Mianmian was drinking fruit juice.
She wasn't sure what kind of juice it was.
It had a sweet and sour taste, and was quite delicious.
She would need to rinse her mouth afterward.
No one had touched the dishes, and the meat remained untouched.
At most, people only ate some snacks.
Because meat would get stuck between teeth.
The dental care standards weren't very advanced at the time, and having meat stuck between teeth could be uncomfortable for a long time.
Even for wealthy nobles, once teeth fell out, there weren't many good solutions.
The sophisticated ones would get artificial teeth implanted, made from materials like bamboo, wood, ivory, or animal bones, fixed with gold wire tied to adjacent real teeth. Well-made ones could fit quite well, but they were purely decorative and couldn't be used for chewing.
However, after the advancement of alchemy, there was now a more advanced type of artificial teeth made from silver foil, mercury, tin, and other materials alchemized into a paste and molded into tooth shapes. These fitted better and were more expensive, but still mainly served a decorative purpose.
Mianmian hoped she would never need to use them. The thought of having mercury in her mouth was terrifying, so she made sure to maintain good daily dental hygiene.
The dishes were fine, less likely to get stuck between teeth.
Snacks could be popped straight into the mouth.
Rinsing was necessary afterward.
Mianmian often pressed her tongue against her teeth to feel for debris, wondering how her grandmother, the princess, cleaned her teeth.
Many people didn't dare drink beverages, worried about needing to use the bathroom.
They would pretend to sip, barely drinking anything over a long time.
Mianmian was in the middle of drinking when suddenly there was a loud crash from the other side.
It had begun!
The Emperor's cup had fallen to the ground.
The Emperor had been speaking about important matters.
Extremely important matters.
He was talking about what would happen after his passing.
This usually meant he was addressing crucial matters, and in front of everyone.
Then the Emperor looked at his hand, which suddenly went limp.
"Father!"
The Ninth Prince tried to step forward but found his path blocked.
Eunuch Yan was the first to support the Emperor.
Second son of Jiang family stepped forward to help.
The Seventh Prince, however, took a step back.
The Emperor hadn't finished speaking when his hand suddenly lost strength, causing his cup to fall and crash to the ground.
Everyone was startled.
Jiang Wan's heart was racing at this moment.
It should be around this time that the Seventh Prince would ascend to the throne.
She didn't know the exact scene, but she knew the Seventh Prince would be the final victor.
Almost all other princes would end up dead.
This was the cruelty of power struggles, which was why she had always avoided getting involved.
"Father, I have important matters to report," the Seventh Prince spoke.
"Speak."
"The mysterious deaths of Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother have always troubled me. I couldn't believe they would leave us so suddenly - we were drinking together that night, and the next day they were gone forever. I couldn't accept it, so I investigated secretly and discovered that the poison that killed Fifth Brother was a herb called Companion Grass, sold in Ninth Brother's pharmacy. Fifth Brother's concubine's younger brother was actually a manager at Ninth Brother's wife's shop. The advisor who falsely accused Sixth Brother was also close to Ninth Brother, and they were seen together at Wangchun House before the incident."
The Seventh Prince spoke forcefully, his face filled with grief.
"Ninth Brother, for the throne, you poisoned Fifth Brother and drove Sixth Brother to death. How can the kingdom prosper under such a disloyal, unrighteous, and unfilial person?"
Upon hearing Seventh Brother's words, the Ninth Prince became furious, his face reddening.
"Nonsense! I had a great relationship with Fifth Brother. He was stingy and always borrowed money from me, which I always gave him. As for Sixth Brother, though he was pretentious, I only found his constant lecturing annoying, but never wanted to harm him. I run into several court officials at Wangchun House every day."
He trembled with anger as he looked at his father.
"Father, Seventh Brother is lying. I didn't do it, I would never do such things. Yes, I want to be Emperor - which child doesn't want to inherit from their father? I do too, but I'm straightforward about it. My ambition is worn on my face, unlike certain people who are hypocritical and treacherous like vipers."
The Emperor leaned back in his dragon throne.
His heart was racing violently at this moment, pounding as if it would leap from his chest.
He was covered in cold sweat - though this was supposed to be an act, why did it feel so real?
"How dare you!"
The Emperor's shout was directed not at the Ninth Prince, but at the Seventh Prince.
