Extra: Feather and Poison (8)

The bell-ringer also looked solemn.

"That's not right."

"A poison that can evade routine testing would likely cost far more than the price of these beans."

"Why don't we send someone to the Star Empire to investigate which merchant guild was behind this?"

Hairspring nodded in agreement.

"Go ahead, be careful during the investigation, and don't alert them," he cautioned.

"Can I come with you?" Death Knell looked at Hairspring, her eyes filled with barely suppressed anger.

She wanted to settle the accounts herself.

This insult was simply too great!

"Your job depends on the High Priest's arrangements," Hairspring said, shrugging.

Death Knell's expression immediately wilted.

Of course, she wouldn't dare go to Kui She and say that she wanted to make a trip to the Star Empire because of a personal grudge.

Hairspring gestured to the surroundings, and the others quickly withdrew.

He then lowered his voice and said to the Death Knell, "There's some news that hasn't been confirmed yet. The apothecary Saimusi, whom I'm looking for, seems to have gone to the capital of the Stars Sky Kingdom, the City of Radiance."

"I will suggest to the Serpent that you investigate this matter. But whether it will succeed..."

"Thanks!" Death Knell's eyes lit up immediately, and she said gratefully.

****

The next morning, at the Stars Palace.

The three of them returned to the garden and the lakeside.

In their follow-up investigation yesterday, they discovered something extremely strange—the sales area for the poison Pea also included residents of the Star Empire living south of the Plain of Despair.

This means that Lorenzo even included his own people in the scope of the poisoning!

This result kept the three of them awake all night.

When we met the next morning, he had obvious dark circles under his eyes.

Chloe summoned a swiftlet, fed it some grain, and then placed a magic ring on its foot to enhance the mental connection.

The morning light shone on the lake, making it sparkle.

The swiftlet flapped its wings and skimmed across the lake, leaving a thin golden trail as it flew towards the well near the villa.

One of the guards saw the bird but paid it no mind.

This is the time when flocks of birds are most active.

Seeing the swiftlet successfully enter the well again, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Xialike unfastened the sword from his waist and tossed it to Meiwu'er.

Meiwu'er walked to a relatively open area, flicked his wrist, and threw the sword directly into the air.

brush-

A figure suddenly separated from him, like a shadow, and caught the sword in mid-air.

The next instant, Meiwu'er and his clone were locked in a fierce battle, and the garden echoed with a series of crashing sounds.

"Meiwu'er and I used to come here to practice occasionally."

Hidden among the bushes, Xialike lowered his voice and explained to Chloe.

"Coming a few times a month won't arouse suspicion."

"But if they keep coming like this, it will definitely attract attention," Chloe said.

"Yes, so we need to hurry."

Upon reaching the vicinity of the basement ventilation opening, the swiftlet emitted a tentative ultrasonic call.

"I'm here, it's safe now," Yu Yao replied quickly. "But be quick, Saimusi will be up soon."

[Lorenzo, troll, poison.] Chloe quickly relayed the message.

Yu Yao was initially a little confused, but she quickly realized what was going on.

[The target is the Plain of Despair? That Lorenzo —oh no, this is trouble!]

Her voice became urgent.

[Forget about saving me for now, we must stop Lorenzo first!]

She continued speaking without even waiting for Chloe's response.

Lorenzo confiscated a notebook of mine. It contained my ideas and prototypes for the "Formless Dove." Although it was far from being a finished product, Lorenzo probably planned to throw the notebook away afterward and pin the whole thing on the Feather Race!

The Feather Race cannot afford such consequences!

The Feather Race was already weak.

Once the Feather Race is smeared with such indelible accusations, they will face annihilation.

Yu Yao speaks extremely fast.

Chloe quickly jotted down the information in her notebook.

Xialike glanced at the record and identified a portion of it.

He immediately understood why the poison Pea were sold across the empire's southern border.

"King Lorenzo— " his voice turned cold, "What a elaborate ruse!"

The fact that even their own people were sacrificed would confirm that this "war between four sides" was instigated by the Feather Race through poisoning!

Chloe's fingers tightened suddenly, nearly breaking the pen in her hand.

"He's treating the people like straw dogs!"

Afterwards, the two sides quickly exchanged some information.

Yu Yao told Chloe that Lorenzo himself was extremely skilled in alchemy and medicine making, understood pharmacology, and even personally reproduced the production process, so there was no way to fool him.

