In the kitchen, chopping boards clattered, several large pots steamed, and more than a dozen workers bustled about, sweat covering their heads.
The plainly dressed woman who had followed the innkeeper inside had now blended into the crowd, helping the cooks pick vegetables with movements so fluid and natural that she seemed to have been one of them all along.
It was not that no one noticed her joining them. Three or four village women helping beside the stove had actually seen her.
Yet when faced with this woman who should have been a complete stranger, they showed not the slightest surprise, astonishment, or doubt. They merely glanced at her before lowering their heads and continuing their work.
Their brains seemed to instinctively filter out the unfamiliarity between them, as though the plainly dressed woman belonged here, as though she should be a member of the kitchen staff, yet she attracted no attention, like an inconsequential person no one cared about.
In fact, they were not the only ones who found nothing jarring or surprising. Even the innkeeper sensed nothing wrong at that moment. He simply spoke to Wang Xinggui's attendant with a broad smile.
"Brother Liu, have you come to the kitchen personally with special instructions? Should we drug Little Prince Huai and his companions?" the innkeeper volunteered, baring his yellow teeth. "I have everything ready."
The attendant waved a hand. "I came to tell you not to drug them yet. Zhu Zigui has no backbone whatsoever. Ever since meeting the Chieftain, he's been like a dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy... there probably won't be any more trouble."
The innkeeper nodded repeatedly. "Understood, understood. If you need them drugged, Brother Liu, just give me a look. I'll handle it personally and make sure nothing goes wrong."