Chapter 232 – The Foolish Prince Consort’s Farming Struggles – Food Poisoning (15)
“Ah Luo, you’re finally better~”
The young boy smiled with curved eyes. A month of recovery had put a little more flesh on his cheeks, making him look even cuter than before.
“Yes, thanks for everything.” Baili Luo pinched Bai Tang’s cheek. He still thought the boy was a bit too skinny, but Tang Tang just didn’t like eating meat. It looked like he’d have to come up with a way to feed him more.
“Royal Brother, you’re finally better~”
After enduring nearly a month of torment from the amnesiac Baili Luo, Baili Bin was immensely relieved. The wise older brother from before was finally back, and he no longer had to suffer.
“Mhm. You’re here too.”
Even though he was already an adult, Baili Bin had been so moved that he wanted a hug just like Bai Tang. But upon hearing that sentence, his movements froze.
Why did he feel like there was a hint of disdain in Royal Brother’s tone?
His brother had regained his old memories—how could he be disgusted by him?
No, no. It must be because he hadn’t slept well lately. He was just too tired and imagining things.
Baili Luo had not only regained his old memories—he also remembered everything that happened during the time he was “foolish.”
He turned to Uncle Gao, who was crying tears of joy, and said, “Thank you for everything, Lord Gao.”
“It was nothing, not hard at all. It’s my honor to serve the Seventh Prince,” replied Uncle Gao.
Though he said that, Baili Luo knew all too well how much hardship Lord Gao had endured, having to care for an amnesiac, foolish, and troublesome version of himself—dodging assassins while also treating his illness.
Before he lost his memory, his greatest fortune had been earning the loyalty of such devoted subordinates. Now, only Lord Gao remained. And during his memory loss, the luckiest thing that happened to him—was meeting Bai Tang.
Baili Luo held Bai Tang’s hand tightly and received a big smile in return.
“A month ago, I couldn’t give you a proper wedding. I’ll make it up to you someday, alright?”
His tone was gentle, and for someone usually so proud, there was even a trace of pleading in his voice.
No matchmaker, no wedding, no formal betrothal gift—by custom, the marriage didn’t count.
Baili Luo waited nervously for Bai Tang’s answer. Then came the boy’s soft, sweet voice: “Okay~”
In that instant, the skies cleared, the flowers bloomed, and even Baili Bin—who had always seemed like he was getting in the way of his relationship—looked a little more pleasing to the eye.
Baili Bin: Was I really switched at birth? This doesn’t feel like my real brother at all…
Bai Tang’s words were like a calming pill for Baili Luo, easing his panic. After all, when Lord Gao arranged their engagement, the formal procedures had been incomplete. The plan had been that if the Seventh Prince ever recovered and lost interest in a village girl, they could just treat her as a concubine, and that would be the end of it. The title of official consort was reserved for a formal marriage with all the proper rituals.
Now that Baili Luo had settled this important personal matter, he finally turned his full attention to Baili Bin.
“You’ve grown up. How is Mother?”
He had been missing for so long—his mother and younger brother must have had a hard time in the palace.
Baili Bin held back his tears. “She’s… she’s okay. When she first heard that you’d gone missing, she fell seriously ill. It took a long time for her to recover…”
There was no need to say more; Baili Luo could guess the rest.
Now that he had recovered, he would never just sit around and wait to die.
The people who had tried to kill him—there were really only two suspects: Third Brother and Fifth Brother.
The main culprit was likely the third; the fifth was too dim-witted. With that brain of his, he couldn’t possibly have come up with such a flawless plan, one that nearly left Baili Luo with no way out.
“Royal Brother, what should we do now?” Baili Bin asked seriously.
Baili Luo’s expression turned grim, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
“Since our dear brothers have shown me such… care, I must return the favor generously.”
Then he lowered his head and looked at Bai Tang, who was still listening in a daze.
“And after that, I’ll marry my royal consort in style.”