Suddenly, Yu Yao's voice changed.

[Saimusi is here! Lorenzo will be here soon too, you guys hurry up!]

Chloe immediately cut off contact.

The swiftlet flew out of the well and rejoined the flock of birds foraging for food and water in the air before departing.

****

"Queen Yu Yao, it's time for us to begin preparing the medicine."

In the dungeon, Saimusi walked in without saying a word, and pushed her wheelchair straight toward the lab table.

Yu Yao glanced down at her crippled legs, a deathly glint in her eyes.

But when her gaze fell on her protruding belly, she regained some of her liveliness.

Finally, hope has arrived; she can hold on a little longer!

Did you put something I shouldn't have in my food?

Yu Yao suddenly spoke in a very harsh tone, questioning Saimusi.

In the past few days, she has clearly felt changes in her body.

His body, which had been weakened and nearly withered due to severe injuries, gradually regained some color and his strength was much greater than before.

"What else could it be? Of course, it's medicine to cure the disease, and expensive supplements."

"Saimusi answered calmly, then leaned down and whispered in Yu Yao's ear.

"Listen, I want to live. You don't want your unborn child to die, right?"

His Majesty has lost patience.

"We must develop an upgraded version of 'The Impermanent Dove' as soon as possible, one that is also effective against trolls!"

"Furthermore, His Majesty will personally operate the equipment, so we won't be able to do anything fancy!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Yao's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"All of this is because of your good reputation!"

Saimusi's face froze instantly.

He was expelled from White Tower Medical School because he fabricated drug data.

"You and I both know perfectly well that it's not about that," Saimusi said through gritted teeth.

The real reason, of course, is that this matter was too significant, Lorenzo didn't trust anyone.

He himself had mastered the configuration technique of "the Nameless Dove," so someone like Saimusi could be silenced at any time.

The attempt to protect oneself by "holding back a trick" or deliberately concealing key steps is simply not going to work.

"Are you regretting it now, having been tempted by the promise of great profit?" Yu Yao smiled slightly.

The guards nearby glared at the two of them with a warning look.

"I agreed to come here because of my utmost loyalty to His Majesty!" Saimusi said through gritted teeth.

People who can do academic work and achieve results, whether those results are fabricated or earned through hard work, are not really foolish.

If Saimusi wasn't shrewd enough, he wouldn't have been chosen by Lorenzo.

It was only after arriving here that he learned about the emperor's true character!

"But you can't solve this deadlock."

The guard stood up abruptly and looked coldly at the two men.

"I mean, you can't solve Lorenzo's current need for the medicine."

Yu Yao's expression remained completely unchanged.

She turned her head, her mind racing as she recalled Chloe's request and racked her brains for a way to achieve it.

A moment later, Yu Yao picked up a pen and wrote down a long list of materials on the paper.

"I have a new recipe." She handed over the list. "These are all needed."

"So much silver halide?" Saimusi noticed something was wrong at a glance.

"What?" Yu Yao looked up at him, her tone mocking, "Are you worried that Lorenzo can't afford it?"

Saimusi's hand paused slightly.

After a long pause, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"These things had better actually work on trolls!"

****

After finishing his communication with Yu Yao, Xialike picked up his sword and actually sparred with Meiwu'er.

They only stopped when both of them were drenched in sweat.

The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked out of the garden.

It looks no different from when I came here before to relax and practice swordsmanship.

"Xialike, you haven't exercised in too long, you can't beat Meiwu'er at all now," Chloe said with a smile, wiping Xialike's sweat with a towel.

"Miss Chloe is exaggerating," Meiwu'er laughed. "I am but a lowly warrior; I merely relied on my skill to gain a slight advantage over Your Highness."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he bumped into Emperor Lorenzo.

He was followed by several guards, as well as the Executioner Zhapulai.

The three immediately bowed.

"Not bad." Lorenzo glanced at them. "Practice your swordsmanship more, so that you won't embarrass the Star Empire if you ever have to perform."

This statement is utterly undisguised, blatantly categorizing Xialike as merely a pretty face.

"Yes, Father!" Xialike replied with a look of delight.

Lorenzo was very satisfied.

Such an obedient and well-behaved nominal crown prince certainly saved him a lot of trouble.

After the three returned to the Crown Prince's Palace, their faces all darkened.

Yu Yao conveyed a lot of information today, including many details of recent events.

First of all, the successful development of the "Mutual Dove" was two months ago.

