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

Before the morning dew had dried, Lin Zhiruo was called to the private room of the imperial chef.

Quan Wushuang's annoying smile was particularly glaring in the sunlight.

Following his glance, the middle-aged maid in the room retreated silently.

The atmosphere of being alone made Lin Zhiruo feel uncomfortable.

She has always had very high requirements for food.

This pursuit of perfection makes her particularly disgusted with people like Quan Wushuang who are two-faced.

In her eyes, the steward was like a weed in the kitchen, useless no matter how beautiful it was.

Gao Zhongcheng's arrival eased the tense atmosphere a little.

"How many colors can these seasonings be divided into?" Quan Wushuang asked, pointing to the various spices on the table.

Lin Zhiruo glanced at the familiar condiments and had a plan in mind.

"We can distinguish more by color, but the exact number is difficult to determine." She replied calmly.

"Then how do we incorporate them into dishes?" Quan Wushuang continued to ask.

Lin Zhiruo knew that sprinkling it directly on the dishes was the stupidest thing to do.

"Salt can be dissolved in water, so this white powder must be the same." She pushed the bag of suspicious white powder aside.

"Other seasonings also have different dissolving methods, and some require oil to blend." Lin Zhiruo continued to explain, "But I'm not proficient in these."

Quan Wushuang folded his arms across his chest, lost in thought.

The sunlight shone on him through the window lattice, and his overly handsome face looked like a carefully painted painting.

Lin Zhiruo sighed inwardly. God had gifted him with such a handsome appearance, but had reduced him to being a useless person in the kitchen.

She could feel Quan Wushuang piecing together the scattered information.

Lin Zhiruo knew that she had said too much, and some words were better left to herself forever.

Remembering the proverb from her hometown, "A pheasant doesn't crow, so it doesn't get beaten," she silently prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute." Quan Wushuang suddenly spoke.

"What else do you want, Steward?" She stopped.

"I like Dobin stew very much." He said meaningfully.

Lin Zhiruo's heart sank. It seemed that her little actions in the imperial kitchen had been discovered.

"I will go buy food tomorrow." She replied in a low voice.

After she left, the smile on Quan Wushuang's face disappeared instantly.

"Find out who's been stewing in earthenware pots lately," he said to Gao Zhongcheng, "start with the personal maids of the imperial concubines in each palace."

Gao Zhongcheng took the order and left, and the imperial chef came in immediately.

Quan Wushuang looked at the older palace maid and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry to bother you all the time." He said gently.

"No...I dare not." The elderly imperial chef lowered his head with a red face.

Quan Wushuang looked at the cook's departing back, his lips curled down slightly.

The looks he was so proud of actually had no effect on that girl.

Returning to the Glazed Palace, Lin Zhiruo saw a room full of boxes and cages.

More than a dozen wooden boxes of various sizes were piled in the middle of the hall, and the palace maids were busy counting the items inside.

At first she thought it was a reward from the emperor or supplies sent from home.

But when she saw the maids gesturing with the clothes, she realized that this was the new maid's uniform.

"Come and try this one." Su Su came over with a piece of clothing.

It was a beige top with a light pink skirt and light yellow sleeves.

Although it was made of fine cotton, the style was unreasonably loose.

"What is this?" Lin Zhiruo looked at the low-cut dress and couldn't help frowning.

"Dresses for the party." Su Su said with a smile.

"Banquet?" Lin Zhiruo was confused.

Apart from tasting dishes and seasoning them in the imperial kitchen, she would go to the market to buy ingredients and occasionally chat with Xiao Cui. She knew very little about what was happening in the palace.

Seeing her confused look, Su Su shook her head helplessly and explained.

It turns out that two grand banquets are held in the palace every year.

An emperor without a queen would attend with his concubines of the first rank.

Imperial Concubine Yuyao was a "Imperial Concubine", Imperial Concubine Pinglan was a "Virtuous Concubine", and there were also Imperial Concubine Dexin and Imperial Concubine Shuwan. All four of them were of the first rank.

Logically speaking, only the two imperial concubines, Dexin and Shuwan, should attend this winter banquet.

However, because the two imperial concubines Yuyao and Pinglan were unable to attend the banquet last time due to childbirth, they attended together this time.

"Is everyone going?" Lin Zhiruo asked.

"Of course, this is a rare opportunity," Su Su said excitedly. "Princess Ai Ling is making her debut, and all four concubines will be in attendance. It's going to be quite lively."

Lin Zhiruo knew that as one of the few maids around Concubine Yuyao, she could not refuse.

What's more, someone needs to taste the food at the banquet, which is her responsibility.

"I need to stuff something in my chest and raise my hips a little. Do you mind?" Su Su said as she adjusted her dress.

"Let Sister Susu arrange it." Lin Zhiruo said helplessly.

She knew that plump figures were popular now, but she was as thin as a dried bean.

Su Su tied the belt tightly and adjusted the length of her dress while saying:

"You need to put on some makeup to cover up those freckles on your face."

Seeing Susu's cunning smile, Lin Zhiruo could only respond with a smile that was uglier than crying.

Caiwei began to explain the process of the banquet to her, and she felt drowsy.

"I originally thought it could be cancelled this year." Caiwei sighed.

Lin Zhiruo asked her why she was so reluctant, and she said that there was nothing special, she just had to stand all the time.

The concubines were all there to accompany the emperor, and the maids only had to enjoy the performances, eat the food, and smile at the officials.

