Before long, dishes such as fresh razor clam and radish soup, stewed fatty duck, and rock sugar bird's nest were served.

The dishes were the same as usual. Only after Qingluan had tested the food for poison did Hailanzhu pick up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth.

But she spat it out immediately after taking a bite, her brows furrowed.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

Knowing that Hailanzhu's appetite had been unusually good for the past month, Qingluan couldn't help but find it strange.

"The dishes are a bit too sweet today. Did they put honey in them?" Hailanzhu frowned even more deeply.

After being educated by Hailanzhu, Qingluan was no longer as naive as before. Upon hearing Hailanzhu's words, she immediately understood and hurriedly summoned the people from the imperial kitchen to ask her questions.

A short while later, a tall, slender man dressed in the robes of an imperial chef walked over.

"This humble subject, Zhang Liang, kowtows to Your Highness, Consort Chen." He knelt on the ground, head bowed.

"Rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Although Zhang Liang stood up, he still didn't dare to raise his head and could only stand bowed in front of Hailanzhu.

Hailanzhu looked him up and down. His submissive and timid demeanor was indeed undeniably suspicious. However, no matter how well he disguised himself, he could not escape Hailanzhu's sharp eyes.

She asked casually, "Did you prepare all of today's lunch?"

Zhang Liang nodded, not denying it, "Chef Su, who is in charge of Her Majesty's meals, is unwell today, so I was asked to take his place." He then asked, "Is there anything you didn't do well?"

Hailanzhu shook her head calmly, "It's not that it's not cooked well, it's that I want to ask you if the dish is so sweet because of the honey in it."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang looked surprised. "Your Majesty, your sense of taste is too sensitive. I only added a tiny bit, and you could taste it?"

"Although only a little bit was added, it tastes much better than before," Hailanzhu said.

Upon hearing Hailanzhu's praise, Zhang Liang's lips curled up slightly. "Your Majesty, you flatter me. I was afraid you wouldn't like it. I've been on tenterhooks the whole way here."

"How could that be?" Hailanzhu pursed her lips. "I summoned you here today as a reward, simply because these dishes suit my taste perfectly."

"Your Majesty flatters me. As long as Your Majesty is pleased, that is my blessing. How could I dare to ask for any more rewards?" Zhang Liang said, bowing with his hands clasped.

Hailanzhu slowly rose to her feet. "I have always been fair in my rewards and punishments. You have rendered meritorious service, so naturally you should be rewarded." Then, she turned to Qingluan and instructed, "Go to the treasury and reward him with ten taels of silver."

"yes."

After a while, Qingluan came up with a handful of fine silver coins and stood in front of Zhang Liang.

After accepting the gift, Zhang Liang knelt down again, saying, "Thank you for the reward, Consort Chen."

"No need to be so polite. From now on, you will be in charge of my meals. If there's nothing else, you may leave!" Hailanzhu waved her hand and said.

"This humble subject takes his leave!" Zhang Liang placed the silver in his pocket, bowed, and withdrew.

As Zhang Liang's figure receded into the distance, Hailanzhu narrowed her eyes.

At this moment, Qingluan asked, puzzled, "Why did Your Majesty reward him?"

Hailanzhu smiled and said, "The dishes suit my taste, how could I not reward you?"

"Really?" Qingluan asked skeptically. "If it's really delicious, why did you spit it out after just one bite, Your Highness?"

"You noticed that? You've finally gotten the hang of things." Hailanzhu gently tapped Qingluan's head.

"Hehe!" Qingluan chuckled in response.

In fact, Hailanzhu was severely allergic to honey. Even a tiny bit would cause her to go into shock. Therefore, she was extremely sensitive to tastes that could kill her, and could taste them just by placing them on the tip of her tongue.

She spat out that mouthful of food as an instinctive reaction, only realizing later that this wasn't her original body, thus escaping a disaster.

"Wait a minute..." Qingluan realized, "He clearly can't eat, so why does Your Majesty still want him to be in charge of the meals?"

Hailanzhu could see Qingluan's loyalty, so she did not want to hide it. She said, "If I hadn't done this, we, mistress and servant, would probably be beheaded."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Qingluan felt a chill run down her spine.

Hailanzhu originally called Zhang Liang over to remind him not to add honey, but when she saw the calluses on his hands from holding swords, she immediately changed her mind.

“But this isn’t necessarily just calluses from holding swords; even the imperial chefs who handle knives all year round would develop them,” Qingluan said, revealing her thoughts.

Hailanzhu patiently explained, "You're right, but even someone who works in the imperial kitchen, no matter how skilled in cooking, will cut their hand or get splattered with oil. But Zhang Liang's hands are fair and smooth; he doesn't look like a chef at all."

The moment she saw him, she knew the answer in her heart. She dared not reveal it on the spot, because Zhang Liang was a highly skilled martial artist, and the meager skills of the eunuchs in Guanju Palace were no match for her.

"Ah!" Qingluan exclaimed in surprise, covering her mouth. "What should we do?"

"What else can we do but play along?" Hailanzhu said helplessly.

She had only had a month of peace and quiet, and she hadn't even had enough of that, so of course she felt helpless.

"Then how can I share your burdens?" Qingluan asked worriedly.

"Just pretend it never happened, and I will take care of the rest." Hailanzhu was not afraid at all.

"yes!"

Knowing her own limitations, Qingluan had no choice but to follow Hailanzhu's arrangements so as not to hold her back.

“However…” Qingluan wanted to say it, but dared not.

"It's alright."

Seeing that Hailanzhu agreed, Qingluan dared to ask, "Your Majesty, do you really hate honey?"

"What? Is it not allowed?" Hailanzhu retorted.

“No…no.” Qingluan shook her head. “But you used to love honey the most. You would always make a cup of honey water before dinner. But ever since you fell into the water, you haven’t reminded me. I thought it was because you couldn’t eat too much sweet food after your serious illness.”

“Uh…” Hailanzhu rolled her clear black and white eyes and said coaxingly, “People change. Look, I used to have such a good relationship with Namuzhong, but now we’re strangers. It’s normal for honey to go from liking to disliking.”

“That’s true.” Qingluan nodded thoughtfully.

Then, remembering that Hailanzhu had not eaten lunch, he hurriedly went to the small kitchen to prepare some.

"Wait!" Hailanzhu remembered something and called out to Qingluan.

Qingluan stopped and turned back, "Is there anything else, Your Highness?"

"Is it widely known that I love honey?" Hailanzhu asked, frowning.

Qingluan shook her head and replied, "It seems that only Her Majesty the Empress, Consort Zhuang, and Consort Gui know about this."

Hailanzhu nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. Go and prepare the meal."

"yes…"

Watching Qingluan's departing figure, Hailanzhu fell into deep thought. Although Dayuer was the suspect in this behind-the-scenes instigation, she would not suspect Dayuer first.