Although Yu Yao deliberately made things difficult, its cost was made very high.

But Saimusi was a man of skill. He led his team to identify the problems one by one and continuously "improved" the product, reducing the cost of manufacturing by about 80%.

As a result, Lorenzo started mass production a week ago.

Chloe opened her shorthand notebook.

In yesterday's record, Yu Yao explained the identification method for the "Wu Xiang Jiu".

Just now, Yu Yao gave the specific ingredients of "Wu Xiang Jiu" and how to make it ineffective.

Chloe organized the contents, copied them clearly, and then prepared the antidote according to Yu Yao's plan.

After the medicine was prepared, she sprinkled it on the dried Pea.

Sure enough, the "Formless Dove" attached to it quickly disintegrated.

Seeing this, Xialike also made a decision in his heart.

"We can't let this situation escalate any further. Let's cut off the distribution channels first!"

He summoned the head of the Star Feather Chamber of Commerce.

"Arrange for the preparation of the antidote immediately."

"Also, investigate all caravans transporting beans towards the Plain of Despair."

"Dispatch the task force; once the goods are located, use the antidote to remove the poison."

"Yes!" The person in charge accepted the order and hurriedly withdrew.

"Your Highness, if we continue like this, Lorenzo will definitely discover the action team eventually," Meiwu'er warned, frowning.

"At that time, not only the Star Feather Chamber of Commerce, but all of us, I'm afraid none of us will be able to escape."

Xialike leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

"Of course I know what you're saying."

A huge map of the Taya world hangs on the wall.

The Star Empire occupies the most advantageous core area of the Western Continent, possessing the most expansive territory.

"The Star Empire's geographical advantages are too obvious; it is rich in resources and has a large population."

"Xialike said slowly."

"As long as we operate diligently, establish key maritime trade routes, and expand our trade network..."

"Take ten or twenty years to develop production and accumulate experience patiently."

"It will then firmly become the most powerful country in the world."

"At that time, with overwhelming national power, we can still achieve the goal of territorial expansion by intimidating, absorbing, and annexing the surrounding smaller countries."

He spoke, his gaze somewhat complicated.

This path was a scenario he had envisioned countless times:

If I were to inherit the throne one day, how would I govern this vast empire?

"Expanding in this way yields the same result, but with a more stable foundation."

"Lorenzo, perhaps we can win this time."

"But a few years later, others can use the same method to inject the poison back."

"The empire will be dragged into an endless quagmire."

"The whole world could be affected, and civilization could be thrown into chaos!"

After hearing this, Chloe got up and went to stand in front of Xialike.

"Xialike," she said calmly, "Though that might be a bit much."

"But I don't quite understand these political maneuvers. I also can't think about these issues from the perspective of the Star Empire like you do."

She paused, her gaze slowly sharpening and hardening.

All I know is that I must rescue Queen Yu Yao.

"I must protect the Feather Race and get them out of this vortex."

She looked directly into Xialike's eyes and said, word by word, "I want to kill Lorenzo!"

The air in the room seemed to freeze instantly.

It was as if all sound had suddenly vanished, the silence almost oppressive.

"Can you really just ignore what I'm about to do?" Chloe's voice suddenly became very soft again.

"I can't do it," Xialike said with a wry smile.

However, before Chloe could speak again, Xialike continued.

I want to stop this too.

"But Lorenzo will surely discover my chamber of commerce's underhanded tactics."

His face was bitter, but there was no sign of him backing down.

"Lorenzo will not allow anyone who jeopardizes his conquests to live, not anyone, but my disliked son!"

Meiwu'er opened his mouth wide; he already knew what Xialike was about to say.

Xialike glanced at him sideways.

"I'm sorry, but I'm actually a very greedy person."

97

"I want to stop this, but I also don't want to die."

A resolute coldness gradually surfaced on Xialike's face.

"So, since it's a life-or-death situation, why not put up a last-ditch effort!"

"Your Highness, Your Highness the Crown Princess!" Meiwu'er finally couldn't help but interject, "I'm still here. Miss Waliwei has already accepted my proposal."

Xialike ignored him completely.

"You want to get married before me? Dream on!"

"It's just a matter of helping me kill my father. I'll worry about that after this job is done."

Meiwu'er remained silent: "----"

"Let's start thinking," Xialike said seriously to the two. "What kind of plan can we adopt to deal with Lorenzo as our target?"