Chapter 432

Now several family heads exchanged glances, and they immediately resumed their performance.

The dishes on the table had long gone cold.

Naturally, they needed to be replaced with fresh ones.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Lu Hong clapped his hands, and instantly a squad of stunningly beautiful young girls appeared from nowhere; these girls, carrying trays of dishes and wrapped in a layer of thin gauze, glided out gracefully.

These girls were not yet of age, and their looks were truly exquisite; especially with their bodies tightly wrapped in a layer of thin gauze, the faint glimpses of skin were certainly enough to stir desire in many hearts.

At least many of the twenty-eight present had their eyes glued to the girls' delicate bodies, their eyes red, occasionally swallowing saliva.

Yet reason in their minds told them this was not the occasion for them to act recklessly.

Moreover, these girls had been arranged by the powerful Lu family.

Su Qiao watched as these girls, carrying a faint fragrance and like fairies among flowers, wove between the guests' tables, replacing the dishes.

It truly did look like a breathtaking scene.

However, his self-control was strong; he knew well from later eras how miserable the fate of those who fell for the beauty trap could be.

Besides, having Liu Rushi by his side for now was enough.

When not well acquainted with others, Su Qiao was firmly capable of guarding his original heart.

Lu Hong and the others had been watching Su Qiao closely.

When they saw these girls appear, Su Qiao's eyes brightened slightly, and they even felt a moment of pleasant surprise in their hearts.

However, Su Qiao's gaze that followed was clear, looking as if he were simply admiring a beautiful landscape, which immediately made them feel disappointed.

A hint of unwillingness flashed in Lu Hong's eyes, but it vanished in an instant.

The new dishes were placed on the table again, and a girl poured Su Qiao a full cup of wine.

The Sun family head, Sun Yaoqing, sitting nearby, raised his wine cup and smiled at Su Qiao, saying: "Brother Su, traveling all the way south from the capital, passing through Jiangnan, resisting Japanese pirates, and then making your way to Fuzhou, you have endured much dust and fatigue from the journey; we previously wished to hold a welcome banquet for Brother Su, but with the various my lords of the Fuzhou Prefecture present, we were not worthy, yet we have all admired Brother Su for a long time.

"Today, we specially borrow flowers to offer Buddha, using the fine wine from Brother Lu's banquet, to toast Brother Su!"

Sun Yaoqing spoke with great passion, as if it were truly so.

Pretending to be excited and flushed, he raised his cup and drained it.

Su Qiao glanced at him; why did he feel the other party was trying to get him drunk?

But refusing to drink would not be good either.

They had already gone this far, and moreover, Sun Yaoqing had lowered his own status.

Many people present were watching; if Su Qiao did not show face, it would be bad.

"Brother Sun, you overpraise me!"

Su Qiao humbly responded, raised his cup, and drained it in one gulp.

Afterwards, Su Qiao sat down, and his peripheral vision inadvertently caught Lu Hong's eyes.

Huh?

Something is wrong!

Why does he look like he has just breathed a sigh of relief, with joy shining in the corners of his eyes?

Could there be something wrong with this wine?

Or did I fall for some other trap without noticing?

Su Qiao sat down, constantly recalling the events of just now in his mind.

He had not touched anything else, only drunk two cups of wine.

The first cup of wine came from the wine pot he picked up from the table; there was no problem when he drank it.

Lu Hong had shown no change before this either.

Only the second cup of wine had been poured by the girl who had just arrived.

Su Qiao drank it just now and felt no abnormality for the time being.

Yet, after drinking this second cup of wine, Lu Hong's expression became strange.

Su Qiao could not help but think deeply.

While dealing with Lu Hong and the others, he was simultaneously thinking about what to do next.

What he could rule out now was biological protein-based toxins.

Generally, once such poison enters the body, the onset of symptoms is extremely rapid.

This does not match his current situation.

At present, he has not immediately fallen ill or anything like that.

The second type is prepared poisons like lead and mercury; these are slow-acting poisons.

Su Qiao felt it necessary to get some milk, soapy water, and so on to induce vomiting.

He quietly turned his head and asked the Lu family head, Lu Hong: "I am truly sorry, but I do not know where the place to wash hands and relieve oneself is?"

"Oh, it is over there; let her take you!"

Lu Hong quickly summoned a maid and had the maid lead Su Qiao to the toilet.

The maid waited just a dozen or so steps away from the toilet, ready to obey Su Qiao's orders at any time.

In fact, Lu Hong's purpose was also to have the maid keep an eye on Su Qiao.

Calling for a servant would be far too obvious.

With so many maids here, yet having to specifically call for a servant.

Even if it were due to the issue of separation between men and women, it might still make Su Qiao wary.

He did not want any accidents to occur now.

Su Qiao entered the toilet and immediately began to press on his throat.

Wah-la wah-la, Su Qiao soon vomited quite a bit.

Most of the alcohol in his stomach also came up.

Su Qiao saw no traces of blood.

He instantly felt a wave of relief.

It didn't look like poison.

But if it wasn't poison, then what could it be?

Could Lu Hong really have slipped him some aphrodisiac?

Wait!

703 doesn't seem impossible after all.

When those carefully selected maidens appeared earlier, Su Qiao had felt his cheeks flush.

Yu Guang noticed Lu Hong had been staring at his face.

As if trying to read something off it.

If he really had slipped him an aphrodisiac, then Su Qiao could guess at least part of his intent.

Su Qiao felt he had already guessed the truth.

After waiting a little while and calming his spasming stomach, he tidied his appearance and stepped out of the latrine.

……

It seems Lu Hong is quite devious.

Su Qiao had already suspected Lu Hong's identity before arriving.

Ma Kui's investigation had uncovered some things too.

He had been uncertain before, but now he was seventy or eighty percent sure.

It's truly like searching high and low for years, only to find it effortlessly!

Before, I couldn't find them no matter how hard I looked; now they've exposed themselves. I wonder who's the rat and who's the cat.

Led by the maidens, he washed his hands, dried them with a towel, and returned to the banquet with a gentle smile back on his face.

Seeing no apparent change in Su Qiao, Lu Hong and the others relaxed slightly.

Then they continued to raise their cups under various pretexts.

This time, knowing the wine was tainted, Su Qiao had his own ways to avoid it.

For example, holding the wine in his mouth and spitting it out hidden by his wide sleeves, or simply grabbing another wine jug to pour instead.

287, tempting Su Yun!

Though it was uncomfortable being watched, Su Qiao still used every excuse to dodge the drugged wine.