EES - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

After finishing the Daily Court Records compiled by previous Court Recorders over the past few months, An Lin turned to the latest page, the one that had begun recording since Qiancai took office today.

As expected, aside from the date, he had simply inherited the records of those who came before him. The entry read: [Reviewing Memorials].

An Lin couldn't help but recall her own daily routine. Was it really this tedious and exhausting?

...Actually, it seemed it was.

She not only reviewed memorials, but she even operated two accounts simultaneously to do so. Those earlier Court Recorders assumed that when the Empress visited the study to accompany the Emperor, it was a rare moment of rest and relaxation for him. In reality, the Empress was there to review memorials as well.

Yet, until now, An Lin had never considered her days spent checking the realm's development through the simulator and reviewing memorials to be overtime. After all, when she played games back in her previous life, she still had to log in daily, monitoring national construction and development while handling state affairs. The only difference was that reviewing memorials in the game didn't require much effort; a quick scroll would finish them. In reality, she had to sit here and review them all day long.

An Lin silently closed the Daily Court Record and handed it back. Yang Sheng respectfully accepted it. The ruler and minister exchanged a wordless glance.

Finally, the two went their separate ways: one casually continued writing his record, while the other sat down at the desk facing a mountain of memorials.

Facing the table piled high with memorials, An Lin hesitated between "I'm done with overtime, I'll go out and have fun first" and "Fine, I'll just keep reviewing." In the end, she picked up her brush and continued working.

It was like logging into a game every day for your job, completing daily quests, and grinding for hours during every event, only to get paid nothing and actually lose money yourself, yet you still logged in diligently.

Can players calling it overtime even count as overtime?

And so, the Emperor, who was practically the most overworked person in the Kingdom of Xuan, managed to soothe herself into continuing her duties.

After weathering this calm morning, it was time for midday meal. An Lin decided to begin implementing her initial plan: "draft conscripts to handle tasks for Qiancai, then promote him."

Since the Empress's visits to the study after martial training were unpredictable, the Dietary Bureau did not know whether she would come each day. Nevertheless, they prepared a portion for her. Eating in the study where others wouldn't notice, An Lin simply invited her beloved minister to sit and share the meal.

Thinking about it, there indeed was an interaction in the Emperor Simulator game where the emperor shares a meal with a certain minister after court ends. An Lin remembered that the loyalty increase from each shared meal fluctuated between 2 and 10. She wondered if Qiancai would grant her some loyalty points as well. Just thinking about it made her feel a little excited~

"Qiancai, don't be so restrained. Treat this as if you were dining at your own home," An Lin said warmly. Seeing him refuse to pick up his chopsticks until she did, she used the third pair of silver chopsticks brought with the meal to serve him some stir-fried greens and meatballs. "The Dietary Bureau really knows how to cook greens. They're crisp, refreshing, and slightly sweet. Quite pleasant to eat even in this sweltering heat."

"Your servant is deeply moved and grateful." Yang Sheng finally followed her words and picked up his chopsticks.

The Emperor's midday meal consisted of merely three dishes: one meat, one vegetable, and one soup. The meat dish was braised meatballs, the vegetable was stir-fried greens, and the soup was tofu and fish.

This was the standard configuration for the Emperor's daily meals. An Lin quite liked eating fish. Unlike the common trope where one hides their preferences out of fear of poisoning, she never concealed what she enjoyed. Since the standard meal always featured three dishes, she ate everything. Once the Dietary Bureau noticed her preference, they frequently prepared fish, meticulously picking out all the bones.

However, today, after every few bites of rice, An Lin secretly checked the Loyalty Rating above her minister's head to see if it had risen. After a while, seeing it tick up slightly, she happily chuckled to herself. After eating a few mouthfuls of greens, she planned to reach for a piece of fish from the soup. Just as she extended her chopsticks, Yang Sheng happened to lift a piece of fish and was retracting his chopsticks.

An Lin had been marveling at how her minister probably shared her love for fish, but as her gaze passed over the piece of fish he was about to put in his mouth, she suddenly froze. She reached out and firmly pressed down on Yang Sheng's hand.

"Wait. Don't eat it!" The amusement vanished from An Lin's eyes, replaced by a sharp, commanding tone.

Yang Sheng stopped his movement and set down his chopsticks. "Your Majesty?"

"That food is poisoned." An Lin said coldly, raising her voice to call out. "Someone."

The young eunuch waiting outside quickly responded and appeared. "What are Your Majesty's orders?"

"Who is on duty at the Dietary Bureau today? Who handled this poisoned fish soup? Detain them all pending interrogation. Also, send for the Chief Steward." An Lin ordered.

Everyone inside and outside the study fell instantly silent. The young eunuch was startled by the news of poisoned soup and hurriedly obeyed. "Yes!"

Yang Sheng, who remained in the study, listened with a thoughtful expression. He picked up the silver chopsticks and poked the piece of fish to test it. After a moment, he said, "Silver cannot detect this poison."

While issuing orders with her main account, An Lin had already switched to her Empress avatar and opened the Empress Simulator to monitor the Dietary Bureau, observing the situation and everyone's expressions. Hearing his statement, she nodded. "Silver can usually only detect arsenic. This must be a toxin extracted from something else."

As for how An Lin discovered the poison on that piece of fish...

