Chapter 30 Who is the mastermind behind this?
Dongfang Yan's face turned cold when he saw the cat. "You beast, you got away with it last time, but you're causing trouble again today. You're courting death!"
The tabby cat was frightened by his ferocious appearance. It let out a "meow", kicked over the fish plate, jumped off the table and ran away.
Dongfang Yan frowned: "When did this beast follow us? He is simply courting death. Someone catch him and hang him."
Lin Qingyue immediately refused to listen: "Xiaohua, this is my cat. How can I hang it for such a small mistake?"
She turned to apologize to the Prince of Rui: "Your Highness, I'm so sorry. My kitten was originally a wild cat from outside, and it's very greedy. I've only had it for a few days, and I haven't taught it well yet. Please don't be offended."
It was just a cat. Given the good temper of Prince Rui, he naturally wouldn't make a fuss about it. While ordering his servants to help find the cat, he also advised Dongfang Yan:
"It's just a trivial matter, why are you so angry with the cat? It's my wife's cat, so I should be more tolerant."
"Your Highness is easy to talk to," Lin Qingyue said, then added worriedly, "My cat is timid by nature. I'm afraid others won't be able to catch him. I'll go find him!"
After saying that, she picked up her skirt and hurried away.
She avoided people along the way and chose to walk on quiet and deserted paths.
Not long after walking, Xiaohua jumped out from the grass.
Lin Qingyue asked, "Are you familiar with the terrain of Prince Rui's Mansion? Do you know where the kitchen is?"
Xiaohua said, "I came here many years ago and remember the general layout. Prince Rui and the Crown Prince both love delicious food, so there are two formal kitchens in the palace. In addition, there is also a small kitchen."
"He's hosting you in the banquet hall near the east, so he should be using the small kitchen near the east door."
"Then go to the kitchenette!"
Originally, they all thought that Dongfang Cui was the mastermind behind the incident, but after Lin Qingyue tested it, they discovered that even Dongfang Cui had been parasitized by the mayfly silk.
Then, his suspicion was naturally ruled out.
However, Xie Shouzheng's investigation direction pointed all the blame towards Prince Rui's Mansion.
Therefore, even if Prince Rui was not the mastermind behind the incident, he must have been an important link in the spread of the rumor. Otherwise, it would be impossible for so many aristocrats, including Dongfang Yan and Emperor Zhao of Qi, to have been harmed.
So just now, Lin Qingyue and Xiaohua staged a farce together.
Under the pretext of looking for the cat, I went to the small kitchen of Prince Rui's Mansion to check.
Although it is called a small kitchen, it is actually not small. There are seven or eight rooms inside and outside. There are more than a dozen cooks alone, and some handymen.
At this moment, dinner has been served and the servants in the kitchen are doing some finishing work.
Lin Qingyue was wearing a simple black dress embroidered with dark patterns.
She had no expensive ornaments on her head, only a sweet-scented osmanthus wood hairpin bought from the market, and she had deliberately let her hair down at the back of her head, changing it into the style of a girl in the boudoir.
She looks like an ordinary girl.
In addition, the servants in the kitchen were not qualified to meet the guests in front, so when Lin Qingyue walked in with a cat, no one knew that she was the princess.
Only the kitchen steward came over to ask, "This young lady looks unfamiliar. Which courtyard is she from?"
Lin Qingyue said, "I'm the maid of Princess Jin. My princess really likes tonight's dishes and specifically asked me to come to the kitchen to ask the chef how they made it. Which chef is responsible for that sashimi dish?"
The housekeeper said, "In that case, just give the order. Why bother coming here in person, Miss? Chef Zhang, come quickly!"
Chef Zhang had only won the favor of Dongfang Cuisine two months ago with his superb fish-cutting skills and became the chef of Rui Wangfu.
At this moment, even though he thought Lin Qingyue was just a maid, he was still respectful to her.
Lin Qingyue routinely asked some questions about the preparation and origin of sashimi, pretending to be simply interested in the food.
Then he looked around the kitchen again, chatted with everyone with a smile, and then got up and left.
On the way, Xiaohua couldn't help but ask: "How is it?"
Nowadays, more and more people are infected. If we cannot find the head worm and develop an antidote as soon as possible, the situation will become more and more critical.
Especially since even Emperor Zhao of Qi was parasitized by mayfly silk, and it is unknown whether the murderer's purpose was to fight for the crown prince or to overthrow the entire Qi State?
It’s terrifying when you think about it!
Lin Qingyue said, "I just tested it and found that seven people in the kitchen were infected by mayfly silk, but Chef Zhang was not one of them. Chef Zhang made sashimi, but he himself doesn't like it."
"Both Dongfang Cuisine and Dongfang Yan were infected with the mayfly silk after eating his sashimi, but the cook himself was not infected. So it's very likely that this person must have a deep connection with the headworm."
After the hour of Xu, the servants in the small kitchen went back to rest.
Most of the people working here are the household servants of Prince Rui’s Palace, and they eat and live in the palace.
Only Chef Zhang was hired midway through the career. After finishing his work in the mansion, he would leave the mansion and return to his own home no matter how late it was.
After coming out from the small side door reserved for servants in the palace, Chef Zhang rode his donkey cart all the way home.
As soon as I arrived at the door of my house, I happened to meet the owner of the wine shop on the front street who came to deliver some wine.
The proprietress was a woman in her fifties, and she was standing next to a young man in his twenties, standing side by side like a mother and son.
Chef Zhang smiled and said, "Auntie Yuan, I was just thinking of ordering wine from you guys after I got back tonight. I didn't expect you guys to deliver it first."
Aunt Yuan handed two jugs of wine to Chef Zhang and said, "I figured you'd run out of wine in the last two days, so I brought them to you in advance."
Chef Zhang thanked him and paid for the drinks.
Aunt Yuan called out to the young man behind her: "Ah Heng, let's go."
The young man named "Ah Heng" squatted down and said, "There's no moonlight to illuminate the road now, so I'm afraid it might be difficult to walk. Let me carry you."
Aunt Yuan then lay on his back, and the two of them disappeared into the night together.
Chef Zhang came in with wine and couldn't help but sigh, "Aunt Yuan is so lucky. Her son is so handsome and filial. He was afraid the road would be difficult, so he carried me on his back. I'll go back and find out if they're engaged. If not, why not give our daughter to him..."
"Oh, please stop!" He was interrupted by his wife before he could finish his words.
The wife showed a look of disdain on her face: "I was thinking of marrying into his family just like you. But it turns out that his family situation is not what we expected at all!"
Aunt Yuan had only recently come to the capital to open a wine shop, so although the two families had business dealings, they didn't actually know each other well.
At first, Mrs. Zhang was attracted by Ah Heng's good looks, down-to-earthness and filial piety, so she went to inquire about his family situation.
You don’t know until you ask, and you’ll be shocked when you do.
On the surface, Aunt Yuan and Ah Heng looked like mother and son, but they ate at the same table, slept on the same couch, and behaved very intimately.
Someone noticed something was wrong and asked curiously.
Aunt Yuan did not try to hide her feelings. She lowered her old face and said shyly, "Ah Heng, he is my husband."
It is common for an old man to have a young wife, but it is very rare for an old wife to have a young husband.
Because of this, the neighbors often pointed fingers at me behind my back.
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