Chapter 566: Chapter-566
Almost imperceptible...
Smile had appeared on the Emperor’s lips.
It wasn’t the warm, cheerful smile of an oblivious ruler enjoying a banquet. It was the dark, calculated, deeply knowing smirk of a master chess player who was watching a trap spring exactly as he designed it.
Heena’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. The realization hit her like a physical blow to the chest.
He knows. He knows it’s poisoned.
If the Emperor knew, and he was still willingly lifting it to his lips, then this wasn’t just the Prime Minister’s trap. This was an imperial trap. If Heena stepped forward now to play the hero, she would be walking directly into a bloodbath she hadn’t prepared for.
Without a single second of hesitation, Heena abandoned Samuel’s plan. She screamed in her mind.
"System! Throw yourself at the cup! Now!"
"What the—?!" the System yelped.
The glowing blue lion didn’t even have time to question the command. Driven by pure, hardwired instinct to obey its Host in critical moments, the multidimensional entity launched itself off the Vanguard table like a bolt of blue lightning.
To the rest of the Great Hall, it looked like a sudden, bizarre gust of wind had swept through the room.
WHOOSH!
CRASH!
A loud, shattering clink echoed violently through the Great Hall.
The dark porcelain cup was knocked straight out of the Emperor’s hand, forcefully deflected before a single drop of the toxic liquid could touch his lips. It crashed onto the pristine jade floor, shattering into dozens of pieces. The dark amber tonic splashed violently across the steps of the dais.
The entire banquet fell into a dead, horrifying silence.
The music completely stopped.
Down at the Vanguard table, Samuel’s eyes widened in rare, unadulterated shock. Beneath the table, his fingers tightened around the hilt of his hidden throwing knife. His meticulously prepared, flawless plan to humiliate the Prime Minister had just been violently derailed in a fraction of a second.
For a brief, agonizing moment, everyone in the hall froze.
Then, sheer panic erupted.
"Your Majesty!" the head eunuch shrieked, dropping to his knees.
The golden-armored Imperial Guards rushed the dais, their hands on the hilts of their swords, completely surrounding the throne.
"Are you hurt, Your Majesty?!"
"Did the liquid burn you?!"
"Protect the Emperor!"
The Emperor did not flinch. He didn’t gasp, and he didn’t look terrified. He simply lowered his empty hand, staring at his palm for a fraction of a second before slowly shaking his head. His expression was completely calm.
"No," the Emperor said, his voice cutting smoothly through the chaos. "I am fine. It seems a sudden draft caught my sleeve."
What happened next sent a cold shiver down Heena’s spine.
Within moments, palace servants rushed the dais with terrifying, practiced efficiency. They threw thick towels over the spilled tonic, soaking it up instantly. They swept the shattered porcelain into a basket and wiped the jade floor spotless.
The disturbance barely lasted a few breaths. The evidence was entirely gone.
Normally, in an imperial court, if a cup was suspiciously knocked from the Emperor’s hand, the protocol was absolute: the guards would bring in a bird or a dog to test the spilled liquid for poison.
But this was the heavily guarded inner palace at night. There were no stray animals wandering the Great Hall. And mysteriously, the Emperor did not order a royal taster to check the remaining liquid in the teapot. He simply waved a hand, and the head eunuch whisked the tray away entirely.
Nothing could be tested.
Slowly, the Emperor’s expression shifted. The cheerful facade dropped, turning completely unreadable. His dark eyes swept over the silent crowd, cold and calculating.
Not far away, Samuel quietly lowered his gaze, slowly releasing his grip on the throwing knife.
His own grand scheme had just been interrupted. He turned his head slightly, his dark eyes locking onto Heena.
He expected her to look frustrated. He expected her to look angry that their plan was ruined.
But she didn’t. She looked... relieved.
Samuel stared at her for a long, heavy second. His brilliant, villainous mind raced, processing a thousand different variables. If Heena had stopped the plan, it was because she saw a danger that he hadn’t.
Samuel silently closed his mouth. He picked up his teacup, choosing not to ask a single question.
Meanwhile, down by Heena’s boots, a soft, pathetic whimpering sound echoed.
The System floated back to her side, materializing its glowing blue form. It was clutching its digital head. A massive, comically large glowing bump had appeared right between its ears from where it had forcefully collided with the heavy porcelain cup.
Rubbing the swollen lump with teary, pixelated eyes, the lion complained pitifully.
"Host..." the System whined, its tail drooping in misery. "How many times have I told you not to throw me like I’m some kind of dodgeball?! My physical manifestation protocols are sensitive! What did I even do this time?!"
Heena didn’t even spare the glowing lion a glance. Her eyes were still locked onto the Emperor, her heart pounding against her ribs as the terrifying pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place.
She leaned back in her chair, her voice dropping into a low, chilling whisper that only the System could hear.
"System..."
The lion paused its whining, blinking up at her. "...Huh?"
Heena’s fox-like eyes narrowed into absolute, freezing certainty.
"He’s not a regressor."
The glowing blue lion sat on the table, tilting its head in sheer confusion.
"...Huh?" the System whispered, its digital ears twitching. "What do you mean he’s not a regressor? Then how did he know about the poison?"
Heena didn’t answer. She simply closed her eyes for a brief second, calming her racing heart, and then sat back down. Her expression returned to a flawless, unreadable mask. She didn’t say a single word to Samuel, nor did she explain her terrifying realization to the system.
The crisis had passed, swept under the rug by the Emperor’s own command. The banquet simply resumed its course, the music swelling once more as the palace servants brought out the final courses of the feast. Laughter and cheerful chatter filled the Great Hall, completely burying the deadly assassination attempt that had just failed in plain sight.
As the wine flowed freely and the tension from the shattered cup dissolved into the air, the Emperor leaned back on his golden throne. His dark eyes scanned the Great Hall, his mood seemingly elevated to an untouchable high. He raised his jade cup, gesturing broadly to the vast assembly of officials.
"Tonight is a celebration of our empire’s unparalleled prosperity!" the Emperor’s voice boomed over the soft strumming of the background musicians. "But let us not just eat and drink like commoners! I want to see the true brilliance of my court! Anyone who steps forward to entertain the throne tonight and captures my absolute favor shall be rewarded with a prize of ten thousand taels of gold!"
A collective, deafening gasp echoed through the Great Hall.
Ten thousand taels was a staggering, astronomical fortune. For a commoner, it was enough to live in absolute luxury for three lifetimes, even for nobles its shocking.
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