The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

On the morning of Qixi Festival, Lu Xiaosan, contrary to his usual behavior, did not fall ill and remained asleep on the straw mat.

Chang'an checked his breathing and found him to be unharmed, but he didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

When Lu Xiaosan woke up, she was still as weak as she had been the day before, breathless and in pain all over.

By noon, only Lu Chang and his companion remained in the kitchen.

Seeing the colorful dishes and wines prepared in the kitchen, Lu Xiaosan couldn't help but ask.

After hearing about the Qixi Festival, Lu Xiaosan spat and slumped against the wall with a disdainful look. "I...I don't need those people...they're so pitiful..."

Chang'an went up to help him up and asked, "This... how can this be pitiful? Isn't it normal to have a feast during the festival?"

Lu Xiaosan sneered, "Them? A get-together?... Haha... Haha... Why... would you... have a get-together with people you don't know well... to torture yourself... Hah..."

Chang'an looked troubled and tried to persuade him for a long time.

After thinking for a long time, Lu Xiaosan finally relented and said, "Okay... I'm tired of eating leftovers all the time."

"Anyway, I'll be the one disgusting them at the dinner table, hehe," he thought to himself.

Chang'an's worry turned to joy, and he excitedly said, "Alright, it's settled then."

The two spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen helping Tian Gao prepare dinner. Occasionally, a few important guests would come over, but they would just have a few drinks and some girls to keep them company, saving their appetites for the evening gathering.

In the evening, the Zhexianlou restaurant closed early, with several tables laden with colorful dishes and fine wines.

Lu Xiaosan arrived as promised and, without saying a word, immediately sat down at the head of the table.

There were very few people who dared to sit with him, including: Chang'an, Lianxue, Furou, Yulei, Tiangao, Liurao, and a few bold girls.

After everyone was seated, they all raised their wine glasses. Seeing Fu Rou stand up, she smiled and said, "Sisters, today is the day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, and it is also a festival for us girls. Here, I wish all of you sisters good luck in finding a good husband soon." After saying that, she was about to drink.

"Don't rush~" a soft, charming voice said as Liu Rao swirled the wine glass in her hand.

Fu Rou put down her wine glass, turned to the crowd and said with a smile, "Come on, let's listen to Sister Liu Rao say a few more words."

Liu Rao sighed, staring at the wine glass in her hand, and said, "Alas, I am not as eloquent as you. I know I am very clumsy with words, so what can I say?"

"Oh? Then..."

Liu Rao looked at the wine jar again, and suddenly said with a serious expression, "I think this wine jar was already opened before it was delivered from the kitchen. Do you think someone might have poisoned it?" As she spoke, Liu Rao looked around at everyone at the table.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed slightly, especially when they heard the word "poison," which made Lianxue even more frightened.

Wei Lu Xiaosan scoffed and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp. He was panting heavily and didn't want to speak or show his disheveled state, so he could only retaliate with his actions.

After everyone watched as Lu Xiaosan finished his drink, the atmosphere became quiet for a moment. Fu Rou then rested her chin on her hand and laughed, "Oh, is that really possible?"

Sweet Cake suddenly stood up and said, "Sister Liu Rao, you're overthinking it. There were only the three of us in the kitchen all afternoon, and no one else came in. The wine was sealed perfectly when it was delivered to the kitchen. As for what you said about someone opening the seal beforehand..."

Halfway through his sentence, Chang'an stood up and interrupted, "It's me! Didn't I tell Sister Liu Rao last time that since the Master isn't here, I should open the bottle before delivering the wine... to let the pungent smell dissipate..."

Liu Rao gave an "oh" and nodded with a charming smile, "I remember now, Xiao Mei told me in my room, look at my memory."

Liu Rao gave Chang'an a flirtatious wink and said, "Even so, I'm still quite worried." As she spoke, she took out a silver needle from her bosom.

Yu Lei added, "Isn't that a bit inappropriate, Sister Liu Rao? Doesn't what you're doing clearly show that you don't trust the three of them?"

Liu Rao hurriedly waved her hand and said, "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand. Tian Gao and Xiao Mei are so cute, how could I doubt them? I was just thinking about everyone's safety."

Her words implied that she was openly suspecting Lu Xiaosan.

The girls have always had a bad impression of him, so it's not impossible that he might poison them in revenge.

