The wife of two taels of silver

That night, the emperor held a banquet in the palace to welcome An Minjun and Princess Anle.

At the banquet, the emperor generously gave Lin Haitang a mansion, three thousand taels of gold, and a hundred slaves.

Lin Haitang knelt down to express her gratitude, her face calm, but her heart was already beaming with joy.

Who doesn't like to be rich? What's more, his whole family is now staying in Zhao Hongwei's general's mansion. With the emperor's reward, he has a place to stay.

The banquet was lively, and all the young masters and young ladies from the powerful families in the city were called in. The emperor was afraid that everyone would not be able to relax, so after the last round, he left on his own and let the crown prince and a group of princes accompany him.

As the legitimate daughter of the old tutor Xi Bin, Xi Shuyun was naturally also at the banquet. She was afraid that Lin Haitang was not used to the rules of the palace and that someone would bully her, so she stayed by her side the whole time.

Of course, Gu An was also pulled over by Lin Haitang. He followed Lin Haitang silently, treating himself as a background board and preparing everything Lin Haitang needed.

But the background board was too attractive, and many women looked at him secretly.

Everyone knew that the protagonist of this banquet was Princess Anle, so naturally many people came over to make friends with her.

There are people who look up to Lin Haitang, there are people who have no feelings for Lin Haitang, and naturally there are also people who look down on Lin Haitang.

These people had already thoroughly investigated Lin Haitang, so they naturally knew what the original Lin Haitang was like in Shang'anhe Village.

"She was just a country bumpkin who couldn't even read. Maybe she stole someone else's prescription and accidentally cured the infectious disease." Li Qian, the daughter of Minister Li, said to the Prime Minister's daughter in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Lin Haitang to hear.

When Li Qian said these words, she glanced at Lin Haitang with disdain. Seeing that Lin Haitang kept her head down, she thought that Lin Haitang was afraid and did not dare to look at her, so she became even more unscrupulous.

The Prime Minister's daughter, You Qichun, didn't say anything, but her eyes were full of arrogance. She glanced at Lin Haitang indifferently, as if Lin Haitang was a dirty thing and looking at her any longer would dirty her eyes.

Li Qian looked at Xi Shuyun who had always been by Lin Haitang's side, and felt even more jealous. She bit the soft flesh on her cheeks and almost tore the handkerchief in her hand.

Li Qian was merely the daughter of a minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Normally, she could only hang around these high-ranking officials' daughters. She had to work hard to get close to them, shamelessly offering them the good things she had earned, in order to attract the attention of those fortunate individuals. As the daughter of the Grand Tutor, Xi Shuyun was naturally someone Li Qian sought to curry favor with. However, Xi Shuyun simply looked down on her and ignored her every time.

Li Qian stared at Lin Haitang, not understanding how a country girl could be crowned Princess Anle, climbing directly above her. Lin Haitang wasn't as pretty or as impressive as her, so how could she have climbed above her? What she couldn't understand even more was that the high and mighty Crown Prince and the Princes actually smiled and spoke to her.

Why? Why! Li Qian's eyes revealed jealousy.

Lin Haitang had a very delicious dish and was concentrating on eating it. Naturally, she heard what Li Qian said, but she didn't even look at it and continued eating, thinking she was just farting.

"Hmph, looking at the way she eats, I'm afraid she's never eaten it before." Li Qian sneered.

Lin Haitang still ignored her, but Xi Shuyun gave her a cold look.

Gu An had an indifferent expression on his face, playing with a walnut in his hand. He raised his head and glanced at Li Qian as if he was looking at a dead object.

You Qichun and her sisters were probably going somewhere when they passed by Lin Haitang's banquet table. As they passed by, Li Qian frowned, waved her handkerchief in front of her nose, and then covered her nose with the handkerchief, saying, "Oh, you country girl, you stink."

Snap──

Lin Haitang could no longer tolerate her. She put down the small bowl in her hand and placed it heavily on the table. She stood up with an indifferent expression and stared at Li Qian.

The noise was quite loud and everyone around looked over. The prince even stopped what he was doing and turned to look over.

"Shuyun, my status as Princess Anle is higher than that of this woman, right?" Lin Haitang asked Xi Shuyun without turning her head. Her voice was calm, but with a hint of coldness, and she stared straight at Li Qian.

Xi Shuyun chuckled and said, "Of course, she is only the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, and you are a princess personally appointed by the emperor. She is not even as good as your toes."

