In the years of famine, I led a comfortable life with my husband

"Before, Wanpin relied on Xu Chao's support outside the palace to establish her power. Even though she was just a concubine, she was able to compete with the queen. Now Wanpin was banished to the cold palace and then died suddenly. I think all the power in the harem has returned to the queen's hands." Su Zhizhi suddenly thought of something and said with emotion.

Xie Chengjin's expression grew a bit more serious upon hearing this. "If it's as you say, the Queen's family is now the sole ruler. You'd better be more careful in the palace in the future. From what you told me about the Queen before, this woman is definitely not a simple person. She's very cunning, and having been immersed in the palace for so many years, I imagine she's incredibly cunning. I'm afraid..."

"Don't worry, there's no need to worry so much. After all, I'm just a cook in the imperial kitchen. At most, my skills are better and the food I cook tastes better. What use can that be?" Xu Wanqing saw that Xie Chengjin was so worried about her, and hurriedly spoke to comfort him.

But even though Su Zhizhi said this, she was still very nervous. How could she not know that the Queen was not easy to deal with? Last time, she dealt with Concubine Wan without anyone knowing. This time, Concubine Wan died suddenly. Su Zhizhi didn't believe that the Queen had no hand in this.

After breakfast, Su Zhizhi rested for a while, and it was time to go back to the palace.

Sitting in the carriage heading to the palace, Su Zhizhi felt like her heart was about to jump out. She always felt that something would happen when she returned to the palace this time, so she had been mentally preparing herself, telling herself to be careful and not let the Queen catch any evidence. Xu Wanqing was already giving her enough headaches, and if the Queen was also not at peace, Su Zhizhi felt that she was not far from collapse.

Back in the imperial kitchen, Su Zhizhi was about to prepare the ingredients as usual when she saw Chef Su hurriedly stop her. Chef Su looked at her seriously, making her nervous. "Chef Su, what's wrong? What happened?"

Upon hearing this, Chef Su sighed deeply, "I don't know whether this is a blessing or a curse for you, little girl."

"What happened?" Su Zhizhi became more and more curious. She rarely saw Chef Su like this, so she thought it must be no trivial matter.

"Go and pack your things. Earlier today, the Queen Mother sent an imperial decree summoning you to work in the small kitchen in the Queen's Palace. This matter cannot be delayed. It's almost time now. I think someone from Fengyi Palace should be here soon." Chef Su patted Su Zhizhi's shoulder, looking helpless.

Su Zhizhi was confused, but time was running out and she had no time to think about it. She had just packed up her things when the head aunt of Fengyi Palace came to the imperial kitchen.

"Is Chef Su here?" the head aunt asked Chef Su.

Chef Su nodded and replied respectfully, "I didn't expect that it would be you, Auntie, who came here in person. Imperial Chef Su is already here. Look, he just packed up."

The aunt in charge looked Su Zhizhi up and down, nodded, said hello to Chef Su, and left with Su Zhizhi.

Chef Su was standing outside the door of the imperial kitchen, watching Su Zhizhi walking away behind the head aunt.

On the way to Fengyi Palace, the head aunt explained some of the palace's rules to Su Zhizhi as they walked. "Although this palace has its own rules, each palace master also has their own rules. Although our Queen is kind, there are still some rules that must be followed... You will work in the small kitchen in the future. Every day, the Queen will send someone to tell you, Chef Su, what she wants to eat. As for other matters, you don't need to worry about it."

Su Zhizhi nodded in agreement. "Thank you for your guidance, Auntie. I'll take note of it. You can just call me Zhizhi from now on."

Su Zhizhi's respectful attitude actually made the aunt in charge look much better.

When she arrived at Fengyi Palace, Su Zhizhi thought she would go directly to the small kitchen, but unexpectedly she was taken to the queen's bedroom.

"Your Majesty, Chef Su is here. Would you like to see him?" The aunt in charge came in and asked the queen.

The Queen nodded and said, "Bring him in. We only met briefly last time, and I haven't had a good look at Chef Su yet."

Su Zhizhi walked in respectfully and knelt down before the queen to pay her respects.

After being helped up, Su Zhizhi sat down on a seat beside her, lowered her eyes, and waited for the Queen's instructions.

"I'm still drooling over Chef Su's cooking last time, but I didn't have time to mention it to His Majesty before, which delayed it for some time. But now that Chef Su has come to my Fengyi Palace, I'll be able to enjoy his delicious food in the future."

"Your Majesty, thank you for your kind words. This is merely my duty. It is my blessing to be liked by Your Majesty. If Your Majesty wants to eat anything, please feel free to tell me." Su Zhizhi smiled slightly. Although her attitude was humble, her aura was dignified and generous. Even when facing the Queen, she did not have any flattering expression.

"Okay, I like people like Chef Su. It just so happens that I've been missing the pigeon soup these days. Please make some pigeon soup for me these days." The queen's attitude towards Su Zhizhi became softer and softer, but this request made Su Zhizhi very puzzled. Logically speaking, even if the food of the concubines in the harem is not so exquisite, it doesn't make sense for them to eat the same dish or a bowl of soup every day.

Su Zhizhi didn't dare to ask more questions and just thought it was the queen's special preference, so she agreed.

The Queen allocated a room for Su Zhizhi to live in Fengyi Palace. Su Zhizhi tidied up briefly and fell asleep directly.

The next morning, Su Zhizhi got up early and was about to go to the small kitchen to stew soup when the maid beside the queen came over with something.

The tray in the maid's hand was covered with a black cloth, so it was unclear what was on it.

Seeing this, Su Zhizhi asked curiously, "Excuse me, young lady, what is this?"

The maid said, "These are the ingredients for the Queen's pigeon soup. Chef Su, please don't waste them."

Su Zhizhi looked at the tray in front of her. When she got closer, she could smell a pungent smell mixed with a hint of blood.

Su Zhizhi had a bad feeling in her heart, but she still gritted her teeth and lifted the black cloth. The first thing that caught her eye was a lively pigeon.

And next to the pigeon was a bloody placenta, which was a fresh placenta.

The black cloth was lifted, and the pungent fishy smell became stronger. Su Zhizhi couldn't help but cover her nose, "Girl, this is..."