But the problem was that you had to stand in the cold wind. The garden was as big as a small town, and it took a long time to walk to the toilet.

Since the emperor did not leave his seat, the concubines naturally could not leave either.

After hearing Caiwei's words, Lin Zhiruo's cooking instinct immediately began to think of a solution.

She sewed many small pockets on her tunic to hold the warm stones.

Fresh shredded ginger and orange peel are boiled with sugar and juice to make candy.

When these little gadgets were shown to Caiwei, her eyes lit up and she immediately begged for one too.

Soon, the eunuchs in the palace also came to ask for it.

The servant behind him seemed to be hesitant to speak, but the desire in his eyes could not be hidden.

Lin Zhiruo had no choice but to do it all at once.

Unexpectedly, when Concubine Yuyao came to the emperor's palace that night, she told the emperor about this.

The next day, the royal tailor and the royal chef came to ask her for the recipe.

It seems that this banquet is indeed a chore.

Lin Zhiruo discovered that many things could become easy as long as she used her brain a little.

But once people get used to it, they don’t think about these little tricks anymore.

She was busy making these little items until the eve of the party.

During this period, Caiwei kept correcting Lin Zhiruo's way of speaking.

Although she was grateful for her kindness, Lin Zhiruo still felt a little uncomfortable.

Unlike the other three maids, the head maid seemed to have noticed something.

On the eve of the banquet, Lin Zhiruo finally had some free time.

She decided to whip up some special treats just in case.

"Empress Yuyao is truly stunningly beautiful." Listening to Susu and the others' praise, Lin Zhiruo knew that this was not flattery.

The imperial concubine of foreign descent wore a fiery red dress.

She wore a wide-sleeved robe of the same color embroidered with gold thread, and had two buns on her head.

An exquisite crown is worn between two flower hairpins, and red tassels and jade beads hang from the silver hairpins.

Her flaming red hair and emerald eyes made her look mysterious and beautiful.

Lin Zhiruo and the others' dresses were also light pink, like green leaves complementing this red flower.

Concubine Yuyao took out a jewelry box from the dressing table.

"You are my maids. I have to mark you to prevent any bad people from approaching you." She said with a smile.

The imperial concubine put exquisite jewelry on each maid. When it was Lin Zhiruo's turn, she chose a jade pendant.

"Thank you, Your Majesty..." Lin Zhiruo was about to say thank you.

"Alas!"

Before he could finish his words, he was hugged tightly from behind.

It was Susu, her arms were around Lin Zhiruo like an iron hoop.

"It's time to put on your makeup." Caiwei held the small brush with a strange smile.

The other two maids also came over, each holding rouge and a brush.

Lin Zhiruo then remembered that they had been clamoring to put makeup on her these days.

"Let them dress you up to be more cute." Concubine Yuyao's silver bell-like laughter came.

The four men showed no mercy to the panicked Lin Zhiruo.

"Wipe your face first and apply some scented oil." They wiped Lin Zhiruo's face with a wet cloth.

"what?"

Suddenly, several people screamed at the same time.

Lin Zhiruo looked up at the ceiling helplessly.

She saw the maids' eyes moving between her face and the wet cloth, each of them speechless with surprise.

It's over, it's exposed.

Lin Zhiruo closed her eyes in embarrassment.

In fact, she doesn't hate makeup, nor does she not know how to put it on.

On the contrary, she has quite a bit of experience in this area.

But the reason she didn't want anyone to put makeup on her was simple - her face was already made up.

The light brown mark on the wet cloth is the best proof.

What they thought was a plain face was actually her carefully applied makeup.

This kind of makeup that is so subtle that it leaves no visible traces is much more difficult to achieve than heavy makeup.

But now, the secret has been revealed.

"Girl, it turns out you wear makeup every day!" Su Su exclaimed.

Lin Zhiruo opened her eyes and saw several maids staring at her with disbelief.

"This makeup...is a little too delicate." Caiwei took the wet cloth and carefully looked at the brown marks on it.

Lin Zhiruo's heart trembled. This imperial concubine of foreign descent could always see through appearances.

"It's just some crude tricks," she whispered.

"Superficial?" Caiwei sneered, "To be able to put on makeup so perfectly is not something that ordinary people can do."

"It seems that our little cook not only knows how to prepare seasonings, but is also well versed in cosmetics." Imperial Concubine Yuyao said meaningfully.

Lin Zhiruo felt a chill, she knew what she had exposed again.

"Your Majesty, I am too kind. These are just some little tricks in the market." She said with forced calmness.

"What a little trick!" Imperial Concubine Yuyao suddenly stood up, her fiery red skirt billowing like flames.

Her emerald eyes stared at Lin Zhiruo, as if she wanted to see through her soul.

"It's really surprising that a little cook knows how to cook seasonings and is also proficient in the art of applying cosmetics." The imperial concubine's voice was like ice.

Lin Zhiruo's heart trembled, and her fingers subconsciously tightened the corners of her clothes.

"Your Majesty, please understand. I am just..." Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Caiwei.

"Such an exquisite makeup, even I, who has been a maid for ten years, can't find any flaws. You say this is just a trick?" Caiwei sneered, a sharp light flashing in her eyes.

Su Su still held Lin Zhiruo's waist tightly, and increased her strength a little more.

"Sister Zhiruo, how many secrets are you hiding from us?" She asked softly in Lin Zhiruo's ear, with a hint of danger in her tone.

Lin Zhiruo felt that the blood in her body was freezing.

She knew that the disguise she had carefully woven was peeling off layer by layer.