Chapter 01 The First Kill

The autumn weather is clear and the wind is gentle.

Especially at this moment, the sky is just getting light, and the autumn wind blows past my ears, bringing a cool breeze.

On Yu Street, the most prosperous street in the capital, the roadside vendors are busy, constantly greeting customers who come in for breakfast.

Xiaoyu sat in the corner, sniffing the aroma in the air, and then he lowered his head and took a bite of the dry and hard pancake in his hand, swallowing it with difficulty. Then he raised his head and stared at the mansion across the street, which looked magnificent but was deserted.

The target she came down the mountain to assassinate, the regent prince Zhou Xunran, lived there.

Xiaoyu is a killer who comes from the underworld Jieyoumen.

The rules of the Worry-Relief Sect are strict. Every four months, the value of all killers will be ranked. If a killer ranks last for nine consecutive times, he or she will be kicked out.

It's embarrassing to say that Xiaoyu has been ranked last for eight consecutive times. It's not because of her poor ability, but because from her debut to now, no one has come to her to place an order.

Without customers, she would never move up the rankings.

There are less than three months left until the next update of the killer rankings.

This means that she has to successfully take down a job within three months, and the value of the assassination target must exceed that of the second-to-last person, so that no one will be driven away.

Xiaoyu was so anxious that she was running around in circles. A senior sister who was on good terms with her gave her some advice, telling her to wait at the foot of the mountain, hoping there might be some "harvest".

Xiaoyu understood that this is what is commonly known as "stealing customers".

It sounds unkind, but the situation was critical now and Xiao Yu had no time to worry. He waited at the foot of the mountain for half a month and finally managed to get a customer.

The guest wants to assassinate the most distinguished person in the capital.

Afraid that the other party would change his mind after knowing that she was the last-ranked killer, Xiaoyu immediately went down the mountain after receiving the deposit, carrying the "Thirty-Six Strategies of Killing" given to her by her master.

When he arrived at the city gate, he remembered that he had forgotten to ask the guest the name of this "most distinguished person in the capital."

She consulted dozens of people in the capital and learned that the most distinguished person in the capital was the current Regent Prince Zhou Xunran.

It was said that this prince was nine feet tall, with a broad back and broad waist, a green face and fangs, and was ruthless and cold-blooded, killing people without blinking an eye. Some people had seen with their own eyes the piles of corpses at the back door of the palace.

Xiaoyu took a breath and hugged the bag tightly.

When she received the task, the client did not say that this prince was such a difficult person to kill!

Xiaoyu turned around and wanted to give up, but her mind once again recalled the faces in the Jieyou Gate who laughed at her incompetence. She clutched her bag tightly and walked towards the Regent's Palace with great momentum.

Then three days later, all the money bags in her bag were stolen, and Xiaoyu herself couldn't even reach the gate of the palace.

The reason was simple: the palace's guards were too dedicated to their duties. As long as she appeared within three meters of the palace's gate or walls, she would be immediately discovered by the guards, who would then "politely" let her leave.

She had only half a piece of baked cake left as dry food. If she couldn't enter the palace today, she would have to sleep on the street as a beggar.

The sun rose to its zenith and then slowly set in the west.

The gate of the palace opened and closed, opened and closed again, people came and went, but there was no sign of the prince she wanted to assassinate.

Just when Xiaoyu was hungry and wanted to find something to eat, the side door of the palace was opened again, and a fat young man walked out. He looked around the door stealthily, and then waved in Xiaoyu's direction.

Xiaoyu immediately stood up and walked towards him.

But someone is faster than her.

The man walked up to the fat young man and smiled flatteringly, "Manager Zhu."

Manager Zhu looked him up and down, and when he saw his collar, he looked displeased: "Are you the chef that Old Yang introduced? What dishes have you cooked?"

It turns out that he was hiring a chef through the back door!

Xiaoyu's eyes lit up, and he inserted himself in between them, saying first: "Master Manager, I am also a cook, and I can cook a lot of things, such as pickled vegetables, vegetarian dishes, cakes, soups, and even medicinal cuisine!"

