Even emperors have it tough, so don't be too picky about the entries.

......

At 9 PM that night, the host paced back and forth in the courtyard seven or eight times.

The moon had already climbed directly overhead, and it was only half an hour past 11 o'clock.

But the five ghosts made no move.

This made the original poster feel somewhat uneasy.

I've seen confident people, but I've never seen anyone so pretentious.

Should we get going?

The key issue is that these five people all have terrible tempers, and as the host, he doesn't dare to offend them rashly.

After waiting for half an incense stick's time, the host finally couldn't resist and knocked on the five people's room.

But all that could be heard inside were muffled moans.

He was startled and pushed open the door.

A strong, sour smell wafted over.

The stench was mixed with the smell of alcohol, pork knuckle, and partially digested chicken...

vomit--

The original poster almost spat out their drink.

He instinctively covered his mouth and nose and stared intently into the room.

The five ghosts were sprawled haphazardly on the bed, the floor, and the corner of the table.

Their faces were sallow, their lips were pale, and their foreheads were covered in cold sweat.

Lei Zhentian huddled in the corner of the bed, clutching his stomach with both hands, muttering weakly, "Oh my god."

Ximen Gucheng's first thought was, "There's an assassin!"

But then I thought, damn it, this is the assassins' biggest den.

The world's best assassins are all here.

Where can we find an assassin?

He lowered his hand from his mouth and nose and quickly walked to Lei Zhentian's bedside.

"What on earth happened?!"

Lei Zhentian had barely opened his mouth when... *poof*.

Even when I opened my mouth again, it was the same.

After letting out several loud farts, his expression finally calmed down a bit.

"OP, I'm having trouble adjusting to the new environment..."

"I drank some cold wine and ate too much oily food, and now I have an upset stomach that hurts terribly."

The original poster then realized, "Yes, it's a bit of an adjustment coming from the Loess Plateau."

Damn it!

"Knowing you're not used to the local environment, why are you still eating and drinking like this? Who was it that licked the plate clean of that braised pork knuckle this morning?"

"Your recklessness is one thing, but you're going to ruin the 300-year-old reputation of my Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion!"

Lei Zhentian clutched his stomach, his fierce face full of grievance.

He muttered:

"We don't have any good food on the Loess Plateau. In our area, we eat potatoes and corn all year round. We've never even seen braised pork hock."

"OP, you specifically ordered the best dishes, all signature dishes from Beijing. My God, who could resist that?"

There's no use in blaming them now that things have come to this.

Ximen Gucheng looked up at the sky and sighed, then slapped himself across the face.

Why did I have to be so greedy and treat them to a big meal?

Early in the morning, a bowl of noodles is enough for one person.

Being an assassin is truly inhuman!

Just then, a cold laugh suddenly came from the rooftop.

"These pieces of trash dare to be compared to me?"

Ximen Gucheng suddenly raised his head.

He was taken aback at first, then overjoyed.

He slapped his thigh, jumped up, and shouted towards the roof:

"Grandma Meng! Is that Grandma Meng? You've finally arrived!"

Granny Meng is known as the most poisonous person in the world, and her arrival put the host at ease.

"My mother-in-law is a master of poisons; could we perhaps let them take a look?"

"What are you looking at? I only poison people, I don't save them. These useless people should just die already. Living is just bringing shame to the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion."

"Ignore them, just wait here. Before midnight, I'll bring back Chen Shao's head for you to drink with."

Before Ximen Gucheng could speak, a sudden clattering sound came from inside the room.

Lei Zhentian pointed at the roof and cursed loudly:

"Damn it, you damn transvestite."

......

At midnight, Chen Shao was lost in thought in his bedchamber when the palace door silently opened a crack.

Then the candlelight flickered, casting a long, distorted shadow on the wall.

Chen Shao sat up and saw a figure floating in from the doorway.

Only when you get closer can you see its appearance clearly. It's less like a person and more like an old village corpse that has just crawled out of an ancient tomb.

The two exchanged a glance.

Neither of them panicked.

Chen Shao slapped the edge of the bed and stood up, waving at the man as he put on his outer robe:

"Are you brothers from the Golden Wind and Drizzle Pavilion? I've been waiting for you! I've been so bored lately."

Granny Meng was clearly not expected to react this way. She was stunned for a moment before letting out a cold snort:

"I am Granny Meng, known as the most poisonous person in the world."

