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

The final puzzle is like a meticulously detailed scroll, slowly unfolding along the logical thread.

Those who can see through the mysteries of the white and black doors will naturally turn their attention to the untouched third door.

However, the truth is as unexpected as a glimmer of light in the morning mist - the eye-catching red door is not the right choice, the real answer is the unknown green door.

This may be because the wise man who designed the puzzle already knew that travelers who could reach this place often had difficulty distinguishing the colors red and green.

After crossing the first door, the possibility is halved; after crossing the second door, the flame of hope dims again; until the ninth door, there are only a few brave people who can choose the right path, and there is only a slim chance of one in five hundred and twelve.

Quan Wushuang's face showed confusion. He cast an inquiring look at Lin Zhiruo, as if eager to uncover the mystery.

"What kind of mystery is hidden behind all this?" he asked softly.

Lin Zhiruo smiled slightly and slowly revealed the truth: "This means that the elite chosen by this holy temple, the legendary sons of the Queen Mother, have a unique perception of color in their blood."

Of course, this doesn't mean they are completely unable to recognize colors.

Due to individual differences, some people may be misjudged, some may never be selected, and some may just be favored by fate by chance.

But as long as they can form an indissoluble bond with someone who is related to the Queen Mother by blood, they can return to orthodoxy and continue that unique bloodline.

Perhaps this is the real purpose of allowing concubines to enter this temple.

"This phenomenon isn't common in our country, but in those distant Western countries, a certain percentage of children are born unable to distinguish between red and green," she continued. "I heard that in the country where my father studied abroad, one in ten men suffers from this problem. While the percentage among women is slightly lower, it's equally worthy of our attention."

Her father once told her that although this hereditary defect would cause many troubles in daily life, people could always gradually adapt and move on.

So much so that even if such a thing exists around us, it is often difficult to notice.

The reason why the old eunuch asserted that his father would understand if he were here was perhaps because he had the same resonance and understanding deep in his heart.

"There are even rumors that those who have difficulty distinguishing colors have extraordinary night vision abilities." Lin Zhiruo did not study this in depth, so she knew very little.

Although this trait does not have much practical value in daily life, the fact that it has survived the test of time is enough to show that these people often have more outstanding talents in other aspects.

"In the legends from the founding of our dynasty, the Queen Mother was portrayed as an extraordinary being who could see everything even in the darkness, wasn't she?" she continued.

The Queen Mother comes from a distant and mysterious place. She is a group of people whose colors are difficult to distinguish, a group that has never existed on this land.

She led her followers and migrated here across thousands of mountains and rivers.

In order to gain a foothold in this new world, they may have tried many methods, and intermarriage was one of them.

In the story, the Queen Mother seems to have no companion by her side, but this may not be the case.

She may have formed a marriage with a local elder, but the marriage was not widely publicized.

In order to dilute the overly strong bloodline, the elders gave priority to marrying women from other places. This practice was not uncommon at the time.

This is especially true for elders who hold prominent positions.

In this way, the reason why the Queen Mother, as the descendant of the ancestor, gradually evolved into a male inheritance system becomes obvious.

However, the Queen Mother or her entourage might not want to see such a situation.

So, while they respected the bloodline of the elders, they also found another way to try to continue the bloodline of the Queen Mother.

Thus, this temple came into being.

Bit by bit, they distorted and tampered with the true history, as if they were weaving an intricate web.

If someone masters rare technology from afar, in time, he or she may be able to stand out in this land and become the focus of everyone's attention.

This honor not only belongs to him personally, but will also benefit his descendants.

Another simpler and more direct method is to leave a written record.

They used characters that the local people could not recognize to tell the story of the Queen Mother.

As time passed, those who knew the truth gradually passed away, and the story became an unshakable history.

This was a carefully planned and patiently implemented scheme to usurp the country.

However, Lin Zhiruo did not elaborate on these details, but cleverly concealed those parts that should not be disclosed, and told the emperor and others the story.

Although some of the content made the emperor look a little pale, he did not delve into it, and Lin Zhiruo also hoped that he would do so.

This is the best outcome for everyone.

"In other words, are you implying that I am not a descendant of the Queen Mother? My mother, and even the honorable Grand Empress Dowager, are not legitimate members of the royal family?" There was a hint of doubt in the emperor's voice.

Lin Zhiruo shook her head gently, as if to soothe his anxiety.

"This temple is just a tool to identify bloodlines. In reality, even if both parents have this tendency, the child may not inherit it."

Of course, if the Empress Dowager had other hidden secrets, that would be another matter, but Lin Zhiruo did not say this out loud.

She continued, "Besides, having too pure a bloodline isn't necessarily a good thing."

She gave an example: "The late emperor's brothers all died young due to epidemics. Besides them, many of his close relatives must have died from the same cause."

She speculated, "Perhaps this is the negative consequence of over-reliance on temple identification and excessive display of ancestry."

After Lin Zhiruo finished her explanation, a burst of applause suddenly broke out.

It was the old eunuch who was applauding, and there was a hint of joking and unruly in his words.

"I never thought that a little girl like you could actually solve this eternal mystery."

Lin Zhiruo thought to herself: This old guy is so disrespectful and speaks so frivolously.

"It is said that the Queen Mother is able to govern this place because of her extraordinary wisdom," the old eunuch continued.

There was a bit of awe and emotion in his words.

This is not difficult to understand, otherwise how could she come up with such a clever way to preserve her bloodline?

"Now that things have come to this, if we want to further dilute the bloodline, why not just marry these special people into the family one by one?"

Lin Zhiruo was secretly shocked: What on earth is this old man talking about?

She wished she could take off her shoes and throw them at him.

But she remained calm and graceful, smiling and saying, "This idea may be interesting, but I do not wish to make an enemy of that wise general. More importantly, my heart is not broad enough to accommodate such a feat."

She cleverly resolved the old eunuch's proposal and prevented the emperor from falling into an embarrassing situation.

Lin Zhiruo had no idea how much the emperor feared that wise general.

But then again, there are some things that the emperor really doesn't need to worry about personally.

"But doing so will probably cause dissatisfaction among many people." The old eunuch glanced at Lin Zhiruo casually.

There was a hint of warning and reminder in his words.

"You have to be more careful."

The emperor nodded, as if in response to his warning.

"I understand."

However, the old eunuch shook his head and continued, "No, I, your Majesty, understand your caution better."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Quan Wushuang.

"You have to be more careful too."

Quan Wushuang nodded silently, as if tacitly agreeing to his reminder.

(Who is this guy?) Lin Zhiruo pondered in her heart.

It seems too simplistic to summarize their relationship simply as "eunuchs favored by the emperor."

But Lin Zhiruo felt that even if she knew the truth, it might not be good for her.

So she decided to stop there and not pursue it any further.

Ignorance is fearless, this is her state of mind at the moment.