chapter 17
“What are you laughing at?” Eric couldn’t help but ask.
She laughed at Eric, who truly saw her as a naive, fragile girl who knew nothing.
Could it be that Tu Nan was truly oblivious to all of this?
*
Time rewinds to the third day.
On the morning of the third day, Tu Nan took out the Hairpin that Lily had given her as a token, intending to hand it to Emma. Yet, at the very moment she reached out with the Hairpin, she stopped.
In that instant, perhaps it was her intuition that saved her.
She uncontrollably recalled the first night when she met Lily, and the words Lily said to her, crying.
Everything felt off.
Her sister had disappeared, and yet the Prince casually claimed it was because she had angered the Sea God. Any normal person would have some criticism toward the Prince, but in Lily’s words, there was nothing but admiration for him.
Was this really how a younger sister should react after her elder sister vanished?
Tu Nan clenched the Hairpin in her palm, the dull pain making her thoughts even clearer.
She withdrew the Hairpin, picked up pen and paper again, and wrote down a question she had long overlooked.
[Emma, could you tell me exactly how you were captured by the Prince?]
Emma read her question, stunned for a moment. Deep resentment surfaced in her eyes, her face nearly twisted with hatred.
“This… I have my dear sister Lily to thank for all of it.” She gritted her teeth, speaking each word slowly and deliberately.
Tu Nan paused her writing and drew a question mark.
And so Emma began to tell a story completely different from what Tu Nan had known.
She and Lily had entered the Castle together. At first, Lily didn’t like cooking; in fact, cooking was Emma’s passion. But everything changed after Lily met the Prince.
She said the Prince was the most handsome and elegant man she had ever seen. Upon hearing that the Prince enjoyed tasting fine food, Lily pestered Emma to teach her all her culinary skills.
By chance, Lily finally had the opportunity to win the Prince’s favor.
The Prince had no other hobbies-he was obsessed only with gourmet food. Because of this, he was especially indulgent toward Lily, even telling her more than once that without her, life would be utterly dull.
He spoke without much thought, but Lily took it to heart.
Lily began to fear that one day the Prince would taste the food made by her sister Emma and realize that Lily’s cooking was not the best.
Her fear grew and grew. Emma, feeling sorry for her sister, promised never to cook for the Prince again.
But a person’s greed is never truly satisfied.
They were twins, the people who understood and loved each other most in the world.
Yet for the Prince, Lily abandoned her.
She thought, if her sister no longer existed in this world, she would never have to fear again-the Prince would forever be enchanted by the food she made.
So Lily personally knocked her sister unconscious. She had long known about the Prince’s peculiar tastes and willingly cooked “delicacies” for him, even offering up her own sister.
As Emma spoke, she nearly ground her molars to dust.
“I want her to know just how foolish her choice was,” she said viciously.
Judging by her expression, if Tu Nan had really taken out the Hairpin, Emma would surely have suspected her relationship with Lily, would never trust her again, and would not have revealed any of these things.
Tu Nan would have lost an excellent ally and gained a hidden enemy instead.
This was Lily’s scheme.
The Princess was noble and protected by the Prince. Even if Lily was jealous, she could not harm the Princess directly, so she set her sights on Tu Nan.
The girl who had suddenly appeared at the Prince’s side.
Why should she, upon arrival, be treated so intimately by the Prince?
Lily’s tears that night may have been nothing more than a ploy to lure Tu Nan in, to make her willingly step into the trap Lily had set for her.
The trap had been set from the very beginning.
Tu Nan pondered for a moment, then lowered her head and wrote: [I have a way to help you escape danger, and you can even take revenge.]
“What?” Emma’s eyes lit up.
[You two are twins. I will lure her here, and you can take the chance to knock her out and swap clothes with her. From then on, you will be Lily, and she will be the missing Emma.]
Emma stared blankly at Tu Nan.
Just as Tu Nan thought she was still reluctant to do it out of sisterly affection, Emma suddenly smiled. Yet there was not a trace of warmth in her eyes, and her voice was as cold as ice.
“Let’s do it. They’ll soon discover I’ve escaped, so we must hurry.”
So after breakfast, Tu Nan went to Lily and lied that she had found Emma, but that Emma was unconscious. This way, Lily would not suspect that Tu Nan already knew the truth.
To confirm whether her sister had really escaped, Lily followed Tu Nan back to the room.
The wooden door slammed shut behind them, followed by a dull thud and the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.
A moment later, the door was opened from inside. Emma-or rather, Lily-tidied her slightly disheveled hair and smiled at Tu Nan. “I’m going to prepare lunch.”
Tu Nan tilted her head slightly and glanced at the scene inside the room.
“Emma” lay on the ground, a shocking red stain at the corner of her lips.
“My poor sister, their methods are truly cruel. They even cut out her tongue.” Lily hid the bloodstained cloth bag behind her back. “I must go prepare a dish for the Prince. I hope he will like this dessert.”
*
And the Prince still thought Lily was the same pitiful woman who cared for no one but him, even willing to send her own sister to the guillotine for his sake.
…
“What are you laughing at?”
Being mute had its drawbacks-it was so hard to express one’s thoughts.
Tu Nan took out her personal notepad and pen, lowered her head, and quickly wrote: [Your Highness, Prince, haven’t you noticed a special aroma in the air?]
Still struggling pointlessly at a time like this.
Eric wanted to mock her, but his nostrils suddenly flared uncontrollably. An incredibly enticing aroma wafted over, and his mouth instantly filled with saliva.
“What is that smell…” he couldn’t help but ask, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath of the fragrant air, utterly intoxicated.
Eric was a true gourmet-there was no doubt about that.
Lily pushed a large pot of meat soup forward, exchanged a glance with Tu Nan, and the two shared a knowing smile.
That bottle of Magical Seasoning had finally come in handy.
Everyone at the Wedding was drooling, uncontrollably rushing to the boiler. Ignoring the scalding soup, they cupped their hands together, impatiently scooping it into their mouths.
Eric hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he could not resist the rich aroma and delicious taste of the meat soup, and joined the scramble.
Their true natures were fully revealed at this moment.
Swollen bodies burst through their elegant suits, blood and pus splattered everywhere, the stench mingling with the rich aroma of the soup, making Tu Nan feel utterly nauseated.
The pot of meat soup was quickly emptied. The Ghosts, now exposed in their true forms, began to tear at each other, biting into one another’s flesh in an attempt to get another mouthful of soup.
The fiercest among them was Eric.
He easily tore apart a Ghost blocking his way, tossing the remains into the pot before him. The others, not daring to compete with him, sensibly retreated to the side, licking the meat-flavored residue from their palms.
Eric crouched by the pot, blowing on the scalding soup as he slurped it down, his face a mix of satisfaction and pain from being burned.
Tu Nan frowned slightly.