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"Hot pot?"

Upon entering the place where the banquet was previously held, looking at the round tables laid out with steaming hot pots full of red oil, the Duke of Wei couldn’t help but laugh.

In the north during winter, they indeed relished this food. He hadn’t expected that in Jiangnan, in the heat of June, they would also enjoy a hot pot feast like "admiring snow"... truly interesting...

The Princess Royale, with a mysterious smile on her face, was whiffing the strong scent of the spices from the restaurant.

It looked like they were about to make a move...

But to force that woman to reveal her true form just with these things? She feared it wouldn’t be so simple!

"Ladies and gentlemen, it’s cold outside, please come in and take a seat!" Chen Qing, coming down from upstairs, hurriedly invited everyone to the best viewing platform on the upper floor.

"Look at this weather, a hot pot paired with a refreshing cold fruit wine—isn’t the taste simply divine?" Chen Qing beckoned everyone to sit and poured a cup for each.

The Princess Royale glanced at the colorful fruit wines in the translucent glass cups, topped with some ice cubes, which paired with the sizzling hot pot, looked refreshing indeed.

These fruit wines also had a distinctly clean and refreshing aroma, which appeared to be great for cutting through the greasiness, making the heavy and spicy hot pot suddenly seem much more appetizing.

"Lord Chen enjoys this flavor too?" the Duke of Wei asked as the first to be seated.

Having been in Jiangnan for a few days, the food here was truly delectable, especially those meats he had never seen before, tasting even better than domestic beef.

He’d thought at that time—with meat this good, if used for a hot pot, it would be extremely enjoyable.

And just after two days of thinking about it, Chen Qing had arranged for it, immediately whetting his appetite.

Princess Royale and Elder Shen glanced at each other without much comment, took their seats, and the younger followers, seeing this, took their places too.

These past few days, they hadn’t encountered any dish they didn’t like.

The delights of Jiangnan, especially in terms of food, were impeccable.

Even a plain leaf of lettuce seemed to taste crisper and sweeter than those in the Capital City; they might as well eat with their eyes closed.

"Lord Chen, those spices are quite strong," Chief of Staff Pang noted without changing his expression as he sat down and skillfully mixed his dipping sauce—an expert hot pot connoisseur with the garlic adding fragrance, sesame oil for smoothing the spiciness, chopped green onions for a splash of color, and a touch of vinegar and oyster sauce for extra flavor.

Chen Qing saw this and was slightly taken aback, whereas Princess Royale was busy dipping her slices of meat with a smiling face.

Thinking that these little things would reveal someone’s true nature? That’s quite naive...

Although she didn’t think much of the woman who clung to Lumings, she had to admit that the other party was flawless in maintaining her disguise.

In the past, targeted attempts had been made, and she had drunk jars of realgar wine; could you really expose her true form with a few slices of hot pot meat?

"Ah, it seems Minister Pang is quite accustomed to this," Chen Qing said with a smile as he sat down. "At first, I was worried that a scholar like Minister Pang, who prefers delicate and elegant flavors, might find this too bold. But it seems I was overthinking."

"Why be so pedantic?" Minister Pang laughed heartily. "After all, one should taste all flavors in life to truly understand the world’s sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and spiciness, no?"

"That is the truth..." Chen Qing promptly raised his cup. "Come, this is to everyone!"

Seeing this, the others also picked up their cups. When Chen Qing downed his in one go, they didn’t hesitate to follow suit.

Instantly, a piercing chill coursed through their throats and into their bellies, sending a shiver through everyone!

"Lord Chen, did you put that kind of ice from outside in your wine?" the Duke of Wei exclaimed with wide eyes...

"How is it? Not a bad taste, right?" Chen Qing smiled. "I added just a touch, just enough for the body to bear, and then as the wine’s warmth spreads, you immediately feel warmed up. It’s called a bittersweet experience and takes some effort to get right."

The group closed their eyes, savoring the unusual flavor, nodding in approval—especially the Duke of Wei, feeling the warmth in his belly and laughing loudly: "What a bittersweet experience, truly fascinating—a fine drink indeed!"

His two sons at another table nodded vigorously. The many soldiers who were initially surprised but then began to enjoy it squinted their eyes in pleasure. This was indeed quite amusing.

However, the Princess Royale was looking toward Minister Pang.

What kind of demons were those from Earth Dragon Cave? To this day, no one could say for sure, but one thing known was that these people had the attributes of an earth serpent.

Snakes are yin and cold, fearing heat, fearing cold even more; this kind of drink, chilling to the bone yet instantly heating up, honestly, was quite effective against them.

But at a glance, Minister Pang seemed unaffected, eyes closed, relishing the moment: "So this is it, this is it. To have such flavors in wine, ah my, this is quite the revelation, Lord Chen really has a wonderful place here."

"Really?" A cold glint flashed in Chen Qing’s eyes. "I’m glad Minister likes it!"

Minister Pang smiled faintly, about to respond, when suddenly his face changed dramatically, turning a ghastly shade of green.

His face swelled like a toad and, in the next second, he vomited a great deal of foul-smelling black water, shocking everyone into standing up; the Duke of Wei and others also frowned and stood, looking at him coldly.

"You..." Minister Pang looked astonished at Chen Qing, but upon speaking, realized his voice had turned feminine. Moreover, the way everyone looked at him wasn’t quite right.

