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When Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng returned to Rice Flower Fragrance, Liuzi was already waiting anxiously at the doorway.

As soon as he saw them, he hurried over, clapping his hands and gasping for air, "Aiyoh, boss lady, you’re finally back!

If you had been any later, our Rice Flower Fragrance would’ve almost been flooded by that Shunzi! "

Lin Yuan was taken aback and followed Liuzi into the house. From a distance, she could hear Shunzi’s wailing and something vaguely resembling words, but his crying was so severe, and his teeth so leaky, that she couldn’t understand a thing he said.

Princess Anle, who was resting inside, was also startled and had Xia He come out to check several times.

Lin Yuan held her forehead. Wasn’t it just a small pill she had fed him? She had promised that as soon as she returned from the Century-old Cake Shop, she would immediately provide the antidote. Was it really necessary for him to cry like this?

In the storeroom, Shunzi was slumped on the ground, wiping away snot and tears. Even the guards watching him were getting uncomfortable, incessantly muttering, "Are you even a man? Can’t you show a little guts?"

Shunzi grabbed at one of their clothes to wipe his tears but was deftly avoided. With no other option, he took his own hem and blew his nose fiercely, "Ugh, don’t talk about dignity, I want to live! Waaah! I want to live!"

Lin Yuan shook her head at the doorway and urged Liuzi to quickly bring the "antidote." It was the same filling as before, only this time without the dipping sauce. Sweet and fragrant, it did indeed seem a bit like a real antidote.

Seeing Lin Yuan enter, Shunzi finally stopped crying and quickly scrambled to his feet, his eyes wide as he asked, "Miss, how is it? The task’s done alright, yeah?"

Suppressing her laughter, Lin Yuan nodded, "Not bad, I didn’t expect you to put all the Five Stones Powder in just a short time, and even smartly sprinkle it separately. Here, this is the antidote for you."

With that, she opened her hand, revealing the black, bean-paste pill in her palm.

Shunzi’s eyes lit up and he didn’t hesitate to grab the "pill" and stuffed it into his stomach. Thinking about Lin Yuan’s previous advice that the medicine’s effect improved after digestion, he deliberately chewed thoroughly until a sweet taste filled his mouth, then swallowed.

Only after swallowing did he recognize the familiar taste. He scratched his head and looked cautiously at Lin Yuan, "Miss, this... does it really seem like an antidote?"

Before Lin Yuan could speak, Liuzi was already glaring, exclaiming, "What? You don’t trust our boss lady? Fine then, hurry up and spit it out, spit it out, don’t eat it!"

Shunzi quickly covered his mouth, shaking his head vigorously.

Only when Liuzi saw that he stopped questioning did he relax a bit, nearly exposing the ruse. He had broken out in a cold sweat from fear.

Having taken the "antidote," Shunzi immediately felt refreshed and was able to speak energetically. He started chatting with Lin Yuan, "Miss, you just mentioned I sprinkled the medicine separately? Nope, I wandered around inside for a long time; I couldn’t get near the counter at all. So I snuck into the back kitchen and, when no one was looking, I just grabbed a bowl of filling and scattered it in. I didn’t put it anywhere else. "

Xia Zheng, who was happily fiddling with Lin Yuan’s hand, paused at Shunzi’s words, "Are you sure you only put it in the filling and nowhere else?"

Shunzi nodded, "Yes, yes."

Lin Yuan was also stunned. When she was at the Century-old Cake Shop earlier, she had noticed this issue too.

The counter at the Century-old Cake Shop wasn’t like that at Rice Flower Fragrance, where pastries were placed on shelves.

Instead, they were kept in drawers within the counter, labeled with the names of the pastries.

When customers came in wanting to buy something, they just had to mention its name.