A Bite of Douluo Continent

Qin Yao and Qin Yue exchanged a glance, each picked up two plates, and prepared to go upstairs.

As for the smallest portion, we'll bring it down and serve it later.

"Meow!"

Gulu let out a soft cry, leaned over, picked up the plate of the last dish of ingredients, jumped down from the partition in two steps, and followed behind Qi Han.

this...

The two women and Qi Han were stunned at the same time.

"Gulu, do you want to help serve the dishes too?" Qin Yue blinked curiously.

"Meow!"

Gulu nodded and gently nudged Qi Han's trouser leg with the plate it was holding in its mouth.

Humans, why aren't you leaving yet?!

A strange look appeared on Qi Han's face.

Goodness, this cat...it's become sentient!

However, considering that Gulu was originally a soul beast, Qi Han felt relieved.

That's true. Cats are inherently intelligent animals, and a spirit beast cat is probably even more intelligent than a regular cat.

"Let's go and see if Gulu can really help serve the dishes."

Qi Han led the two women up to the second floor, with Gulu following closely behind. Gulu climbed the stairs somewhat awkwardly, but kept the plate in her mouth steady and didn't spill any food.

Qi Han, who had been keeping a close eye on Gulu's movements, was also taken aback.

This little guy seems to really have the potential to be a waiter.

Once on the second floor, Gulu seemed a little nervous. It had only been here once before, when it came downstairs with Qi Han, so it was unfamiliar with the environment. Fortunately, Qi Han was right beside it, and it followed closely behind, carrying the plate in its mouth.

Seeing that Qi Han and the two women had placed their plates on a shelf next to a table, Gulu seemed to understand something. A thoughtful look appeared in its eyes again. Then, it nimbly jumped onto the shelf and slowly placed the plate it was carrying in its mouth onto the shelf.

Qin Yue and Qin Yao's appetite for hot pot had diminished somewhat. Watching the kitten calmly bounce back into Qi Han's arms, enjoying his caresses and occasionally purring, a thought flashed through their minds simultaneously.

Am I going to lose my job?

Qi Han looked down at Gulu, who was snuggling comfortably against his hand in his arms, but another thought flashed through his mind.

Could it be... that this little guy will actually be able to make his own cat food in the future?

Chapter 146 Conspiracy and Poisonous Scheme (Bonus Chapter for 200 Floors of Posts)

"Snapped!"

A loud slap echoed in a quiet room, sending a figure flying two or three meters into the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

The figure struggled to raise his head; one cheek was swollen high, but his identity could still be clearly identified from his facial features.

The eldest prince of Xingluo, Dai Tonghua.

A figure as fierce as a tiger slowly walked up to Dai Tonghua and looked down at Dai Tonghua, who was lying on the ground.

"Useless! More trouble than good."

"Father...Emperor..." Dai Tonghua said softly, unable to help but lower her head.

"If it weren't for the competition in a few days, I would have beaten you to death, you idiot." Dai Yuansheng glared at his eldest son and turned to sit back in the chair in the quiet room.

"Get out! Stay in the palace and cultivate quietly for the next two days. Don't embarrass me again!"

“Yes…” Dai Tonghua got up from the ground and answered in a low voice. She turned and walked out of the quiet room. Her palms were bleeding from the piercing of her nails from the excessive force, but she was completely unaware of it.

Dai Yuansheng leaned back in his ornately decorated chair and rubbed his temples vigorously.

Last night, Dai Tonghua was sent to the Starlight Auction House mainly to buy that 100,000-year-old torso bone. Unexpectedly, this fool got into a fight with the Shrek Academy people because of a moment of resentment, not only losing face but also suffering a greater loss for a small matter, resulting in no one from the royal family participating in the final auction.

Without the Crown Prince's approval, who would dare to use tens of millions of gold soul coins to bid?

Ultimately, this 100,000-year-old torso and soul bone fell into the hands of others.

Moreover, the third and final item was also a 100,000-year-old soul bone, specifically a head soul bone.

This made Dai Yuansheng so angry that he almost vomited blood.

“Starlight Auction House.” Dai Yuansheng slowly increased the pressure on his hand, leaving several deep scratches on the armrest of the chair.

Such a precious treasure, instead of being handed over to the empire, was sold to outsiders; they truly deserve to die!

Moreover, this Starlight Auction House is related to Xu Changling, so it's hard to say that this matter wasn't authorized by him.

This prime minister has never been on his side. Dai Yuansheng is well aware that the prime minister is a close friend of his younger brother, who has been stationed on the eastern border for many years, so naturally he doesn't like him.

Even though she made several attempts to appease him after ascending the throne, trying to ease the tension in their relationship, Xu Changling remained unmoved and refused to give her any face.

Damn!

This guy deserves to die just like his persistent younger brother!

"Zhao Cixiang".

A figure slowly emerged from the hidden door of the quiet room, bowed to Dai Yuansheng, and said, "Your Majesty."

Zhao Qu, the Vice Chancellor of the Empire, was the second-in-command of the Executive Office, second only to Xu Changling in rank. He was also a confidant of Dai Yuansheng.

Dai Yuansheng looked at his most trusted subordinate, then slowly looked away. "You know the situation. Xu Changling seems to have seen through our plans and insists on not agreeing to manipulate the competition results. At this critical juncture, that idiot Tong Hua has made such a foolish mistake and lost face again. How should we proceed with the plan now?"