Baili Bin: “……”
I get it now. Royal Brother’s heart is completely tied to Royal Sister-in-law. But come on, Brother—what about your ambitions, your dreams? The throne is still waiting for you!
…
[Scene Shift: Female Lead’s Perspective]
Lin Xiaoshuang was utterly tormented by her mother’s constant harassment. Even though she had severed ties with the Lin family in front of the village chief, they still came pestering her every few days—asking for money under the excuse of feeling sick or being in pain. And even when the village chief stepped in, she still had to give them some silver.
Before long, the silver Lin Xiaoshuang had painstakingly saved up was nearly gone.
Seeing that Lin Xiaoshuang could always produce more silver, her mother was overjoyed. Now she didn’t have to worry about her future grandson’s living expenses.
Eventually, Lin Xiaoshuang couldn’t take it anymore. Late one night, she packed up everything she owned and left in the middle of the night, riding a donkey cart straight to town.
At worst, she could rent a room in town—even if it was expensive, it would still be better than staying here and being extorted.
By the time Lin Xiaoshuang reached the town, the sky was still dark.
She had nowhere to go, and the cold wind cut against her skin like knives.
She thought of Drunken Immortal Tavern and decided to take a chance, hoping she might be able to stay there for the night.
The inn’s assistant was sound asleep, but when he heard someone knocking at the door, he reluctantly got up, threw on his clothes, and went to open it.
“Guest, it’s still early for meals. Are you looking for a room?”
Despite being woken from his dreams, the assistant remained professional and didn’t take out his annoyance on the guest.
“Brother, p-please… a room,” Lin Xiaoshuang said, shivering from the cold.
“Alright, come on in.”
The assistant registered Lin Xiaoshuang at the front desk and then helped lead her donkey cart around to the backyard.
Once inside the room, Lin Xiaoshuang drank several cups of hot tea before her body finally began to warm up.
She looked around the room. The conditions weren’t top-tier, but not too bad either—just a standard guest room, yet still far better than many of the houses she’d seen in town during previous visits.
Having finally escaped the black hole that was the Lin family, Lin Xiaoshuang felt pretty good. She planned to talk to the innkeeper the next day, hoping to persuade him to let her stay at Drunken Immortal Tavern long-term. Maybe she could even discuss a potential business collaboration—make money together. Surely that was doable, right?
With that hope in mind, Lin Xiaoshuang drifted off to sleep.
…
The next day, full of excitement, Lin Xiaoshuang found the innkeeper and explained her plan in detail.
The innkeeper stroked his beard and listened for a while. He thought the girl’s ideas were quite creative, but far too childish—more like something a kid would come up with while playing pretend.
Drunken Immortal Tavern didn’t actually belong to him. Though he managed most of its affairs, he couldn’t let such a large and reputable establishment go bankrupt on his watch.
He quickly waved his hands. “No, no, that won’t do. You’re welcome to stay for now, but as for this so-called business partnership and recipe collaboration—I can’t agree to that.”
He only allowed her to stay temporarily because he had seen her with the young master before, and they seemed somewhat familiar with each other.
Still, Lin Xiaoshuang wasn’t discouraged. She figured it must be because these ancient people just lacked vision.
She decided to first make a finished product. If the customers praised it after tasting it, the innkeeper would definitely come around.
No sooner thought than done—she happily rushed to the kitchen and made a modern-style cake, even whipping up some cream using milk, sugar, and eggs.
Following the modern supermarket sample-tasting method, she cut the cake into several small pieces, brought them out into the main hall, and handed them out one by one to the customers.
The customers were intrigued by the unfamiliar treat and eagerly began sampling it, each taking a bite.
And to be fair, Lin Xiaoshuang’s cake really did taste quite good.
When the innkeeper returned from a supply run, the first thing he saw was Lin Xiaoshuang weaving through the crowd, offering samples to guests.
Beaming with pride, Lin Xiaoshuang reported her success to the innkeeper.
“Boss, what do you think? This cake of mine is a big hit!”
