Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 19 Nanzhao Azalea Tea

The old lady’s death was indeed not that simple.

Lin Zhiqing narrowed his eyes.

Just now, Lin Congli kept talking about the "reputation of the Lin family", which must have involved the Lin family.

If I hadn't found the poison that made my cousin unconscious, Lin Congli and the Fourth Master would have spoken with one voice and not wanted me to interfere anymore.

Since even his polite uncle helped to cover it up, I think that once this matter is exposed, it will most likely affect the interests of the Lin family.

It was for this reason that Lin Congli used both soft and hard tactics to warn himself not to spread these things.

Lin Zhiqing was thinking when Lin Congli spoke up: "What kind of poison did your cousin get?"

The fourth master also looked at her, but his eyes were turned down, and there was not much trust in his eyes.

"Uncle and fourth uncle, please move to the kitchen." Lin Zhiqing turned around and walked out the door.

Lin Congli and the fourth master looked at each other and immediately followed.

When the people outside the door saw Lin Zhiqing coming out, they quickly came over. Even Lin Shian didn't know when he came over.

Such a huge momentum actually made the Fourth Master look at him with a bit of surprise.

In the Lin family's east kitchen.

It was still early, and several kitchen helpers gathered together to chat while picking vegetables.

"Have you heard? Aunt Zhao actually dared to harm Miss Yangyang!"

"You really can't judge a person by his appearance. Aunt Zhao is usually quite kind."

"What do you think that old woman is? I saw her sneaking around and stealing things a few days ago."

"Oh, her little granddaughter is so cute. Now she does something like this, what will her relatives do?"

……

When Lin Zhiqing stepped in, he happened to hear some discussions.

When several maids saw so many masters coming at once, they knelt on the ground.

Soon, the skinny kitchen manager came forward with a look of panic and asked:

"Miss Zhiqing, the azalea and lotus seed soup you requested will be ready soon. What are you doing now..."

When he spoke, his eyes were wandering and the corners of his mouth were slightly tightened. He was obviously a little nervous and guilty.

Lin Zhiqing was not valued in the Lin family, and the servants did not take her orders seriously. This bowl of azalea lotus seed soup might have just been put into the pot.

But she didn't care.

"Have you been here?" Lin Congli's expression remained calm.

Lin Zhiqing nodded: "I have nothing to do in the morning, so I came over for a walk."

She said it lightly, but everyone knew that the matter was more complicated than that.

Amidst everyone's puzzled gazes, she walked into the east kitchen and immediately saw the pot with wisps of white smoke rising from it.

When the next few people followed in, they immediately smelled a strong floral scent.

Lu Huai's nose twitched: "Such a strong smell of cuckoo."

"The azaleas in Shengjing City are slightly smaller and have a lighter scent. This one might be a rare treasure." Lu Nanyue closed her eyes and fanned them with her hands, and could easily smell it.

Upon hearing this, the East Kitchen Manager immediately took two steps forward and said, "Miss Lu, this is azalea that my fourth master brought back from Nanzhao Kingdom. One or two taels of dried azalea costs over a hundred taels!"

His eyebrows were raised, and his tone was superior and slightly flattering. He didn't notice the increasingly ugly expressions of the Lin family members at all.

Lu Huai raised his eyebrows and looked at the Fourth Master with a very intriguing look.

Jiang Liuyun coughed lightly and said, "Zhiqing, this azalea lotus seed soup is indeed very fragrant." This was a really abrupt change of topic.

The most taboo thing for an official in the court is to show off his wealth.

Lin Zhiqing didn't care about this. She fixed her eyes on the East Kitchen Manager and went straight to the point:

"The azaleas from Nanzhao are indeed rare. I tasted some today and it reminded me of the same scent I smelled when I was drinking tea with my cousin before."

She said smell, not taste, otherwise she couldn't explain why she was still standing here.

The East Kitchen Manager was taken aback for a moment, then seemed to remember something and immediately replied, "This Nanzhao Kingdom's azalea tea is precious. The Fourth Master brought some back that day and distributed some everywhere."

Having said that, he seemed to have thought of something and shrank his neck.

Lin Zhiqing certainly knew why he reacted like this. It was simply because he didn't get any tea.

But she doesn't care.

Looking at this eyebrow-raising lawsuit, Lin Congli and the fourth master frowned.

However, their thoughts were immediately brought back by Lin Zhiqing.

"Who is responsible for delivering the azalea tea to my cousin?" She asked sharply.

The East Kitchen Manager immediately bowed and said, "Miss Zhiqing, I personally deliver this tea to each courtyard."

"Oh?" Lin Zhiqing raised an eyebrow. "Sir, you're in charge of the East Kitchen, and you don't even know you delivered the wrong thing?"

Hearing this, everyone looked at the steward with puzzled expressions.

The steward was startled and quickly knelt on the ground: "Miss Zhiqing, I checked carefully before sending it. This azalea is precious. I wouldn't dare make a mistake even if you gave me ten guts!"

A fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his eyes were wide open, obviously very frightened.

He probably wasn't lying.

After observing for a while, Lin Zhiqing continued, "Then tell me, why is my cousin still unconscious?"

"Wasn't the young lady killed by that Madam Zhao? Madam Zhao was the cleaning lady in the young lady's yard. Except for the time when there were not enough people to help with the cleaning, she almost never came to the east kitchen on weekdays!" The steward mentioned the dead Madam Zhao in a few words.

"I'm asking you now, not Aunt Zhao." Lin Zhiqing really didn't like talking to such a confused person.

She pointed to the azalea and lotus seed soup boiling in the pot and asked, "Did you know that the azalea tea you gave to your cousin was poisonous?"

When the word "poisonous" came out, everyone gasped.

The first person to refute was Lu Nanyue: "Zhiqing, azaleas are non-toxic. Many ladies in Shengjing City like to drink azalea tea, which can regulate menstruation and improve skin tone."

She said this in the tone of a doctor and soon everyone agreed with her.

The first person to express his dissatisfaction was the Fourth Master. He opened his thin lips and said, "Zhiqing, you are lazy and don't know the difference between grains. Now you are even treating us like fools. It's really abominable!"

Lin Congli did not refute his words, and even seemed to agree with him.

Lin Zhiqing felt like laughing. Just now, these two people kept mentioning the "Lin family's reputation", but now they were criticizing him casually in front of a few outsiders without caring about his own reputation at all.

But they still looked righteous and didn't think that this behavior would damage Lin Zhiqing's reputation.

It was not easy for the original owner to survive alone in the Lin family, which was full of hostility towards her.

Just based on the fact that the original owner opened a clinic with Lu Nanyue, Lin Zhiqing did not think that the original owner was the kind of person they said.

Seeing Lin Zhiqing remained silent, Jiang Liuyun immediately stepped forward and blocked him behind him: "Master, Fourth Master, Qing'er is not that kind of person."

Lu Nanyue and Lu Huai looked serious and stood in front of her, looking protective.

Just as the fourth master was about to speak, he saw Lin Zhiqing push away the person blocking his way.

Her tone was icy cold: "Fourth Uncle, you're so well-versed in poetry and literature, but you don't even know there's a poisonous azalea in Nanzhao?"

(End of this chapter)