The small kitchen is separated from the main hall of Huanning Hall by a courtyard, and some bamboo is planted around it, which is said to have been requested by Xu Meiren, so it looks very refreshing. When the bamboo is ripe, you can also use bamboo leaves to make some small snacks, which are not only refreshing and delicious, but also can dispel dampness and heat dissipation, and it is best to eat some in summer.

Ansu is the first time to come here, although the bamboo can dispel heat, but in the autumn, it can't help but look a little cool. The small kitchen is quite lively, and there are two cooks who are resident here, I heard that they were invited from Xu Meiren's hometown, and they are also good at some snacks from Xu Meiren's hometown. In addition to these two people, Xu Meiren is occasionally picky eaters, and there will be a royal chef to help.

An Su stepped into the door, but today there were only the two resident cooks here, and there were four or five palace maids around him, all of whom were older grandmothers. In the past few days, Xu Meiren's residual poison has not disappeared, and she can only eat some liquid food, and the errands in the small kitchen have become much more leisurely, and the grandmothers are all sitting together, talking with each other.

"Hello grandmothers, I am a palace maid who serves by Xu Ji Niangniang's side, and I want to ask the grandmothers about some things." An Su also sat beside them as the locals followed.

These grandmothers were worried that they had nothing to do, and now they were very welcome when they asked a question, and they nodded their heads again and again. A grandmother sitting by the stove also brought a stack of snacks to Ansu and asked her to ask while eating.

"Two days ago, did the small kitchen make a pastry for Xu Ji Niangniang?" Ansu thought about it for a moment, "The shape is boxy, and the color is like jasper. ”

"Is this the snack the girl talking about?" The voice of the cook came from behind him, and An Su looked back to see that he was holding the kind of pastry that poisoned Xu Meiren.

"Yes, that's it." An Su continued to ask, "Does Xu Ji Niangniang like this pastry very much?" ”

"This is a new chestnut cake developed in our small kitchen a month ago, it is very soft and glutinous, and Niangniang has been very fond of it recently, and she has to eat some almost every day."

"A month ago?" An Su thought to himself, if he wanted to poison him, he would first find out whether Xu Meiren would eat it. If you poison the pastries that you have to eat every day, it is naturally foolproof. But how could this poisoner know about this?

"Does Xu Ji Niangniang really have to eat this pastry every day for a month?" Ansu confirmed again.

"No, the girl heard it wrong, we developed it a month ago, and it took half a month to improve, that is, Xu Ji Niangniang didn't start eating it until half a month ago." The cook thought for a while, "But in the past half a month, Niangniang has indeed eaten every day." ”

"Then in the past month and a half, have any outsiders entered the kitchen?"

"Within half a month...... Let me think. When the cook thought about it, a grandmother preemptively said, "Of course I remember, the emperor has been here!" This is the first time I've seen the emperor! ”

"The emperor came to the kitchen? Why is that? "An Su really doesn't understand, how could the emperor come here for no reason.

"I think it was Xu Ji Niangniang who gave the emperor to eat our chestnut cake, and the emperor liked it very much, so he was a little curious about how the cake was made, and then he came to the small kitchen to have a look." The cook also remembered after being reminded by his grandmother, "But the emperor just came in and walked around, and he didn't seem to be interested, so he went out soon." ”

An Su always felt that the emperor would not harm Xu Meiren, and if he wanted to harm Xu Meiren, it would be too sad. Besides, when he heard that Xu Meiren was poisoned, he came in a hurry, and the anxiety on his face didn't seem to be pretended.

"Is there anyone else but the emperor? The stakes are high, think about it. ”

"Within half a month, half a moon ......" The grandmother sitting next to An Su muttered in a low voice, and suddenly slapped her thigh, "Oops! Isn't there still a spring girl? How did I forget her? ”

"Spring cold? Is that spring cold next to Mrs. Emei of the Phi Xiang Palace? As soon as An Su heard the name, his expression became nervous, "What are you doing here in Chunhan?" ”

"It's also for the pastry." The grandmother glanced at the busy cook behind her, "It's not all him, the news that the emperor came to our small kitchen to go around, and everyone rumored that the emperor often came to see Xu Ji Niangniang because of the delicious pastries in Huanning Palace." But the mother was not angry when she heard this, so she let them go. However, Mrs. Emei seemed to take it seriously, and specially asked the Chunhan girl to come and see how the pastry was made! ”

"How many times has Chunhan been here?"

"There must have been three or four times!" The cook thought for a moment, and then said, "But although the Chunhan girl often comes, she doesn't come empty-handed, and every time she brings some snacks to share with all of us." ”

"By the way, when it comes to bringing snacks, I think of the people who have often come to our small kitchen in the past half month, and Miss Fu Ping."

