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

With the favor of the owner of the mansion, Lin Zhiruo carefully planned and built a unique cottage in the courtyard.

Designed to allow warm steam from the steam bath to flow in slowly, creating a warm and unique atmosphere.

This cabin is exquisitely designed with large and bright windows. The large window on the ceiling is like a skylight to the light, allowing warm light and heat to flow freely.

Although the construction cost was high, Lin Zhiruo did not have too many financial concerns thanks to Quan Wushuang's generous funding.

However, she couldn't help but wonder where Quan Wushuang's seemingly endless wealth came from and whether there were any unknown secrets hidden.

Lin Zhiruo then moved pots of vibrant cauliflower into the warm little house. The number was far more than one or two pots, reaching more than a hundred pots.

In the steam-filled environment, Lin Zhiruo devoted great effort to these cauliflowers.

She carefully arranged the cauliflower to get as much sunlight as possible.

Move your potted plants outdoors on a sunny day to allow them to fully absorb the blessings of nature.

On bitterly cold nights, Lin Zhiruo cleverly sprinkled water on the burning stones to keep the hut warm all night.

The frequent activities caused her foot injury to be on the verge of recurrence several times, but she persisted and never gave up.

Gao Zhongcheng noticed Lin Zhiruo's hard work, so he arranged for a foreign maid named Xiao Cui to assist her.

Xiao Cui was very happy about this, as she could be lazy and enjoy delicious food at the same time. In this way, Gao Zhongcheng easily lured her with food as bait.

The reason why Lin Zhiruo has been able to hold on until now without falling is largely due to Gao Zhongcheng's careful arrangement.

Lin Zhiruo's real purpose is to make these cauliflowers bloom during the non-flowering season.

Flowers usually bloom according to the laws of the seasons, but occasionally they bloom at inappropriate times for some mysterious reasons.

In short, Lin Zhiruo is trying to create a flowering miracle that goes against the laws of the seasons.

Therefore, she did not expect every pot of cauliflower to produce buds, but prepared a large number of pots to increase the chances of success.

She also carefully selected early-blooming varieties in a wide variety, hoping to create a gorgeous miracle within a limited time.

Time was running out, with only a month left, and Lin Zhiruo was not completely confident. But when she saw the flower buds quietly emerging, the joy and excitement in her heart surged like a tide.

Compared to dyeing flowers, the process of making flowers bud is more difficult and tedious, but Lin Zhiruo enjoys it.

Lin Zhiruo asked Quan Wushuang to send several eunuchs to assist, but delicate work such as temperature adjustment still needed to be handled by her personally.

Any slight negligence may cause all the cauliflowers to wither and die, and all previous efforts will be wasted.

Sometimes, out of curiosity or fear, the maids of Zixiao Palace would wander around the cottage and spy on her, which annoyed Lin Zhiruo a lot.

In order to divert their attention, Lin Zhiruo began to think of a countermeasure.

She stared at her fingertips and suddenly an idea came to her mind.

She applied rouge to her nails, smoothing them carefully with a cloth to create a vibrant, eye-catching color.

In red-light districts, painting nails is a common thing, but it is rarely done in the harem.

Although it may bring some inconvenience to the work, the maids who have nothing to do on weekdays have shown great interest in it.

Lin Zhiruo deliberately let them see her nails, so the maids went back to their private rooms to look for their rouge.

Lin Zhiruo was secretly proud of herself and tried to recommend the fashion of painting nails to Concubine Pinglan.

There are always so-called fashion trends in the harem, and those who lead these trends are often the emperor's favorite concubines.

Even if a maid had the opportunity to sleep with the emperor, she could be canonized as a concubine.

Therefore, it is not surprising that everyone imitated the emperor's favorite women.

If you want to pick out the most fashionable person in the harem, Concubine Shuwan might be a good choice, but she changes her clothes frequently, making it difficult to grasp her style, so it is difficult for her to become a trend leader.

When Lin Zhiruo returned to the Liuli Palace to taste the food, she also tried to let Concubine Yuyao or the maids see her red nails.

Caiwei thought this would affect work efficiency, but others showed great interest and followed suit.

Lin Zhiruo thought to herself, it would be great if she could have some Impatiens and Oxalis.

Impatiens, also known as henna, can be used to dye nails after its petals are crushed; while Oxalis, also known as cat's foot, can be mixed with Impatiens to make the red color of nails more vivid and dazzling.

