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As she spoke, Li Li took Zhong Chang, slinging his arm across her shoulder. She then shot a glance at Drunken Chicken.

"Exactly, let the couple sort out their own issues," Drunken Chicken hurried over, trying to mediate with a grin on his face.

Without further ado, Li Li hastened to support Zhong Chang, as if there was a ferocious beast inside the house ready to pounce on them.

Suddenly,

Li Li felt her collar at the back of her neck tighten. Her heart leapt, her eyes widened, and her breathing quickened as she slowly turned around.

She met the girl's clear, bottomless gaze.

And heard those calm words.

"After poisoning someone, do you think you can just run away? Is that how it works?"

Chapter 92

Ding Yanli, who was supporting the other person, froze. The transparency in the girl's eyes sent shivers down her spine, and her knees began to weaken.

She forced a smile. "W-what poisoning? I have no idea what you're talking about."

It was impossible. Only she and Drunken Chicken knew about this matter; even Zhong Chang was clueless. How could there be a third person who knew?

She had heard of Chu Yuening's reputation on Temple Street.

But it couldn't be that accurate, could it?

To identify the poisoning with just one glance?

"Confused?" Chu Yuening released her collar and grabbed her hand instead.

Her hands were well-maintained, with a rich layer of hand cream applied. The transparent nail polish had chipped off significantly, revealing bits of white powder adhered to the edges.

"Oh, you poisoned them four times, huh?"

Ding Yanli turned pale with fright when she realized she had been exposed. She tried to pull her hand back, but Chu Yuening held onto her wrist tightly.

Despite the agony in his stomach that was turning his world upside down, Zhong Chang still wanted to defend his wife from this false accusation.

"Master, have you made a mistake? How could Li Li poison anyone?"

No sooner had the question been asked than a stray cat suddenly darted out, rubbing against Zhong Chang's trouser leg. It meowed pitifully, as if empathizing with his agony.

Zhong Chang immediately recognized the feline as the same one that had knocked over the food box earlier. In great pain, he tried to shake his leg gently, wary of harming the wild cat, in an attempt to scare it away.

Who would have thought that the feral cat hadn't been chased away but had instead become even more attached to him.

Chu Yuening had initially found it peculiar, but upon seeing the wild cat, she understood.

"I said you narrowly escaped death, and now I see where this 'life' came from—it was saved by this little one," she remarked.

The black-and-white striped cat meowed in response, as if acknowledging Chu Yuening's words.

Zhong Chang still found it hard to accept. "Mistress, Li Li has only me as her family in this world. She definitely wouldn't harm me."

Chu Yuening countered, "Weren't you the one who ate her food and ended up feeling ill?"

Her single question instantly jolted Zhong Chang to awareness.

He had indeed only consumed Ding Yanli's noodles this morning. If the problem was with the snails from last night, he should have experienced stomach issues already.

Could it be that...

Zhong Chang approached Ding Yanli unsteadily, "You..."

"I didn't!" Ding Yanli retorted sharply. "You'd rather believe this bitch than trust me?"

"Whether you believe it or not, we'll know once we get a check-up at the hospital," Chu Yuening said, holding onto Ding Yanli's hand, which was suddenly yanked away.

Realizing that her deceit had been uncovered, Ding Yanli pulled her hand back, shoved Zhong Chang to the ground, and bolted for the door, panic-stricken but not forgetting to yell, "Drunk Chicken! Run!"

Drunk Chicken, who had initially planned to join in on the deception, turned grim at Ding Yanli's cry. He gritted his teeth and muttered, "Idiot!"

Understanding that he too was exposed, he knew it was time to leave.

He hastily removed his paper hat and, with a menacing expression, shouted, "There's no turning back now!"

He kicked the ladder forcefully.

Ziiiii, the ladder scraped against the floor with a piercing screech. It swayed precariously, on the verge of collapsing onto Zhong Chang's head. Chu Yuening swiftly supported Zhong Chang against the wall, casting her gaze outward.

The two perpetrators had already reached the door and were about to escape.

Just as Yuening caught sight of Aunt Sweet Potato from the neighboring shop biting into a thick sweet potato, the size of an arm, she urgently cried out, "Call the police!"

Aunt Sweet Potato had cheered for the Mainland girl who won the Hong Kong Miss title the previous night, and she'd been in high spirits all day. Today, she decided to treat herself to a green, country-grown vegetable - that very sweet potato. As she took a bite, she heard a cry for help from the newly renovated shop next door.

"Call the police?"

Well, something major must have happened!

Aunt Sweet Potato, with her sturdy build, stood guard at the entrance. Seeing the suspicious pair rush out in a panic, there was no mistaking the situation.

She stuffed the sweet potato into her mouth and, with both hands wide open, prepared to intervene.

On either side, there was one person.

By the time Chu Yuening emerged, the two of them were already sandwiched beneath Aunt Sweet Potato's ample posterior like a human pyramid.

Aunt Sweet Potato wore a gray tracksuit with her legs spread wide, exuding an air of invincibility. Upon recognizing the owner of Chu Ji's Dessert Shop from Temple Street, she paused in her chewing and her eyes lit up.

"Hey! Master Chu! This shop is yours, huh?"

Chu Yuening smiled. "Yes, would you mind sitting here for me?"

Aunt Sweet Potato wiggled her bottom, and just as Drunken Chicken and Ding Yanli were about to beg for mercy, they nearly vomited under the pressure.

"Master Chu has to help," Aunt Sweet Potato declared, crossing her legs.

"Thanks for your trouble."

Chu Yuening immediately called the police, but since the culprit was still on the scene, she couldn't leave. She dialed an ambulance number instead. Turning back into the shop, she rummaged through the leather bag for a pain-relieving talisman. As she did so, she realized that the plank was still empty—Ding Yanli had yet to do what she had promised. Clearly, she had slacked off upon entering.

Choosing not to dwell on it too much.

Chu Yuening approached Zhong Chang with the talisman in hand, lifting his shirt to affix it onto his abdomen.

Zhong Chang was destined to survive; aside from a slight poisoning, there was no immediate threat to his life.

Half an hour later.