Chapter 65: Reaching Out to Catch

Chapter 65: Reaching Out

The kitchen was just wrapping up when the butler suddenly came in with several bodyguards: "Everyone, stop what you're doing and get out."

Cao Xu asked, "We're not done cleaning up yet."

Someone was still tidying plates, and a bodyguard immediately stepped forward to stop them. The butler announced loudly, "Nobody touches anything in here! Everybody out!"

The bodyguards shoved the kitchen staff toward the exit, and Cao Xu stepped forward to ask, "What's going on?"

"There's a problem with the food," the butler said. "Who made the 'Ding Qian Kun' dish?"

Cao Xu said, "I did."

"Come with me."

Everyone exchanged nervous looks, nobody daring to say a word. Only Zhao Yu pushed through the crowd to the butler and said, "Sure, Chef Cao made that dish, but it simmered for a long time and went through a lot of hands. It might not have anything to do with Chef Cao. So what's actually wrong with the dish?"

The butler didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Do you know how many people in the kitchen touched that dish?"

Che Shijie said, "No one usually dares to touch Chef Cao's dishes. Only little Zhao gave him a hand, I think."

He was trying to drag Zhao Yu down with him, but Cao Xu said, "He has nothing to do with it. I'll take responsibility for whatever went wrong."

"I touched that dish too, Chef. I'm coming with you."

Zhao Yu wouldn't back down, so the butler took both of them to the banquet hall. On the way, Zhao Yu said to the butler, "From the kitchen to the banquet hall is a long distance. A lot of people could've gotten to that dish on the way. It doesn't have to be something that started in the kitchen."

The butler said, "The servant who delivers the dishes has worked here for over twenty years."

With that one line, every other possibility was dead, and the blame landed squarely on the kitchen.

The banquet hall felt heavy. Every dish was still sitting there, untouched. Gu Hui said to Gu Hansheng, "Look what you've done. You trying to kill Grandpa?"

Gu Hong said with displeasure, "The problem came from the kitchen. How would Hansheng know about it? Don't go pointing fingers without proof."

"That's enough, both of you. Quit it." Gu Ze rapped the table. "Nothing's been decided yet!"

Everyone's face told a different story. Old Master Gu had just had a scary bout of heart palpitations—face pale, cold sweat—and was rushed to the estate clinic. Before he left, the old man told everyone to keep quiet about it—meaning any investigation had to stay inside the estate.

If the man at the helm of the Gu Corporation went down, the stock would tank tomorrow.

But Gu Hansheng saw the deeper game at play. If someone had the nerve to strike at a family dinner—and if that someone was family—the old man would want to bury the scandal too.

The butler walked in with the two men. Gu Hansheng went rigid the second he saw Zhao Yu, his brow knotting up.

Cao Xu was the head chef and the one in charge. So why was Zhao Yu tagging along? If this went sideways, both he and Cao Xu could be finished—blacklisted from ever cooking again.

Gu Hansheng wanted to send him packing right then, but he was already inside, with the whole room watching. Too late.

"Hey, did you two poison the food?" Gu Hui demanded. "Who put you up to it?"

Cao Xu said frankly, "Every dish I make is clean. There's no way I'd poison anyone. Can I ask—did Old Master Gu get sick right after eating the 'Ding Qian Kun'? Mind if I take a look at it?"

The butler set the dish in front of him. Cao Xu studied it closely but couldn't spot anything off just by looking.

A few minutes later, a doctor came in. "The old master's stable now."

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

Gu Hansheng asked, "Any idea what caused it?"

"We drew blood and sent it for testing. Results won't be in that quick."

The old man wasn't in serious danger—that was the best news they could get. Gu Ze said, "Alright, it's late. Either way, these two cooks are involved. Just hand them over to the police."

Before Zhao Yu could say anything, Gu Hansheng cut in: "We haven't even investigated yet. The real culprit might not be them at all."

Gu Ze said impatiently, "There are only a few outsiders here. If it's not them, what, it's one of us? The old man wouldn't want a family scandal on his hands, would he?"

Gu Hong half-agreed and muttered to Gu Hansheng, "Stay out of it. You planned the banquet—don't get yourself dragged into the mud. Whoever did it, let them take the fall. We'll make it up to them later."

Every Gu family member except Gu Hansheng was oddly united, treating Cao Xu and Zhao Yu like meat on a cutting board. With a few words, they'd decided to ruin both their lives.

With the Gu family's reach and influence, railroading two chefs to death was nothing.

Cao Xu could feel the room turning against them. Thinking fast, he said, "I heard Old Master Gu has bad kidneys. I want to ask the doctor—could what's happening now be tied to that?"

The doctor paused for a moment: "The blood work isn't back yet, so I can't say for sure. But his symptoms look a lot like hyperkalemia—common in kidney patients."

"Can what you eat cause hyperkalemia?"

"Yes. For example, potassium salt cannot be consumed."

"Mr. Gu told me before that Old Master Gu has kidney issues, so I made a point not to use potassium salt—not even in the seasonings I brought." Cao Xu said, "Yatai's catered to clients with kidney problems before. We know what we're doing."