This name sounded familiar, and An Suhu wondered: "Who is Fu Ping?" ”

"No wonder the girl doesn't know that this Fu Ping is the person next to the queen's mother, but she was just sent to the Jiaofang Palace by the queen mother not long ago. I heard that although she is young, she is neat in her work, and in less than a month by the queen's side, she can sit on an equal footing with the former palace maid Lixin of the Jiaofang Palace! ”

"Really?" An Su listened to this but didn't believe it, the queen mother has always been the most afraid of trouble, and there are many things to do to promote a palace maid around her, just the monthly money has to be changed three times in various records every month, which is really not like the queen's style.

"That Miss Fuping is good, every time she comes, she brings us some snacks. Originally, the queen asked her to send enough snacks to Xu Ji Niangniang, and she also brought us some more. A petite little girl, carrying two food boxes that were so big, I couldn't bear to look at it. Every time that girl comes, she will stay with us for a while, and she will help us when she is busy! The grandmothers were full of praise.

An Su still feels strange, with the queen's temperament, more things are better than less, for no reason, why do you want to send snacks to Xu Meiren? Now that Fu Ping has been promoted to the palace maid of the Jiaofang Palace, how can she still do this kind of errand work?

"Mama, does that Fuping girl come over often?"

"yes, it's going to come back every three or two days." The grandmothers continued, "The girl also likes all kinds of snacks, and she is always gluttonous, and occasionally she will get a few pieces of each of the leftovers from the kitchen. ”

"Do you know why the queen always likes to send snacks to Xu Ji Niangniang recently?"

"We don't know." After the grandmother next to her answered, she turned her head to ask for advice from others, and the other grandmother thought about it, but said, "I seem to have heard that girl mention it, saying that the queen mother was worried that the two young envoys would enter the palace, and she shared the favor of Xu Ji Niangniang, and I heard that she likes to eat dim sum, so I sent some dim sum every once in a while to appease her." ”

"This is strange, according to the queen's mother's temperament, how can she care about such a trivial matter?" Ansu muttered softly, but the sound reached the ears of the grandmothers.

"Why doesn't the girl know?" The grandmother who was still sitting next to An Su spoke up, "The queen's temperament has changed greatly in the past month or so, not only gradually taking back the power to manage the harem from Mrs. Emei, but also rectifying the harem. The slaves and maids who used to be lazy are now diligent, and the eunuchs who used to love trouble have also become shrinking turtles one by one, and the harem is much more orderly. ”

This really surprised Ansu, not long after she left the palace, there was such a big change in the harem. It's just that she recalls the queen she saw in the past, and she always can't believe that she will become what the grandmothers say. But now is not the time to delve into this matter, and Ansu sorted out her emotions.

"Mama, has anyone been here besides them?" Ansule continued to return to the question she had just asked.

"It seems like that's all there is to it."

An Su nodded: "I know, thank you, if you still think of someone, you have to bother you to tell me again." ”

Passing through the bamboo forest in the small kitchen and returning to the courtyard of the main hall of Huanning Palace, An Su still couldn't let go of his heart. The queen's behavior these days is very abnormal, and if you want to change a person's personality, two months is really not enough. Besides, there has been no major incident in the palace recently, which really won't stimulate such a big change in the queen.

An Su shook her head vigorously, put the queen's affairs first, she carefully combed through the words of the grandmothers just now in her mind, it seems that Xu Meiren was poisoned, and the most suspicious ones were Chunhan and Fu Ping. Although the queen's temperament has changed greatly recently, An Su always thinks that she will do such a thing as poisoning, and the most suspicious thing is the spring cold next to Mrs. Emei.

"Ansu, what are you doing here?" Mo Shang suddenly patted An Su from behind.

"Ahh It's Sister Moshang! Ansu breathed a sigh of relief, "I just went to the small kitchen and asked for some clues. ”

"That's a coincidence, I'm waiting for my mother to sleep, and I just got some clues from my mother." Mo Shang glanced back at the dormitory, "Suo Hua is accompanying Niangniang inside, and I will come out to find you." ”

"Tell me, what did you find?" An Su wanted to hear Mo Shang's clues first.

"Niangniang said that the chestnut cake that day seemed to be a little bitterer than before, but the overall taste was still not bad, so I didn't pay too much attention to it."

"Bitter ......" An Su thought to herself, and suddenly asked again, "By the way, what is the poison in those pastries, has the doctor found out?" ”

Mo Sheng frowned and shook his head: "I have asked several doctors to test it, and they all said that it is non-toxic." ”

"How is this possible? I had smelled it that day, and there was definitely something wrong with the pastry. An Su thought, "That plate of poisonous pastries won't be replaced by someone taking advantage of the chaos!" ”

"The doctors all say it's non-toxic." Mo Sheng also sighed, but she immediately took out a handkerchief wrapped in something from her arms, "However, Niangniang secretly wrapped a piece of the plate of dim sum she ate with a handkerchief at that time." ”