A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Chapter 754: Chapter 754: Catch the Traitor!

That night, Xia Ruqing drank her medicine. She felt a bit better but couldn’t sleep a wink.

The next day, she completely cut off food from the small kitchen. The food was still delivered as usual, but once it arrived, she didn’t taste a single bite.

Strangely enough, she no longer experienced any discomfort. From morning till night, she was perfectly fine.

That evening, Xia Ruqing gave a cold laugh. ”I thought the culprit was from outside, but it turns out to be someone close by! This is indeed harboring a tiger in one’s own camp!”

Zi Su exclaimed indignantly, ”It must be them! I’ll go find them right now!”

Zi Yue quickly pulled her back. ”Don’t alert the enemy!”

”Even if we can’t catch them in the act, we still need some evidence, right?”

Zi Su looked incredulous. ”The Mistress has been so ill, and you still want to talk about evidence?”

”Of course!”

”Stop arguing, both of you!” Xia Ruqing spoke with a stern face. ”Zi Yue, Zi Su, from now on, find people to closely monitor those palace maids in the small tea room. It would be best if you could eat and sleep with them. I want to see just how capable they are of hiding so deeply! Furthermore, the people behind them haven’t shown themselves yet. How can we act recklessly?”

Zi Su had an epiphany, her eyes shining as she said, ”Mistress, I know what to do! The new palace maids all live in the same quarters. We just need to find someone trustworthy to watch them day and night!”

Xia Ruqing nodded with a smile. ”Exactly! Off you go, don’t disappoint me!”

”Yes!”

The two withdrew together.

Xia Ruqing got up, went to the side room to check on Chenchen, and then looked at the two little buns. Only then did she lie down on her bed, feeling calm and secure.

It’s been a while since I’ve had such a peaceful sleep!

She stretched lazily, thinking to herself, No matter who was harming me this time, they wouldn’t be forgiven. After enduring for so long, I’m not a saint. Why should I wrong myself to accommodate others? On what grounds!

「Two days later」

Zi Yue and Zi Su came to report.

”Mistress, there’s a palace maid in the small tea room named Xiao Ho. We found this in her box!” Zi Su said, handing over a booklet.

Zi Yue wasn’t very literate, and neither was Zi Su.

Xia Ruqing took it and read it line by line, her expression changing. ”This is... these are all food combinations that react badly with each other! Mutton and brown sugar, eaten together, are excessively heating! Shrimp and pumpkin, consumed together, can cause dysentery! Chinese yam and crucian carp, eaten together, cause unbearable abdominal pain! Aren’t these... all things I’ve eaten before?”

The mutton was from the Imperial Kitchen; the brown sugar was brought from the small kitchen. The shrimp was from the Imperial Kitchen; the pumpkin cakes were snacks from the small kitchen. The crucian carp soup was from the Imperial Kitchen, and then the small tea room served a dish of Chinese yam cake!

”How brazen!”

Hearing her Mistress read this out, Zi Yue frowned immediately. ”Mistress! That day you wanted mutton, I bumped into a palace maid just as I stepped out! That palace maid was... Xiao Ho!”

Xia Ruqing closed the booklet, a cold smile playing on her lips. ”Guards! Lock her up and interrogate her thoroughly!”

”Yes!”

”Let me do it!” Zi Su’s eyes were wide, her entire being like a tinderbox, ready to explode.

Zi Yue couldn’t help but laugh. ”Be careful. If you push her too hard, she might lash out!”

Zi Su scoffed. ”Hmph! Careful? Once she falls into my hands, I’ll show her what true boldness is!”

With that, she stormed off.

”You go too. I won’t make an appearance in this matter,” Xia Ruqing said with a smile.

”You’re still in your confinement period, Mistress. Don’t trouble yourself with this. Just leave it to us servants.”

”Alright.”

Zi Yue also left.

There was a small woodshed in the backyard. Inside was leftover charcoal from winter and firewood for boiling water in the small tea room.

Zi Yue and Zi Su dragged Xiao Ho to the small woodshed.

”Get in!” Zi Su kicked her.

Xiao Ho, looking innocent, stumbled and fell inside! Her head hit the firewood. A gash instantly appeared on her face, blood streaming down her cheek.

”Sister Zi Yue, Sister Zi Su! If you have something to say, please say it properly. What is the meaning of this?” She clutched her wound, her hand quickly becoming soaked in blood.

Zi Su showed no sympathy, only a cold laugh. ”What are we doing? What are *we* doing? Don’t you know perfectly well in your heart what *you’ve* done? Hmm?! Look carefully, what is this?!”

Zi Su threw the booklet at her.

Xiao Ho’s expression changed the moment she saw the booklet. She stammered for a long time before finally saying, ”This... What is this? This servant... doesn’t know...”

Zi Yue was so angry her face paled slightly. ”Don’t know? Her Ladyship is still in confinement and has suffered so much, and you think a simple ’I don’t know’ will suffice?!”

Zi Su’s gaze was sharp. ”Sister Zi Yue, don’t waste your breath on her! Xiao Xizi, Xiao Zhu Zi! Bring the branding iron! If she still refuses to talk, I’ll scorch her skin and peel it off!”

”Yes, right away!” Xiao Xizi responded and left.

A moment later, the branding irons and a charcoal brazier were brought over. The irons in the brazier were already glowing red, and the charcoal within crackled, an utterly terrifying sound.

Zi Su took out a red-hot branding iron and slowly approached Xiao Ho. ”Have you thought it through? Are you going to talk or not? If you don’t speak, I’ll begin! My, my, such a fair and tender little face. It would be such a pity to ruin it!”

As she spoke, she moved closer and closer.

Xiao Ho was scared out of her wits. ”I... I’ll talk! I’ll talk! This booklet was given to me by an older sister. She said if I cooked according to these recipes, Her Ladyship would surely like them! And I would definitely be highly regarded! So I... I just followed them. I didn’t know it would make the Mistress uncomfortable!”

Zi Su and Zi Yue exchanged glances. ”An older sister? Which older sister?!”

Xiao Ho looked anxious and bewildered. ”I don’t know. Every time she appeared, she wore a pitch-black cloak and a veil!”

”Then how do you know she’s a woman?!”

Xiao Ho hurriedly explained, ”Because her voice sounded like a woman’s!”

”Oh!” Everyone nodded.

Seeing that she didn’t seem to be lying, Zi Su decided to use the time and place Xiao Ho provided to lie in wait for their quarry, to find out who this mysterious person truly was.

They acted immediately. First, they locked up Xiao Ho. Then, they had another palace maid, dressed in Xiao Ho’s clothes, go to the appointed meeting place behind a rockery in the Imperial Garden.

After a long wait, the person finally arrived. That person was indeed wearing a black cloak and a dark veil. Zi Yue, Zi Su, and the others hidden in ambush all saw this.

They watched as the black-clad woman familiarly approached ’Xiao Ho’ and began to reprimand her. ”You haven’t performed well these past two days. Don’t you want your reward money anymore?!”

”’Not at all, not at all!’” The palace maid, pinching her throat, did her best to imitate Xiao Ho’s voice.

Fortunately, it was dark, and with the veil, the other party didn’t notice.

The black-clad person spoke again, ”How is Consort Xian’s health? Why is there no news of the Imperial Physician being summoned? What exactly is going on?! Have you betrayed your master?!”

”’Not at all!’” ’Xiao Ho’ frantically explained.