Gu Ze sneered. "Save it for the cops."

He was dead set on making Cao Xu the scapegoat and wasn't hearing any of it.

But Gu Hui suddenly flipped: "Hold on, big brother. This actually needs looking into."

Gu Ze said, "Quit stirring the pot."

While they bickered, Gu Hansheng was figuring out how to pull Zhao Yu out of this mess, and Zhao Yu was trying to figure out what was wrong with the food.

If the Gu family wanted scapegoats, they'd probably get rid of the food later. So he had to at least know what was wrong with the dish—otherwise, he'd be fighting blind.

"Can I try a bite of that bear paw?" Zhao Yu cut in. "Potassium salt tastes a little different. I'd be able to tell."

"No." Gu Hansheng said without thinking.

"Why not?"

"What if it's not potassium salt but actual poison? You trying to get yourself killed?"

"Old Master Gu's fine, so I will be too."

Zhao Yu's stubbornness was giving Gu Hansheng a headache. Things nobody else would touch, he'd go for it. The guy had no sense of self-preservation.

Gu Hui said, "If he wants to try it, let him. Cut him a piece and save the rest as evidence."

Zhao Yu stepped forward, and Gu Hansheng blocked him again. His voice was ice-cold and final: "I said no. Send it for testing."

Gu Hui added, "How long's that gonna take? The food'll go bad by then. The guy just doesn't want to be framed. Give him a shot. Gu Hansheng, you're blocking him this hard—you got something to hide?"

No matter how much mud Gu Hui threw, Gu Hansheng didn't budge. He wasn't about to let Zhao Yu risk his life.

Zhao Yu looked up and met his eyes: "I touched that dish with my own hands. I have to check it myself."

Gu Hansheng said, "You don't have to do this. I promise I'll give you a fair result."

"Fair?" Zhao Yu turned to look at the people around them and said, "Your surname is Gu too. Why should I trust you?"

He wasn't willing to give Gu Hansheng even a shred of trust, his gaze distant, as if Gu Hansheng were cut from the same cloth as the people trying to pin the blame on him.

Gu Hansheng's heart was stung by his suspicious gaze. When Zhao Yu walked past him, he didn't try to stop him again.

He cut a small piece from the bear paw on his plate. Zhao Yu picked it up with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. The meat was completely cold, and the flavor, mixed with the sauce, wasn't great.

Just as Zhao Yu's expression flickered, a hand appeared in front of him, and Gu Hansheng's voice came from beside him: "Spit it out."

Spit it out where? Into Gu Hansheng's hand?

For a second, Zhao Yu was stunned, thinking Gu Hansheng must be insane to use his bare hand like that.

He just swallowed it.

Gu Hansheng panicked. Knowing Zhao Yu had a weak stomach, how could he dare to swallow that? He grabbed Zhao Yu almost immediately, trying to pull him away.

"The food's not poisoned." Zhao Yu shook off his hand, his expression somewhat grim, "But it definitely tastes like potassium salt."

For a beat, everyone stared at the dish. Cao Xu couldn't help but say, "How is that possible? Are you sure?"

"Master, I'm sure."

Cao Xu knew Zhao Yu's palate was incredibly sharp, and that he'd never lie. He fell silent, lost in thought.

Gu Ze said, "He admitted it himself, so what's left to say? Knowing the old man has kidney disease and still being this careless—this is Yatai's screw-up! Heads need to roll!"

Gu Hansheng said, "He only said it tasted like potassium salt. When did he ever admit they put it in themselves?"

"Nephew, why do you keep taking an outsider's side? The old man's still in treatment—aren't you breaking his heart?"

Gu Hong chimed in quickly, "Hansheng, go see your grandfather. Let us elders handle this."

Gu Hansheng still didn't budge: "I hired the chefs and picked the menu. If something's wrong, it's on me."

Gu Hong said, "What are you talking about? It's not like you're the one trying to hurt your grandfather! Don't drag yourself into something that's not your business!"

Zhao Yu met Gu Hansheng's eyes, his look saying: Don't worry, I won't let you take the fall.

Zhao Yu felt a familiar soft spot in his heart being poked again after so long. Back then, he'd been fooled by that vague favoritism and had fallen for it step by step. But now, that stirring made him panic—he was terrified of falling into the same trap again.

He dropped his gaze, shoving the rising feelings back down.

"Cousin..." A timid child's voice piped up from the banquet hall. "I saw cousin sprinkle something in."

Everyone turned to the boy—Gu Hui's youngest, Gu Jiajin, who was only twelve.

"What? Which cousin? Sprinkle what in?" Gu Hui asked in surprise, pulling his youngest son out.

Gu Jiajin raised his hand and pointed at Gu Hansheng: "This cousin sprinkled something white in. I don't know what it was."

No one expected the sudden twist—a kid stepping up to accuse Gu Hansheng. The hall erupted in murmurs. Gu Hansheng looked at his young cousin and understood everything in an instant.

A scheme laid out to this extent—it was aimed at him all along.