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

"Is such a thing really possible?"

Liu Wu widened his eyes, his gaze filled with shock and confusion, staring closely at Lin Zhiruo in front of him.

Lin Zhiruo slowly squatted down, picked up a dry branch, and slowly drew circles on the ground, as if outlining the outline of her fate.

"Life is like chess; every game is new. The chance encounter between two people is not a rare event."

She whispered in a soft and delicate voice, and drew another circle, letting the two circles gently connect, like the gears of fate quietly meshing.

"Even if three coincidences happen at the same time, it's not an impossible dream."

She picked up the pen again, and the third circle intertwined with the first two, as if weaving an intricate web of fate, with each thread affecting unknown variables.

"When many coincidences converge into a trend, isn't that a necessity? Don't you think so?"

Lin Zhiruo sighed softly and used a dead branch to paint the intersection of the three circles, as if to reveal the secret hidden behind the complicated world.

"If someone who looked very similar to that lady-in-waiting appeared at this inevitable intersection, what would your Excellency think?"

"I understand, I understand."

Liu Wu suddenly realized something and slapped his palm hard, his eyes flashing with excitement, as if he had glimpsed a hidden secret.

For Lin Zhiruo, even if such an inference cast a shadow of suspicion on the female official named Dietary and Medical Officer, it was just an insignificant incident.

"I didn't expect you to be so smart."

Liu Wu laughed loudly and patted Lin Zhiruo's shoulder hard, with such force that it seemed to scatter her thoughts.

Lin Zhiruo half-closed her eyes and glared at Liu Wu, and suddenly felt an inexplicable chill spreading from her neck.

She turned her head in confusion, only to see a man staring at them coldly, his gaze like a knife, even sharper than Lin Zhiruo's.

"You seem very happy."

The man's voice was soft and pleasant, but with an indescribable stickiness, like fog in the night, which made people feel cold.

Seeing this, Liu Wu was so frightened that he shrank back involuntarily.

“…We weren’t very happy.”

Quan Wushuang's figure was half hidden among the swaying shadows of the trees, his eyes as sharp as torches, fixed on them.

Gao Zhongcheng stood silently behind him, his brows furrowed, as if he was lost in thought, like a silent statue.

Liu Wu left in a hurry, leaving only Lin Zhiruo and Quan Wushuang standing opposite each other in this inexplicable atmosphere, which was subtle and tense.

Lin Zhiruo walked into the study reluctantly and had to make tea herself.

"You and that young man seem to get along very well."

Quan Wushuang's voice echoed in the study, with a hint of playfulness and inquiry, like a sigh in the middle of the night, making it difficult to understand.

"is it?"

Lin Zhiruo gently shook the warm teapot, and the tea gurgled into the pottery teacup. The fragrance of tea filled the air, like a spring breeze, with a hint of freshness and tranquility.

Although tea tastes more mellow when served in pottery, the utensils used by Quan Wushuang are all silver. Lin Zhiruo still cannot fully understand this man's political status.

He was not only a eunuch who entered and left the harem, but also held an important position in the outer court. His identity was as complicated as a fog, making it difficult to understand.

"Is that young master a military officer?"

Lin Zhiruo asked tentatively, with a hint of curiosity and caution in her voice.

"As you can see."

Quan Wushuang smiled and said,

"He seemed to want to know something, so he came to find me."

Quan Wushuang's words were not unrelated to Liu Wu, because this also involved Haoran's incident, like an intricate web that bound everyone tightly.

Lin Zhiruo brought tea and snacks to the table.

"Could you please allow me to explain in detail?"

Quan Wushuang remained silent, just taking a sip of tea, his expression as if he was savoring the ups and downs of life.

After Lin Zhiruo finished her brief and clear narration, Quan Wushuang closed his eyes tightly, a hint of surprise flashing across his face, like a shooting star across the night sky, fleeting.

“I didn’t expect there would be such a wonderful connection between these events.”

Quan Wushuang said slowly, with a hint of emotion and amazement in his voice.

"indeed so."

Quan Wushuang did not touch the snacks, while Gao Zhongcheng stood at the door of the study with a stern face and a frown, as if he was also thinking about the mystery.

"So what kind of secret do you think is hidden in this?"

Quan Wushuang's gaze became as sharp as a knife, as if it wanted to penetrate Lin Zhiruo's heart and spy on her true thoughts.

"These secrets, I really don't know."

Lin Zhiruo spoke frankly, her eyes clear as water.

In her opinion, "not knowing the other party's intentions" is the most critical thing.

