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

Chapter 21 You must have tampered with the food and wanted to kill my son!

In the imperial kitchen, a wisp of fragrance rose.

"This mushroom soup is still one degree hotter than usual." Lin Zhiruo frowned slightly, and her slender fingers gently turned the sandalwood spoon.

As the former head chef of the imperial kitchen, she has almost stringent requirements for every dish.

Hundreds of palace maids were sitting around a long table enjoying breakfast, whispering to each other.

"Sister, do you know?" Xiao Cui whispered mysteriously into Lin Zhiruo's ear. "I heard that Nanny Jin from the Imperial Kitchen has been summoned to the palace."

Lin Zhiruo pricked up her ears while savoring the soup.

The palace maids in front were talking among themselves. Although they pretended to be sympathetic on the surface, their eyes were full of gossip.

"This time it's really something special. We went to the bedrooms of the two imperial concubines."

"Noble Concubine Yuyao and Noble Concubine Pinglan? How old are those two children?"

"Yes, one and a half years old, one three months old, I heard that..."

They spoke in low voices about the emperor's two favorite concubines.

Rumors always spread quickly in the imperial palace, especially those concerning the heir to the throne.

"This is the third one," Xiao Cui sighed, "First there was the prince during the Eastern Palace period, and then there were two more..."

Lin Zhiruo's hand paused.

The emperor has lost three sons since he entered the Eastern Palace, and now only the children of these two imperial concubines are left.

(Could there be something wrong with the diet?) she wondered to herself.

But he quickly shook his head.

If there really was a dietary problem, why was it targeted only the prince? And how do we explain the two princesses who died in infancy?

The palace maids in front were still discussing the curse.

(Curse? That's ridiculous.)

As a person who is proficient in cooking, Lin Zhiruo never believed these things.

But she did have a question in her mind.

(What is the reason?)

She was always taciturn, but for the first time in her life she took the initiative to talk to Xiao Cui.

She will definitely regret this decision in the future.

"I'm not sure," Xiao Cui said as she wiped the window lattice, "but I heard that they gradually lost their appetite and became very thin."

"Is the situation with Concubine Pinglan more serious?"

"Yes, mother and child are alike."

The imperial kitchen would deliver meals to Concubine Pinglan every day, not because she was picky, but because she gave birth to the prince.

In comparison, although Concubine Yuyao, who gave birth to a princess, was more favored by the emperor, she ranked second in this matter.

"They seem to vomit at the mere smell of food, even the simplest porridge..."

Before Xiao Cui could finish her words, she was called away.

Lin Zhiruo left her a cup of homemade licorice tea, which she specially brewed using licorice from the corner of the imperial kitchen.

Watching Xiao Cui happily leaving with the teacup in her hand, she seemed to be lost in thought.

(These symptoms...)

She had an idea, but needed further confirmation.

My father's words are still fresh in my mind: "Cooking is like solving a case. It depends on the evidence, not on intuition."

Lin Zhiruo decided to go and see the situation in person.

Although the harem is just one place, it occupies an area comparable to that of a small city.

Two thousand palace maids and five hundred eunuchs came and went in the Forbidden City every day.

Like other lower-ranking palace maids, Lin Zhiruo lived in a small room with ten other people.

The concubines, on the other hand, were promoted up the ranks: lower-ranking concubines lived in a room alone, middle-ranking concubines occupied a first floor, and upper-ranking concubines even had the entire palace to themselves.

Add to that the courtyards and gardens everywhere, and the scale is astonishing.

As a palace maid on duty on the east side, Lin Zhiruo had no chance to move around on weekdays.

(If you don't have an errand, you have to create your own opportunities.)

She noticed a palace maid carrying a bamboo basket walking towards the west.

The basket is filled with high-quality silk, and it is said that only the water quality in the west is suitable for washing.

Lin Zhiruo thought to herself that it was just a matter of drying the clothes.

"I heard from Xiao Cui that a handsome eunuch has come from the central government..." She brought up the topic deliberately.

Sure enough, the other party immediately became interested and readily agreed to change shifts.

In this deep palace where people are confined all day long, even eunuchs have become a topic of conversation.

I heard that some palace maids would even marry eunuchs.

(Is this okay?)

Lin Zhiruo shook her head. She had never been interested in this kind of thing.

After placing the bamboo basket in the designated location, she looked up at the red-painted hall with carved beams and painted buildings in the center.

Each pillar is meticulously carved, displaying the royal style everywhere.

This is the bedroom of Concubine Pinglan.

As the only concubine who gave birth to a prince, her status in the harem was unmatched.

Suddenly, there was a noise ahead.

Lin Zhiruo walked closer quickly and saw a group of people gathered in front of the hall.

(It felt more like watching a street farce.)

She also mixed in with the crowd of onlookers.

The identities of the people in the scene were clear at a glance: the angry lady was Concubine Pinglan, the beauty with her head lowered was Concubine Yuyao, the palace maids were trembling beside them, and the imperial chef who tried to mediate was obviously a eunuch.

"Bitch! You must have tampered with the food and wanted to kill my son!"

Concubine Pinglan's voice was sharp and piercing.

Her dignified face was distorted by anger, and her pale complexion made her look even more hideous.

"Your Majesty, Xiaoling has lost her appetite and is becoming increasingly thin..."

Imperial Concubine Yuyao raised her red and swollen face, her emerald eyes full of helplessness.

"I want the chef to check on Xiaoling's meal."

The royal chef stood in the middle in embarrassment.

Logically speaking, the prince's diet is indeed more important.

But when Lin Zhiruo looked at the imperial chef, she felt a sense of disdain in her heart.

(What a fw.)

Such obvious symptoms are not visible.

Or rather, I didn't think about it that way at all.