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

Ever since being transferred to Imperial Concubine Yuyao's side, Lin Zhiruo has discovered that the four personal palace maids here are always busy.

Although this magnificent side hall is not big, all the miscellaneous work falls on these few people.

Even when the maids who swept the floor came to help, they had to clean the inner rooms, which was not their job.

Lin Zhiruo doesn't have to do anything except eating.

Maybe he didn't want to give her the annoying work, or maybe he didn't want her to be an eyesore.

Except for Caiwei, no one was willing to assign work to her. Even if she volunteered, others would always refuse with a smile and insist that she stay in the house.

This state of doing nothing made her feel uncomfortable.

She was locked up in a small room all day long. Apart from meals and afternoon tea, her only job was to taste the imperial meals when the emperor came. Caiwei would occasionally ask her to run errands, but those tasks could be completed in a blink of an eye.

Despite this, her food was much better than before, and there would always be someone to share some of the leftover snacks from every tea party with her.

No need to hustle in the kitchen like before, everything you eat turns into meat.

Lin Zhiruo felt like a canary in a cage.

What's worse, she is not suitable for her current job.

She was naturally thin, so even if she was poisoned, there would be no signs of abnormality.

And in this kind of situation, the bigger the person is, the easier it is to get through it.

Although she is well aware of the toxicity of various ingredients and knows how to neutralize even a lethal dose, others don't think so.

I heard that her thin appearance made people feel distressed, and everyone in the palace treated her as a poor abandoned creature.

Even if she couldn't eat anymore, everyone would still add more rice and vegetables to her bowl.

This reminded her of the days at Zuixianju in her previous world.

Logically speaking, her quiet personality should make her unpopular, but for some reason, those courtesans always took special care of her, giving her snacks and asking her to eat with them.

In fact, there is a reason for all this.

Her left arm was covered with scars.

Some were cut by a knife, some were burned by fire, and some seemed to have been stabbed by something sharp.

His thin body was covered with scars.

She always wrapped her arms tightly with cloth strips and would faint on the street from time to time.

Everyone thought she had become silent because of long-term abuse.

but it is not the truth.

She had inflicted all those injuries on herself.

In order to study the characteristics of various ingredients, she did not hesitate to experiment on herself, and even deliberately tried some poisonous wild fruits and fungi.

That's why the scars are concentrated on the non-dominant left arm.

She is not a masochist, but she has an almost crazy obsession with food.

Such a daughter gives her father a headache.

As a top chef who runs a big restaurant in Beijing, he hopes that his daughter can learn some real skills and not have to rely on her looks like those girls.

So he taught her to read and write, and taught her cooking skills, but he didn't expect it to cause controversy.

Although some people know the truth, most people look at this "father who abuses his daughter" with strange eyes.

Who would have thought that a young girl would be so obsessed with researching ingredients?

Finally, she was trapped in another world, and in this world, her father was also a chef, but this father was just a chef who opened a small restaurant in a red-light district.

Not long after, she was tricked by human traffickers into the palace and became a palace maid who tasted food.

In this regard, she just wanted to sing a song: "Snowflakes are falling, the north wind is howling, and the sky and the earth are vast!"

Just as she was immersed in these thoughts, the sound of footsteps interrupted her memories.

"I'm late today." Concubine Yuyao said softly.

A young eunuch with a beautiful appearance walked in with his entourage.

This Quan Wushuang would come to visit the concubines every few days.

After Lin Zhiruo tasted the tea and snacks for her attendants, she stood behind Imperial Concubine Yuyao.

Because Caiwei went to take care of the little princess, she temporarily took over.

Even eunuchs could not be alone with their masters without the presence of palace maids.

"Reporting to the Queen, the war in the northern border has subsided."

"Oh? Tell me more."

Concubine Yuyao seemed very interested. This kind of news outside the palace was always particularly attractive to the concubines who lived in seclusion.

Although she is the emperor's favorite concubine, she is about the same age as Lin Zhiruo.

"I'm afraid this kind of thing is not suitable to be discussed in front of Her Majesty."

"How can I survive in this deep palace if I don't understand what's happening outside?"

When Concubine Yuyao said this, a shrewd look flashed in her eyes.

Quan Wushuang glanced at Lin Zhiruo, then quickly looked away.

"It's not a big deal." He began to talk about what happened in northern Xinjiang.

A few days ago, the army went out to quell a rebellion, saying that there were foreigners making moves on the border.

Although the world is peaceful, such small-scale conflicts occur from time to time.

The soldiers quickly found the infiltrated spies and solved the problem with almost no casualties.

But something went wrong on the return trip.

A dozen soldiers felt unwell after eating dinner.

Others also expressed dissatisfaction with the matter.

Those ingredients were purchased from a small border village. Although it was the territory of the Han Dynasty, the people there had some connections with other ethnic groups.

The commander arrested the village chief and executed several rebellious villagers, accusing them of colluding with foreigners.

The fate of the other villagers is still pending.

After Quan Wushuang finished speaking, he took a sip of tea.

Lin Zhiruo was upset after hearing this and wished she had never heard of it.

Her frown was caught by the other party.

The impossibly beautiful face turned towards her.

Lin Zhiruo secretly cried out in disbelief, but it was too late.

Quan Wushuang raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a meaningful smile: "You seem to have some ideas?"

Since the other party had already spoken, Lin Zhiruo could only respond reluctantly.

What's more, if the truth is not told, everyone in the village will suffer.

"I'd like to say a few words." She took a branch from the vase.

It was a branch of camellia, the same kind she had used to deliver the message a few days ago.

She tore off a leaf and put it in her mouth.

"How does it taste?" asked Concubine Yuyao.

Lin Zhiruo shook her head: "This thing will make people nauseous if they take it, and in serious cases, they will even be unable to breathe."

"Huh? Didn't you taste it just now?" Quan Wushuang looked at her puzzledly.

"Please forgive my intrusion." Lin Zhiruo put the branch on the table.

"There are many poisonous flowers and plants growing in the harem. For example, the leaves of this one are poisonous. There are also some trees with poisonous roots. Even some wood can be poisonous if burned."

She knew that smart people like Concubine Yuyao and Quan Wushuang would definitely understand her hint.

"If you're camping in the wild, you'll probably use these branches as chopsticks or to start a fire."

"this..."

“Could it be…”

The two of them looked surprised, obviously understanding what she meant.

there is only one truth!

This means those villagers are innocent!!

Lin Zhiruo saw Quan Wushuang stroking his chin thoughtfully.

I hope he can do something for those innocent people.

At this time, Caiwei came in holding the little princess. Lin Zhiruo handed her over and left the room.