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

Imperial Concubine Shuwan raised her lips slightly, turned her gaze from Quan Wushuang to Fei Ling, and said softly:

"Mother, you are unaware of the hidden truth. Do you know why my grandfather, who was favored by the Empress, sent his precious daughter into the palace to be a pawn of the Inspector?"

At that time, the imperial chef selection system was in its infancy, and there were many skilled cooks in the palace.

But what Concubine Shuwan was talking about was the matter of sending the imperial chefs abroad.

In Tianshu State, the status of a royal chef was similar to that of a famous chef. As long as they paid enough tuition or served for a certain number of years, they could set up their own business.

However, imperial chefs could only serve in the country, and the court strictly prohibited them from being sent to other countries.

"Although sending royal chefs abroad is lucrative, it violates the law and few dare to do it. Only young chefs are the most valuable."

In order to protect their daughter, the Zi family had to reduce the number of royal chefs sent abroad.

Even so, the problem of losing chefs was not solved, so they used the harem as a cover.

Not only the female cooks, but also the male chefs were selected, because male chefs had to learn court etiquette before entering the palace.

Xiao Liang suggested that the harem should accommodate the cooks who were going to be sent out.

This proposal was exactly what the Queen wanted.

The queen is both the ruler and the mother, so this strategy can kill two birds with one stone.

The parents who sent their daughter into the palace felt guilty.

Rather than letting my daughter go to a distant place to be a cook, it is better for her to serve in the palace.

If you can learn cooking skills in the palace for two years, you can avoid being sent abroad.

More importantly, those who serve in the palace all have privileges.

Unfortunately, the harem is growing larger and larger, but the teaching is not always satisfactory.

"The Queen has good intentions, and Father is not motivated by selfish motives."

With the Queen's trust, the Zi clan gradually regained its reputation.

When this method becomes difficult to continue——

"Why is mother worrying about this? Why didn't she escape back then? It's a waste of father setting up this secret passage."

Could it be that Concubine Shuwan was talking about the secret passage she used to escape from the palace?

It turns out that this secret passage was designed for this purpose.

Quan Wushuang understood.

Fei Ling's expression suddenly changed.

"Don't you trust the man who told you to abandon your official position and flee?"

"Noble Concubine Shuwan, you..."

Fei Ling frowned and stared at her daughter.

Seeing this, Hu Lan'er was even more frightened than Concubine Shuwan.

Fei Ling noticed something strange and turned her gaze towards Hu Lan'er as if she were looking at dirt.

"How could I believe him? When my father first fell ill, he took over my family's kitchen business and even married this bitch's mother!"

Hu Lan'er trembled all over and looked at Fei Ling.

Concubine Shuwan chuckled and walked closer to Hu Lan'er.

She took her half-sister's hand, took something out of her bosom and hung it around her neck.

It was a jade pendant, similar to Quan Wushuang's gold hairpin.

There is a dragon carved on Quan Wushuang's hairpin, and a phoenix carved on Hu Lan'er's jade pendant. You can tell at first glance that they are extraordinary items.

Like dragon patterns, only a few people can wear phoenix patterns.

"The late emperor seemed to feel guilty and often sent my father to secretly visit the exiled children."

Speaking of the person who took in the expelled imperial chef and the baby, it was Xiao Liang.

By the time the baby grew up, Xiao Liang had already taken over the family business.

"Although the late emperor had initially denied the child, he eventually realized that he was his own flesh and blood, and even said so."

"Will you be my son-in-law?"

Xiao Liang enjoyed the Empress's trust and had helped the late Emperor, so he was naturally a good son-in-law.

The late emperor asked for this, and it was in line with his wishes, so how could he not respond?

The queen kept a close eye on the old clan leader, but after he fell ill, she changed her trust and appointed Xiao Liang as the clan leader.

Fei Ling was no longer a hostage.

The emperor has the final say on whether the women in the harem stay or go.

Xiao Liang married his daughter and gave birth to Hu Lan'er, who was given the surname "Zi".

“That’s how my mother got this marriage.”

The late emperor was foolish and did not realize how much harm this action would cause to his daughter.

Soon after, Hu Lan'er's mother died, and she was adopted by the imperial chef in the palace.

The imperial chef was rewarded for his skill in preparing delicacies and was ordered to prepare imperial meals here. This is a story for later.

At that time, the late emperor was ill and passed away more than ten years later without any disturbance.

Hu Lan'er only got a name and a jade, and didn't know that she was the emperor's grandson.

After Concubine Shuwan gave birth, she became a concubine.

Even his real name was lost when his younger sister was born.

"You... stop talking nonsense!"

Upon hearing the truth, Fei Ling took several steps back.

This incident was like a bolt from the blue to Hu Lan'er, but she remained calm and just looked at Fei Ling timidly.

I think I already knew it.

"How dare I lie? Everything my father did was for my mother. He worked so hard to prepare for this doomed defeat, and yet my mother accuses me of lying?"

Imperial Concubine Shuwan approached her mother with a smile.

"Mother, do you know why Chief Minister Quan is here?"

Concubine Shuwan looked at her mother with contempt, then turned to Quan Wushuang.

“What was it like when Dad was dying?”

“…He walked away with a smile.”

Quan Wushuang initially did not understand his smile and did not know Xiao Liang's intentions.

After hearing what Concubine Shuwan said, everything suddenly became clear.

He thought that perhaps he had misunderstood the changes in the Zi clan from the beginning to the end.

"...That guy only wants power. He married me just to show off his status as the patriarch."

Fei Ling's expression was distorted.

On the other hand, Concubine Shuwan was still smiling.