The innkeeper was tempted—if they could launch an exclusive pastry like this, wouldn’t that mean making a fortune?
But before he could say anything, one of the customers who had eaten the cake suddenly clutched his stomach and collapsed onto the table, groaning, “Oww…”
Then it was like a chain reaction. One person after another started having stomach pain—first one, then two, then three—soon everyone who had eaten the cake was clutching their bellies and crying out in pain.
“It’s poisoned! That pastry is poisoned!”
No one knew who shouted it first, but the moment others heard it, panic spread and many began vomiting on the spot.
A food poisoning incident at Drunken Immortal Tavern was no small matter. The innkeeper immediately sent someone to fetch a doctor. Those who hadn’t eaten the cake were already shouting to report it to the authorities.
There was no way to keep this quiet. The tavern was open to the public, and plenty of people passed by its doors. Before long, a concerned bystander brought over the constables.
The innkeeper was on the verge of tears. “You’re going to ruin me!”
Lin Xiaoshuang waved her hands in protest, “I don’t know what happened! I followed the recipe exactly!”
Both the innkeeper and Lin Xiaoshuang were taken away by the constables for questioning. Lin Xiaoshuang was devastated. As she left the Drunken Immortal Tavern, she muttered bitterly to herself, “Why am I so unlucky? Why does Bai Tang get everything? A good marriage, a good life, and even Bai Bin is his brother…”
Passersby began pointing and gossiping. Among the crowd was Ji Zhong.
Skilled in martial arts, Ji Zhong easily overheard what Lin Xiaoshuang muttered. Though he didn’t catch the whole thing, he did catch something that sounded like “Bai… Bin.”
He thought to himself, Could it be Baili Bin? So the Ninth Prince is still in this area… Seems this woman knows him.
The case itself wasn’t complicated. With a doctor from Miaoxin Hall providing testimony, it was quickly determined that all the people who had gotten food poisoning at Drunken Immortal Tavern had eaten the cake, while those who hadn’t eaten it were completely fine.
The doctor asked Lin Xiaoshuang to explain the details of her cake-making process. Lin Xiaoshuang didn’t want to reveal her recipe in open court, but she had no choice—if she refused, she would be thrown in jail.
After a thorough inquiry, the doctor concluded that the food poisoning had likely been caused by the use of raw milk that hadn’t been properly boiled.
The innkeeper immediately declared that he was willing to cover all the medical expenses of those who had fallen ill and also offer appropriate compensation.
When the families of the victims heard that Drunken Immortal Tavern would be covering medical costs and paying compensation, their anger finally subsided.
Because the innkeeper had offered a generous amount and had shown sincere remorse, the affected parties agreed not to pursue the matter further. The authorities then ruled that both the innkeeper and Lin Xiaoshuang were not guilty and released them. However, they issued a stern warning to Lin Xiaoshuang, forbidding her from working as a cook again.
Lin Xiaoshuang was indignant. Her recipe wasn’t the problem—the only issue was her carelessness in forgetting to boil the milk. Now, not only had her formula been made public, but she was also banned from profiting off it in the future. She couldn’t help but feel resentful toward the innkeeper. If only he had agreed to work with me earlier, she thought. It could’ve been a win-win—both of us making money. Why did things have to turn out so embarrassingly?
The innkeeper, only because of the young master’s past connection with her, didn’t immediately kick Lin Xiaoshuang out. She returned to her room, opened the window, and stared up at the moon in the sky. Since the day she had transmigrated, there hadn’t been a single day where she didn’t feel wronged.
As her thoughts spiraled, tears began to fall uncontrollably.
Suddenly, a shadow flashed past the window, and the candle in the room went out.
Terrified, Lin Xiaoshuang stumbled back a few steps. A masked man in black leapt in through the window. He held a knife to her neck and covered her mouth.
“Don’t move. Don’t make a sound.”
Author’s Note:
Lin Xiaoshuang is the main plot mover (aka the chaos agent)!