When the old lady turned her face away, the old lady quickly put a pill in Zi'an's wine glass, then poured the wine in her own glass into Zi'an's glass, saying, "I can't drink wine, you drink it, so as not to waste the prime minister's fine wine."
The old lady put the pill in very quickly, not like a 78-year-old at all. With just a wave of her sleeve, the pill fell into Zi'an's cup.
After she poured the wine, she glanced at the color in the glass, and then said as if something was wrong, "No, I have a cough, you'd better not drink my wine."
After saying that, he took the wine, sniffed it, and then poured it out.
But, in just a moment, Zian saw that the wine in the glass turned light yellow.
There were one or two drops of the original wine left in the cup. The old lady put down the pill and poured the wine over, wanting to see what the medicine was.
This pill should be the pill for testing venom.
"Your Highness used to have a good alcohol tolerance, how come you can't even drink a glass now?" asked the concubine.
The old lady smiled and said, "Not now, I'm old, but I can smell it, to satisfy my craving for alcohol."
Chen Liuliu didn't know why, "But grandma still drinks a lot of wine in the mansion."
"Shut up, what do you know? This is the best wine. Grandmother drinks Shaodaozi at home. What if she is used to drinking good wine and can't drink inferior wine?" Lady Chen glared at Chen Liuliu.
Chen Liuliu was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head and continued eating.
She and her grandmother had an agreement. In the words of her grandfather, both of them spoke in an uncultured and inappropriate manner, so they had to restrain each other. If one of them said something wrong without knowing it, the other would give her a glare, and the person who spoke would have to shut up.
The old lady vaguely felt that something was wrong. Lady Chen was usually not nosy, so could it be that she had discovered something
Xia Quan came back to report: "Madam, I searched the entire Prime Minister's Mansion but couldn't find the Second Miss. I asked the guards at the door and they said they saw her go out with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
The old lady couldn't help but get angry, "Why didn't the guards stop her? We still have to return the gift to the Duke's Mansion."
Concubine Cui said, "Forget it. The prince is playful and might have dragged her out to play. It would be the same if the eldest lady went to return the gift."
The old lady glanced at Zi'an and said reluctantly, "Well, she didn't kowtow to offer tea, so it's not appropriate for her to return the gift."
Concubine Cui said, "What's the big deal? It's just a ceremony, not a big deal."
The old lady thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait a little longer."
After that, she instructed Xia Quan, "Tell someone to watch at the door. If the second young lady comes back, immediately ask her to go to the side room to prepare the return gift."
Murong Zhuangzhuang's face lengthened. "Who can't do this? Do we have to wait for her to come back? Zi'an is also from the Prime Minister's Mansion."
After hearing what Murong Zhuangzhuang said, the old lady looked at Liang hesitantly, then looked at Zi'an and said, "You and the second lady should go to the side room to return the gift later."
Zian didn't raise his eyebrows, "Yes!"
What will be waiting for her and Liang in the side room
As they were talking, the sound of gongs and drums rang out in front. Everyone stood up immediately, and saw a long fire dragon rushing in from the gate of the prime minister's residence. Flames soared into the sky, accompanied by sparks of pine resin, which was indescribably dazzling and shocking.
After one dragon came in, another followed, and eight dragons came in successively. The fire dragon passed by the banquet and kept moving forward. The firelight was eye-catching, and everyone could see it wherever it went. The person holding the fire dragon below held a long stick and danced as he walked forward. Zian felt that it was a bit like tap dance.
Chen Liuliu shouted excitedly: "It's eight fire dragons, so beautiful, I want to go and see it."
As she spoke, she suddenly ran over.
Not only her, but also many young men followed the fire dragon, and the scene suddenly became lively.
Zi'an looked at the high flames and was somewhat shocked. The fire dragon dance was indeed beautiful. The moving fire dragons looked like real coiled dragons, moving forward rapidly. Just as Su Qing said, the fire dragon with special kerosene added, although sparks exploded, there was no splashing, which only increased the dazzling effect.
The old lady said to Zi'an, "Take advantage of this moment, you and the second lady should go to the side room."
Zi'an and Liang came over, Liang bowed to everyone, "Everyone, drink slowly, I'll go first."
"Madam, please take care!" said Concubine Cui and the old lady.
Zi'an took two steps and suddenly turned back to look at the old lady. "Oh, by the way, grandma, I forgot to tell you something. Just now, I asked Xia Quan for Guiyuan, the doorman. Xia Quan said he wanted to ask for your opinion."
The old lady waved her hand and said, "If you need anyone in your room, I'll transfer them over to do the job for you."
"Yes, thank you grandma!" Zi'an bowed and turned away.
Xia Quan led Liang through the fire dragon and went directly to the side room.
On the way up, Xia Quan said, "Miss, since you asked the old lady and she has spoken, I will hand you the indenture contract later."
Zi'an replied, "Thank you, housekeeper."
Xia Quan curled up the corner of his mouth into a sneer, "It's what a slave should do."
Wait until you die, and then kill Guiyuan and send him down to serve you.
After entering the side room, Zi'an looked around. There were three windows in the side room, all of which were sealed tightly.
There was a strange smell in the side room. Zi'an looked around and found wet traces on the corners and the floor, like kerosene.
Zi'an knew what was going on.
The gifts sent by Ximen Xiaoyue's parents were placed in the side room and had not yet been put into the warehouse.
The mansion had already prepared the return gifts, which were placed on the table. There was a huge pile of them. What Zi'an had to do was to take the gift list to verify the gifts, and then put them into the basket personally for the people from the Duke's Mansion to carry back.
The bridesmaid was reading beside him, "Five pieces of silk, a pair of raw chickens, two jars of good wine, two sets of noodles, a pair of walnut buns, a pair of jade ruyi..."
While Xiniang was reciting, Zi'an was putting it aside.
Liang was originally standing aside, but she slowly sat down and shook her head.
Seeing this, Zian asked, "Is Madam okay?"
Liang waved her hand, "It's okay, I just feel a little weak."
"I know a little about medicine, so why don't I take Madam's pulse?" Zi'an guessed that the wine she drank had taken effect, and she also wanted to know what was in the wine.
She had just taken two steps when she reached out to hold the back of the chair. "My legs are a little weak, and I have no strength in my body. What's going on?"
Liang originally wanted to find an opportunity to apologize to Zi'an, but when she saw her sitting over to feel her pulse, she stretched out her hand.
After Zi'an watched Xia Quan go out, he took her pulse. The pulse was slow and blocked, as if her qi and blood were not flowing smoothly.
"I'm so nervous. I don't know what's going on." Liang was a little flustered. This feeling made her very uncomfortable. She even forgot to apologize to Zi'an for a moment.
There were sounds of gongs and drums outside. Xia Quan wanted to go out when he heard the sounds.
Zi'an called him, "Xia Quan, wait a moment."
Xia Quan turned back reluctantly, "What's the matter?"
Zi'an did not speak to him, but said to Xi Niang, "Xi Niang, please go out and bring a cup of hot water for the Second Madam."
(End of this chapter)