The cat was fed by someone with ulterior motives. Cats could carry many things on their bodies, such as insects and powder.
Butterflies... butterflies also had powder on them!
The black cat landed outside the tray placed by the young eunuch, and dust scattered into the wine pot. Concubine Ye was startled by the black cat jumping down, and the powder fell into the cups as she drank wine to calm her nerves.
All of this wasn't enough to trigger the effects of the medicine on the Emperor and Concubine Ye, because the Imperial Physician verified there was no poison in the wine.
The butterfly wasn't poisonous, and neither was the wine, but so many coincidences happening together was quite strange.
The timing of the black cat's appearance was also very convenient.
And it just happened that Concubine Ye, who was frightened by the black cat, fell ill along with the Emperor.
Wait!
There was also that handkerchief that Consort Zhang lent to Concubine Ye to wipe her mouth.
Concubine Ye said the fragrance was unique and she liked it, but Consort Zhang claimed it was just an ordinary handkerchief that had wrapped preserved fruits, not flower fragrance.
Could it be Consort Zhang?
Jiang Xinyue hadn't been in the palace long and wasn't particularly familiar with many of the less prominent concubines.
She nodded: "Go invite Noble Lady Jiang, tell her I've prepared some rare delicacies and would like her company for lunch."
Jiang Xinyan's marriage crisis had been resolved - Pei Zhishuo had been stung by the scorpion Jiang Xinyue had planted, and while not fatal, he would be impotent thereafter.
The scorpion itself wasn't highly poisonous, but Jiang Xinyue had applied an impotence medicine concocted by Yan the Imperial Physician to its stinger.
Free from having to marry that lecher, Jiang Xinyan returned to the Jiang family residence to stay with her two cousins, avoiding any speculation that she was a gift her sister had prepared for the Emperor.
"You say the Imperial Noble Consort invited Noble Lady Jiang to dine with her?"
The Emperor put down his royal brush and looked at the sickly Wang Dequan, probing: "No one came to invite me?"
Wang Dequan rubbed his sore lower back and replied to the Emperor's expectant gaze: "There were invitations - from Noble Lady Liu and Concubine Cheng of Moon-Embracing Pavilion, and from Consort Zhang of Cool Breeze Pavilion. Would Your Majesty like to go?"
Ridiculous!
The Emperor glared at him and returned to reviewing memorials with a dark face.
After Wang Dequan was affected by the medicine last time, he had to lie in bed for three days after the Imperial Physician treated him, and his lower back still ached.
After he could get up, he felt his body was much weaker than before. Fortunately, the Emperor remembered their old relationship and didn't blame him for his clumsiness. Now he cursed the person who administered the drug thousands of times in his heart every day.
After hearing Jiang Xinyue's description, Noble Lady Jiang explained: "Consort Zhang entered the palace through the imperial selection five years ago. She's from Jingzhou, recommended by local officials for her beauty. I heard she's an orphan, and due to her humble background, she hasn't gained favor and remains just a lowly consort."
Noble Lady Jiang then winked and continued: "As you know, Your Highness, that's just how our Emperor is - if someone is of no use to him, no matter how beautiful they are, he won't give them a second glance. Not everyone can be like you."
Being as beautiful as the Imperial Noble Consort was an exception.
If she shed a single tear, the Emperor would want to pluck the moon from the sky for her, let alone the position of Empress.
Jiang Xinyue could only say that since she left the Cold Palace, Noble Lady Jiang seemed to view her through the most rose-tinted glasses possible.
"What about the fragrance on the handkerchief?" she only cared about this: "What flowers were used to pickle the dates? Why did Consort Zhang say the fragrance was unique?"
Noble Lady Jiang furrowed her brow in thought: "Just from hearing about it, I can't guess, but if I could smell the handkerchief myself, I would probably know."
She wasn't boasting - with her nose, if she had inherited her mother's family's incense-making business, she would have become The Great Yan Dynasty's finest perfumer.
In the past when the Emperor favored her, he had praised her fragrance multiple times, saying she was the most fragrant and sweetest-smelling flower in the imperial garden.
Unfortunately, after the Imperial Noble Consort entered the palace, it was as if the Emperor had lost his sense of smell and could no longer detect her priceless fragrance.
A blessing in disguise, perhaps.
She felt that her current life - not having to watch others' expressions, not having to scheme for favor, and being able to admire the Imperial Noble Consort's otherworldly beauty every day - was quite nice.
To be honest, the reason she had willingly become Noble Lady Li's pawn back then was because of Noble Lady Li's unmatched beauty in the palace.
She was someone who judged good and bad purely based on appearances.
"That's not difficult," Jiang Xinyue used the serving chopsticks to give her a piece of fish. "Let's eat first. After the meal, I'll invite all the consorts to the Hundred Flower Garden for afternoon tea."
The concept of afternoon tea was something the palace people had learned from the Imperial Noble Consort.
Having tea and refreshments in the afternoon - isn't that afternoon tea?
"She's even inviting all the consorts for afternoon tea?" The Xuanwu Emperor nearly broke his chopsticks while eating, gritting his teeth: "She has time to dine with Noble Lady Jiang, time to have tea with the consorts, but no time to see me, to invite me, is that it?"
"Exactly!" Tang Shiliang frowned disapprovingly: "The Imperial Noble Consort is really going too far."
"Shut up!"
No matter how excessive she might be, only he could criticize her. The Xuanwu Emperor felt personally offended when anyone else spoke ill of Jiang Xinyue.
Tang Shiliang held back his smile as he served food to the Emperor: "If Your Majesty misses the Imperial Noble Consort, why not go directly to the Hundred Flower Garden? Is there anywhere in this summer palace where you cannot go? Besides, Concubine Cheng has also been invited - no one will suspect anything."
Given Concubine Cheng's recent favor, others would assume the Emperor was going there for her.
The Emperor thought this made sense, and his eating pace quickened.
Wang Dequan looked at the Emperor, then at Tang Shiliang, wondering if it was just his imagination, but it seemed the Emperor had grown much closer to Tang Shiliang since his recovery.
He had served the Emperor half his life and never dared to joke with him like this, yet young Tang did.
And the Emperor didn't seem angry about it.
After serving the Emperor's meal and cleaning up the table, it was time to brew tea for the Emperor.
Wang Dequan shook the duster in his hand: "Shiliang, I haven't brewed tea for His Majesty for several days. Today, why don't you brew this cup in my place?"
Tang Shiliang raised his modest eyes, glanced at his adoptive father, and then smiled: "Father's tea has always been most to His Majesty's taste. My tea-brewing skills were all learned from you, weren't they?"
Despite saying this, Tang Shiliang still obediently followed Wang Dequan to the tea room.
Though the Emperor possessed all the world's wealth and finest things, only Wang Dequan knew that the Emperor's favorite tea wasn't the famous Imperial Golden Gourd tribute tea, Taiping Monkey King, or Wuyi Mountain Big Red Robe Tea.
Instead, it was the less famous Green Snow Bud Mother Tree tea, which had maintained its vitality through hundreds of years, nurtured by clouds and mist, nourished by spring dew, perfect in both appearance and fragrance.
This secret Wang Dequan had only shared with his adopted son Tang Shiliang.
The perfect water temperature brought out the tea's fragrance, and its color, temperature, and taste were exactly as the Emperor preferred.
Wang Dequan smiled slightly: "It seems you've mastered all of your adoptive father's skills."
So, he no longer needed his promotion.
