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Dew Tea actually appeared in the palace!

As far as he knew, only one family in the world could make this tea, and it had appeared in only one place.

After receiving the news from inside the palace, he realized something had gone terribly wrong. The fugitive he thought had died on the road had actually made it into the palace. This was very bad news indeed!

At that time, he had ordered a cleanup operation and only then discovered that someone had slipped through the net. Later, when his men went to search, they found nothing. When they pursued the matter further, they found a corpse, which upon inspection was said to be that very fugitive.

To be safe, he had secretly followed up on this matter for a long time, only calling it off when there were no more slips.

Unexpectedly, the supposedly foolproof plan had gone awry.

There were only three possibilities: either the person who identified the body had lied to him, had been mistaken, or there was still a fish that had slipped the net!

In any case, the appearance of Dew Tea in the palace meant he had to be vigilant and not rely on luck.

Therefore, he immediately sent someone to the Place of Exile, intending to transfer that entire family away.

After sending his men, his right eyelid twitched uncontrollably, and he felt an unsettling foreboding. If this matter was not handled carefully, he feared it might lead to a deadly disaster. His intuition had always been very accurate, helping him escape many crises.

So he decided to go in person, one last time, to force out the secret recipe for the Dew Tea. In his heart, he had already resolved that regardless of whether he could extract the information, he would eliminate that entire family to tie up all loose ends and pull out the roots.

Although it was a pity, compared to his life, the secret recipe was trivial.

His Guo family had made their fortune with tea halfway along their journey. Without a solid secret recipe, they inevitably lacked some confidence. Even so, the Guo family had stood firm in the world of tea for many years, commanding a respectable position.

As long as his uncle remained in power, he believed that with Guo Neng’s skills, even without the Dew Tea, there would be other teas, a matter of time.

With this thought, he became even more determined to eliminate that family once and for all.

Before leaving the capital, he hurriedly sent word to his cousin, advising her to be wary of the person who could make Dew Tea. He set off without waiting for his cousin to reply.

On his way, he led both guards and Dead Soldiers who were in his keep, enduring hardships, traveling day and night. Despite the hard pace, he finally reached that wild and desolate Place of Exile.

But what he did not expect was that the fool he had sent had been indulging in pleasure and power, abusing his name and not attending to his duties.

After dragging that fool out from the women’s bed, the fool offered to treat him to a welcome feast, but he couldn’t spare a moment and had his men lead the way to that family directly.

However, upon arrival, he discovered to his shock that the people being guarded were not the family he sought, but had been swapped out. The original family had vanished without a trace.

Asking the fool revealed that he was completely clueless, which infuriated him so much he nearly killed the fool on the spot.

The fool claimed that the family had only recently disappeared; he had seen them shortly before. He also mentioned overhearing them speak of a place, perhaps related to where the family had gone, and he might be able to locate them.

On the road, he led the fool to trace the steps to Yanqing Mansion; upon reaching the place mentioned by the fool, they found only an empty house and no people.

Under his interrogation, the fool finally broke down and confessed that he had no idea when the family disappeared. He remembered that a few years ago, he overheard the family mention they had relatives in Yanqing Mansion, so he took a chance and came to look.

Guo Neng was furious to the point of being physically ill, the prominent young master of the Guo family played around by such a fool—what an utter disgrace!

Therefore, after it got dark and they arrived at the inn, he was the first to dispose of the fool.

Guo Neng’s right hand toyed with the jade ring on his left thumb, his expression overcast as he contemplated the events that would follow.

Whenever he thought of that family escaping undetected right under his nose, he felt a fishbone stuck in his throat, unable to find peace until that family was exterminated.

He turned around and said to a guard, "Go back to the Capital immediately, deliver a message to the Palace, and inform Consort that she must eliminate at all costs those in the Palace who can make Dew Tea, or else the Guo family will be in grave danger."

"Yes," the guard took the command and left.

Guo Neng continued, directing his words to another person, "You, take a few men tomorrow and continue to stay at Yanqing Mansion.

Investigate the relatives of the Lian Family.

If there is any news, capture them all and secure them, and then send a letter to this young master.

However, if you encounter any remnants of the Lian Family on the way, kill them all, leaving no trace. "

If there was even a shred of truth in the idiot’s words, he would set a trap and wait for the prey. It would be even better if he was lucky enough to run into those Lian Family members directly.

"Yes, young master," another guard received the order.

Guo Neng gave one last instruction, "Upon returning to the Capital, send someone quickly to the south and make sure the County Magistrate of that year and Mr. He keep their mouths shut, otherwise..."

He would have to eliminate them all.

A cruel bloodthirsty smile spread across Guo Neng’s lips. With the capabilities of the Guo and Xue families, he refused to believe these few people could escape their clutches!

Most of the annual income of the Guo family went into the pockets of his uncle and his cousin in the Harem; they would not stand idly by.

Moreover, with so many secrets of his uncle and cousin in his hands, they had to help him whether they wanted to or not. With them on his side, how could he fail to deal with that family.

That night, in a secluded part of a palace corridor, an eunuch and a Palace Maid exchanged something in silence, unseen by others.

Within a day, the news reached two different palaces one after the other...

Inside Canglan Court, around the time for the evening meal.

In the past two or three days, His Majesty had returned very late at night, and had not come to Canglan Court for dinner.

Lian Hua had the food prepared and asked Zhang Qing to find someone to send it over; the first day only the evening meal was sent, and from the second day on, lunch was sent as well. From now on, she planned to take care of both His Majesty’s lunch and evening meals.

Worried that the food might get cold, and since she didn’t have an insulated food box, she tinkered a bit and modified the food box.

Below, she placed a square container, surrounded by hot water, and in the center was a small stove modified from a hand warmer, containing charcoal fire.

The food for His Majesty was stacked in layers above, ensuring it wouldn’t go cold even if His Majesty ate late.

This food box was quite heavy, fitting for Da Zhuang, the Young Eunuch from Star Palace, to carry.

Speaking of which, Steward Zhang contributed a lot to this food box.

Since she didn’t have a square container that was just the right size, she mentioned it to Steward Zhang, who quickly found three square jars for her in person.

She chose the least noticeable one, and only after confirming with Steward Zhang that the square jar was of little value did she use it. And it turned out her choice was excellent—the square pot was just perfect.

"Da Zhuang, after you arrive at Star Palace, if Master has not summoned anyone, take a moment to tell him to have his evening meal in time," Lian Hua instructed.

Carrying the food box in one hand and patting his chest with the other, Da Zhuang assured her, "Master Lian, rest easy. This servant will ensure the task is carried out perfectly."

Lucky for him he was so robust and had access to Star Palace; it was such a good fortune to land this assignment. Every time he delivered the food to His Majesty’s desk, His Majesty was very pleased, and would send a note praising Master Lian, and also reward him generously.