General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

Lord Gao was also frustrated. It was clearly a minor case, and he would have gone back to drinking with his beloved concubine after it was closed. Why was Young Master Lü changing his mind so frequently, and now he wanted to investigate it carefully again?

But he didn't dare disobey.

"Release the suspects first, and then come with me to take the coroner to the morgue to examine the bodies."

The first step is definitely to determine the cause of death. Only after proving that he did indeed die from drinking tea can he proceed to the next step.

The teahouse waiters who had been arrested and were to be punished and executed were also released.

After the investigation began, Jiang Qiqi beckoned to Qi Yu, who approached and whispered his instructions: "Master."

He listened to the whole thing, hearing how these people twisted the truth, and he was especially furious when he heard that the corrupt official wanted to arrest them and make them pay for the so-called Young Master Feng's death.

"What are your orders, Master?" Qi Yu's eyes blazed with fury, wishing he had three heads and six arms to bring these corrupt officials to justice.

Jiang Qiqi leaned close to his ear seriously and said, "Go to the General's Mansion and tell Xiang'er that I'm not eating breakfast today."

Qi Yu: "Huh?"

"Hey, hurry up!" Jiang Qiqi urged.

So much time has passed, Xiang'er will definitely nag again when she gets back.

"Yes!" Qi Yu accepted the order. Her master must have her reasons for doing this; perhaps it was some kind of secret code between the two of them.

Seeing Qi Yu leave, Jiang Qiqi finally felt at ease and sat down face to face with Lü Jicai.

Lu Jicai's face darkened: "How dare you, a mere merchant, sit at the same table as me?"

Jiang Qiqi glanced at him, stood up, walked to a table next to her and sat down. She then asked the waiter for a plate of peanuts and a pot of flower tea.

Lü Jicai suddenly stood up: "You!"

A lowly merchant, instead of standing by and waiting for instructions, dared to take a seat on his own initiative and even asked for some food for himself, clearly showing that he didn't take him seriously.

He's been busy since early morning and hasn't eaten yet!

However, Jiang Qiqi completely ignored him. When she saw him stand up, she just glanced at him lightly and continued to stare blankly with her chin in her hand.

Lu Jicai's chest heaved a few times, but with so many people coming and going on the street, he couldn't bear to lose face and didn't lash out.

He sat down again, feeling frustrated, and called over the shopkeeper in a huff: "How many peanuts do you have in your shop? I'll take them all."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up instantly, and he pulled out an abacus from behind him and started calculating rapidly:

"One bag of rice weighs fifty jin (approximately 25 kg), and the store has twenty-eight and a half bags left. At three copper coins per jin, the total is..."

The shopkeeper stopped, satisfied: "Sir, that'll be four taels and three mace in total."

Lu Jicai took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and slammed it on the table: "Keep the change. Bring me one plate first, and send the rest to the Lu residence."

"Good job, sir!" The shopkeeper smiled broadly as he touched the heavy silver coins.

"Shopkeeper," Jiang Qiqi called out, "since all the peanuts have been sold, then give me a plate of melon seeds and a plate of chestnuts."

"Miss Xing, please wait a moment." The shopkeeper happily agreed.

As the saying goes, the greatest insult to an enemy is to ignore him.

Lu Jicai felt truly insulted again. He was furious, but when he turned around, he saw that the other person was completely unfazed and even gave him an extra dish.

Is this reasonable?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Qi Yu arrived at the general's mansion as quickly as possible to deliver the message.

Contrary to his expectations, the entire household did not mobilize to support their master; instead, he was inexplicably scolded.

"Miss is getting more and more outrageous. Before, she just ate little, but now it's gotten serious—she doesn't even eat breakfast! Doesn't she know her own body? She has to take this medicine and that medicine every day; she's practically a walking pharmacy. How can her body take it without food?"

Xiang'er, hands on her hips, paced around the room in anger, glancing at Shen Luo who was still eating.

Shen Luo quickly downed the remaining half bowl of the nourishing soup in one gulp.

"No, Lin'er," Xiang'er thought for a long time but still couldn't rest easy: "Pack a box of the Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup and two portions of plum blossom cakes, and let's go find Miss!"

"Nineteen, you go with them."

Shen Luo wiped her mouth elegantly, looked at Qi Yu whose face was still a little red from running, and instructed Nineteen: "Seven Seven left in a hurry, she must have encountered some trouble."

This was the first time Qi Yu had met this legendary war god general face to face. Although he was only a few years older than him, he was surrounded by a powerful aura of a superior.

"Thank you, General." Qi Yu bowed.

“Your mistress is my wife, no need for thanks.” Shen Luo raised her hand and tossed him something. “Take this to Qi Qi.”

Qi Yu took it; it was a human skin mask.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Qiqi gained a new understanding of the influence of Prime Minister Lü, who had held power in the court for decades.

Lu Jicai, a minor official of the sixth rank, was able to order a third-rank vice minister around for him, and both of them felt it was only natural, simply because he was the only son of Prime Minister Lu.

Just half an hour later, Vice Minister Gao returned, panting heavily, his body swaying with fat.

Lu Jicai frowned and gave him a disdainful look. Minister Gao immediately took a few steps back: "Young Master Lu, the coroner's autopsy results are in."

"explain."

Vice Minister Gao pulled out the autopsy report from his sleeve and unfolded it: "The deceased was Feng Jinwang, aged twenty-one..."

Lu Jicai impatiently kicked Gao Shilang, sending him staggering: "Stop talking nonsense and get to the point!"

Vice Minister Gao had no idea what he had done to offend this ancestor; he hadn't been this irritable before he left.

He turned to the next page with trembling hands: "Cause of death: The deceased consumed a large amount of Poria cocos powder before dinner. After drinking strong tea, the Poria cocos powder clumped up in his stomach and could not be expelled. Over time, the deceased died from a ruptured spleen."

"Poria powder? What is that?" Lü Jicai asked.

"Poria cocos powder is used to regulate insomnia and palpitations," Jiang Qiqi answered for the trembling Minister Gao.

Lu Jicai's face darkened, and he questioned Minister Gao, "Are you implying that this teahouse has done nothing wrong?"

Looking at his expression, Vice Minister Gao carefully replied, "Of course not. Lord Feng originally took Poria cocos powder to calm his nerves, and there was no danger to his health or life. It was this teahouse that supplied Lord Feng with such strong tea, which led to his untimely death."

Lu Jicai's complexion improved, and Vice Minister Gao became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke.

"I believe the teahouse should be held fully responsible for Lord Feng's death, and everyone in the teahouse—including the owner—should be arrested and made to pay for Lord Feng's life!"

Lu Jicai walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "I have long heard that Lord Gao is impartial in enforcing the law and judges cases with divine wisdom. Today I have seen that the rumors are true."

Vice Minister Gao knew he had done the right thing.

Lu Jicai turned his back to them and walked out: "Then what are you all standing there for? Arrest them and close the case!"

"Yes!" Vice Minister Gao waved his hand. "Take him down."