As the fashion of painting nails quietly emerged among the palace maids, the cauliflower buds cultivated by Lin Zhiruo had become increasingly full, each of which slightly revealed its white petals.

Lin Zhiruo had selected pure and flawless cabbage flowers, which looked even more beautiful and charming in the steam.

"How did cauliflower become so beautiful and tempting?"

After showing the cauliflower in front of everyone, Quan Wushuang asked curiously when he returned.

His brows were furrowed, his eyes filled with confusion and amazement.

Gao Zhongcheng behind him was also watching this scene with great interest, as if he was also shocked by the miracle of the cauliflower.

Since Quan Wushuang and others had allowed everyone to leave, Susu also left.

Lin Zhiruo was nominally Concubine Yuyao's personal maid, but in reality she was still Quan Wushuang's attendant.

"Isn't that what cauliflower is like? I just added a few tricks."

Lin Zhiruo answered lightly with a mysterious smile on her face.

"A trifle? But the petals aren't stained with any color."

Quan Wushuang stretched out his fingers and gently touched the petals, a puzzled expression on his face.

“It’s not colored from the outside, it’s seeped in from the inside.”

Lin Zhiruo pulled out a sprig of cauliflower and smiled mysteriously.

Then she pressed her fingers on the cut of the flower stem, and saw green liquid slowly seeping out from the cut.

She dipped a cabbage flower into the dyed water and waited quietly for a miracle to happen.

It is so simple, yet it contains endless wisdom and ingenuity.

The flower stems absorb the pigment along with the water, adding a unique touch of color to the originally white petals.

Of course, the leaves became black and dirty, so when putting them in the vase, all the petals except the white ones were pulled out.

These cauliflowers appear to be placed in the same vase, but in fact the base of each flower stem is wrapped in dyed wet cotton and then fixed with oil paper until the moment before display.

Actually, this method is quite simple, but because of this, some people may nitpick on its details.

In order to deal with possible doubts, Lin Zhiruo revealed the secret to the emperor who was visiting the Liuli Palace the night before.

Anyone who learns the first secret will feel excited and proud, and the emperor is no exception.

He would certainly take the initiative to explain this wonderful phenomenon to others to show off his erudition.

It seems that Quan Wushuang had already withdrawn before listening to the emperor's story and missed this wonderful moment.

"In other words, the green cauliflower you've seen before was actually created by an idle person who allowed the cauliflower to absorb green water day after day."

Lin Zhiruo spoke slowly as she looked towards the vegetable garden, a faint smile on her face.

"Why would that person do that?"

Quan Wushuang asked curiously, his eyes full of exploration and doubt.

"Perhaps it's to win the favor of a woman he likes."

Lin Zhiruo answered indifferently, and at the same time took out a slender paulownia box from her chest.

This box is quite similar to the box containing Cordyceps sinensis, but it contains a different secret.

This was something she brought with her when she brought the secret recipe book, and it contained the marigolds and wood sorrel that she had carefully selected.

"It's really rare to see this."

Quan Wushuang came closer and carefully observed the secret in the Paulownia box, with an expression of amazement on his face.

"Did you paint your nails too?"

Quan Wushuang noticed Lin Zhiruo's nails and asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but it doesn't look good on me."

Lin Zhiruo looked down at her hands, which had become rough due to drugs, poisons, and cleaning work. The nail on her left little finger was twisted into a strange shape.

Even dyeing it red could not hide the distortion of its shape.

However, in Quan Wushuang's opinion, this adds a different kind of charm and style.

Quan Wushuang seemed to find it very interesting and kept staring at Lin Zhiruo's nails.

Lin Zhiruo couldn't help but look at him as usual, just like looking at a fish floating on the water, secretly thinking in her heart how to play him in the palm of her hand.

(Not good. Not good.)

Lin Zhiruo shook her head gently, putting the distracting thoughts in her mind behind her.

If I care about such a small thing, how can I survive in the future?

There are more important tasks waiting for her to complete.

"Guard Gao, I'm asking you to prepare something..."

Lin Zhiruo said softly, with a hint of respect and expectation in her tone.

"Yes, it's ready as you ordered."

Gao Zhongcheng answered respectfully, with a determined look on his face.

"Thank you, guard."

Lin Zhiruo bowed slightly to express her gratitude, her heart filled with gratitude and respect.

The stage is set, now it's just a matter of surprising that annoying guy.

A mysterious smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, as if she had seen success waving at her.