"However, in the imperial kitchen, does Mother know more about cooking than Father? Who are those people who flatter Mother? Does Mother have any idea?"

Some of those foolish people continuously presented delicacies, while others embezzled supplies from the imperial kitchen, and they all did their utmost to flatter Fei Ling.

As long as Fei Ling is happy, Chef Xiao Liang will not interfere.

After all, he was just an outsider chef. Although he was in charge of the imperial meals, he was still insignificant compared to the power and family influence in the palace.

Fei Ling constantly expelled chefs who opposed her from the imperial kitchen, which led to deepening internal conflicts.

This twisted mentality is now fully exposed.

What is the truth behind the two incidents of the harem expanding the imperial kitchen and privately occupying the imperial kitchen resources?

It turns out that it is not as simple as it seems, and cannot be blamed on the Zi family.

Concubine Shuwan looked at Quan Wushuang's face and smiled sweetly, as if he had understood her intention.

After the current emperor ascended the throne, he abolished the system of sending imperial chefs abroad.

Although this system still exists secretly, it has been gradually abolished, thanks to the new policies implemented by Xiao Liang and the Empress in the harem.

Quan Wushuang also explored the possibility of streamlining the scale of the imperial kitchen and whether there were other options.

However, the Zi clan also interfered at this point.

"Everyone says that Father is as cunning as a fox, but foxes are actually cowards. Because they know they are weak, they try their best to deceive others."

The word "confused" made Quan Wushuang suddenly enlightened.

Xiao Liang died with a smile on his face. What was his intention?

It turned out that he wanted Quan Wushuang to understand that he had been deceived by that cowardly fox after all.

"Did Father ever use his bad reputation to confuse others?"

Concubine Shuwan smiled sadly.

This sentence made Quan Wushuang finally understand Xiao Liang's profound meaning.

Xiao Liang's existence was actually a necessary evil that concentrated all the corruption in the court. He played a role for which no one was grateful.

Quan Wushuang clenched his fists, his nails dug deep into his palms, and blood oozed out.

"Do you have any evidence to prove that what you said is true?"

"The termites that were eating away at the imperial kitchen have now been largely eliminated."

"Did you expect things to go so smoothly from the beginning?"

"If not, we can just seize power. If this matter is enough to overturn the fate of the country, then we can give up this kingdom."

Imperial Concubine Shuwan said coldly.

“You…you’ve been plotting this all along?”

Fei Ling said with a trembling voice.

"Have you been in cahoots with him to deceive me?"

"I have always followed Mother's orders, so how could I have lied? Didn't Mother say that it didn't matter if the country was destroyed? You expelled those who opposed you, leaving behind only incompetent people who only knew how to flatter you. Do you think this mob can really defeat the imperial army?"

The woman's cold tone made Fei Ling glare at her, and she suddenly pounced on Concubine Shuwan.

The armored hand scratched the imperial concubine's cheek, leaving two bloody marks.

"Didn't you make this to win?"

Fei Ling held a musket in his hand.

"This is not something Mother can use. Please return it to me."

"shut up!"

Imperial Concubine Shuwan chuckled lightly, full of sarcasm.

"why are you laughing?"

"I laugh at my mother, saying she's just a nobody."

As soon as these words came out, Fei Ling's face twisted.

She pulled the trigger of the musket.

Quan Wushuang fell to the ground.

There was a sharp sound and fragments flew everywhere.

"I am truly unfilial. If I had listened to my father, how could I have done such a thing?"

The splattered blood stained Concubine Shuwan's face.

In front of her stood Fei Ling, her face covered in blood.

Her hand barely grasped the shattered remains of the musket.

"This is a new structure, relatively complex, just a test piece."

It turned out that she took this just to scare Quan Wushuang at first.

Maybe there are other mechanisms hidden inside.

"Hasn't Chief Quan ever thought of taking it away? You saw me showing a flaw, and there are plenty of opportunities."

"Don't you have something to say to me?"

"Haha, it would be nice if you were just a fool with nothing to show for it."

Concubine Shuwan said rudely, she snatched the musket from Fei Ling, who was covered in blood, and threw it aside while laughing.

Then she slowly helped Feiling lie down and held her trembling hand tightly.

"Father is gone, so you should at least cry a little. He's been hoping you'll change your mind. If you'd cried for him, I wouldn't have said this."

Before the late emperor's plea, Xiao Liang had never taken a concubine and never married.

This infatuated man only loves his wife who he was betrothed to since childhood.

"..."

Fei Ling was speechless, she could no longer speak.

When the musket exploded, the flying fragments shot into her face, and her once beautiful face became unrecognizable and bleeding profusely.

Hu Lan'er just watched all this with trembling.

"Is there really no other way?"

Quan Wushuang stood up and asked Concubine Shuwan.

"Perhaps. But satisfying everyone's wishes is no easy task. We don't have the wisdom to do so."

Fei Ling was filled with resentment and wanted to destroy the court that had fooled her for so many years.

Everything Xiao Liang has done so far has been for Fei Ling.

Although the result was counterproductive, his heart was always with her.

At the same time, Xiao Liang was also a loyal minister who could not abandon the affairs of the country, which made him willing to play the role of a traitor for decades until the last moment.

Quan Wushuang didn't understand Hu Lan'er's thoughts.

She may have done this to avenge her mother and grandmother.

But he didn't know if Quan Wushuang was being overly suspicious, but he felt that her empty eyes seemed to contain a sense of relief when she looked at the dying Fei Ling.

Finally, let’s talk about Concubine Shuwan——

"I'm so bold, could you please grant me two wishes?"