Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Yu Zhuo put his arm around Zhou Yanshu, finally displaying the aura of an Alpha, and shouted sternly at the people around him, "Don't come any closer! What are you all trying to do by gathering here?!"

Lin Shuang stopped less than a meter away from Yu Zhuo and frowned, saying, "Yu Zhuo, the Earl needs treatment. Move aside!"

"If anyone needs treatment, it should be a doctor. What do you, a general who's been away from home all year, know to do?" Yu Zhu sneered, his gaze flashing over the broken pieces of porcelain on the ground. He said, "I forgot, he only got like this because he ate the food you sent him."

Lin Shuang's expression changed upon hearing this, and he angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting?! How could I possibly do such a thing? These Thousand Treasure Fruits are all the same, don't throw mud at me!"

Yu Zhu sneered: "You know perfectly well whether I've been spreading rumors or not!"

Lin Shuang: "You're being insolent..."

"Alright." A voice suddenly rang out from above, and upon hearing Tamo's voice, everyone immediately stopped talking and knelt down in front of them.

"What are you all yelling about? Do you think I don't exist?!" Tamer suddenly threw down his wine glass, which shattered into pieces with a loud "bang".

“Let the royal physician examine him! I also want to know... who dares to lay a hand on the Earl in front of me.”

Tamer narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting to Zhou Yanshu, who was still unconscious below. Blood was still flowing from Zhou Yanshu's mouth and nose; he leaned against Yu Zhuo's shoulder, his face pale as death.

Tamo frowned. He only wanted to embarrass Zhou Yanshu and humiliate him at this victory celebration, but he didn't want to kill Zhou Yanshu.

He wasn't stupid. Zhou Yanshu still had many supporters among the merfolk, so there was no need for him to make a fool of himself. However, the fact that he held such a large celebration banquet for Lin Shuang and specifically invited Zhou Yanshu to attend had already been seen by others as having ulterior motives.

If Zhou Yanshu really dies here this time...

Tamo frowned even more deeply, glancing at Lin Shuang with a fleeting look of gloom in his eyes.

If Zhou Yanshu really dies here, some people with ulterior motives will probably take the opportunity to make trouble.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Doctor Pan Rui has arrived!"

The attendant responsible for delivering the message rushed in from outside, followed by an elderly man with completely white hair and beard. The old man wore silver-rimmed glasses, was carrying a medicine box, and was about to kneel down to pay his respects to Tamo.

"Alright, alright! Stop bowing to me, you're wasting time! Go see him!" Tamo waved his hand impatiently.

Upon hearing this, Pan Rui paused for a moment, then immediately turned and went to the side. Zhou Yanshu had already been carried into the inner hall, and Pan Rui followed him in, keeping everyone else out.

“Your Majesty, the Earl’s condition is quite rare. It’s likely that he has just awakened from a century-long slumber and his old ailments have not yet subsided,” Qi Mohan said slowly from inside the hall. “Your Majesty need not worry.”

Tamo was still upset, fidgeting with his wine glass, when he heard Qi Mohan's words and stopped abruptly.

"Yes... The Earl has been asleep for a hundred years, and he suffers from countless ailments, both big and small. Hasn't he been going to the hospital frequently lately? It's truly pitiful..."

Yu Zhuo listened silently to their conversation.

Qi Mohan was indeed quite capable; with just a few simple words, he shifted all the blame onto Zhou Yanshu himself.

His vomiting of blood was due to his own physical weakness and illness, and had nothing to do with Tamo or the others.

No one dared to speak inside the hall. A silent undercurrent surged among them as their eyes flickered and they secretly made their own plans.

Yu Zhuo wasn't in a hurry. He glanced at Lin Shuang, whose face was ashen, and wisely stood aside without saying another word.

The wait was short. The doctors who treated Zhou Yanshu were the top royal physicians in the merfolk, and they came out with the test results within ten minutes.

Seeing this, Tamor asked, "How is the situation?"

“Your Majesty, the Earl’s condition has stabilized. He suffered from brain nerve poisoning, which caused most of his senses to become numb and lose consciousness, and he has temporarily fallen into a coma,” Pan Rui said, handing the report to his attendant.

Tamer casually opened the results sheet: "...Poisoning? How could he be poisoned? All this food was distributed according to a standardized process."

Pan Rui pondered for a moment before speaking, "Your Majesty, I have just examined all the food the Earl ate, and the pulp of the Thousand Treasure Fruit in his bowl was injected with a neurotoxin."

The people in the hall were somewhat in an uproar upon hearing the answer, and Lin Shuang's face turned pale instantly. After a moment, she turned to look at Pan Rui.

“…That bowl of rare fruit was given to the Earl. I admit I didn’t eat it, but I only intended to give it to him. I absolutely did not inject any poison into it!”

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhuo scoffed, "You didn't eat it yourself, but specifically picked it out for the Earl. He took two bites and was poisoned unconscious, and you still dare to say it has nothing to do with you?"

"Yu Zhuo——"

Lin Shuang gritted her teeth and said, "If you hadn't stolen the things from the Earl's bowl, why would I have given away the Thousand Treasures Fruit? It was originally meant for me..."

Lin Shuang paused abruptly in her speech.

That was meant to be given to him.

The poison in the Thousand Treasures Fruit was originally meant for him.

Zhou Yanshu was just unlucky for him.

“I’m Zhou Yanshu’s Alpha, what’s wrong with me eating some of his food? But you…” Yu Zhuo pressed on, “you clearly have ulterior motives!”

Lin Shuang's words were almost choked in his throat. He looked around and saw that the soldiers of his clan who had come with him to the victory banquet were standing on the outside. They looked stunned and were obviously caught off guard by this sudden event.

“Fine… you can say that if you want…” Lin Shuang suddenly turned around and knelt down on one knee, speaking to Tamo.

“Your Majesty, this matter was caused by me, but I had no intention of harming the Earl. This plate of rare fruits was also given to me by a servant. The murderer's original target was me.”

Lin Shuang raised her eyes and said, "Your Majesty, please grant me permission to thoroughly investigate this case. If I fail to find the real culprit, I am willing to accept punishment."

Tamer leaned back in his throne. The matter was no longer of much concern to him. He rested his chin on his hand and said, "It's possible, but General Lin Shuang, you should think it over. The crime of harming the Earl is not light."

Lin Shuang's face was solemn: "Yes, Your Majesty. I am willing to bear all the consequences."

Tamer nodded and said, "Then go ahead."

Lin Shuang stood up and walked past Yu Zhuo quickly, his aura chilling, stirring up a cold wind in the air.

Yu Zhuo took a step back and looked towards the entrance of the main hall, where he saw that the soldiers had all followed Lin Shuang out.

"Go! Arrest everyone who touched the food in the palace today!"