Chapter 565: Chapter-565
As Heena walked away, leaving the girl to treat her wounds in peace, a soft, digitized pop sounded by her boots.
The glowing blue lion trotted beside her, looking back toward the garden with a deeply pained expression on its holographic face.
"Well, Host," the System sighed dramatically, its ears drooping. "There goes our incredibly expensive, high-grade medicine."
’Shut up,’ Heena replied in her mind, her expression remaining perfectly stoic as she walked down the corridor. ’It was only two System Points.’
The lion stopped in its tracks, looking up at her in sheer, unadulterated outrage.
"Come on, Host!" the System cried out, waving a glowing paw in the air. "You just spent two whole points on a side character, but yesterday you wouldn’t even let me buy a digital tteokbokki from the System Store that only cost a fifty-cent coin! How is that fair?!"
Heena let out a soft, cynical scoff.
’Well,’ she shot back effortlessly, ’if you weren’t such a massive glutton who tries to eat ten meals a day, do you really think I would have stopped you?’
Heena left the glowing blue lion pouting in the corridor and stepped back through the towering red doors of the Great Hall.
The atmosphere inside was entirely intoxicated. The dual dance of the fox spirits was reaching its absolute climax. The male and female courtesans spun together in a blinding blur of silver and blue silk, their movements so fast and perfectly synchronized that they looked like a single, magnificent blooming flower on the jade floor.
As the final, resounding strike of the guzheng echoed through the hall, the dancers dropped into deep, flawless bows.
The Great Hall erupted into thunderous applause. Even the usually stiff civil officials were clapping enthusiastically, their faces flushed from wine and the sheer beauty of the performance.
The Emperor laughed heartily, clapping his hands from the golden throne. "Magnificent! Truly a performance worthy of the heavens! Reward them with fifty taels of gold each!"
"We thank Your Majesty for his boundless grace," the Master of the brothel replied, bowing deeply. As he backed away to lead the troupe out of the hall, his eyes flicked toward Heena’s table. He gave one final, almost imperceptible nod—a silent confirmation that her spies were firmly planted in the capital’s highest circles.
Heena slid smoothly back onto her silk cushion beside Samuel.
"Did you enjoy the fresh air, Wife?" Samuel asked loudly, casually peeling a grape and popping it into his mouth.
"It was refreshing," Heena replied flatly.
Samuel leaned in, his shoulder brushing against hers. Under the cover of the loud applause, his voice dropped its obnoxious volume, turning cold and razor-sharp.
"The third course is being prepared," Samuel whispered, his eyes fixed lazily on the Emperor’s dais. "The Prime Minister hasn’t stopped smiling for the last ten minutes. He is practically salivating."
Heena cast a subtle glance toward the civil officials’ tables. The Prime Minister was seated in the front row, holding a cup of wine. He was the perfect picture of an elegant, loyal minister, but there was a dark, venomous gleam in his eyes as he watched the palace servants clear the dance floor.
His Third Wife had returned as well, sitting rigidly beside him. Thanks to Heena’s medicine, the sickly pallor was gone from her face, though she kept her eyes firmly glued to her lap, terrified to look in Heena’s direction.
"Bring forth the third course!" the head eunuch announced.
A new wave of servants entered the hall, carrying steaming bowls of rare delicacies. But Heena’s eyes completely bypassed the food. She locked onto the side entrance of the dais.
Stepping out from the shadows of the golden pillars was an elderly man dressed in heavy, crane-embroidered robes. He carried a small, exquisite jade tray. Resting on the tray was a single, dark porcelain teapot and a matching cup.
It was the Head Royal Physician.
The atmosphere at the Vanguard table instantly plummeted to absolute zero.
Samuel’s lazy posture vanished. He sat perfectly still, his predatory eyes tracking the Physician’s every single step. Beneath the table, his hand casually drifted toward the hidden hilt of a throwing knife in his sleeve.
Heena didn’t move a muscle, but internally, she was fully dialed in.
’System,’ Heena commanded in her mind. ’Now.’
Pop.
The glowing blue lion materialized right on top of their table, completely invisible to the rest of the world. It wasn’t pouting anymore. The System crouched low like a hunting dog, its digital eyes glowing with intense, scanning algorithms as it locked onto the jade tray.
The Head Royal Physician walked slowly up the steps to the golden throne. He bowed deeply before the Emperor.
"Your Majesty," the Physician said smoothly. "It is time for your evening health tonic. Brewed with the finest mountain herbs to ensure your eternal longevity."
The Emperor smiled warmly, completely trusting the man who had managed his health for over a decade. "Ah, excellent. Pour it, Physician."
The Physician lifted the dark porcelain teapot.
From her seat, Heena watched as a thick, dark amber liquid flowed from the spout into the Emperor’s cup. The hall was filled with the scent of roasted duck and sweet wine, but beneath it, Heena’s highly trained senses caught the incredibly faint, earthy aroma of raw Vanguard medicine.
"Scanning..." the System’s robotic voice echoed in Heena’s mind.
The glowing lion’s eyes flashed rapidly, shooting invisible rays toward the Emperor’s cup.
"Chemical breakdown in progress. Detecting ginseng... detecting lotus root... detecting..."
The lion gasped, its fur standing completely on end.
"Host! Confirmed! Massive concentration of raw, unrefined Aurawood root! It has been mixed with a southern paralytic toxin! If he drinks that, his heart will stop in less than ten seconds, and the medical residue will point exclusively to the Vanguard’s armory!"
Heena’s eyes darkened into an abyss. The Prime Minister had actually done it. He had brought a lethal weapon directly to the Son of Heaven.
The Emperor reached out, his fingers wrapping around the warm porcelain cup. He lifted it toward his lips, a cheerful smile on his face as he prepared to drink to his own health.
Down in the front row, the Prime Minister’s smile widened into a terrifying, victorious smirk. He was seconds away from executing the most powerful man in the empire and annihilating the Marcuset family in one single, flawless move.
Samuel turned his head slightly, his dark eyes locking onto Heena’s. A silent, deadly question passed between them.
Are you ready to burn it down?
Heena’s hand dropped to the hilt of her ceremonial dagger. She gave Samuel a single, decisive nod.
Just as the rim of the poisoned cup touched the Emperor’s lips, Heena stood up, the sound of her heavy wooden chair scraping violently against the jade floor echoing like a gunshot through the silent hall.
Just as Heena pushed her chair back, fully prepared to shatter the banquet and declare treason, something caught her eye.
She froze.
From where she stood, her sharp, battlefield-trained vision locked onto the Emperor sitting high on the golden throne. The porcelain cup was barely a millimeter from his lips. But beneath the shadow of his intricately beaded crown, Heena saw it.
A faint...
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