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

A grand banquet was being held in the imperial garden of the palace.

The spacious pavilion with nine-curve corridors is covered with a brocade carpet as bright as fire, two rows of carved nanmu long tables are neatly arranged, and several distinguished main seats are set in the front.

The emperor sat in the main seat in the center, with the empress dowager and the emperor's younger brother sitting on both sides, Concubine Yuyao and Concubine Dexin sitting on the east side, and Concubine Xian and Concubine Shuwan sitting on the west side.

Lin Zhiruo stood in the corner, paying attention to the preparation of the dishes that were about to be served, while secretly pondering the deeper meaning behind the seating arrangement.

Since the death of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, the emperor's younger brother from the same mother has become the first heir to the throne, but this younger brother is frail and sickly and stays indoors all day long.

Even though a seat was reserved for him at today's banquet, the sandalwood chair carved with dragons and phoenixes remained empty.

There are many rumors about the emperor's younger brother. Some say that the emperor doted on this younger brother too much and made him stay at home, while others say that the empress dowager was overprotective and didn't want him to get involved in court affairs.

But these have nothing to do with Lin Zhiruo. What she cares about most now is the 32 imperial dishes that will be served soon.

It was almost afternoon, and everyone was enjoying the acrobatic and singing and dancing performances, but Lin Zhiruo was secretly calculating the timing for each dish to be served.

Only Caiwei was serving Concubine Yuyao, and the other maids were on standby behind the curtain.

The young princess was looked after by the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager, who still looked beautiful, was elegant in every move and was in no way inferior to the four concubines.

Lin Zhiruo recalled the private discussions among the chefs in the imperial kitchen, who said that it was not easy for the Empress Dowager to give birth to the Emperor at such a young age.

A gust of cold wind blew, and Lin Zhiruo shivered.

"The wind is indeed quite strong. I need someone to bring over the clear-boiled bird's nest to warm me up." She muttered in a low voice.

Although the curtains blocked the view, they could not stop the chilly autumn wind.

Even with the heater in their hands, Lin Zhiruo and the other maids still felt cold.

The maids of other concubines were shivering with cold, and some could not even stand.

Lin Zhiruo secretly thanked her lucky stars that she had just come from the imperial kitchen and her body was still warm from the stove fire.

What is worrying is that the maids of the ladies have started their daily fights again.

While turning the chestnuts in her hand, Lin Zhiruo secretly pondered the meaning behind these fights.

The current situation is clear: Concubine Yuyao's men are against Concubine Pinglan's maids, and Concubine Shuwan's men are confronting Concubine Dexin's maids.

It is worth mentioning that Concubine Yuyao only has three maids, which is far less than the other side.

"You're calling us unsophisticated?" Su Su said indignantly. "As a maid, shouldn't you concentrate on serving your master? Why are you dressing up all day long? What's your intention?"

It turned out that they had a dispute over clothes.

The maids of Imperial Concubine Pinglan were dressed in plain white brocade clothes and light gauze shawls, and were indeed much more gorgeous than the maids of Imperial Concubine Yuyao.

"What are you talking about? If she dresses ugly, it's the master who has to work hard. No wonder she hired that ugly girl—" The maid of Liuli Palace laughed sharply.

The chestnuts in Lin Zhiruo's hand almost fell into the brazier.

She knew that the ugly girl those people were talking about was herself. After all, her appearance was indeed ordinary in the harem.

The smug palace maid had a grudge against Lin Zhiruo before, and she always threatened to report it to her father.

In order to make her shut up, Lin Zhiruo once made her sweat profusely after eating a snack with special spices. From then on, she would avoid her whenever she saw her.

"It seems that she still remembers the taste of that 'Fire Dragon Dessert'." Lin Zhiruo laughed to herself.

The dessert was actually just ordinary osmanthus cake, but she cleverly added a little bit of pepper powder to it.

"That ugly girl is not here. She must have been abandoned. Such a person can't even get a piece of jade jewelry." The palace maid obviously did not recognize Lin Zhiruo standing by the brazier.

Seeing that Su Su was about to rush forward in anger, Lin Zhiruo put down the chestnuts in her hand and walked around behind her.

She deliberately covered the freckles on her face with her hands and looked at the group of maids quietly.