The expressions on the faces of the people around her after hearing Xi Shuyun's words were truly remarkable, most of them gloating and eager to watch the fun unfold. Furthermore, Xi Shuyun, known as a talented woman in the capital, was usually gentle and elegant, yet she could actually say such hurtful things, which was quite surprising to everyone.

Looking at Li Qian, the expression on her face was unpredictable, sometimes red, sometimes white, and could be used as a neon light hanging on a sign.

"You—you—" Li Qian was so angry that the veins on her neck bulged, but she couldn't refute anything.

Of course, the princess's status is more than twice as high as hers.

"Oh~" Lin Haitang nodded, walked out from the banquet table, and said, "Then I can beat her, right?"

Lin Haitang asked directly, pretending not to understand, which aroused the interest of the people around her.

Xi Shuyun hummed and nodded.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, Lin Haitang slapped Li Qian directly. In an instant, Li Qian's face became red and swollen, and there was a clear slap mark on her cheek.

"Ah──" Li Qian screamed. She didn't expect Lin Haitang to hit her directly. She turned her face to the side in pain and covered her cheek with her hands.

Lin Haitang had a broken palm, and she used all her strength. She shook her numb palm and said, "Didn't you say I was a country girl? Today I'll show you what a country girl is."

Li Qian was completely terrified, tears welling in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said nothing. Even if she was dumb, she knew Lin Haitang's identity. Even if Lin Haitang beat her half to death today, she wouldn't say a word.

Lin Haitang pinched Li Qian's chin. She leaned closer and uttered a few words, "This is what we country girls are like."

The prince walked over with a straight step, not even looking at Li Qian, and said, "Come here, please ask Miss Li to leave." Then he nodded at Lin Haitang, with a smile on his face, and said, "Princess, I hope I didn't disturb your interest?"

Li Qian was thrown out of the palace by the guards, and she didn't even dare to cry.

Lin Haitang wore a standard smile on her face and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I enjoyed my meal very much. Every dish was delicious."

The prince looked at Lin Haitang's expression, and his heart moved. He laughed and said, "As long as the princess likes it, I will ask the kitchen to make two more special dishes for the princess to taste."

Lin Haitang's eyes lit up and she said, "Okay, okay, thank you so much!"

When the others looked at Lin Haitang, their opinions of her changed. They realized that she was not just a silly girl who could only treat illnesses, but that she was quite smart and a very spontaneous person.

The prince did not stay long. After a few words of greeting, he left. Then Zhao Hongwei, Wang Yao and Zhang Haixu surrounded him.

Zhang Haixu said with a look of resentment, "Sister-in-law, please be careful. I'll avenge you. They're all women, why are they so different? Who are they?"

Lin Haitang shook her head and said, "Brother Haixu, don't pay attention to him. Her father will beat her half to death without you having to do anything."

Facts proved that Lin Haitang was right. The next day, Minister Li took Li Qian, who was beaten half to death, to apologize to her.

Zhao Hongwei bumped Gu An's shoulder with his own and asked him in a low voice: "You have such a capable wife, don't you feel unbalanced?"

Gu An raised his eyebrows, glanced at Zhao Hongwei, and said calmly: "I have a good life, brother, you don't have to worry about it."

Zhao Hongwei was choked by his words, unable to speak up or down. He rolled his eyes and said, "I'll find you a job, will you do it? As a man, you can't just rely on your wife for support, right?"

Gu An glanced at Zhao Hongwei and said, "Brother, you are jealous that I have a gigolo."

Zhao Hongwei was so angry at Gu An that his eyes widened. He stared at Gu An and wanted to slap him.

At this time, the palace maids brought a batch of wine, but no one paid attention to it. Most of them were talking to the people around them, and few people picked up the wine to drink.

Gu An picked up the wine glass and ignored Zhao Hongwei. He glanced into the inner court. In that glance, he saw a palace maid beside the prince slowly taking out a dagger from her sleeve.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, be careful!" Gu An shouted loudly. In a flash, he tiptoed to the side of the Crown Prince.

However, no matter how fast Gu An moved, there was still some distance between him and the prince, and he was not faster than the palace maid.

When Gu An arrived, the palace maid had already taken out a dagger and was about to stab the prince in the chest, but the prince blocked it by moving sideways and only scratched her arm.

The banquet was in chaos, with people running around. The eunuchs shouted, "There's an assassin! There's an assassin! Someone come and protect His Highness!"

