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

In ancient times, this vast land was once a paradise for a mysterious ethnic group.

Although this ethnic group was as short-lived as a meteor in the long river of history, their legends are deeply engraved on this land.

A noble woman from afar stopped here and miraculously became pregnant with the dragonborn given by God.

The child she gave birth to was the prototype of the first king of this country.

This woman was revered as the Queen Mother by later generations, and people firmly believed that she was a fairy left behind by heaven on earth.

She possesses an extraordinary ability that allows her to perceive changes thousands of miles away on a moonless night, and use this divine power to lead the people to prosperity.

Inside the school, an elderly eunuch was reciting ancient scriptures in a steady voice.

However, the audience was not completely immersed in the ocean of knowledge.

About half of the students listened intently, while the other half drifted between dreams and reality or battled sleepiness.

A cat named Rongrong yawned and looked at everything with lazy eyes.

She looked down the hallway and saw about twenty students in the school.

Rongrong felt that this number was just right; but Quan Wushuang on the side did not seem satisfied.

"Quan Wushuang, your figure is already reflected on the window frame." Lin Zhiruo reminded Quan Wushuang softly, his face almost sticking out of the window.

It was rare for students to be so focused, and if they were disturbed by this sudden peeping, it would probably distract them.

"At first there were only a handful of people, but now it seems that the number has increased." Quan Wushuang responded in a comforting tone.

This is the harem school presided over by Quan Wushuang.

He originally wanted to name it So-and-so Academy, but Lin Zhiruo warned him that this might cause unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, the school is able to maintain its simplicity and tranquility.

The school seems to have been rebuilt from the well-preserved building to the north.

Since it was previously used as a place to receive foreign envoys, the room is clean, beautiful and full of exotic style.

Xiao Cui was also among the students. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked back and forth between the cookbook and the teacher.

Today, Xiao Cui has mastered some daily expressions and started to read simple stories.

What the eunuch just recited was the country's creation legend, a popular folk tale.

Lin Zhiruo had no intention of learning these things at the moment, but Quan Wushuang invited her to come and check out the situation in the school, so she couldn't help but follow.

It would be a lie to say that she was not interested. After all, among the students were Xiao Cui and several palace maids she was familiar with.

More importantly, if Quan Wushuang's plan succeeds, the future of the harem may usher in earth-shaking changes.

"Quan Wushuang, the time has come." A personal official reminded the busy eunuch, and he ended his spying reluctantly.

Although he wanted to observe the teaching situation for a while longer, there were still many official duties waiting for him to deal with.

"What about you?" Quan Wushuang turned and asked Lin Zhiruo.

"Could you let me observe for a while longer?" Lin Zhiruo requested earnestly.

"If there is anything worthy of attention, please report to me later." Lin Zhiruo nodded slightly to indicate that she accepted the order.

After the class, the eunuchs appeared and distributed baked treats to the students, their eyes sparkling with excitement like bright stars.

Lin Zhiruo walked towards Xiao Cui and saw that she was trying hard to swallow the snacks, and her speech became unclear.

Lin Zhiruo was worried that she would choke, so she quickly asked the eunuch for some water.

When she returned, Xiao Cui was patting her chest hard.

There were several cookbooks and a sandbox on the table.

Every student was given a recipe, but paper and pens were consumables and soon became insufficient.

Therefore, everyone used sand instead of paper to practice writing and recognizing words.

The ink stains on Xiao Cui's index finger reveal her passion for learning.

As for occasionally dozing off in class, just turn a blind eye to it. After all, everyone gets tired sometimes.

After Xiao Cui drank the water handed to her by Lin Zhiruo, she breathed a long sigh of relief, like a traveler who had finally found rain after a long drought.

"How's your study going?" Lin Zhiruo asked with concern.

"Hehe, it's still a long way to go. I'm going to take this to ask the teacher later." After she said that, she opened the cookbook and showed it to Lin Zhiruo. That page was already far beyond the part the teacher had just recited.

"My brain isn't very good. If I don't prepare in advance, I might not be able to keep up." After she said that, she stuffed the remaining snack into her mouth and swallowed it with water.

