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

"Did you instigate this?"

“I don’t understand what you are talking about.”

Lin Zhiruo quietly crumpled the note in her hand into a ball.

“I was just playing around to see if the guards were doing their job.”

Xiang Yu looked calm, and seeing this, Lin Zhiruo decided to pretend to be confused.

Judging from the expression of the imperial chef, he also seemed to hope that the matter would end there.

But the guard was unwilling to let her go easily. Ever since Lin Zhiruo was brought here, he had been closely monitoring this room.

"You mean to say I'm mistaken?"

The imperial chef ignored these words and just stared at Xiang Yu.

“If you really don’t have any other ideas, don’t do this again.”

"I see."

Although the guard looked unhappy, in order to calm the situation, he had to let the matter end peacefully even if the method was a bit harsh.

(That should be the end.)

However, it backfired.

“What is this doing?”

Lin Zhiruo couldn't help but shiver, and all the hairs on her body stood up.

The sound of wooden clogs hitting the ground echoed in the corridor, getting closer and closer.

The imperial chef's face became increasingly ugly. Not only him, but the guards and Xiang Yu also looked as pale as death.

No wonder the imperial chef wanted to end this matter quickly.

The person who came was Fei Ling, her hair was still wet and was casually tied up.

Although her makeup was delicate, it was lighter than usual, and her cheeks were slightly flushed, as if she had just showered.

She was followed by Shuwan and two maids.

Xiang Yu's eyes suddenly lit up and his lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

Perhaps one of the two maids was Xiangyu's mother.

“No big deal.”

"What on earth happened? I'm curious why the chef is here."

This lame excuse had no effect on Feiling.

The imperial chef had no choice but to explain in a low voice:

"Xiang Yu was playing in front of this room and seemed to be disturbing the guards. To be on the safe side, I called the chef out to inquire about the situation."

“Oh, are you messing around?”

Fei Ling turned her gaze to Xiang Yu, whose eyes flickered.

"You can't do this. Be good. Otherwise I will punish you."

As she spoke, she walked up to Xiangyu, with a sharp jade ring on her finger, and gently touched Xiangyu's delicate face.

"Should I give you a beating?"

"Mrs. Feiling, this..."

The imperial chef stopped talking midway.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Xiang Yu is still a child, and he hasn't done anything wrong..."

The imperial chef's voice became increasingly quieter.

Xiang Yu's gaze shifted between Shu Wan, the imperial chef, and the maid behind Fei Ling.

The maids' eyes looked dull and lifeless.

Fei Ling tilted her head.

"You mean someone is making a fuss over a small matter?"

Her gaze turned to the guard.

“I don’t dare.”

"Really? But it seems you did something wrong. You should be disciplined."

Lin Zhiruo guessed that her mouth, covered by the fan, must have been distorted and ugly.

This woman probably enjoys the pleasure of torturing others.

"Then go to the ice cellar and reflect on yourself."

“Please spare my life!”

(That's not good.)

Lin Zhiruo didn't know what an ice cellar was. Could it be that they were going to lock people in an icy place in cold weather?

(That's so unreasonable.)

This is probably the case of finding a pretext to accuse someone of a crime.

As long as she can make others suffer, she is satisfied.

I want nothing to do with this kind of person, but this guy is incredibly infuriating.

Perhaps because of this, Lin Zhiruo couldn't help but whispered:

"What a nasty old witch."

Although the voice was very soft, Fei Ling seemed to hear it clearly.

Among the women present, Fei Ling was the oldest.

In an instant, Lin Zhiruo's body dodged swiftly, but she felt severe pain in her ears and forehead, as if thousands of silver needles were piercing her.

She endured the pain and opened her eyes, only to see Fei Ling furious, with her jade fan raised high and her eyes burning with rage.

(I'm so stupid.)

Lin Zhiruo said something even more unwise.

"I instructed the boy to do this."

Fei Ling's anger erupted instantly like a boiling oil pan.

Her face became as ferocious as a kitchen oven, and most people would have been frightened out of their wits if they had seen her.

But for Lin Zhiruo, this kind of angry cook-like look was nothing new to her.

Her only concern was whether the other party would lose control and be too harsh.

This time, the jade fan hit Lin Zhiruo's shoulder heavily.