Thinking of this, the girls couldn't help but lean towards Liu Rao.

Chang'an flew into a rage, "Impossible! My brother had just drunk some wine. He couldn't possibly have poisoned himself."

"Don't rush, Xiaomei, isn't what I'm doing just to clear his name?" As she spoke, she picked up the gleaming silver needles and put them in her hand.

Liu Rao twirled the silver needle on the table. "Everyone, look carefully. This needle itself is not poisonous." Everyone's eyes were focused on the silver needle, except for Lu Xiaosan, who endured the pain and ate some food while praising Tian Gao's cooking skills.

Liu Rao dipped the silver needle into the wine jar, rinsed it, and then took it out. Everyone's hearts were in their throats; some hoped it would be silvery and shiny, while others longed for it to be dark.

Finally, the silver needle remained shiny.

"Oh dear, it's not poisoned. Well then... let's have a drink, sisters." Liu Rao smiled and raised her glass.

After exchanging glances for a moment, Fu Rou raised her glass and said, "Come on, I'll drink first."

Seeing that she drank it all in one gulp, everyone followed Liu Rao and drank their cups in turn, then showed the empty bottom of their cups, except for Lu Xiaosan.

Fu Rou smiled and said, pressing her hands together, "Alright, alright, everyone, sit down and eat. After we finish eating, we'll go admire the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."

"Wait a little longer." It was Liu Rao again.

Fu Rou was already slightly displeased. "Could it be... you're going to..."

Liu Rao stared at the silver needles in her hand, "This is for everyone's safety, after all."

Every time she tested Lu Xiaosan for drugs, it was an insult to Chang'an, and Chang'an felt uncomfortable seeing it all.

Just as he was about to say something, he heard Lu Xiaosan suddenly burst into laughter. He laughed, saying that he had already eaten half of each dish, and a bunch of vulgar people were still testing for poison.

Although the girls saw Lu Xiaosan eating and drinking heartily, they were still worried and afraid. After all, their beautiful lives were much more valuable than Lu Xiaosan's dying and worthless life. What if he deliberately ate the food to lower their guard? Anyway, he was already a dead man, so no one was willing to stop Liu Rao from testing for poison. Only Chang'an was sulking.

"Then I'll begin the examination." This time, Lu Xiaosan cooperated by putting down her chopsticks and watching Liu Rao examine the poison with a smile.

Liu Rao picked up the silver needles and began experimenting with each dish, starting with the one closest to her.

The first needle went in, but it didn't turn black, so "this one isn't poisonous."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and then Lu Xiaosan used his chopsticks to pick up some of the vegetables that Liu Rao said were not poisonous and put them in his mouth.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth. "This one doesn't have it." "This one doesn't have it either."

Lu Xiaosan ate and panted while laughing, and Chang'an's feelings were also very complicated when she saw him like this.

Just as Liu Rao was about to test the last chicken soup, Lu Xiaosan couldn't wait any longer and immediately gave Chang'an a wink.

Chang'an understood and served him a bowl of chicken soup. Before Liu Rao could even start to taste it, Lu Xiaosan began to drink it in large gulps.

Liu Rao gently stirred the silver needle in the chicken soup, looking pitiful. "It seems I was really overthinking it. Please don't blame me."

Lu Xiaosan continued drinking his chicken soup, praising, "Mmm, not too salty, not too bland, it tastes great."

"Sigh." Liu Rao sighed softly and took out the silver needles.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, then showed the silver needles to everyone.

After the silver needle was taken out of the chicken soup, the upper half of it had turned black and lost its previous luster. What else could it be but poison!

"So all that eating and drinking was just to lower our guard?"

Everyone was taken aback, and all eyes turned to Lu Xiaosan.

Seeing his pitiful, sickly state, his revenge seemed entirely justifiable.

Chang'an shook his head vigorously, "No, that's impossible."

As Lu Xiaosan listened to him speak, his hand, which was drinking chicken soup, suddenly trembled.

He put down the chicken soup, looked at Chang'an beside him, and then gasped, "It was... me who put it there..."

"What?" Chang'an asked incredulously, his mind drifting back to the deadly arsenic he had once given him.

Lu Xiaosan grinned maliciously at the crowd again, forcing a smile as he said, "That's right, I was the one who poisoned them!"