Why am I, a cook, always involved in cases?

When facing that woman, Nannan didn't feel any fear in her heart.

However, an accidental encounter was like a sudden storm, which almost made Nannan lose her composure.

That day, the sudden appearance of the woman almost made Nannan's clothes flutter in the wind. This scene seemed to be engraved in her heart, making Nannan full of vigilance towards her, and she couldn't help but keep a certain distance from her.

Even so, the woman's gaze still followed Nannan like a shadow, tightly locked on her, forcing her to step back involuntarily.

At this moment, a eunuch suddenly broke into the quiet garden. His slightly bloated body, like a clumsy bear, was staggering towards the small warehouse with difficulty.

Nannan wanted to chase after her, but was blocked by the elusive woman.

Despite being extremely anxious, Nannan struggled to break free from her entanglement and hurriedly chased after the eunuch, but she was still a step too slow.

The eunuch was holding the bolt and standing quietly in front of the open door, like a silent statue.

A pungent stench filled the air from inside the door. It was the unique scent of a dying person. It was so similar to the smell emitted by Concubine Pinglan in the past that it made people feel chilled.

The woman who was freed by Nannan seemed to have lost her balance. She staggered and fell to the ground, rubbing her injured buttocks. However, there was no sign of anxiety on her face.

She just frowned slightly, snatched the big package from the eunuch's hand, and shouted loudly:

"Uncle! Go boil some hot water!"

Then she hurried into the cabin.

Inside the room, a simple bed came into view, covered with a rough straw mat. A palace maid was lying weakly on it. She was the palace maid who was usually unknown and responsible for washing clothes.

The eunuch nodded, the fat on his chin trembling slightly with his movement, and he turned and hurried away.

While feeding the palace maid some unknown liquid, the woman looked at Nannan with complex emotions flashing in her eyes.

"Why did the head maid treat her like this?"

There was a hint of questioning in her words.

Nannan responded calmly:

"There's no special reason. We're simply isolating the patient to prevent infection. This is common sense within the palace."

The woman did not respond immediately after hearing this. She seemed to have something to say but hesitated.

After a moment, she finally spoke:

"The maid is right. But..."

She used a handkerchief to cover the maid's violent cough, and when she took it away, it was stained with scarlet spots.

She continued:

"This is an infectious disease. Although it is not highly contagious, it can be fatal if not treated promptly. Of course, the life and death of a palace maid may not be a big deal in the eyes of others."

The woman left the sick maid behind and wanted to go deeper into the room.

Nannan couldn't help but stretch out her hands, wanting to grab the woman's shoulders to stop her actions, but the woman was like a nimble cat, and easily avoided Nannan's touch.

"Don't go over there, there is..."

Before Nannan could finish her words, she tripped over a box on the ground. She struggled to stop the woman, but was still a step too late.

The woman was holding an object in her hand, a small and exquisite box.

"When I stepped into this room, memories of the past came flooding back to me. That was when Imperial Concubine Pinglan was ill in bed."

There was a hint of nostalgia and emotion in her voice.

"so what?"

Nannan asked in confusion.

The woman smiled gently, like a spring breeze blowing through the branches:

"Back then, in order to mask the stench from the sickbed, incense was burned in the house. And now, a similar smell permeates the air."

Nannan stretched out her hands, trying to take back the box, with an uneasy glint in her eyes.

"When I first came here, I felt the scene was similar, but this time it was completely different."

The woman gently opened the small box, revealing a variety of exquisite small bottles, like a miniature treasure world.

She gently opened the lid of a small bottle, took a deep sniff, and an intoxicated look appeared on her face.

"The maids of the Glazed Palace really love to hide things. It seems that another poor eunuch will be punished for this."

There was a hint of teasing and helplessness in her words.

What the woman opened was a bottle of essential oil, which was a treasure they had purchased from the caravan earlier.

