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

Lin Zhiruo gently stroked a thick book on imperial cuisine, which was unique in the royal library.

This classic book is like the warm sunshine in the cold winter, which makes people want to get closer to it.

(An ancient book like this that records the royal secret recipe must be priceless.)

Zhiruo's fingertips ran across the yellowed pages of the book, thinking secretly.

(Many of the delicacies recorded in the book have been lost.)

Thinking of this, Zhiruo smiled helplessly. She knew very well that if Hu Lan'er saw this book, she would be overjoyed.

After all, Lan'er is the only one who is so obsessed with these lost imperial cooking skills.

Just as Zhiruo was lost in thought, an old page quietly slipped out of the book.

She picked up the page and saw a picture of an exotic bird. Its feathers glowed with a strange light between gold and purple under the light. The bird in the painting was dancing around a peerless beauty.

This picture reminded Zhiruo of a rare bird that Lan'er had once mentioned. It must be the one recorded in this book.

"Who brought this book?" Zhiruo asked softly.

"My lady, he appeared here about twenty days ago." The palace maid beside him replied in a low voice.

Twenty days ago, the Western Regions delegation was leaving the palace.

If this book does not belong to the library, common sense would deduce that it might be related to Lan'er.

How could a mere palace maid possess such a precious book?

No, absolutely not.

Such a rare book is hard to come by unless you are a wealthy family.

From this, it seems that Lan'er's life experience is not simple.

Zhiruo recalled that the paper Lan'er usually used to record recipes was just some old paper used to wrap ingredients in the kitchen, turned over and reused. In this deep palace, even such waste paper was hard to come by.

What's even more interesting is that Lan'er can actually read and write. How can an ordinary washerwoman have such a skill?

Thinking of this, Zhiruo couldn't help but feel a little curious about Lan'er's origins.

However, at this moment...

Suddenly, there was a slight sound from the door, and a eunuch appeared at the door.

"Hu Fei."

The man had a clear voice, not that of a man.

"You'd better be careful."

The voice turned low again, not like that of a woman.

This man was born with eyes full of affection, and his appearance was enough to stun the women in the palace; his stature was between that of a man and a woman; his face was softer than that of a man and thinner than that of a woman.

His left arm hung limply, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

Who is this person?

If she were to put on some powder and lipstick and dress in a palace dress, she would be seven points similar to the deceased imperial chef.

Although Zhiruo was not good at remembering people's faces, she was deeply impressed by this extraordinary woman.

"Your words just now have made her guess a lot."

Hu Fei opened his eyes wide and looked at Zhiruo.

"I can't even pretend to be dead any more."

Her tone was flat, without any of the gentleness of a woman.

The door was closed and there were only three people left in the room.

The window lattices were tightly covered, making escape impossible.

(If you cry out for help...)

But the imperial chef was seen holding a jade hairpin with a cold gleam on the tip, apparently dipped in some secret seasoning.

(I wonder what the secret recipe for this seasoning is, but it really makes me curious.)

But this was not the time to explore, and Zhiruo had no time to think about what secrets were hidden in the tip of the hairpin.

The imperial chef pressed on step by step, and Zhiruo kept retreating until her back was against the wall.

What should I do?

There was a pot of aged wine and some spices hidden in the pouch around his waist.

If you can throw the wine in his face, you may be able to escape... but the chances of success are slim.

Zhiruo fell into deep thought.

Why did the Imperial Kitchen Manager sneak in here? What is her purpose?

Zhiruo was filled with doubts.

On the surface, Zhiruo seems to be in a bad situation, but in fact it may not be.

"Even if you kill me here, you will die."

Zhiruo is the imperial food connoisseur serving Concubine Yuyao.

Not to mention the other palace maids, if Zhiruo were to be in trouble, the imperial concubine would definitely not let it go.

What's more, the astute adoptive father would definitely be able to deduce Zhiruo's whereabouts after she left the imperial kitchen.

However, even if they could track her down to the study, they would probably have no idea that she was planning to go to the pantry.

"Hopefully, we can resolve this peacefully."

Perhaps because she was wearing men's clothing, the imperial chef's voice was cold and hard, and others might have found it difficult to tell her true gender.

However, her left hand was still shaking slightly.

"Is this the aftereffect of Thirteen Spices?"

It was a secret recipe that could cause a person to appear dead. Even if they could wake up, their body functions would be difficult to fully recover. The Imperial Kitchen Manager must have known this very well.

However, in order to deceive everyone including the emperor, she still acted in this way.

“So what?”

The imperial chef did not put away the jade hairpin.

Even without this hidden weapon, with just the two of them, Zhiruo, who was powerless, could only be at their mercy.

"It doesn't matter, let's talk business."

"What's the matter?"

Zhiruo's heart was beating like a drum and sweat was soaking through her clothes, but her voice was unusually calm. This was both her strength and her weakness.

She was alert to the other party's movements while thinking about how to escape.

"It seems you are planning to escape, but I advise you to give up this idea."

As the imperial chef spoke, he slowly opened the door, revealing a piece of his fair wrist.

She held the hand tightly and dragged the man into the room.

A tall palace maid came into view. Although she had a slender figure, her expression was innocent.

"I'm sorry, Sister Zhiruo."

It’s Hu Laner.

The imperial chef grabbed Lan'er's throat with his right hand and pressed the jade hairpin against her cheek with his trembling left hand.

Lan'er had a look of pain on her face and became a hostage.

Faced with this situation, Zhiruo had no choice but to grit her teeth.

"You don't care about this girl's life?"

The imperial chef said this line that sounded like something out of a play.

Zhiruo's nails dug deep into her palms, and she wished she could punch the other person in the face to end this farce.

"What are you trying to do?"

"I just want you to leave here with me."

“Do you think it’s possible?”

Using hostages might not necessarily achieve the desired result, and besides, what exactly does she want?

Since you went to so much trouble to sneak in disguised as a eunuch, why would you leave?

Zhiruo really wanted to find out the reason.

The imperial chef nodded woodenly.

“Of course.”

"and..."

she said again.

"You will definitely come with me."

Hearing such a confident tone, Zhiruo responded with a cold look.

Did he really think he could succeed by taking a hostage?

Once you step out of the palace, you will die.

The imperial chef who had sneaked into the palace disguised as a eunuch naturally could not escape this disaster.

Zhiruo originally thought that the imperial chef would not be so superficial, and just when she was feeling disappointed, she saw the corners of her mouth suddenly twist.

“Don’t you want to know the recipe for Thirteen Spices?”

In an instant, Zhiruo's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

(You actually used this to threaten me.)

This woman is indeed not simple - Zhiruo thought to herself as she stared at the imperial chef.