A sense of alarm in his heart, he touched his face only to find that Minister Pang’s human skin mask had already cracked, revealing a face covered in snake scales!

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"Using food and drink to force her true form? My lord... not to discourage you, but I’m afraid this truly won’t work..."

The night before, Chen Qing had arranged everything and was only one step away—that was to publicly force Madam Lu to show her true form. Only then, could he righteously charge Lumings with the crime of plotting against an imperial minister and thus assert his authority!

But this crucial step was not easy to take; the opponent was slippery and profoundly cunning. To expose her in front of everyone, it would take a special method indeed.

Tian Heng of course hoped for a reputation that was more positive, as this would legitimize his family’s status in the Capital City and give him the opportunity to bring them to Jiangnan.

But he had not expected Chen Qing’s plan to be this, and he couldn’t help but smile wryly.

"Your Majesty, you do not know, that one from the Lu Family, is somewhat special.

.." Tian Heng explained: "Many people know that Lord Lu’s wife came from the Earth Dragon Cave, a Serpent Demon of the snake kind. But for many years, no evidence could be found. Once, enemies of the Lu Family tried to test her with Realgar wine, and that woman, in front of everyone, drank three huge jars without any issue. Since then, the rumors about Lord Lu’s legitimate wife being a Serpent Demon have mostly fizzled out. .."

"Realgar wine?" Chen Qing laughed: "That’s impossible, no matter the level of the demon, they cannot avoid their own weakness."

"Perhaps that woman can endure it well enough."

"Absolutely not..." Chen Qing shook his head: "If she could drink three jars of Realgar wine just by enduring it, then having a weakness would be no different from not having one at all. She did not rely on endurance!"

"Does Your Majesty know what method she used?" Tian Heng asked eagerly.

What he feared most was that His Majesty underestimated that woman, but now it seemed His Majesty was not ignorant!

"It is this bottle..." Chen Qing picked up the bottle he had just confiscated and said: "This is the Flying Star Bottle, with the effect of traversing space.

Once bound to its owner, person and bottle are connected.

Anything she swallows can be transferred into this bottle.

Not to mention three large jars, even three hundred or thirty thousand jars would be no problem for her to drink! "

"Is that so?" Tian Heng drew closer out of curiosity, looking at the gorgeous bottle in Chen Qing’s hand: "It’s magical indeed, but is the bottle only used for storage when connected?"

"That’s not all," Chen Qing said softly: "It also has the capability to traverse!"

"Traverse?"

"No matter the distance, as long as the bottle is there, she can emerge from it anytime!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ying and Tian Heng both instinctively took a step back, almost expecting that thing to crawl out of the bottle’s opening.

"This bottle must have been abandoned. The foul-smelling water inside indicates that after an emergency withdrawal, she dumped all the usual rubbish into this bottle, hence the endless foul-smelling water."

"To abandon such a useful thing?" Chen Ying couldn’t help but say.

"Because there are many of them..." Chen Qing narrowed his eyes: "This bottle can be replicated.

As long as human flesh and blood sacrifices continue, the bottle can replicate endlessly.

I guess over these years, Madam Lu must have had thousands of bottles, if not ten thousand, possibly spread all over the Central Plains. .."

Everyone: "...."

This indeed sounded far from ordinary horror. Such exquisite bottles might be collected by many noble families, but who would have thought that at any moment, a man-eating serpent could emerge from within?

"I see, now I understand..." Tian Heng suddenly had an epiphany!

No wonder the Lu Family was like a fish in water, able to obtain any piece of intelligence, regardless of how tightly other major families guarded their secrets, always managing to find a loophole to assassinate their direct descendants.

So there was such a thing!

Who could have expected that a bottle intended for decoration could be a Spiritual Artifact with such terrifying abilities? He suddenly remembered that his wife’s room seemed to have such a bottle...

At this thought, he felt a chill run down his spine.

The bottle seemed to be placed in his wife’s room no less.

No wonder Lumings did not seem to doubt his loyalty at all back then, delegating various powers generously.

So... there was such a thing after all. The pillow talk between him and his wife might have been overheard by the other party, of course they would trust you!

And if he showed the slightest intent of rebellion, that vile woman could crawl out of the bottle at any moment and exterminate his entire family...

"Lord, what about this?" Tian Heng’s face suddenly changed color. If that was the case, how could Chen Qing have captured her?

The land below might already be secretly littered with those vials by that venomous woman, wouldn’t she be able to retreat at any time?

And now that he had shown his face, given her venomous nature, would she directly take her anger out on the Tian Family?

"Rest assured!" Chen Qing patted Tian Heng’s shoulder: "I assure you, neither Lord Lumings nor his viperous wife will survive past tomorrow!!"

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"You... what have you done?" The woman, having shed her skin, got up, and the stinking snake scales spread open, tearing through Minister Pang’s skin, looking horrifyingly repellent.

Chaos erupted among the forces gathered around, especially those brought by Minister Pang himself, who were so frightened they jumped up!

Minister Pang... was actually a demon?

Except for Duke of Wei, who was rather surprised, the rest of the people at Chen Qing’s table were quite calm, especially the Princess Royale, though she too was quite curious.

Chen Qing... what had he done to silently cause the opponent to lose even their human disguise?