Gu An's face was calm. He knocked the dagger out of the palace maid's hand with one hand and threw her two meters away.

The guards quickly controlled the palace maid. When Gu An saw someone coming, he flew again and came to Lin Haitang's side.

"Are you scared?" Gu An put his arm around Lin Haitang's waist and pressed her into his arms.

Lin Haitang shook her head and said, "No."

After Gu An's reminder, Zhang Hongwei and the other two also noticed the palace maid's actions. Zhao Hongwei and Zhang Haixu set out directly to capture the assassin, while Wang Yao stayed where he was to protect the safety of Lin Haitang and Xi Shuyun.

After the assassin, the palace maid was left alone, and the chaotic situation stabilized a little. Just as everyone's heart settled into their chest, they heard someone shouting, "Someone has been poisoned!" Then, everyone's heart rose to their throat again.

Lin Haitang's face turned stern, and she looked towards the source of the incident. She saw a young man, who had just reached adulthood, lying on the ground with a purple face and blood spitting out of his mouth.

Lin Haitang ran over instantly and shouted, "Get out of the way!"

Perhaps Lin Haitang's voice was too harsh, and the people around him dispersed instantly. Lin Haitang knelt on the ground, and touched his aorta with her index and middle fingers together.

Then, without hesitation, he took out a silver needle and quickly injected several needles into the fallen man's fingertips, head and face.

Lin Haitang twisted the silver needle with a serious expression. After about three seconds, the man suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood.

The man completely fainted, but Lin Haitang breathed a sigh of relief: "Someone come and carry him to the bed."

Before Lin Haitang could breathe a sigh of relief, someone shouted, "Princess Anle, there's someone poisoned here!"

Lin Haitang ran over with her skirt lifted up and saw the person lying on the ground. He had the same symptoms as the person just now.

It wasn't just the two of them. People around them fell down one after another, and there were seven or eight people who were poisoned.

Lin Haitang cursed in his heart, and without saying a word, he knelt on the ground and started to save people, and the needle in his hand was inserted very quickly.

Make the person vomit out the poisonous blood within two minutes, and then be replaced by the next one.

When Lin Haitang was saving the fourth person, the imperial physician finally arrived. With someone to share the burden with Lin Haitang, she no longer had to race against time.

The others were treated by imperial physicians, and Lin Haitang began to find out what caused these people to be poisoned.

Lin Haitang glanced around and found that everyone was eating and drinking the same things, and Lin Haitang had tasted all of these things, but she had no problem with them.

Lin Haitang's eyes were fixed on the last drink. She picked up the wine jug and smelled it, but found nothing unusual. "There might be something wrong with this wine. Everyone might be suffering from the poison in it." Lin Haitang said to Gu An.

Gu An frowned as he recalled what had just happened. The palace maid who interrupted the assassination attempt on the prince had been staring at the prince. Only after she discovered that the prince had no intention of drinking did she risk exposing her identity and assassinating the prince.

Gu An took the wine and went straight to the edge of the fish pond. He poured a glass of wine into it. After a while, all the goldfish died.

"It's definitely this wine." Gu An frowned as he looked at the dead fish.

When Zhao Hongwei heard this, he quickly ordered people to seal up the wine. All the servants stood aside trembling with fear, with their necks hunched.

The prince was assassinated and nine people were poisoned. They were either new nobles in the court or sons of powerful people. The incident caused such a big fuss that the emperor hurried over and was furious.

Lin Haitang looked at the mess and said, "The person who poisoned us was targeting all of us. I'm afraid the next batch of wine we received will have problems."

Everyone had a solemn expression on their faces, and the young men and women had never seen such a scene before, and their faces turned pale with fear.

The palace maid who assassinated the prince had poison hidden in her teeth. She was about to commit suicide by taking poison, but Zhao Hongwei was quick-witted and removed her jaw.

The farce did not end until late at night, and the people attending the party were not allowed to go home until they were confirmed to be clear of suspicion.

Lin Haitang did not go back. She and Gu An stayed in the palace and worked with the imperial doctors to develop an antidote.

This poison is colorless and odorless. It will take effect within three minutes after a person takes it, causing the person's face to turn purple, vomiting blood, and having a weak breath. Lin Haitang couldn't imagine what kind of poison it was.

After all, the old doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau were knowledgeable and experienced. Yang Zhiwen and Shi Wei repeatedly confirmed the condition of the poisoned person and determined that the poison was the Xiongnu Xihua poison.