Lin Wan said, "Eunuch Hu, I was wrong!"
Only then did Hu Xiaotian nod in satisfaction, feeling he had finally vented the resentment lodged in his chest. He turned back to the chaise longue, lifted it, and pulled out the three steel needles embedded in it. Holding them up to the light, he saw a faint blue sheen. He brought them beneath his nose and sniffed. A foul, fishy odor assailed him, making his head swim, and he hastily threw them away. These needles were clearly poisoned. Hu Xiaotian sat on the chaise longue, propped one leg up, and stared coldly at Lin Wan.
Lin Wan climbed up from the floor, her hair disheveled and her face pale. "Please grant me the antidote, Eunuch Hu."
Hu Xiaotian understood that, like Baobao, Lin Wan must have been forced to take the Myriad Insects Bone-Eroding Pill. That was why blowing the Whistle had triggered the poison inside her and caused such agony. He said, "Weren't you trying to kill me just now?"
Terrified, Lin Wan dropped to her knees with a thud. "Eunuch Hu, every last bit of the blame is mine. I didn't know you were one of us, so I made a mistake. Please be magnanimous and overlook this lowly person's offenses. Don't hold it against me..."
"Hmm?"
"Against this servant..." Under Hu Xiaotian's threats, Lin Wan had lost every trace of a consort's dignity. If anyone else had seen this scene, they would never have been able to tell who was the master and who was the servant.
Watching Lin Wan kneel at his feet, wagging her tail and begging for mercy, Hu Xiaotian felt a deep surge of delight. As the saying went, the liberated serf rose up and sang. So long as he held the key, their