“Grandmother, look at this embroidery Fourth Aunt brought from Suzhou. Isn’t it beautiful?” Mei Tingyuan spread her arms to show the elderly lady her new clothes.
The Second Old Madam examined the garment carefully, nodding repeatedly. “It’s lovely. My granddaughter is beautiful and looks good in anything.”
Today’s festivities momentarily distracted Mei Tingyuan from Mei Tingjun’s death. She reverted to her usual spoiled and innocent demeanor. “I’ve set aside a piece of fabric for you, Grandmother. I plan to make you an outfit.”
The Second Old Madam beamed with joy but said, “An old woman like me has no business wearing new fashions.”
The First Branch had nothing to boast about, as their gifts were all brought back by the Second Branch’s business ventures. Moreover, with the Old Madam’s cold expression, no one dared approach her.
To break the awkward atmosphere, Mei Ruyan spoke up. “Grandmother, where are Wencui and Wenbi? I haven’t seen them in a while and miss them.”
The Old Madam’s gaze briefly passed over Mei Ruyan before she asked Lingxi beside her, “Where are those two?”
“Old Madam, Wencui and Wenbi are eating with the other maids in the courtyard,” Lingxi replied.
The experienced servants of Mei Manor all sat outside. Braziers in the courtyard kept them warm, and the doors and windows of the banquet hall separated them from the others, allowing them to be more at ease.
Inside and outside the spacious hall, the banquet for nearly a thousand people was lively.
The steward announced loudly, “Let the feast begin—”
As his voice trailed off, silence fell over the hall and courtyard.
Mei Zhengyan stood up and projected his voice using his internal energy. “It is thanks to everyone’s hard work that the Mei family has reached its current status. I’d like to offer a toast to you all.”
Everyone hurriedly stood up, raising their cups and repeatedly saying, “We wouldn’t dare.”
Mei Jiu, never having tasted alcohol before, despised its flavor. She frowned as she took a sip, her eyes watering from the burn. After a moment’s hesitation, she discreetly spilled the wine onto her sleeve, a common trick used by women unaccustomed to drinking.
After the first round, Mei Zhengyan said a few more polite words, and the banquet truly began.
Mei Ruyan, who had a good tolerance for alcohol, was feeling troubled. She drained her cup and poured herself another.
As she brought 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 smiled faintly, took a small sip, and set down her cup.
Halfway through the banquet, as the cups clinked and conversation flowed, a guard quietly approached Mei Zhengyan and whispered something in his ear. Mei Zhengyan nodded and glanced towards the women’s section.
After a short while, Mei Zhengyan and several elders noticed the banquet had grown quieter, especially among the servants outside.
Their sudden seriousness caused those around them to gradually fall silent.
The wind picked up outside, causing the lanterns in the courtyard to sway violently. The light cast on the ground flickered erratically, and lanterns began to extinguish. A faint scratching sound could be heard mixed with the wind.
Everyone sensed something was amiss. An eerie silence fell over the grand banquet hall.
Thud!
Someone collapsed to the ground.
“Go check what’s happening,” Mei Zhengyan commanded sternly.
A guard went to investigate. “They’ve fainted.”
Drunkenness? Impossible. The banquet had barely begun. Even if someone had been drinking nonstop, they wouldn’t be this intoxicated!
Just as this thought crossed Mei Zhengyan’s mind, people began collapsing left and right.
“It’s a sedative!” a guard shouted.
Everyone hurriedly took out and consumed their antidotes. These were concocted by Elder Qi and could counteract the most common poisons. However, while they prevented immediate unconsciousness, they couldn’t restore internal energy.
The elders, instead of rushing to help others, took their specially made “Hundred Poisons Cure” and focused on expelling the sedative from their bodies. The Hundred Poisons Cure was a rare and valuable antidote, but its effectiveness against sedatives was limited. Using it in this situation was wasteful, but with the enemy clearly intent on massacring the manor, they couldn’t afford to be frugal with medicine!
Fortunately, some people hadn’t drunk much and quickly returned to normal.
As the family head, Mei Zhengyan had received many toasts. His vision was now blurry, but after taking the Hundred Poisons Cure, he began to feel the true qi in his dantian again.
Among the women, except for those from Mei Manor, most had low martial arts skills and quickly fainted.
Mei Jiu, still holding her chopsticks, was shocked to see blood splattering across the Korean paper-covered doors and windows. Beside her, Mei Ruyan was swaying, about to fall.
Mei Jiu dropped her chopsticks to support Mei Ruyan. Although she had only taken a small sip of wine earlier, she now found herself unable to muster any strength. She panicked, wondering what to do.
For An Jiu, this small amount of drug was insignificant. She decided to control her body and dragged Mei Ruyan to a storage room behind the side hall, hiding her in a large basket.
The Second Old Madam, with her weak martial arts, had already lost consciousness. Mei Tingzhu closed her eyes, using her internal energy to expel the sedative, her forehead covered in sweat. Like Mei Jiu, Mei Tingyuan had only taken a small sip of wine, which had little effect on her.
Many of the women had only symbolically sipped their wine, and the children hadn’t touched it at all.
In their panic, they opened the doors and fled outside.
The courtyard was already littered with corpses, blood flowing like rivers. As soon as the doors opened, arrows flew in like a swarm of bees.
The women quickly used their bodies to shield the children.
In an instant, the screams of women and the wails of children filled Mei Hua Lane.
Mei Zhengying staggered to this area, drawing his sword and swinging it at the Old Madam.
“Sixth Brother, have you gone mad?” Lingxi parried with her sword.
“Who are you people?” Mei Zhengying coldly demanded. “What great grudge does the Mei family have with you that you’d massacre the entire manor?”
“Impossible, impossible…” the Old Madam muttered.
An elder who had already expelled the sedative came over and placed a hand on Mei Zhengying’s shoulder, using his internal energy to help him overcome the drug’s effects.
Meanwhile, Mei Zhengyan had fully recovered and was calmly directing people to retreat. He was shocked and furious—this attack was a long-planned collaboration with internal traitors!
Generally, poisons that can cause instant death have some odor. Truly colorless and odorless poisons either take time to take effect or are difficult to refine.
Mei family members always carried antidotes with them, and with their ability to expel poisons using internal energy, poisoning would be ineffective unless it caused instant death.
Sedatives, however, weren’t classified as poisons, and antidotes had little effect against them.
These attackers had first drugged the wine, and then set fires to distract Elder Qi. Even if Elder Qi couldn’t detect this colorless and odorless sedative, his presence would have been equivalent to having the antidote on hand.
While directing people to escape through secret passages, Mei Zhengyan ordered his secret guards, “Go seek help from Headmaster Zhao at the clan school. Send a signal to inform the Old Madam!”
“Yes, sir!” the two guards responded in unison.
Mei Zhengyan then told the elder beside him, “Quickly take Zhengying and leave. Once you’re out, find Elder Qi.”
When choosing between the family head and his heir, only one could be prioritized. The elder hesitated for a moment. “Family Head, you should go first! Let Zhengying stay!”