"Grandmother, look at this embroidery Auntie brought from Suzhou. Isn't it lovely?" Mei Tingyuan spread her arms to show Second Madam her new dress.
Second Madam examined it carefully without any pretense, nodding repeatedly. "It's beautiful. My granddaughter is so lovely—everything looks good on her."
Today's lively atmosphere allowed Mei Tingyuan to momentarily forget about Mei Tingjun's death, reverting to her usual spoiled yet innocent demeanor. "I even saved a bolt of fabric especially for you, Grandmother. I plan to have a dress made for you."
Second Madam was overjoyed, though she pretended otherwise. "An old woman like me has no need for new fashions."
The main branch of the family received gifts brought back by those in the second branch who engaged in business ventures, but there was nothing particularly impressive to boast about. Moreover, Old Madam's cold expression deterred anyone from approaching her unnecessarily.
Still, the awkward silence couldn't be left unbroken. Mei Ru Yan spoke up, "Hmm, Grandmother, where are Wen Cui and Wen Bi? I haven’t seen them in so long—I miss them a little."
Old Madam's gaze swept indifferently over Mei Ru Yan as she asked Ling Xi beside her, "Where are those two?"
"Replying to Old Madam, Wen Cui and Wen Bi are dining in the courtyard with the other maids," Ling Xi answered.
All the senior servants of Mei Manor were seated outside. Braziers burned in the courtyard, keeping the chill at bay, while the banquet hall's doors and windows separated the inside from the outside, allowing them to relax more freely.
The vast banquet hall, both inside and out, buzzed with the lively atmosphere of nearly a thousand guests.
The steward announced loudly, "Let the banquet begin—"
His drawn-out voice faded, and silence fell over the hall and courtyard.
Mei Zhengyan stood and amplified his voice with Inner Force. "It is through everyone’s hard work that Mei Shi thrives today. I propose a toast to you all."
The guests hastily rose, raising their cups and murmuring, "We dare not."
Mei Jiu had never tasted alcohol before and found the smell unbearable. Frowning, she took a small sip, only for the burning sensation to bring tears to her eyes. After a moment’s hesitation, she discreetly poured the wine onto her sleeve—a common trick among women unaccustomed to drinking.
After the toast, Mei Zhengyan delivered a few more formal remarks before the banquet truly commenced.
Mei Ru Yan had a decent tolerance for alcohol. Troubled by her thoughts, she drained her cup and poured herself another.
Just as she raised it to her lips, a hand gently tugged at her sleeve.
She turned to see Mei Jiu looking at her with concern. Realizing this wasn’t the place to drown her sorrows—she could drink more freely later—she smiled faintly, took a small sip, and set the cup down.
Amid the clinking of cups and lively chatter, halfway through the banquet, a guard quietly approached Mei Zhengyan and whispered something in his ear. Mei Zhengyan nodded and glanced toward the women’s side.
A short while later, Mei Zhengyan and several elders suddenly noticed the noise in the banquet hall had diminished significantly, especially among the servants outside.
Their sudden solemnity caused the surroundings to gradually quieten.
A fierce wind rose outside, howling through the courtyard and making the lanterns sway wildly. The flickering light cast shifting shadows on the ground, and one by one, the lanterns began extinguishing. Faintly, the sound of rustling could be heard within the wind.
Everyone sensed something was amiss. The vast banquet hall fell into an eerie silence.
Thud!
Someone collapsed to the ground.
"Go see what happened," Mei Zhengyan ordered in a low voice.
A guard went to check. "They’ve fainted."
Drunkenness? Impossible—the banquet had only just begun. Even if someone had been drinking nonstop, they wouldn’t be this intoxicated yet!
No sooner had the thought crossed Mei Zhengyan’s mind than more people began collapsing one after another.“There’s knockout poison!” a guard shouted loudly.
Everyone hurriedly took out their antidotes and swallowed them. These were prepared by Elder Qi and could counteract common poisons, but this time, though they didn’t immediately lose consciousness, they still couldn’t muster their Inner Force.
The elders didn’t rush to save others. Instead, after taking the specially made “Antitoxin Pill,” they quickly tried to expel the knockout poison from their bodies. The Antitoxin Pill was a rare and precious antidote, but its effect on knockout poison was limited. Using it for this purpose was a waste, yet at this moment, the enemy clearly intended to massacre the entire manor—how could they begrudge a single pill!
Fortunately, some had drunk little and soon recovered.
As the family head, Mei Zhengyan had been toasted by many. His vision was already blurring, but after taking the Antitoxin Pill, he gradually began to sense the True Energy in his dantian.
Among the women, aside from those from Mei Manor, the rest had weak Martial Arts skills and quickly collapsed in a daze.
Mei Jiu gripped her chopsticks, stunned as she watched the doors and windows covered with Korean paper splattered red with streaks of blood. Beside her, Mei Ru Yan swayed unsteadily, about to fall.
Mei Jiu dropped her chopsticks and steadied Mei Ru Yan, but she had also taken a small sip of wine earlier. Though she hadn’t fainted, she couldn’t muster any strength. Panic surged in her heart: What do I do, what do I do…
The poison’s effect was negligible for An Jiu. She took control of the body, dragged Mei Ru Yan to a storage room behind the side hall, and stuffed her into a large basket.
Second Madam’s Martial Arts were extremely weak, and she had already lost consciousness. Mei Tingzhu closed her eyes, channeling her Inner Force to expel the knockout poison, her forehead drenched in sweat. Mei Tingyuan, like Mei Jiu, had only taken a small sip of wine, which barely affected her.
Many of the women had only symbolically sipped the wine, and the children hadn’t touched a drop.
In their panic, they flung open the doors and fled outside.
The courtyard was already littered with corpses, the ground awash with blood. The moment the doors opened, arrows swarmed like bees, striking instantly.
The women hastily shielded the children with their bodies.
In an instant, the screams of women and the wails of children filled Plum Blossom Village.
Mei Zhengjing staggered over and drew his sword, slashing toward Old Madam.
“Sixth Master, have you lost your mind!” Ling Xi raised her sword to block.
“Who the hell are you people!” Mei Zhengjing demanded coldly. “What grudge does Mei Shi hold against you that you’d massacre the entire manor?”
“Impossible, impossible…” Old Madam murmured.
One of the elders had already expelled the knockout poison. He placed a hand on Mei Zhengjing’s shoulder, using his Inner Force to help him neutralize the poison.
Meanwhile, Mei Zhengyan had fully recovered and was calmly directing the retreat, his heart filled with shock and fury—this attack was clearly a long-planned conspiracy with inside help!
Most poisons that could kill instantly had some detectable odor. Truly odorless and colorless poisons either took time to act or were extremely difficult to refine.
Members of Mei Shi always carried antidotes, and with Inner Force to expel toxins, poisoning was ineffective unless it killed instantly.
Knockout poison wasn’t classified as a lethal toxin, and antidotes had minimal effect.
The attackers had first drugged the wine, then set fires to lure Elder Qi away. Even Elder Qi wouldn’t have detected this odorless, colorless knockout poison, but his presence was akin to having an antidote on hand.
As Mei Zhengyan directed people to escape through the secret passage, he ordered the Shadow Guards, “Go to Clan School and seek help from Zhao Shanchang! Send a signal to inform Old Madam!”
“Yes!” the two replied in unison.Mei Zhengyan turned to the elder beside him and said, "Quickly take Zhengjing away. After you get out, go find Elder Qi."
Between the clan leader and the heir apparent, they could only prioritize saving one. The elder hesitated for a moment before saying, "Clan Leader, you go first! Let Zhengjing stay!" (To be continued...)
OpenNovel