Manager Zhu took a look at her. She was a girl of about 17 or 18 years old with a round face and a round head. She was holding a bundle in her arms and her eyes were sparkling, like the night-shining pearls he had seen in the prince's storeroom. He patiently explained, "You are a cook? Look at your face, clothes, and hands. They are so dirty. How do you look like a cook?"

Xiaoyu was quick to explain, "I was desperate. My money was stolen and I had to live on the street for two days. Besides, I'm a girl, so I'm cleaner than him anyway."

The man was already angry after she kept interrupting him, and raised his hand to hit her: "You stupid girl, how can you talk like that? Believe it or not, I will beat you to death!"

Xiaoyu hid behind Chief Steward Zhu and complained quietly: "Master Steward, you see, he gets angry so easily. If he is wronged in the palace in the future, he might poison me to retaliate."

If this really happens, Manager Zhu will not be able to escape responsibility.

Manager Zhu thought for a moment, and asked the guards to take the man away. He turned around to look at Xiaoyu, who looked pretty. After washing the dust off her face, she should be a beautiful girl. He asked doubtfully, "Can you really cook?"

There is a chance!

Xiaoyu puffed out her chest and said, "Whether I can do it or not, I'll know if you let me show you my skills, sir."

Manager Zhu smiled, and even his belly trembled a little. "You are quite confident. Come in with me."

Xiaoyu nodded excitedly and followed him into the palace gate.

Chief Steward Zhu walked in front and reminded Xiaoyu: "After tasting the dishes, stay here and wait for the chief steward to pass on the message. Got it? There are many rules in the palace. If you bump into someone, no one can save you."

Xiao Yuzi carefully looked at the various complicated roads in the mansion, and immediately responded after hearing this: "Okay, I understand."

The two of them walked around the courtyard for nearly half a minute before Xiaoyu remembered what was going on and asked cautiously, "Master Steward, will the prince try the dish I cook later?"

If the prince eats it, she will poison it and complete the task.

Hehe, perfect.

Chief Steward Zhu said with a smile, "How could the prince eat food cooked by a strange chef? Don't let your imagination run wild. I invited you in to cook for the three ladies who are about to enter the palace."

With a snap, the little flame of hope was extinguished by his two words.

Xiaoyu asked curiously, "Can the prince's body handle three ladies coming at once?"

Manager Zhu glanced at her and said, "Don't say what you shouldn't say, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

Xiaoyu pursed her lips and nodded obediently.

After passing through another gate, Manager Zhu stopped and pointed to the courtyard in front and said, "This is the kitchen of the west courtyard. Everyone inside can help you. I'll give you half an hour to cook eight dishes. I'll come get them when the time comes. Go ahead."

Eight dishes in half an hour, the time is tight and the task is heavy.

Xiaoyu put down his bag, found out the identities of the helpers in the kitchen in a few words, went over all the ingredients on the table, rolled up his sleeves and started working.

***

A quarter of an hour later, Manager Zhu appeared stealthily at the kitchen door.

Xiaoyu took a break from his busy schedule and asked knowingly, "Master, is it time yet?"

After being discovered by her, Manager Zhu showed no embarrassment. He stood up and swaggered into the kitchen. While sniffing the fragrance in the air, he asked seriously, "I am here to supervise you. What are these dishes?"

"My Lord, the meat dishes are crispy pork, goose with five-flavor apricot cheese, and steamed sea bass. The vegetarian dishes are pan-fried tofu and cold black fungus. The dessert is three-color crystal silk, the soup is Qingshan white jade soup, and the staple food is sesame pancakes."

Manager Zhu swallowed his saliva calmly and said, "Before I ask the chief manager to taste the food, I have to check whether the food is poisonous."

Xiaoyu thought, if you want to eat it, just say so, and try it to see if it's poisonous. There were so many people in the kitchen, even if she wanted to poison it, she wouldn't find a chance.