"You, the royal chef, are truly hopeless!"

Fei Ling angrily scolded the suppressed Lin Zhiruo.

She paused, but her anger remained.

"In that case, let her reflect on her mistakes. Lock her up in the ice cellar."

(This is a big problem.)

However, this may be self-inflicted.

Evildoers will always be punished. If I had not meddled in other people's business and kept silent, perhaps this disaster would not have happened.

However, Lin Zhiruo is not the only one who is as stupid as her.

"Mrs. Feiling, this means we'll have one less royal chef."

"oh?"

Hearing the words of the imperial chef, Fei Ling frowned.

The imperial chef wanted to say something to ease the situation and took a step forward.

But at this moment, the jade fan hit his shoulder heavily.

"Who allowed you to move around freely?"

"...I'm so sorry. But..."

The jade fan was swung down again, this time hitting the imperial chef's forehead hard, and blood immediately flowed out.

Feiling grabbed his hair and pulled his face in front of her.

No one understood what she was going to do, but they saw her sticking out her tongue and licking the blood on his forehead.

(…)

“No matter how noble one’s status is, once it is stained by filth, it can never be cleansed.”

Fei Ling spat the bloody saliva onto a silk handkerchief and threw it hard on the imperial chef's head.

“This thing is no longer useful.”

After saying that, she threw away the jade fan in her hand.

The maid immediately handed her a new fan. Did she always carry a spare fan with her?

Does this mean that she often punishes others in this way?

The imperial chef wiped the blood from his forehead and straightened his back.

He didn't move, just looked at Lin Zhiruo.

(He probably wanted to take responsibility for Lin Zhiruo.)

He may feel that he owes something to Lin Zhiruo.

Although Lin Zhiruo came to this fortress out of curiosity, the imperial chef always wanted to protect her.

Lin Zhiruo understood his intentions.

However, the opponent encountered this time was really difficult to deal with.

In contrast, Shuwan's expression was as calm as still water, as she followed closely behind her mother.

"Mother."

Shuwan said to Feiling who was playing with the new fan.

"What's the matter?"

"It's a rare opportunity like this, I want to try that. I haven't used it for a long time."

(what?)

These words make people think a lot.

"Oh, you mean the poison cage?"

As soon as Fei Ling said this, the imperial chef trembled all over.

(Poison food cage?)

He seemed to have heard this name before, but he could not remember what it was exactly.

“Although it’s not large, it’s enough to deal with one person. I’ve tried it, and it works pretty well.”

As she spoke, Fei Ling glanced at the imperial chef.

The imperial chef's face turned even paler, and his fists trembled.

“How about using it today?”

Fei Ling said with a smile, then winked at the two guards.

The guards each grabbed Lin Zhiruo's arms and dragged her away.

Lin Zhiruo was taken to the underground of the city.

The stone steps creaked and a damp smell hit my face.

Behind the wooden door is a circular space with a diameter of about three and a half meters.

The ground was half a meter higher than the threshold, and there was a vast open space below.

The guard pushed Lin Zhiruo in and fixed the torch to the wall.

The ceiling was impossibly high, with a small window at the far end.

"I'm sorry, this is Mrs. Feiling's order."

One of the guards spoke sympathetically.

Then someone brought in a big box.

The guards showed disgust when they saw the box, and hurriedly put it into the cell, covered the lid and closed the door.

Something was squirming in the box, crawling around inside, trying to escape.

(Ah, I remember now.)

Lin Zhiruo had heard of the poison feeding cage, a torture invented by ancient tyrants.

The method is to dig a big hole in the ground, throw the person in, and put the things that are now squirming in the box in the hole.

Lin Zhiruo was trembling all over, with her hair standing on end.

She finally understood why the imperial chef was so afraid of poison.

The thing in the box raised its head and kept spitting out scarlet tongue.

First, you see a pair of round eyes, and then a slender body swims out.

The little bugs are rustling and the frogs are croaking.

"......hehe."

She couldn't help but laugh.

Lin Zhiruo's eyes sparkled with light and a smile appeared on her face.

She hadn't seen these little creatures for a long time, and now she thought they were particularly cute.

Lin Zhiruo smiled as she took off the silver hairpin in her hair and the jade needle in her sleeve.

Countless poisonous creatures crawled out of the box.