Almost all of these essential oils were collected by the eunuchs and became their playthings.

"Even if the toxicity of each bottle is weak, if they are mixed together, the consequences will be unpredictable."

The woman narrowed her eyes and chuckled softly as if she was singing a nursery rhyme, with a hint of mystery and weirdness in her voice.

"What is the head maid's plan, trying to prepare ingredients that can induce abortion?"

Lin Zhiruo's words were like a sharp sword that pierced Nannan's heart, shocking her.

At this moment, she was thinking about how to deal with the current situation.

She gently wiped the powder and rouge off her face with a handkerchief, thinking to herself.

The white powder on her face made her feel uncomfortable, the rouge was difficult to wash off, and the hair styled with essential oils needed to be thoroughly cleaned.

In order to modify her unattractive eyes, she cut the ends of her hair short, braided it and glued it to her eyes to make herself look more charming.

Lin Zhiruo changed into a longer skirt than usual and wore thick-soled shoes to cover up her short height.

However, this seemed a bit unnecessary because the people in Liuli Palace did not recognize her as Lin Zhiruo.

Lin Zhiruo was sulking while taking off her high heels and changing into new clothes.

When she was taking care of a seriously ill palace maid just now, her clothes were stained with phlegm.

Although this disease is not highly contagious, it is still inappropriate to walk around wearing such clothes.

So she asked someone to prepare a change of clothes.

Since it was prepared by Liuli Palace, it was a little inconvenient to wear, but she had no choice.

In fact, Lin Zhiruo really wanted to take a bath, but reality did not allow her such luxury.

She could only give up the idea helplessly, changed into fresh clothes, and walked towards the room where everyone was gathered.

In the reception room of the Glass Palace, a group of prominent figures gathered with heavy hearts.

Each of them came from a prominent family, which complemented the colorful decorations in the room; but when Lin Zhiruo walked into the house, she felt like a forgotten leaf, always feeling that she was out of tune with the atmosphere here.

Inside the house were Concubine Pinglan, Quan Wushuang, Gao Zhongcheng, and a slim and beautiful woman.

Lin Zhiruo asked Concubine Pinglan to let the other maids leave and leave only them.

Although Wang Dahai seemed eager to participate, he had other important tasks to attend to.

Therefore, Lin Zhiruo asked him to focus on his official duties and not to stay here.

Frankly speaking, even if he stayed here, he couldn't help much.

Nannan and Concubine Pinglan are cousins. They have noble blood and strong self-esteem.

Even in the harem, she was an eye-catching beauty.

Perhaps because of their blood relationship, her face is somewhat similar to Concubine Pinglan, like two beautiful peach blossoms blooming in spring.

Although she was only the head maid, considering her status and position, it would not be surprising for her to become a mid-level concubine.

However, she always remained in the position of head maid, which made people wonder if she had other intentions.

Not only concubines can gain the emperor's favor, but palace maids can sometimes become the queen mother if they can gain the emperor's favor.

There are many such precedents in history.

In this case, it would be better to gather all the beautiful women together, which might attract the emperor's attention.

When a palace maid serving a superior concubine is favored, if her status is noble enough, she will surely be able to obtain a higher status immediately.

However, how does this feel to them?

Lin Zhiruo knew nothing about Concubine Pinglan's family, but she felt that there must be a complicated emotional entanglement between them.

If this problem could be resolved with deep trust, the world might become more peaceful and beautiful.

However, reality is often not as we wish.

The head maid Caiwei was not sent here for that purpose. She served Concubine Yuyao as a maid wholeheartedly.

However, this made her miss the age of marriage.

She hoped that one day Concubine Yuyao would be able to arrange a good home for her.

The same was true for the other maids. Although they were indeed beautiful and lovable, Lin Zhiruo did not think that they would dream of gaining the emperor's favor.

In this turbulent harem, everyone has their own thoughts and plans.

And Lin Zhiruo is just one of them.