The voice was cold and menacing, like someone slowly scratching a blackboard with their fingernails.

"Why are you calling her 'grandma', you grown men?"

Granny Meng ignored him.

"Your Majesty is indeed true to your word. There are no ambushes inside or outside this palace. In return, the little eunuch outside will be fine. He was just temporarily knocked unconscious and will wake up naturally in half an hour."

"It's just that you most likely won't see them again; you'll die within half an hour."

He said he was the most poisonous person in the world, which put Chen Shao at ease.

I knew today was a sure thing.

He has the "Breaking Bad" tag.

If he hadn't become emperor and instead produced poisons, his achievements would have far surpassed those of the people before him.

"How does your mother-in-law plan to assassinate me?"

......

A moment later, the two sat facing each other on either side of the rosewood table in the center of the bedroom.

The table was covered with bottles and jars.

Each bottle consists of two identical portions, perfectly symmetrical.

"These are some of the most prized poisons of Meng Po, each one capable of killing even the most skilled martial arts masters silently."

"Tonight I will use them to send His Majesty on his way."

"I, Meng Po, like to gamble big. The rules are simple: you swallow one, I'll take one. Whoever dies first is unlucky. It's a fair duel, and everyone leaves it to fate."

Chen Shao frowned, examining the bottles and jars repeatedly.

"What, scared?"

"It's not that I'm scared, it's just that... is your stuff clean? You wouldn't spit in it when you were making poison, would you?"

"Don't worry, poison is not easy to make, and the dosage must be controlled with extreme precision. Even one or two pills more or less will greatly reduce its effectiveness. How could we possibly change the formula at will? It's completely clean and original."

Chen Shao then nodded.

I just grabbed one at random.

Granny Meng immediately said proudly:

"We're lucky. This is the Three Corpse Dissolving Powder. It's made from Three Corpse Grass that's been growing for over a hundred years on the top of Changbai Mountain, combined with insect powder made from seventy-two kinds of poisonous insects from the depths of Miao territory, and then crystallized arsenic. It's simmered in a copper pot for seven whole days at noon on the day of Xiaoman."

"The effects will take place within three breaths after ingestion. The poisoned person's internal organs will be completely corroded, turning into a puddle of pus, leaving only a complete human skin lying paralyzed on the bed."

Chen Shao pulled out the cork and drank it all in one gulp.

It must be said that Granny Meng is quite skilled; it has a slightly bitter taste, but a subtle sweetness aftertaste, and the overall flavor is refreshing.

"Excellent! Very courageous!"

Granny Meng gave a thumbs-up, picked up a bottle as well, and downed it in one gulp.

In the first scene, the two were evenly matched, and Granny Meng didn't show any unusual reaction.

Chen Shao picked up the second bottle.

"This is the Seven-Step Heart-Shattering Ointment. It is made by grinding four highly poisonous ingredients—arsenic, ginseng, aconite, and strychnine—in a ratio of 3:3:2:1 into an ointment, which is then buried three feet deep underground to be nourished by the earth's yin energy for forty-nine days."

"After taking it, with each step the poisoned person takes, their heart meridian ruptures a little more. After the seventh step, their heart explodes and they die, bleeding from all seven orifices, their face contorted in a grotesque expression, unable even to recognize their own mother..."

Before she could finish speaking, Chen Shao had already finished his drink and frowned as he finished.

"This is not as good as the Three Corpse Dissolving Bone Powder; it's a bit irritating to the throat."

"???"

Granny Meng's lips twitched slightly.

He downed it in one gulp.

He could still maintain a calm and composed expression on his face.

The third bottle, the Nine-Turn Soul-Severing Soup.

Nine types of snake venom layered together.

First, use the venom of the banded krait as a base, then add the venom of vipers, cobras, golden kraits, bamboo pit vipers, sea snakes, rattlesnakes, black mambas, and so on...

Chen Shao remained silent, and blood began to trickle from Granny Meng's lips.

"Are you alright...?"

Chen Shao was somewhat puzzled; there were such honest assassins.

He set all the conditions, couldn't he have provided something fake or taken the antidote beforehand?

He drank himself to the point of vomiting blood.

"Thank you, don't worry about me. I know how to deal with the poison I concocted myself. This is the fourth bottle, bottoms up!"