A maid first narrowed her eyes in confusion, then her expression suddenly changed, and she quickly whispered in her companion's ear.

Just like a game of whisper, the news quickly reached the ears of the arrogant maid.

The other person's fingers began to tremble, and his face turned pale and his mouth opened.

"Finally recognized you?" Lin Zhiruo smiled sweetly.

In the other person's eyes, that smile seemed to be the sharpest meat-cleaving knife in the imperial kitchen.

"Ah, ah...ah!" The other party was so scared that he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

"What...what happened?" Su Su turned over the chestnuts in the brazier and looked at her opponent who suddenly trembled in confusion.

She didn't know how chilling Lin Zhiruo's smile was at this moment, just like the "Fire Dragon Dessert" that made people sweat while eating it.

"Ah, ah ah... Today... I'll let you go for now. You... you have to thank me."

The maid left this inexplicable harsh remark and ran to the curtain.

There were other empty seats, but she chose the one farthest away from Lin Zhiruo.

Susu and the others looked at each other, not understanding what was going on.

"I'm still very hurt." Lin Zhiruo thought as she sprinkled osmanthus frosting on the chestnuts.

"I can't stand it. Although I've always felt that they are all annoying people, I'm really sorry for making you suffer. You are so cute." Su Su said apologetically.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Lin Zhiruo shook her head gently. "Let's put this aside for now. Don't we need to replace the hot stones?"

Su Su frowned and looked at her with sympathy.

"No, it's still warm. Anyway, why did she start shaking all of a sudden?"

The other two maids were also confused.

Although these maids in the Glass Palace are diligent and good-tempered, they are always a little silly.

"Who knows? Maybe he really wants to go to the toilet." Lin Zhiruo said casually.

She looked at the chestnuts in the brazier that were gradually turning golden and remembered her identity.

A maid who was sold by her parents to taste food was bullied in the Glass Palace for two whole months. She even deliberately stained her face because she was afraid of men.

Susu and her friends always have wild fantasies.

Even the fact that Quan Wushuang was arguing with her was imagined by them as some celestial being caring about the poor girl.

Lin Zhiruo really couldn't understand how they came to this conclusion, but she was too lazy to correct them.

The dispute on the other side continues.

Eight maids in white and eight maids in dark clothes are confronting each other.

The former was the servant of Imperial Concubine Dexin, and the latter was the maid of Imperial Concubine Shuwan.

"It's also very incompatible over there." Su Su sighed while secretly eating the chestnuts roasted by Lin Zhiruo.

Although the people from the Liuli Palace didn't dare to get close, the others also stayed away with their own thoughts, allowing them to eat comfortably.

"One is thirteen and the other is thirty-two. With such a huge age gap, it's natural that they won't get along."

"You can imagine what the situation would be like between the young and inexperienced Imperial Concubine Dexin and the prudent Imperial Concubine Shuwan," Guiyuan said softly.

"Yes, after all, they used to be mother-in-law and daughter-in-law." Xibai nodded. Although her temperament was gentler than Susu, she also liked to gossip.

"Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?" Lin Zhiruo couldn't help but tilt her head when she heard the word.

"It's a long story." Guiyuan explained in a low voice while turning the pine nuts in the brazier.

It turns out that this master and servant, who are as hostile as water and fire, actually have an unusual relationship.

The current Imperial Concubine Shuwan was once the favorite concubine of the late emperor, while Imperial Concubine Dexin was a concubine of the Eastern Palace.

After the death of the previous emperor, Shuwan lived in the temple for a whole year on the pretext of worshiping Buddha.

This is just a tactic used by powerful families.

Lin Zhiruo sprinkled osmanthus honey on the pine nuts while listening to the palace secrets.

"Only six years had passed by then." Gui Yuan couldn't help shaking his head when he said this.

Lin Zhiruo paused with the silver spoon in her hand, almost spilling honey on the brazier.

The thought that the Empress Dowager had entered the palace at a younger age made her feel nauseous.

Fortunately, although the current emperor prefers plump women, he does not have such a quirk.

"How can there be such absurd things in this world?" Lin Zhiruo said softly as she watched the pine nuts gradually turn golden in the firelight.

"Who says it's not true? A mother-in-law of that age is simply unheard of."