“Tonight, a big harvest!”

She smiled slyly and collected everything from the warehouse into her space.

Although the seafood and fish in the seafood section, as well as the live poultry from the poultry section, would die once they entered her space, they would remain fresh once taken out.

Ye Chutang looked around the empty imperial kitchen with satisfaction and prepared to leave through the underground passage.

Suddenly, she heard a pharmacist complaining near the door of the warehouse.

“There’s no such thing as immortality here. Master Zhang is clearly deceiving the emperor. I’ve been in medicine for over ten years and never heard of using bird’s nest in pill-making!”

“Master Kong, be careful what you say. If this gets out…”

Before the cook could finish, the warehouse door was suddenly opened.

He looked at the empty warehouse in panic and shouted, “Someone, the warehouse has been robbed!”