It was because when she saw Yang Sheng lift that piece of fish, her eyes, which could see numerical values, immediately flashed with a glaring, red, capitalized tag. It directly displayed the [Poison] Buff. Moreover, only that single piece of fish carried this Buff. When she looked at the fish soup again now, the Buff tag was gone. She wasn't sure if the trace amount was too low to be lethal and thus untagged, or if the poison hadn't seeped into the broth.

No wonder so many rounds of poison-testing procedures failed to catch it.

Until now, An Lin hadn't even known the simulator had this function.

Wang Xiuwen arrived shortly after receiving the news. His usually kind and gentle face showed a rare sternness. Only at moments like this did he reveal the demeanor of the Chief Steward, who commanded the Shadow Guard and intelligence network.

Upon arriving, Wang Xiuwen's first action was to ask An Lin, "Has Your Majesty eaten? Do you feel any discomfort? Quickly summon the Imperial Physicians to examine you!"

"I am fine. I haven't eaten yet." Seeing someone more angry than she was, An Lin's mood steadied. She reassured him, "But we should indeed call the physicians to check if anyone involved in the poison-testing process was poisoned."

Wang Xiuwen turned to look at the young eunuch who had served outside the study today and asked coldly, "Who performed the poison test today?"

"It was... it was Li Xiang," the questioned eunuch answered tremblingly.

Unsure whether the tester had participated in the poisoning, An Lin did not directly tell Wang Xiuwen that the eunuch surnamed Li was innocent, to avoid influencing his judgment. Instead, before Li Xiang was brought forward, she told Wang Xiuwen, "The poisoner is very cautious. They likely only placed one poisoned piece of fish. It's normal it wasn't detected. That piece looks like it might be a fish's liver."

"Your servant understands." Wang Xiuwen nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, everyone who had handled the day's meals, from cooking to delivery to the study, was placed under surveillance. Interrogations and searches were conducted directly at the Dietary Bureau. Several of them were exactly the Shadow Guards known for their interrogation skills whom An Lin's Empress avatar had encountered through the Shadow Guard department. Among them was even someone who had previously been responsible for interrogating the transmigrator Liu Guanglin.

"Let's go take a look." An Lin did not wait in the study for results. She directly invited Yang Sheng to come along and observe. She also spoke sincerely to Yang Sheng, who was watching the proceedings thoughtfully, "Qiancai, I apologize for putting you through this fright."

"Why does Your Majesty say such a thing?" Yang Sheng looked at her with confusion.

"After all, We were the ones who insisted you join Us for this meal. For you, this was an unexpected disaster." An Lin simply smiled and said, withholding the true reason.

If she had eaten this meal alone, she doubted she would have been this furious. With the Emperor Simulator, the system surely wouldn't let her painstakingly recruit someone across worlds just to die pointlessly. Worst case, she still had another account. If the Emperor account was lost, she could simply use the Empress account to ascend the throne. After all, truly talented and capable individuals wouldn't care whether the ruler was male or female. She could even use that identity to attract more talented women from the populace to rise into officialdom.

But her Gold-Tier Civil Minister! He only had one life! If she hadn't spotted the Poison Buff, her renowned minister throughout history would have been lost!!!

She still had a whole backlog of tasks relying on Qiancai to complete! If whoever did this truly caused her to lose her only Gold-Tier Civil Minister, her extreme anger might turn her into a tyrant. She might order the poisoner to be sliced into ten thousand pieces and torn apart by five horses, and it still wouldn't ease her resentment!

By the time An Lin and Yang Sheng arrived at the Dietary Bureau, the implicated personnel had already been controlled and lined up against the wall.

After entering, An Lin immediately scanned the [Loyalty] stat above everyone's heads.

However, everyone's loyalty toward her here basically ranged between 30 and 70. Even the lowest was nowhere near the level needed to attempt regicide or rebellion.

So the problem wasn't loyalty?

An Lin scanned them again, this time focusing mainly on their expressions.

Apart from the imperial chefs and female officials of the Dietary Bureau, the lower-ranking kitchen helpers and odd-job workers all wore looks of panic and fear. They trembled under questioning, making it impossible to spot anyone particularly suspicious.

Wang Xiuwen instructed the Shadow Guards to separate the suspects and interrogate them one by one to verify the exact sequence of events.

"Reporting to the Chief Steward! A handkerchief was found in the firewood pile!" Soon, those searching the Dietary Bureau's kitchen reported a discovery, presenting a dark-colored handkerchief.

Wang Xiuwen used another cloth to pad his fingers, pinched one corner of the handkerchief, lifted it, and brought it to his nose to sniff. His expression immediately darkened. "Fishy odor."

"Who collected the firewood, tended the fire, and passed by the firewood pile today?" His gaze swept over the panicked Dietary Bureau staff like a falcon's. "Think carefully. If you cannot remember, you will all be sent to the great prison together for interrogation."

The moment Wang Xiuwen spoke, An Lin, who was monitoring the Mood Ratings above the palace staff's heads, almost immediately noticed that one kitchen helper's Mood Rating plummeted to 0.

Many people dropped their Mood Ratings at this critical moment, but dropping straight to 0 instantly raised serious suspicion.

At the same time, several female cooks, under Wang Xiuwen's high-pressure interrogation, trembled and spoke up. "Your servant believes she saw Cook Zhang linger near the firewood pile just before the guards arrived."

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