"Your evidence was already presented to me by the Ministry of Justice. I too suspected Old Nine, but at this moment, I know it was all your doing. You were too hasty. You're the inhuman dog! Do you know why I've never liked you? It's not because of your mother's low status, but because you're just like her - no matter how warm you appear on the surface, your eyes are always cold as ice, impossible to truly win over. Did you think that I, the ruler of this nation, would be so easily manipulated by you?"
As the Emperor spoke, guards stepped forward as if to arrest the Seventh Prince.
Unexpectedly, one of the guards suddenly thrust his sword through the Ninth Prince's chest. The Ninth Prince looked down at the sword tip protruding from his chest in disbelief.
At the same time, Chu Xi also made his move, drawing a guard's sword and slitting the throat of the Ninth Prince's eldest son, Chu Ze.
Blood sprayed, with a few drops landing on Jiang Wan's face, which she instinctively wiped away.
Though Chu Xi had pushed her aside, it was only to make room for drawing his sword.
In an instant, the Ninth Prince and his eldest son lay dead before the Emperor.
The guards who had approached to arrest the Seventh Prince now stood behind him instead.
Eunuch Liu also hurried forward to protect the Seventh Prince.
When others' weapons had been confiscated, the difference between being armed and unarmed was enormous.
Bare hands couldn't kill, but swords could.
The Emperor remained seated on his dragon throne.
Even with his son dying before him, he didn't flinch.
He just stared intently at the Seventh Prince.
Then he laughed.
Indeed, the child he despised most turned out to be most like him.
"Even if you commit fratricide and patricide today, do you think you can maintain your position when Old General Meng returns to the capital?"
"Father, you've grown old and mistaken. Old General Meng has been sending desperate pleas for help, but by now, he and Young General Meng have likely both perished. All because you've neglected state affairs, indulged in debauchery, pursued vanity, and listened to biased counsel, leading the empire to fall apart. You've grown old and should abdicate to someone more capable."
The Seventh Prince had played the role of a loyal dog for decades.
He had planned for decades.
All for this day.
Half the palace staff were his people.
He couldn't wait any longer.
He sensed his father's suspicion.
But he was different from his father.
His father suspected him but didn't want him dead, wanting proof of wrongdoing and an admission of guilt.
But he just wanted his father dead.
The food and drink weren't poisoned, but the bowls were. Just holding them, even pretending to touch them to one's lips without eating or drinking, would cause poisoning.
Sure enough, despite the major events unfolding, the women's section remained quiet because they were all poisoned.
Including the Seventh Prince's wife.
Jiang Wan was fine as she hadn't touched anything there.
Princess Huiyun was startled by the situation.
Seeing the other ladies becoming dizzy and drowsy,
She pretended to be dizzy too, taking the opportunity to pull Mianmian closer.
Miss Dong was unconscious but managed to lean toward Mianmian, trying to embrace her with her body.
Mianmian remained clear-headed, despite having drunk quite a lot.
But she cheated daily with spirit spring water.
This amount of poison couldn't affect her.
Qin Luoxia wasn't dizzy either, but being one of the craftier women from the village, she immediately started swaying back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...
She kept swaying.
Seeing that her husband's side seemed dangerous.
No wonder her husband had sent her kumquats - he must have been hinting that this would be a very tense situation.
Her husband was so clever.
The Seventh Prince was ruthless, having his guard run a sword through his brother, and his son was the same, slitting throats.
Their methods were efficient.
Qin Luoxia analyzed the scene, noting the numerous guards.
There was only one option.
She took her hairpin, swaying back and forth as she threw it with force. The sharp, slender hairpin, made of meteorite iron and plated with gold, was actually a real throwing knife.
She threw it with all her might.
Just like the year she had killed that landlord with a spear.
The knife flew incredibly fast, seemingly encountering an obstruction that slightly altered its course, but it didn't matter.
Qin Luoxia had anticipated this.
The knife veered off course just as Jiang Wan stepped to the left.
Then she felt a tightness in her throat and looked down in disbelief. There was a knife tip at her neck. She tried to look back but the knife tip held her head in place, preventing her from turning. She could only turn her whole body back around.
Then she saw the strong woman crouching down, holding her head.
The earth shook and mountains trembled, the entire imperial palace swaying.
Jiang Wan fell straight down, her eyes wide with rage. Impossible, impossible - she was just one step away from becoming the Empress.
She lay there, collapsed beside the convulsing imperial grandson Chu Ze. The young Chu Ze, while coughing blood, managed to smile.
As if saying, "Fairy Liu, it's been a while."
...
