Spring Drunk Chang'an

"Sister Changan, why are you ignoring me? What are you thinking about?"

Guiyuan, as lively as a little bird, tilted his head, stretched out his little hands, and waved them in front of Liu Changan.

Liu Changan suddenly came back to his senses, "Oh, no, nothing, I was just thinking about Liu Wen again, ahem, the story about the young master having diarrhea!"

"Oh, thinking about this!" Guiyuan blinked, as if she didn't hear Liu Changan's slip of the tongue, "Liu Wen..." She just pouted and whispered, "That matter, ah, it implicated many people in the mansion."

"In the main kitchen, the head chef and second chef in charge of the Jishan Hall meals were both beaten with a stick by the Duke. It's said that they were beaten so severely that they almost died. The kitchen helpers were also unlucky. Some were beaten, some were punished, and some were punished. There were even several servants who were responsible for serving the prince's meals and were directly sold off..."

"They are so miserable."

"Sister Chang'an, I have a third cousin who does odd jobs in the kitchen. She said that the day before the imperial examination, the food served to the Crown Prince in the kitchen was the cleanest and freshest. That was the Crown Prince's imperial examination. Because of this, the Duke almost turned the mansion upside down. The cicadas in the garden were extinct, and the Second Young Master was scolded!"

"The Duke is completely like, 'Anyone who dares to delay the Crown Prince's imperial examination will be killed, even if it means death.' Who wouldn't be afraid?"

"The chef at Jishantang personally rides his horse to the countryside before dawn every day to collect the fresh ingredients. He wishes he could grow them himself..."

"In the end, the mansion still blames them!"

"They all say that two days before the imperial examination, the prince went out to the suburbs to relax. He was out all day and didn't come back at night. Who knows if he ate something dirty outside that day and upset his stomach!"

Guiyuan angrily spoke up for her third cousin.

Because of Liu Wenbai's diarrhea, not only the chefs in charge of Jishan Hall were beaten and punished, but the entire kitchen was fined two months' salary.

Her third cousin cried so hard when she came home.

Every night I squatted on the wall, secretly cursing the prince, "Why don't you kill him?"

"There's nothing wrong with the main kitchen. It must be that the prince ate something bad outside!"

Longan is determined.

Liu Changan's almond-shaped eyes sparkled. She lowered her head and looked at her white fingertips. "When the prince goes out, he shouldn't eat anything unclean."

As far as she knew, Liu Wenbai went to Xinghuapo to see Qu Qiutong that day. Qu Qiutong was his biological mother and would definitely not harm him when he was about to take the imperial examination. The meals she provided would be clean.

and so……

Why did Liu Wenbai look like that on the day of the imperial examination?

That really doesn't seem like an accident.

Liu Changan pursed his lips, and his mind couldn't help but recall the time when Liu Wenrui ran to the main courtyard to see Song and that gloomy smile when he left.

but……

As far as Liu Changan knew, Liu Wenbai was somewhat wary of Liu Wenrui and never used anything he gave him...

If Liu Wenrui took action, how would he do it?

Liu Changan was full of doubts as she chatted with Guiyuan. After finishing her meal, she washed up and went to bed early.

The next morning, when she returned to Song's place to work, she received news that the prince had returned to the Duke's Mansion, and Song asked her to deliver some snacks.

Liu Changan quickly agreed and headed to Lihuayuan with a red lacquer food box.

Passing by the garden on the way.

It was late autumn at that time.

Walking on the gravel path covered with fallen leaves, Liu Chang'an looked around with his almond-shaped eyes, looking at the flowers in the garden, and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Close your eyes slightly.

The sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds and golden fallen leaves, falling on her face.

Warm and gorgeous.

There was the rustling sound of the leaves swaying gently in the breeze, and a refreshing fragrance reached her nose. For a moment, she actually forgot about the hustle and bustle and troubles of the world.

"It seems that it would be a good idea to go to Yuantan Temple more often. The autumn scenery there is even more beautiful, which can help relieve my worries."

"I should also persuade Madam to go shopping."

Liu Changan murmured, gently picked a red maple leaf, and pinned it to his waist. A smile curved his red lips, and he was about to move forward when suddenly...

"Hey, Liu Changan!!"

A charming, slightly sharp voice sounded. Liu Changan turned around to see Liu Caodeng, most of his body hidden in the shadows behind the rockery. He waved at her with a shifty look in his eyes, "Come here quickly, I have something to talk to you about."

"Come here quickly, don't let anyone see!"

Liu Caodeng called her cautiously.

Liu Chang'an frowned slightly and looked around. There was no one in sight, so he bit his lip and ran to the rockery, grabbed Liu Caodeng, and the two of them hid in the cave together.

"Why did you come to see me? Didn't we agree to meet up to check the signal?"

Liu Caodeng was Liu Wenbai's roommate and also the insider she had planted. Because of their identities, it was not easy for them to contact each other openly, so they set a secret code.

When we need to meet, we are in the deserted garden.

How come she came here in broad daylight?

"If someone sees this and it gets out, we'll be in trouble." Liu Chang'an frowned.

Liu Caodeng curled his lips, pinched his waist, and said mysteriously: "Isn't it that I have something important to talk to you about? You said that if I get big news, I must tell you as soon as possible!"

"That's why I took the risk!"

She waved her hands and made a gesture.

"Big news?" Liu Changan pursed his lips. "What news?"

"I found out that the prince had diarrhea and couldn't take the imperial examination. It wasn't an accident, but..." Liu Caodeng paused. Seeing Liu Changan's eyes wide open and his face full of shock, he smiled smugly and said, "The eldest lady ruined him."

"Big girl?"

"Liu Qingru?"

Isn’t it Liu Wenrui?

Liu Changan couldn't believe it. "How could it be? Have you checked it out?"

"How did you check?"

"Haha, I naturally have my own way!" Liu Caodeng lifted her leg and stepped on the stone at the foot of the rockery. She blew casually on her red nails, and said in a delicate voice, "A few days before the imperial examination, the eldest lady gave him a can of tea. It's extremely precious. It's said to clear the eyes and refresh the mind. The prince likes it very much and asks me to brew two pots every day..."

"Later, he had diarrhea. When I was tidying up the study, I accidentally discovered a very small layer of white foam on the wall of the bottle."

"I felt something was wrong, so I secretly went to the palace doctor's apprentice. He tasted the white foam and said it was 'fan tree leaves', used for laxatives. The amount the prince used wouldn't cause such diarrhea, but I still felt something was wrong. It wasn't to harm anyone, but the young lady was fine, so why would she give her laxative leaves?"

"If it was well-intentioned, why didn't you send it openly? Instead, you ground it up and secretly mixed it into the tea leaves? And sent it over in such a sneaky way?"

"...I secretly left the house and sought out the chief physician at Tonghui Hall, the best in the capital. I described the Crown Prince's symptoms and how he had accidentally ingested a certain type of leek. The physician then prescribed several things that should never be taken with leek."

"There are food, fruit, incense, and even flowers..."