Complaints aside, whether I can stay or not basically depends on his words. Xiaoyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir, your portion has been served separately."

Manager Zhu put his hands behind his back and nodded in satisfaction. After Xiaoyu put the last dish on the plate, he waved for the waiter to come and get the food box. Then he said to Xiaoyu, "Okay, stay here and wait for my news."

Xiaoyu watched them walk away. After being busy for half a day, she was no longer hungry and sat at the kitchen door waiting for Manager Zhu to come back.

After waiting for half an hour, Zhu, the chief steward, burped and walked over slowly. "It's done. The chief steward is very satisfied with your craftsmanship. What's your name? Where is your household registration card? Where do you live? Are you signing a living contract or a life contract?"

Xiaoyu took out the fake household registration card she had forged and handed it to him, "My name is Xiaoyu, sir, I will sign any contract that will allow me to serve the prince."

Chief Steward Zhu checked her household registration card and laughed when he heard her words: "You are an interesting girl, but no matter how much you love our prince, you can't enter the East Court to serve him. Give up."

Xiaoyu only heard the second half of his words and said gloomily, "Then I will sign a death contract. If I cannot serve the prince, I will die here in this life. I will not leave even if I become a ghost."

Manager Zhu ignored her loyalty and took out the death contract for her to sign: "At noon, the three ladies will come to the mansion. From now on, you will be responsible for their three meals a day."

After thinking for a while, he said casually, "You don't have to wait on me carefully. Just deal with me as usual."

Payable?

Xiaoyu paused, which means, these three ladies will not be valued by the palace?

So when will this unappreciated lady's cook be able to meet the prince?

The little fish was very worried.

After Zhu took her contract, he left in a hurry. Xiaoyu found her own residence as he said, and lay on the bed, thinking of a solution with a sad face.

He was so worried that when it was time to prepare dinner, Manager Zhu came to the kitchen for a stroll again.

Xiaoyu asked the maid to take away the three ladies' dinner, and personally made three side dishes and sent them to Manager Zhu. "Manager Zhu, I have researched three new dishes today, and I would like to ask for your advice."

Manager Zhu sniffed the fish, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

He had just gathered all the people in the kitchen together in the afternoon and warned them not to embezzle or sell the ingredients, nor to steal food for personal use. If Xiaoyu brought the food, if you say it was a sign of filial piety to him, then it was a sign of personal use.

Another way of saying it is "tasting the food", which means doing it for the sake of the masters and is a sign of loyalty.

Manager Zhu took a bite of the dish with a smile and said, "I am not saying anything, Xiao Yu'er, your cooking skills are really not simple. I have been to many restaurants before, and the dishes they cooked were not as tasty as yours."

"Really? How does it compare to the chef in the East Courtyard?" Xiaoyu asked.

After being in the palace for half a day, Xiaoyu already had a preliminary understanding of the palace. He knew that the West Courtyard was where the ladies and servants lived, and that the prince lived in the East Courtyard and rarely came to the West Courtyard. People from the West Courtyard were not allowed to enter and leave the East Courtyard at will.

Manager Zhu squinted his eyes at her and asked, "Do you still want to go to the East Courtyard?"

"Of course not. People always want to move up. My dream is to work with Manager Zhu to kill the Manager and the Chef of the East Courtyard and dominate the East Courtyard!"

Manager Zhu was so shocked by her bold words that he couldn't even hold the peanuts with his chopsticks. He was stunned for a long time and said, "You are really brave, little girl!"

"That's right. If I don't let the prince taste my craft, I will die with regret."

After being brainwashed by her repeatedly, Manager Zhu inexplicably developed a fighting spirit. As for the cooking skills of the East Court chef, although he had never tasted them, he thought they were just so-so, otherwise the prince would have become as fat as him. He was not like now, skinny as a bag of bones, and looked sick all day long.

For the sake of the prince's health, Manager Zhu thought that maybe he could take Xiaoyu with him for a try.