Each incident is like the blurred line between crime and accident, which is difficult to define clearly.

The only thing that is certain is that since there is a lack of solid evidence for every incident, it is not easy for others to see through it.

"It seems more like it's more about setting up traps so that only a few of them succeed, rather than having to accomplish exactly one of them."

Lin Zhiruo analyzed, her voice carrying a hint of calmness and wisdom.

Upon hearing this, Quan Wushuang picked up the teacup again and took a sip. His expression seemed as if he was savoring Lin Zhiruo's words, and seemed to be thinking about something.

The teacup seemed empty, and Lin Zhiruo quickly refilled it for him with skillful and elegant movements.

"It seems so. In that case, there may be other hidden mechanisms."

Quan Wushuang said thoughtfully, with a hint of mystery and depth in his voice.

"I dare not speak nonsense."

Lin Zhiruo answered truthfully, with a hint of caution and humility in her tone.

If someone told her that this was all just a coincidence, she could only helplessly answer "maybe".

"Well—are you not interested in this?"

Quan Wushuang asked curiously, with a hint of inquiry and amusement in his voice.

When Lin Zhiruo heard this, she didn't know how to respond for a moment.

(I'm not getting involved out of curiosity.)

She just happened to witness something that made her suspicious, and besides, too many people liked to come to her with difficult problems.

Lin Zhiruo just wanted to run her own food shop quietly, leisurely drink tea under the eaves, experiment with food ingredients, and enjoy the rare tranquility and freedom.

"I am but a humble maid, and I only follow orders."

Lin Zhiruo said in a low voice, with a hint of humility and helplessness in her voice.

"is it?"

Quan Wushuang looked at Lin Zhiruo with boredom, twirling the brush with his fingers as a pastime, his expression as if he was watching a boring play.

He seemed to have no interest in the refreshments and pushed them aside.

Lin Zhiruo felt that his expression inexplicably looked a little younger, as if time had not left many traces on his face.

"So, how about this?"

Quan Wushuang suddenly grinned and called Gao Zhongcheng to his side.

He whispered a few words in Gao Zhongcheng's ear, and Gao Zhongcheng showed an expression of obvious reluctance, as if he had been given a heavy mission.

“…Manager Quan.”

Gao Zhongcheng responded helplessly, with a hint of helplessness and obedience in his voice.

"That's it. I'll trouble you to arrange it."

Quan Wushuang nodded, with a hint of unquestionable majesty in his tone.

Then he dipped the brush in his hand into ink and began to write smoothly on the paper.

"When I was inspecting the trader the other day, I heard that he had recently acquired an interesting item. This is its name."

He showed the paper to Lin Zhiruo with a snap, and a hint of surprise and curiosity flashed in Lin Zhiruo's eyes.

The words "lamb waist" were clearly written on the paper, like two bright pearls, shining brightly under the light.

"Do you want this?"

Quan Wushuang asked with a smile, which contained a hint of cunning and temptation, as if he was luring a greedy kitten.

"want to!"

When Lin Zhiruo came to her senses, she found that she had unknowingly put her feet on Quan Wushuang's desk. She leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the paper.

Lamb kidney is a precious food ingredient. It is said that only one can be taken out from a thousand sheep, and it is regarded as the most precious food.

In this poor and frivolous red-light district, this kind of food is rare and coveted.

What exactly does this eunuch mean?

Could it be that he wants to give this lamb kidney to me?

really?

Are you kidding me?

When Quan Wushuang saw Lin Zhiruo approaching, he leaned back involuntarily, as if he was avoiding a ferocious beast.

Lin Zhiruo was gently pulled on the sleeve by Gao Zhongcheng, and finally realized that she had made a rather indecent move.

She slowly climbed down from the desk, gently patted her dress, and tidied it up neatly, like a dignified lady from a noble family.

"...It seems like you're finally a little angry."

Quan Wushuang said with a smile, that smile was different from before, it had a hint of maturity and depth, as if it was a unique charm honed by years of experience in the harem.

Lin Zhiruo felt that he often used this kind of smile in the harem to deceive the eyes of those simple and kind palace maids.

"I will decide whether to grant you this gift based on your performance."

Quan Wushuang smiled lightly, with a hint of mystery and depth in that smile.

"I will inform you promptly if there is any news."

After saying that, he crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the trash can, with a fascinating smile on his face, as if he was enjoying a wonderful play.

Lin Zhiruo had no interest in this kind of smile, but as long as this man could give her the reward she wanted as agreed...