Lin Zhiruo decided to go with Xiao Cui without much thought.

They walked out of the lecture hall and through the winding corridors.

There seems to be a teacher's room in the building next door.

Looking out the window, you can see the pond that serves as the stage for the night banquet and an ancient temple in the distance.

It is said that this temple existed before the harem was built. Its structure is completely different from the temples Lin Zhiruo is familiar with. It stretches very long and thin from north to south, like a giant dragon lying quietly.

Since the temple was not as dilapidated as other buildings, it was obvious that someone had carefully repaired it.

As she walked, Lin Zhiruo wondered if anyone was still holding a sacrificial ceremony there.

She glanced at the temple and continued walking until she came to the teacher's room.

"Sorry to bother you." Xiao Cui greeted them softly, but the old eunuch still welcomed them into the house with a smile.

Obviously, he was attracted by Xiao Cui's approachable personality and began to teach her to read and write patiently as if she were his granddaughter.

"This girl looks unfamiliar?" the old eunuch asked curiously.

"I just came here to accompany her." Lin Zhiruo responded.

"Is that so? Then you can sit in this chair and wait for a while." The old eunuch said with narrowed eyes.

Lin Zhiruo sat down respectfully and looked out the window at the temple.

The temple's pillars were narrowly spaced, and the interior seemed to be subdivided into many small rooms, like a maze.

"Are you interested in that temple?" the old eunuch turned and asked Lin Zhiruo.

"I'm just a little curious. I think the layout of that building is quite unique." Lin Zhiruo replied.

Once Lin Zhiruo becomes interested in something, she will unconsciously be distracted to pay attention to it.

She may have been staring at it without realizing it, as if attracted by a magnet.

"That is a temple built by our ancestors. When the Queen Mother governed this land, she did not eradicate the people's original beliefs, but cleverly integrated them into her rule," explained the old eunuch.

The so-called Queen Mother is the woman mentioned by the old eunuch when he was telling the story of the founding of the country. According to legend, she is the mother of the founding emperor.

There are many versions of this story, but it is generally believed that the Queen Mother is a survivor of a destroyed country or a fairy who descended from the fairyland to the mortal world.

"Anyone who governs this land must pass the test of that temple. Only those who choose the right path can become the monarch of this land. Legend has it that this is how the Queen Mother warned the founding emperor." The old eunuch continued.

The Queen Mother's son successfully passed the test and became the monarch of this land, reborn like a phoenix from the ashes.

"So that's how it is." Lin Zhiruo sighed.

"That's right. The reason why the capital was moved here is also closely related to that temple." The old eunuch fell into deep thought and narrowed his eyes.

"But that temple has been abandoned for decades and is unlikely to be reopened in the future," he said regretfully.

"...Why is that?" Lin Zhiruo asked curiously.

"Oh, that's because..." The old eunuch said slowly while teaching Xiao Cui how to hold a pen.

He even lent his own brush to Xiao Cui, which was extremely generous.

Xiao Cui held the pen unsteadily and frowned.

It was obvious that she was not interested in the story and was just listening attentively out of politeness.

Xiao Cui suddenly thrust the brush into the ink bottle, and a few drops of ink splashed on her cheeks, like a naughty child.

It was not surprising that the customs included some fixed rituals, but Lin Zhiruo inexplicably felt concerned about them.

She stared at the temple, as if it were under a spell.

The old eunuch saw this scene and didn't know what he was thinking. He kept staring at Lin Zhiruo.

"Oh, I didn't expect that someone would be so interested in that temple. Few people here are interested in stories like this. I haven't met someone like you for a long time." The old eunuch sighed.

After saying that, he looked out the window.

"Father-in-law, do you mean that someone was interested in this story before?" Lin Zhiruo asked.

"That's right. There used to be a chef here named Lin Xiang. He was a strange man. Whenever he had free time, he would wander around the harem. The way he looked at the temple was exactly the same as yours." The old eunuch replied.

For some reason, Lin Zhiruo immediately thought of someone when she heard it.

"...Are you talking about Lin Xiang, father-in-law?" Lin Zhiruo asked tentatively.

"Young lady, do you know this man?" the old eunuch asked in surprise.