Chapter 19 Case File 1: Botanical Garden Mystery (1)
Holly Haw Akers is a very successful Haff.
At a young age, he inherited a botanical garden from his grandfather. He himself was a rare genius in the Hafu tribe for hundreds of years. At the age of fifteen, he was already familiar with nearly 30,000 kinds of plants in the "Haf Tribe Herbal Compendium" and could accurately identify most of the plants in nature and their cultivation methods.
At a young age, he had already obtained the botanist certification of the Royal Academy of Magic and received an invitation to be a visiting professor of botany at the Royal Academy of Magic. However, he was obsessed with running the botanical garden left by his grandfather, and he rejected the invitation without hesitation and stayed in the West City of Eston.
This also made his aunt very jealous.
"I used to be his wet nurse," Aunt Wolf Talia said nostalgically. "The child lost his mother shortly after birth. It was a difficult birth. Giving birth is a difficult hurdle for women of any tribe. Unfortunately, his mother didn't make it.
"And fifteen years ago, I had just lost my third litter of wolf cubs...
"Perhaps it was fate that I was asked to be his wet nurse. First a wet nurse, then a nanny. I can say that I raised him single-handedly. Until three years ago, when his grandfather passed away and his second aunt, Pertmin H. Price, took over the family business, I was kicked out."
Holly Ho Ackles' grandfather, Hurd Ho Ackles, had three sons and one daughter: Holly was the blood of his eldest son, Hopkins Ho Ackles; Pertmin Ho Pliss married the second son, Whipson Ho Ackles; the daughter, Primin, was eighteen years old and was studying at the Royal Academy of Magic; the third son, Holland, was the son of Hurd who had an affair outside and just turned six this year.
"Hopkins became depressed after his wife's difficult childbirth, and drank every day to drown his sorrows. He finally succeeded in drowning himself with alcohol five years ago. Since then, the only remaining member of the eldest son's bloodline is Holly.
"The second son, Whipson, was a weakling, but he married Pertmin H. Price, the daughter of a shrewd businessman. Since the family's children and grandchildren were either underage or studying away from home, the responsibility of managing the household fell to Pertmin.
"This woman is very scheming and ambitious. She married into the Axe family as a business marriage, and now she has found an opportunity to steal the Axe family's wealth."
Aunt Wolf continued, "Holland, the youngest son, was born to Hurd and a bar dancer. The dancer sent the baby to Axe's house, took some money, and ran away.
"I also raised Holland for a few years. However, after I was fired by Pertmin, Pertmin asked her sister Pearlamine to live with the Axe family and take care of the child."
Talia took a sip of rose wine and exhaled a breath of warm air. "Three days ago, Holland was found dead by Peramin in the botanical garden that Hurd had left to Holly. The six-year-old boy lay face up with a knife in his chest, in the most beautiful flower bed in the botanical garden, seemingly asleep. On his clothes, a 'waning moon eye' was painted in blood."
Andre narrowed his eyes slightly: "Is his body intact?"
Aunt Wolf glanced at him curiously. "As far as I know, it's complete... but I'm just a passerby who heard it from others. The true inside story, of course, needs to be communicated and investigated by yourselves, the knights of your kingdom."
Andrei coughed lightly and said awkwardly, "...You're right."
Jiangyou scratched his bony chin with his long bony claws. "Wait, why are Peramin and Holland in Holly's botanical garden?"
"Oh, this has to do with the terrain." Aunt Wolf stood up and looked for a map. "Wait a minute, I remember I put the map nearby. Xiaoyou, while I'm looking for the map, can you make some more of that green plum wine vinegar jelly?"
She smacked her lips. "I've talked too much, and my mouth is a little dry. I really want to eat something sweet and sour."
The next second, the knight and his servant also cast expectant glances over. Jiang You didn't even need to taste the soul fire to know what they meant. Their eyes clearly showed that they wanted to eat it.
"I've got the mung bean jelly, plum wine, and plum vinegar you made in the kitchen!" Aunt Wolf said. "Use whatever you want!"
"Okay!" Jiangyou walked into the kitchen with familiarity. She and Auntie Wolf had been tinkering with a lot of food ingredients these days, like jelly. This thing is actually mung bean starch, boiled in water, and then cooled to form a solid. It's perfect for making jelly, pudding, and jelly tea jelly.
She first took out a few clean glass cups, took out the green plums soaked in the green plum wine, and put one in each cup.
She then poured the green plum wine, plum juice and jelly into a small milk pot and boiled them, then poured them into a small cup. She used a simple ice magic that she had just learned two days ago to quickly cool the liquid down, allowing it to quickly cool and solidify into chewy jelly.
Once formed, pour a little sweet and sour green plum vinegar over the jelly and you’re done!
This sweet and sour jelly has dozens of variations, and a new flavor can be created by slightly adjusting the recipe. Currently, Aunt Wolf and Jiangyou are most satisfied with the version that adds both green plum wine and green plum vinegar.
"The magic in this world is simply too useful!" Jiang You couldn't help but sigh, "Why would we need a refrigerator?"
Jiangyou was very quick. She swiftly placed the small glass cups filled with green plum wine vinegar jelly and three spoons into the large tray. When she walked back to Aunt Wolf's study humming a song, Aunt Wolf had just found the town map and spread it out on the table.
"Look, this is our West Eston City. This vast area west of the city is all owned by the Axe family." Aunt Wolf pointed to the large green manor marked outside the city on the map and said, "This entire manor is the old house of the Axe family. Except for Primin, who is away studying, everyone in the family lives in the old house."
She pointed to a rectangular area adjacent to the manor and said, "This is the botanical garden that Hurd passed on to Holly. It's right next to their old house. Although Holly owns it, this botanical garden is basically their backyard. Holland plays there every day."
After Aunt Wolf finished speaking, she took a bowl of jelly and a small spoon from Jiangyou's tray, and scooped a spoonful into her mouth.
The refreshing sweet and sour wine jelly slides into your mouth and breaks apart with a light sip of your tongue. The aroma of plum wine quickly spreads in your mouth, making your mouth water and leaving a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth.
The light taste of wine and the refreshing taste of vinegar complement each other perfectly. Since both green plum wine and green plum vinegar are brewed with green plums, the two flavors blend seamlessly, with a hint of heaviness and complexity in the refreshing taste, making people want to eat it again.
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