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

In the magnificent Changle Palace, a young man with a beautiful appearance was sitting elegantly on a soft chair.

"What's going to happen again?" Lin Zhiruo thought to herself.

Several palace maids were preparing snacks for the distinguished guest with blushing faces, in stark contrast to Lin Zhiruo's indifference.

There was a faint sound of quarreling coming from the corner, as if they were fighting for the chance to be served.

Caiwei frowned when she saw this, took over the tea set herself, and sent the palace maids back.

Lin Zhiruo, the palace maid who tasted the food, picked up the gold-inlaid teacup, smelled it carefully, and then took a sip.

That Quan Wushuang kept looking at her, making her feel uncomfortable.

If any other young woman were to be gazed upon by such a handsome man, she would surely be overjoyed.

But Lin Zhiruo had no interest in such things. Even though she knew that the other person was extremely beautiful, she remained unmoved.

"This is a snack someone gave me. How about giving it to me?"

There were a few pieces of cake in the bamboo basket. Lin Zhiruo picked up a piece and broke it open, revealing meat filling and vegetables inside.

She just took a light sniff and figured out the secret.

"It's got aphrodisiac spices in it."

“You don’t have to taste it to know?”

"Although it is harmless, please accept it, sir."

"Humph, how could I dare to eat it if I knew who sent it to me?"

"Yes, I'm afraid someone will come to visit tonight."

Hearing Lin Zhiruo say this so calmly, Quan Wushuang showed a strange expression.

Knowing that there was something wrong with the snacks, he still let her try them. Lin Zhiruo was very polite not to look at him with contempt.

Who sent this thing?

As she was speaking, the silver bell-like laughter of Concubine Yuyao was heard, and the little princess was sleeping soundly at her feet.

Lin Zhiruo bowed and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute."

“What else?”

Quan Wushuang and Concubine Yuyao exchanged glances and both nodded.

It seems they had already discussed it.

“Can you make me a special sauce?”

A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Zhiruo's eyes.

Although she didn't know what he wanted the seasoning for, she was excited to be able to touch the ingredients again.

"Just give me the materials and the tools," she said, suppressing a smile.

She promised to create a spice that would be as effective as an aphrodisiac.

Quan Wushuang returned to his dormitory with a frown on his face.

He crossed his arms over his chest, thinking about the day's events.

Everyone said that he was so beautiful that he would bring disaster to the country and the people if he were a woman.

Some even say that even when facing the emperor, his beauty can make people forget their gender.

Several concubines and two officials came to see him today.

One of the military officers even gave him some snacks laced with aphrodisiacs, forcing him to return to his room to rest early.

He picked up the roster on the desk and quickly wrote down a few names.

They are all the concubines who came to seduce him today.

These people actually dared to try to steal men just because the emperor didn't visit them. They are really shameless.

Although this is not a formal memorial, they will have to pay the price one day.

He wondered to himself how many people understood that his beauty was a tool for the Emperor to test his concubines.

The most important factor in selecting a concubine is family background, followed by appearance and moral character.

Family background and beauty are easy to talk about, but moral character is difficult to measure.

A concubine should not only have the bearing of a queen mother, but also have unwavering moral integrity.

The emperor then thought of using him to test these concubines.

It was he who recommended Concubine Yuyao and Concubine Pinglan.

Concubine Yuyao is meticulous and thoughtful, while Concubine Pinglan is sentimental but has the most demeanor of a queen.

Both of them are loyal to the emperor.

Concubine Pinglan was even obsessed with him.

The emperor is really ruthless. He chooses suitable concubines to bear children with, and then discards them like old shoes once they are no longer useful.

From now on, all favors will definitely be focused on Concubine Yuyao.

The last time the emperor visited the haggard Concubine Pinglan was when the crown prince died.

In addition to her, several concubines also lost their value.

These people were either sent home or given as rewards to officials.

He pulled one out from the pile of papers.

Written on it was the name of a fourth-rank concubine named Furong.

This concubine had been given a military officer position as a reward for his efforts in pacifying the border.

In fact, that man did not make any contribution. He just stopped other generals from acting rashly.

As for the wrongly accused village, the matter was left unresolved.

"It all depends on whether this plan can succeed."

As long as you proceed step by step, nothing should go wrong.

Some things still require the help of the taciturn cook.

This girl was much more interesting than he had imagined.

Although everyone would be attracted to him when they saw him, she avoided him as if he were a poisonous snake.

She thought she hid it well, but she couldn't hide the contempt in her eyes.

Quan Wushuang couldn't help laughing.

There was a hint of malice in his smile, which was praised as being like nectar.

He wasn't a masochist, he just found it interesting.

It's like getting a new toy.

“Let’s see what happens in the future.”

He put the documents under the inkstone and prepared to go to bed.

To prevent night visitors, he checked the door lock.

People say there is no perfect seasoning, but Lin Zhiruo doesn't think so.

She once argued about this with her father.

She wanted to create a magical seasoning that would go well with all dishes.

To this end, she left countless scars on her body and tried various formulas day after day.

But until now, this dream has remained out of reach.

Despite this, Quan Wushuang's proposal still made her excited.

Since entering the palace, she has not been able to cook even a pot of soup by herself.

Although the abundance of food in the palace dazzled her, she had no tools and lived in a large dormitory, so she could only suppress the urge to study.

Now that she has been assigned to a separate room, she can finally continue her experiment.

She went out with a laundry basket on her back, pretending to go gather food.

Thanks to Caiwei's arrangement, she can use laundry as an excuse in the future.

She pretended to deliver laundry and came to the imperial kitchen.

Inside there is a fat cook who is always in a panic, and Quan Wushuang's follower.

The cook stroked his goat-like beard and looked her up and down.

That look seemed to say: "How dare a little girl like this come to my territory?"

However, the attendant was very polite and led her in like a distinguished guest.

When she was taken to the food storage, her whole personality changed.

A blush appeared on her face, her eyes lit up, and the corners of her tightly pursed mouth relaxed.

Her followers looked at her changes in surprise, but she didn't care.

Seeing the names of the ingredients marked on the cabinet, she couldn't help but dance with joy.

That joyful look seemed like he was possessed by some evil spirit.

"Is this some kind of curse?" someone muttered.

She was immersed in joy for half an hour.

At some point, Quan Wushuang also came and looked at her with strange eyes.

She began taking out the ingredients from the outermost drawer, carefully wrapping them in paper and writing her name on them.

We still use bamboo slips these days, so it's a luxury to have so much paper.

The fat cook wanted to see what was going on, so the attendant quickly closed the door.

The follower was called Gao Zhongcheng. He was strong and had calm features.

If he wasn't here, Lin Zhiruo would have thought he was a military general.

He seems to be Quan Wushuang's confidant and is often inseparable from him.

He would offer to help with the tall drawers, but his master would just watch from the sidelines.

Lin Zhiruo thought to herself: "It's fine if I don't want to help, why would I bother here?"

In the top drawer, she found a familiar name.

She stood on tiptoe to reach it, and Gao Zhongcheng handed her something.

Seeing the seeds in her palm, she showed a complicated expression.

The seeds could be made into what she wanted, but there were too few of them.

“That’s not enough.”

"I'll have someone prepare it." Quan Wushuang smiled elegantly.

"This kind of thing is only found in the south west of the Western Regions."

“It should be found among the tribute.”

Quan Wushuang picked up a seed and looked at it carefully. It was shaped like an almond and exuded a special aroma.

"What's this?"

Lin Zhiruo told him the answer.

“It’s called sweet beans.”