The Taster Who Caught the Regent's Poison novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: First Taste
"Taste," Linyuan said.
The Regent of Liang lifted a silver spoon of the Emperor's morning congee and put it in his mouth.
He did it slowly, with his eyes half shut.
It was three months since the Hall, and the Emperor's breakfast table was laid with plain white porcelain and nothing else.
The red set had gone to the kiln yard, in forty pieces, and the kiln master had wept.
Zhao Yunhe sat with his chin on his good hand and watched his former Regent chew.
He had colour in his face.
He had put on a finger's width of flesh, and the cowlick was winning.
When he reached for the pickles, his hand did not shake.
Ye Shuhan stood at the back wall with her crystal spectacles, writing in a ledger with the Emperor's name at the top.
She was very rude to him every morning, and he liked it.
"Well?" said the Emperor.
"Clean, Majesty." Duan Shiyan swallowed. "A little thin."
"The cook has been told to use less salt," Linyuan said. "On the physician's orders."
"The cook is afraid of you," said the Emperor.
"The cook is afraid of the Master of the Table."
The boy's eyes slid to Linyuan, and the corner of his mouth moved.
"The Regent's palate is not what it was," Linyuan said.
"I am very sorry," said Duan Shiyan, in his soft dry voice. "I am improving."
"You are not," Linyuan said. "Taste the pickles again. The radish this time, and tell me what's in it."
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Taster Who Caught the Regent's Poison are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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