Douluo Continent: The Peerless Tang Sect, Angels and Rakshasa Return

Chapter 277 — I, Lingyun, possess the qualities of an empress!

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Yueyue and Nana stared in disbelief at Wu Yun, who had fallen headfirst into the ground, and asked with concern, "Um... are you alright...?"

"What could possibly happen to me! Ouch..." Wu Yun braced herself with both hands, pulling her head out of the ground. Looking up, she saw the complicated expressions on Yueyue's and Wu Yun's faces. While rubbing the bump on her head, she grimaced and pretended nothing had happened, saying irritably:

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone stretch their muscles in the morning? Look again, and I'll rip your eyes out and eat them."

Nana took a few steps back, grabbed Yueyue, turned and ran, leaving Wu Yun behind, cursing and swaying slowly.

When Wu Yun entered the kitchen of the Four Offerings, the others had already taken their seats at the dining table. She had intended to teach Wu Yu, that brat, a lesson, but suddenly felt a faint yet terrifying chill spreading from behind her.

Reflexively, Wu Yun alertly scanned the entire room with her mental energy. Everything was so peaceful and serene, except…

Apart from the fourth honorific seated in the main seat, who was smiling and staring intently at Wu Yun with narrowed eyes, the faint chill in the air emanated from her.

This woman seems more dangerous than she imagined!

Wu Yun's body stiffened, and she subconsciously wanted to back away, but she saw the Fourth Elder raise his palm and gently tap the table, as if indicating that Wu Yun should sit down and talk about whatever it was.

Qian Lingyun glanced sideways at Wu Yun, noticing him trembling and cold sweat pouring down his face. She smirked and said, "Evil people always have their share of evil to deal with!"

"Everyone's here!" Yuma looked at all the girls, young and old, at the table from left to right, and said softly, "Let's eat!"

Qian Lingyun opened the lid of the table in front of her. A faint mist rose out along with a wave of heat as the silver lid was lifted. A rich but strangely sweet aroma spread through the air with the white mist, making one's mouth water and one's hair stand on end.

"Just because of the spicy rabbit head blanched in cream soup?"

Picking up the small label on the lid, Qian Lingyun was momentarily stunned. She looked at Yuma with a puzzled expression, pointing to the disjointed, almost comical breakfast on her plate, and couldn't help but ask, "Mommy, is this some kind of new Croatian-style dish?"

"This is a new dish I've researched. I'm letting you try it (test the poison)!" Yuma introduced the new dish in Qian Lingyun's bowl in a serious manner, but Qian Lingyun didn't hear a word of it. She only felt that looking at this dish made her sanity soar.

After all, who would have thought there was a rabbit head the size of a pig's head, with all its holes filled with dripping sauce?

Under Yuma's expectant gaze, Qian Lingyun tentatively picked up a piece and put it in her mouth... Then she felt a numbness in her lips, and a strange taste, as if containing a series of flavors such as sour, sweet, bitter and spicy, went straight to the top of her head along Qian Lingyun's taste buds.

Qian Lingyun's vision went black, and then she knew nothing more...

"Mommy, I suspect you're trying to kill me."

On the hospital bed, Qian Lingyun, her face devoid of color, held Yuma's hand with a look of utter despair and earnestly suggested, "If there's anything I do that displeases you, you can really just tell me directly. There's no need to treat me like this."

"Actually..." The fourth priest scratched his head awkwardly and reassured him, "I promise you, I won't put in so many spices next time."

"Mommy, can you tell me, as a retired imperial chef, why have you suddenly fallen in love with 'death cuisine'?" Qian Lingyun looked at the others who were unharmed with heartache, a mixture of jealousy and helplessness bursting forth in that instant. She pointed at Wu Yun and the others, her voice trembling:

"Why are they acting like nothing happened? Was this 'death cuisine' prepared especially for me?"

"Aren't you immune to poison? I was thinking... could mixing those spices together create a new flavor? Besides, you're fine, aren't you?" Fourth Master said apologetically, head bowed, seemingly surprised that Qian Lingyun would react so strongly to the new dish!

"Oh, so this was all planned! I am indeed immune to poison! But that doesn't mean I can't taste anything!" Qian Lingyun couldn't hold back any longer and roared hysterically, "My mouth is numb right now, I can't feel anything at all."

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. My dear daughter, don't be angry. Your sense of taste will return," the fourth offering apologized again.

This time, her apology was very sincere.

At least Qian Lingyun felt it was very sincere.

Yuma took off her pair of black gemstone earrings and hung them on Qian Lingyun's ear piercings.

Wait, ear piercings!?

Qian Lingyun clearly remembered that she had never had her ears pierced, but Si Gongfeng helped her put on the earrings. Feeling the light weight on her earlobe, Qian Lingyun couldn't help but ask, "What is this...?"

The fourth priestess gently lifted the earrings with her fingertips, as if the earrings had stirred up some unforgettable memory. She gazed at the earrings and caressed them for a while, her thoughts drifting away. After a long while, she slowly said:

"This is a family heirloom, passed down to daughters only. My maternal grandmother passed it to my mother when she got married, and my mother passed it to me when I got married."

"But I'm not married yet..." Qian Lingyun said helplessly, gritting her teeth, "Even if you were to give me this, you'd have to wait until my wedding or something..."

"That's true... but it doesn't matter, I've already given it to you, so just keep it."

The fourth elder paused for a moment, then said awkwardly, "By the way, you're not getting any younger. Do you have a suitable husband yet? If there is one you like, your mother can help you find a match."

"Aren't you getting any younger?"

Nana, Yueyue, and Wuyun looked at the four offerings with their mouths agape, wide enough to fit an egg.

Four offerings, are you kidding me?!

Although my aunt looks mature, she is actually the youngest in our area. If she can be described as getting on in years, then everyone else is probably considered a spinster.

"There's nothing I like." Qian Lingyun frowned and thought for a while, shaking her head like a rattle-drum. She couldn't help but think to herself: [Food poisoning from tasting, Lingyun crying, Mommy pressuring her to get married—it's really tough.]

"No one seems to like you! Well, with your talent, most people are indeed not good enough for you." The Fourth Elder lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then asked, "Then... do you want to be the Empress?"

"The Empress?"

Qian Lingyun looked at Yuma in surprise, her first thought being of the old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire who didn't have many years left to live. But Yuma seemed to sense Qian Lingyun's doubt and introduced her with great seriousness:

"I'm not talking about the current emperor. It seems he's already starting to slack off and is preparing to become the retired emperor. But he has several princes who are still unmarried. If you have any ideas, I can put in a good word for you."

"Oh!" Qian Lingyun was overjoyed. She had been worried about not being able to get close to Xu Tianran and kill him, but now the Fourth Elder had given her a near-perfect shortcut. She took a deep breath and asked curiously:

"The prince? I think Xu Tianran is quite good. How come... you can convince him?"

"Who!? Him!?" The Fourth Prince was slightly taken aback, and a hint of difficulty appeared on his face. However, she did not find the request difficult, but rather she was troubled by Qian Lingyun's choice. With her connections and status, every prince would want to win her over.

(End of this chapter)