Chapter 149 - 148: Your Mouth is for Eating
Zoe Vance winked playfully at them, though her tone was utterly pitiful.
"I saw you were trending online before the banquet, so I knew you’d be here. But my cousin brought me a bowl of bird’s nest soup that day. I started feeling sick after drinking it, so I couldn’t come."
"You didn’t actually drink it, did you?" Nina Jennings frowned.
Zoe Vance subtly glanced around before slowly shaking her head.
"Of course not. But I did go to the hospital to ’get my stomach pumped’ that day, and while I was there, I had them test the contents of the remaining half-bowl."
Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow. "And you were so sure she’d put something in it?"
"Sis Lowell, have you forgotten what I do for a living? Besides, she’s not nice enough to bring me health supplements for no reason." Zoe Vance shot her a mock-reproachful look.
"She added some kind of triggering agent. If I weren’t fully recovered, I’d probably be in the ICU right now had I drunk it. And the funniest part? She did it all just so she could come to the banquet with my parents. Too bad for her, the plan backfired."
"Holy shit! And you just let her? If it were me, I’d have kicked her into the afterlife."
With her fiery temper, Nina Jennings felt like wringing the girl’s head off just hearing about it.
Zoe Vance pursed her lips. "This is nothing, really. She used to do this kind of thing all the time. She was always bullying me before I went abroad. Whenever our grandparents gave me a gift, she’d get one too, but she’d insist on comparing them. If she thought mine was better, she’d make my life difficult."
"She even said that part of the money for my medical treatment should have been her inheritance, telling me to stop my treatment and quit wasting ’her’ money. The nerve of her! That was clearly my parents’ money."
Yvonne Lowell and Nina Jennings exchanged a look. When they’d looked into her past, they’d already learned that besides a malicious aunt and uncle, she also had a drama-loving cousin. But they hadn’t expected this. ’You live and learn.’
Seeing their looks of pity, Zoe Vance just smiled, unconcerned.
"You don’t have to look at me like that. See? I’m fine. Besides, I’m not the same naive, sickly weakling I was before I went abroad. My grandfather disciplined her for it back then, and she was grounded for a while."
"My grandparents’ patience with her is wearing thin. I’m actually hoping she’ll keep making trouble. One more incident, and it’ll be her turn to get sent abroad. Only, I went for medical treatment. She’ll be going into exile."
Yvonne Lowell rolled her eyes at her. "Oh, you’re so tough. Think you have nine lives? If you were in one of those palace intrigue dramas, I doubt you’d even make it a third of the way through."
"If you threw me into a palace drama, I’d definitely make it to the final episode. Then, right before the emperor kicks the bucket, I’d tell him the Sixth Prince isn’t his real son," Zoe Vance said, linking her arm through Yvonne’s with a sycophantic grin.
"Well, well, if it isn’t Finn. I was wondering who in all of Kingsland could get these two to crack a smile." Zachary Jacobs swaggered over, wine glass in hand.
"Brother Zion, long time no see," Zoe Vance greeted him.
Zachary Jacobs looked her up and down. "Not bad. You’ve gotten tall. Guess being sick didn’t stop your growth spurt."
Yvonne Lowell smacked him hard with her purse. "Your mouth is for eating, not for spewing bullshit."
"Is that little bitch here today? Let me go have a ’chat’ with her. I’ve got some itching powder right here in my purse. And it’s delayed-action, so it won’t kick in until you’ve all gone home. No need to worry about ruining Genevieve’s birthday party."
As Nina Jennings spoke, she was already digging around in her clutch.
Zoe Vance instinctively leaned closer to Yvonne Lowell, flashing back to a time when ’Rage-Mode Nina’ had pinched her nose and forced medicine down her throat.
’Scary. I can’t afford to mess with her.’
"She’s not here. My grandfather forbade it. It’s just my family of four and my older cousin today."
As she spoke, she turned and waved at the York Family, who had been watching her from across the room.
The trio looked over and returned the nod.
The York Family immediately nodded in acknowledgment.
A moment ago, Zoe Vance had bolted over like a rabbit, and they hadn’t been able to stop her.
Ivy Vance had been worried that she might cause trouble. After all, her younger sister had only recently returned to the country and shouldn’t, by rights, know such influential people.
But seeing how happily they were chatting, she abandoned the thought of following them, ready to apologize at a moment’s notice. ’Perhaps they met abroad?’
The York Family was at the lower end of the first-tier families; they were nothing compared to the Lowells. When attending banquets, they wouldn’t—and couldn’t—go out of their way to curry favor.
And when Mr. York saw his youngest daughter laughing and chatting with Yvonne Lowell and her friends, the great weight on his heart was finally lifted.
’After what happened today, no one should dare bully her for being a ’sickly girl’ who just came back from abroad, or because they listened to Sharon Vance’s malicious gossip.’
Nina Jennings slung an arm around her neck and whispered in her ear, "I’ll whip up a little something for you later—a pill that’s totally harmless but makes you look physically weak. The kind that can even throw off a doctor’s diagnosis. Your last year of high school is exhausting enough; this’ll save you from having to wake up at the crack of dawn to do your makeup."
Zoe Vance’s eyes lit up with delight. "Really?! Nina, you’re the best! I’ll transfer the money to you in a bit."
"Don’t bother. It’s just a few little pills. They won’t cost much," Nina Jennings said, waving a dismissive hand.
Zoe Vance wouldn’t have it. "I insist. I’m not short on cash. Besides the allowance I get from my family, I take on freelance jobs."
"Fine, then. Just charge me your fee for one job," Nina Jennings said, giving in to her insistence. She then took the small porcelain bottle of itching powder from her purse and shoved it into Zoe’s hand.
"This is for you. If she messes with you again, use this on her. Just sprinkle it on her clothes. A single dose will make her itch for three days and nights straight."
"I need to get some herbs for that other medicine, so it’ll take about four or five days to make. I’ll have someone deliver it to you then. I’ll throw in some sneezing powder, fart pills, that sort of thing. If you run out, just ask me for more. I’ve got a whole supply."
She was fiercely protective of her own. And since her opponent was so vicious, going straight for the kill, these childish pranks were practically a gift to that little bitch.
Zoe Vance’s jaw dropped. "Nina, you’re a healer! Why are you making prank gadgets?!"
She thought the itching powder was the worst of it, but there were even meaner things.
"Haven’t you ever heard that medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin? Besides, she’s got plenty of things for pranks. You can take as many as you want," Yvonne Lowell said, looking at the goofy girl with amusement.
’No matter how skilled she is, she’s still just a naive kid.’
’She only seems like a grown-up when she’s hacking or dealing with that little bitch.’
’Thanks for the hot take,’ Zoe thought, ’but you’re only two years older than me.’
Zachary Jacobs scoffed. "What ’two sides of the same coin’? More like ’the heart of a woman is the most venomous poison.’ She’s always using me as her guinea pig."
The three women glared at him in unison. "Shut up!"
"Alright, alright, I’ll keep my mouth shut. Three women in one place is a whole opera. Can I please just leave now?" Zachary Jacobs raised his hands in surrender and walked away, glass in hand.
’If I can’t win, can’t I at least run? It’s more fun to go mess with my idiot friends anyway.’