After a moment, she made up her mind and pretended to be angry, saying, "What's wrong with today's dishes? The venison is so fishy!"
He then turned to the two young girls and said, "You two, take these two dishes of venison back and have the kitchen remake them before bringing them up again."
The two little girls nervously carried the plates away.
Amei and Azhu watched the two girls leave, completely bewildered. They exchanged a glance, both feeling puzzled.
Miss has always been kind to people. Even though her personality has changed a lot compared to before, she has never lost her temper with the servants over such trivial matters. What's wrong with her today?
After seeing that the people had left, Min Yueqing whispered to Azhu, "Quietly follow those two and see if they really went to the kitchen. If they did, listen quietly to what they were saying inside."
Ah Zhu then realized that there was probably something wrong with the dish; it wasn't just that it was fishy. She immediately obeyed and followed him out.
Min Yueqing then asked Amei to put a little bit of each of the remaining dishes onto her plate. She picked them up and smelled them one by one, and there was nothing wrong with the dishes.
Pei Ji and Shi Tou were both confused by this scene.
Pei Ji couldn't help but ask, "Mother, what's wrong with these dishes?"
Pei Ji was too young to think of poisoning; he simply assumed that his mother was unhappy because the kitchen had a new cook that day.
Looking at the confused little boy, Min Yueqing said meaningfully, "Someone couldn't resist the urge to cause trouble again and started making underhanded moves."
The medicinal herbs in this world are not the same as those in the post-apocalyptic world. Min Yueqing could only smell that they were different, but she did not know exactly what herbs were used or what their effects were.
Min Yue rested her chin on her hand, waiting leisurely, not in a hurry at all.
Then, as if remembering something, she asked Amei to change all the bowls and chopsticks for everyone, and instructed the two children, "Don't touch the new dishes that are served later, just eat what's on the table now."
Both children nodded obediently in agreement.
Pei Ji and Shi Tou weren't afraid at all; in fact, they were even a little excited. They were thinking about the same thing: "Here we go again, here we go again, another bad guy is offering his face up to Mother (Master) to slap."
They all looked at their mother (master) with admiration, thinking how amazing she was that she could even smell it.
The same doubts and admiration for Amei also exist.
Amei was completely stunned, watching her young mistress create surprises every day without her even realizing it. Even if her mistress were to perform some kind of martial arts right now, Amei felt she wouldn't be surprised, let alone if she only knew a little about medicine.
The two little girls entered the room amidst the expectant yet complicated gazes of the crowd. Under such unusual attention, the two little girls were so nervous that they almost stumbled over each other.
The girls couldn't help but think, "It's just two dishes, is it really necessary to be so serious? Will we be blamed? Waaah..."
Fortunately, as soon as they put the dishes on the table, Sister Amei told them to go outside and stand there.
The two maids glanced gratefully at Amei before quickly retreating. They felt that Sister Amei had deliberately helped them, allowing them to avoid situations where the Madam might get angry. Sister Amei was such a kind person.
As soon as the two dishes were served, Amei first put some on the young lady's plate, then stared intently at her.
Min Yueqing picked it up and smelled it with a calm expression. There was still a trace of medicine in it. She thought to herself: This is going to be interesting.
She calmly put down the venison, this time without making a sound, and instead used a different pair of chopsticks to eat as usual.
After the three of them had finished eating, the girls cleaned up the table as usual.
After dinner, Min Yueqing took the two children back to their room, where Azhu was already waiting. As soon as Min Yueqing sat down, Azhu recounted in detail what she had just seen and heard.
"The two of them did go directly to the kitchen. They didn't go anywhere else or meet anyone. I heard them tell the cook, Tian, to remake the dishes as Miss had instructed. Tian asked a couple of questions about the reason, and the girl told them the truth."
Min Yueqing confirmed, "Did no one go into the kitchen during the process?"
A-Zhu said definitively, "No, I stayed outside the kitchen the whole time and could see the kitchen door directly. No one went in until the new dishes were ready."
Min Yueqing thought for a moment and then asked, "Is the venison on our table today, or is it also in the other dishes?"
The other dishes mentioned here refer to those prepared by the kitchen for the maids and servants of Hejing Courtyard.
Without asking any questions, Ah Zhu simply told the truth.
Min Yueqing said, "Go and take a look. If you find any, make a copy and bring it back discreetly."
Not long after, Ah Zhu returned empty-handed.
As soon as A-Zhu entered, she said, "Miss, none of the other dishes contain venison. I secretly spoke with the maid in the kitchen, and she said that the amount of venison delivered today was not much, and it was specially for the masters. The maid also said that there was some left over after lunch, and they were planning to cook it again in the evening, but Miss asked them to make a new batch, so there was no more."
It seems someone learned their lesson last time and is being more cautious this time, not wanting anyone to easily find fault with her.
However, Min Yueqing was certain that the person behind the scenes wouldn't dare to take drastic measures. If the three of them were to die suddenly and mysteriously at the same time, even Lord Pei would likely have to intervene.
Therefore, if someone is determined to poison someone, they will definitely look for another opportunity if they fail the first time.
Min Yueqing deliberately left all the untouched venison on the table, hoping someone with a keen eye would see it. This time they used the excuse that it was too gamey to eat it; next time, perhaps the person behind it all will be smarter and poison a different dish.
Either the person bribed the cook, Tian, to give her the medicine directly; or the person tampered with the delivered ingredients, putting the medicine on the scarce and rare ingredients.
Given the current situation, both methods are possible.
Actually, Ah Mei threw a piece of the venison that had been laced with the medicine into the spittoon. If she wanted to know what the medicine was doing, she could ask the eldest brother of the Min family to find a doctor to identify it.
Unfortunately, Min Yueqing was naturally averse to trouble, and in her view, anything that could be avoided should be avoided.
Min Yueqing's current plan is to find out where the problem lies, confiscate the tools and herbs used to administer the drugs, and then use their own methods against them—whoever gave them the drugs, they should be forced to take them as is.
When the time comes, we'll naturally see what the person behind the scenes is really up to.
Min Yueqing then instructed Amei and Azhu, "From today onwards, you two will take turns watching the kitchen, especially Chef Tian. Leave the rest to the maids."
After listening for so long, Shi Tou suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Master, I pass by the kitchen every day when I run, so I can help keep an eye on it too!"
Pei Ji retorted without backing down, "Yes, I can too!"
Min Yueqing chuckled and told the two excited children, "Okay, but remember to do it quietly, so no one can notice, and no matter what happens, you can't show yourselves in front of them."
This is for the safety of the two children.
The two happily agreed.
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