Zhao Qu had always served as a strategist under Dai Yuansheng. Upon hearing Dai Yuansheng's words, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

Dai Yuansheng wanted to plot the establishment of a crown prince to solidify his position on the throne and eliminate any possibility for Dai Youyuan in the Zhen Dong Army. Zhao Qu, on the other hand, was also constantly coveting Xu Changling's position as prime minister.

Now that things have come to this, Xu Changling, don't blame me for being ruthless.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but at this point, it is no longer possible for His Highness the Crown Prince to use his popularity among the people to control the court officials and become the Crown Prince."

"Right now, we can only approach this from another angle. Since we can't make the eldest prince the crown prince, let's eliminate all other hopes and leave the ministers with no choice but the eldest prince!"

Dai Yuansheng's pupils contracted slightly, and he gave Zhao Qu a deep look. "You mean... you want Dai Youyuan dead?"

The root cause of the ministers' ambiguous attitude actually lies with the late emperor. In their view, Prince Dai Youyuan of Zhendong was the most suitable candidate for the throne. Dai Yuansheng's ascension to the throne had already made many ministers dissatisfied, which is why they delayed the matter of establishing a crown prince with various excuses.

Succession by a younger brother after the death of an elder brother is not impossible, so why must a son inherit the position of his father?

Without Dai Youyuan, the ministers would have no chance and would have had to reluctantly allow Dai Tonghua to become the crown prince.

“What I mean is… it’s not just Dai Youyuan.” A ruthless glint flashed in Zhao Qu’s eyes. “Xu Changling has opposed Your Majesty time and time again, and is also very close to the Prince of Zhendong. I think we should kill two birds with one stone and eliminate both of them.”

"Oh?" Dai Yuansheng's eyes lit up.

If it weren't for Xu Changling, he could have easily made Zhao Qu the prime minister. With the prime minister becoming his confidant, his power would be even greater with the two of them working together, which would be a good thing.

Although Zhao Qu must have had his own selfish motives in making such a suggestion, Dai Yuansheng didn't care. As long as it was in his own interest, what did it matter if he had some selfish motives?

"Tell me more details?" Dai Yuansheng suddenly became interested.

"Your Majesty, we can dispatch the Zhen Dong Army to Dongji Town. From the Zhen Dong Army's garrison to Dongji Town, we must pass through the Dongji Great Rift Valley. We can then ambush the Zhen Dong King in the Great Rift Valley."

A cold glint flashed in Zhao Qu's eyes. "There has been some movement on the Tian Dou border recently. We can use this as a reason to mobilize the Zhen Dong Army. Xu Changling can't find any fault with it and has no reason to object. But we can use our underhanded methods to secretly leak a hint of the plan to assassinate the Zhen Dong King to him, forcing him to object to the mobilization order, and then use that as a pretext to take him down."

This is his specialty; isn't it just about making a big deal out of small things and labeling people?

If they accuse Xu Changling of bribing the enemy by relaxing border controls, he'll be severely punished, even if he doesn't die.

Why has Hsu Chang-ling remained prime minister for so many years?

It's simply that he's too smooth in his dealings, leaving no loose ends and making it impossible for anyone to find fault with him.

As long as Zhao Qu has even the slightest bit of leverage over him, he has plenty of ways to bring him down.

"After capturing Xu Changling, no one in the Executive Division will be a match for me. I will then be able to smoothly transmit the troop deployment order to the Zhen Dong Army, and then assassinate and kill the Zhen Dong King!"

It must be said that Zhao Qu's schemes were extremely vicious. In order to eliminate his political enemies, he was even willing to sacrifice the empire's elite troops.

The Zhen Dong Army is the Empire's premier army.

Although he only mentioned plotting against the Prince of Zhendong, if the Prince of Zhendong is dead, how can the Zhendong Army still survive?

Even if they weren't completely wiped out, they would probably have suffered a major blow.

Any emperor with a modicum of wisdom would have slapped Zhao Qu to death by now, but Dai Yuansheng's eyes were gleaming with a fierce light.

"Okay, we'll do as you say!"

As long as it secures his throne, what does the Zhen Dong Army matter if it's gone?

...

After enjoying a delicious hot pot meal, the Qin sisters were finally satisfied.

God knows how much they craved hot pot last night; now they can finally taste it.

That hot pot was even more delicious than I imagined. The owner is amazing! This self-cooking style of eating will definitely become popular in the Star Luo Empire!

Qi Han stroked Gulu in his arms, his expression remaining calm in the face of the two women's admiration. He glanced at the diners already waiting outside the door, and a smile appeared on his face.

The day after it opened, customers started lining up spontaneously, which was great.

"Qin Yue, go open the door, let's open for business!"

Chapter 147 Gulu's Divine Assistance (Bonus Chapter for 400 Floors of Posts)

At the front of the line were the Shrek Academy members. They hadn't come as a group this time, but they were still in small groups, bustling about in the queue.

Everyone here is a regular at Hanshi Restaurant. Eating here feels just like going to a cafeteria. As soon as we enter the restaurant, we start ordering dishes with practiced ease.

Several diners who visited the new store last night came again today, clearly becoming regulars for the Cold Food Festival. In addition, there seemed to be many new faces among the diners in line.

Qi Han had no idea just how prestigious Shrek Academy was.

As the top academy on the continent and the pre-selected champion of every continent-wide advanced soul master academy fighting tournament, Shrek Academy's participating teams always receive tremendous attention.

There are also idol stars in Douluo Continent, but they are usually high-level Soul Masters with good looks. No matter how good-looking an ordinary person is, they can never be worshipped or admired.

Among the Shrek Academy team members, there are quite a few with high looks, and Yu Lianxin, who leads the team, was amazed by countless viewers as soon as she appeared.