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

The palace maid named Jiaqing was once the personal maid of a concubine.

That concubine was the biological mother of Concubine Shuwan and the wife of General Xiao Liang.

Jiaqing and the imperial concubine's mother are distant relatives and have an indissoluble bond with the Xiao family.

Perhaps, Concubine Shuwan had heard about the child born to Jiaqing and the missing imperial chef.

Thinking of this, Quan Wushuang hurriedly headed straight for Zixiao Palace.

The once simple palace is long gone, replaced by a gorgeous palace full of exotic style.

Quan Wushuang knocked lightly on the palace door, and soon a maid opened it.

Wushuang sighed softly, then put on a smile.

The maid bowed shyly and led him inside.

Passing through a corridor decorated with mother-of-pearl, Wushuang was led to the hall where guests were received.

The master of the palace was lying leisurely on the brocade couch, slowly wiping his nails.

Wushuang narrowed his eyes and looked around. Six maids were serving respectfully by his side. They were all wearing exotic Japanese costumes, layered and colorful.

The maids' clothes were so complicated that it was difficult to discern their figures.

The concubine had exaggerated phoenix eye makeup and a sharp face, which looked a little weird.

(She looked like a cunning fox.)

(Why does the concubine dress like this? Doesn't she know that the emperor hates such fancy clothes?)

The Imperial Concubine Shuwan that Wushuang knew was the daughter of General Xiao Liang. She was well aware of her noble status and that she was a favored concubine in the palace.

The imperial concubine covered her mouth with a sandalwood fan and whispered to her maid.

Wushuang was initially surprised by the concubine's reserve, but soon realized that something was wrong.

Wushuang came with a faint hope in his heart, so he was able to detect subtle abnormalities.

He noticed that the concubine had a mole on her temple, and she seemed to be trying to cover it up with makeup, but a slight mark was revealed.

Perhaps because of sweat, the white powder appears a little mottled.

If Wushuang's memory is correct, Concubine Shuwan did not originally have this mole.

The maid brought a chair, but Wushuang refused to sit down and strode towards the imperial concubine.

"You are being disrespectful even to Chief Minister Quan."

A maid glared at him, but Wushuang couldn't remember her name for a moment.

He thought he could remember the names, origins and appearances of all the maids in the palace, but the maids in Zixiao Palace had different costumes and makeup, and their body shapes were mostly similar.

Therefore, although I remember their names, it is difficult to distinguish their appearance.

Therefore, Wushuang uses features such as moles or eye shapes to remember them.

Wushuang reached out, pinched the sandalwood fan in the concubine's hand with his fingers, and threw it aside.

“What are you…doing!”

A maid exclaimed.

The imperial concubine seemed a little frightened and turned her back to Wushuang. The maids surrounded her.

It seems loyal, but in fact it is not.

Wushuang signaled to the accompanying eunuchs with his eyes, and the eunuchs stepped forward to capture the maids and keep them away from the imperial concubine.

Wushuang grabbed Guifei's shoulders tightly and forced her to face him.

Despite her heavy makeup, her cheeks were already slightly flushed.

“There should be seven maids here.”

Wushuang said tentatively.

The imperial concubine was the apple of Xiao Liang's eye, and she had more than fifty followers when she entered the palace.

Wushuang pinched the concubine's cheeks and wiped away the makeup at the corners of her eyes with his fingers, revealing her double eyelids.

“Who has the mole on his temple?”

“Shuanglin… No, you should be Lianfeng.”

Wushuang forced a smile.

The fake imperial concubine's face turned from blush to ashen and she trembled.

"right......"

A maid tried to cover up again, but was glared at by Wushuang.

The maid shuddered and stood frozen on the spot.

“Where is the real concubine?”

Maybe it was premeditated from the beginning.

Whether it was bringing many maids into the palace, selecting people with similar appearances to serve, or often wearing strange clothes, it was all to facilitate secret replacement without being discovered.

In other words, this was their original intention.

If that’s the case, where is the real imperial concubine?

“Where is she?”

"..."

The fake imperial concubine just trembled and kept her lips tightly closed.

Wushuang increased his strength.

“Where is she?”

When I asked again, another maid squeezed in.

She hugged the fake imperial concubine tightly, looked at Wushuang with a sad face and said, "Please forgive me, this woman is really unaware of the situation."

Because the maids' clothes and makeup were similar, Wushuang did not notice it in time. Only now did he realize that this maid seemed to be a few years older than the fake concubine.

"Please have mercy, sir."

After the maid finished speaking, she looked awkwardly at the feet of the fake imperial concubine.

Her dress was soaked through, with water dripping down her legs.

It turned out that the fake imperial concubine had been frightened to the point of incontinence.

Wushuang loosened her jaw.

The fake imperial concubine's eyes were wide open, and her pupils had dilated to the extreme.

She was breathing heavily and shaking.

The scratches left by Wushuang were clearly visible on her white neck and chin.

Such rude behavior is really not the style of the eunuch Quan Wushuang.

Taking the daughter of a high-ranking official into the palace would also be beneficial to the emperor.

If the daughter of a high-ranking official becomes pregnant, her child may have a chance to ascend the throne; but this also has drawbacks.

Although this is not always the case, there are also high-ranking officials who treat their daughters as the apple of their eye.

The harem's cage also became a hostage's cage.

From Xiao Liang's tough attitude towards the harem, we can see how deeply he loves his daughter.

And his daughter was a noble concubine.

The emperor must treat her well, and the imperial concubine must stick to the bottom line of the rules.

No longer call her "Niangniang" because she has broken the rules...