Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

Is something wrong?

Shen Qing was taken aback. Just as he was about to try to figure it out, the system started calling out again.

[System detection revealed that the flour contained bitter almond powder!]

[System detection has confirmed that the person who tampered with the equipment is Li Fuquan! Li Fuquan!]

Li Fuquan?

Shen Qing turned his head and looked straight at Li Fuquan.

Li Fuquan was looking forward to it, but unexpectedly met Shen Qing's gaze.

He shuddered, and feeling guilty, quickly looked away, pretending to be very busy.

You didn't find it, did you? You definitely didn't find it.

How could anyone tell? He only added a little bit, which only affected the texture of the noodles. You couldn't tell with the naked eye.

Yes, they definitely didn't find it.

Li Fuquan casually picked up a kitchen knife and a potato and started cutting them.

He was flustered and confused. He wanted to check on Shen Qing's situation but was afraid of being discovered. He tried to chop potatoes, but his mind was elsewhere.

"hiss--"

The cleaver slashed sharply, and a sharp pain shot through my fingertips.

Before he could examine the wound on his hand closely, the next moment, white powder filled the air.

With a "Duang" sound.

Something was dumped on his head.

It was flour, a whole basin of flour, the whole basin and all, was dumped on his head.

I couldn't see anything clearly, and the wound on my hand hurt even more; it was most likely from flour getting on it.

"ah--"

"What are you doing?"

Li Fuquan shouted, his mind completely blank, unable to think straight.

Seeing this, Sun An quickly helped remove the basin, shouting at Shen Qing as he did so:

"What are you doing? Why are you bullying my master? Even if you are the head chef of the imperial kitchen, you can't treat people like this. My master has worked in the imperial kitchen for decades. He has worked hard, if not with great achievements. Don't go too far!"

Shen Qing ignored Sun An's loud commotion and said to Wang Erdan, "Go and find Eunuch Zhao. Tell him that we can't make the braised pork intestine noodles today and we're not setting up our stall."

Wang Erdan didn't understand, but he was obedient.

He did whatever Madam Shen asked him to do, and ran out in a flash.

Sun An continued to shout, "You're bullying people for no reason. Even if you invite the Ancestor, it won't make a difference. Besides the Ancestor, there are all the masters in this palace. The Imperial Kitchen follows the rules. You can't just say whatever you want. My master has worked in the Imperial Kitchen for many years..."

thump--

Sun An was speaking enthusiastically when he turned around and saw that his dear master had knelt down.

"Master, what are you doing??"

"I, I..." Li Fuquan mumbled, his mouth full of flour, "My legs are weak, my legs are weak."

All the imperial chefs were stunned, utterly shocked.

Not only was Shen Qing's action shocking, but Li Fuquan's attitude was also shocking.

"What did Steward Li do to offend Madam Shen?"

"I think it's highly likely that Steward Li used underhanded tactics."

"Yes, Madam Shen wouldn't do this for no reason; it must be that man surnamed Li who's in the wrong."

"..."

A murmur reached Sun An's ears, which made him even angrier.

He would not allow anyone to insult his master.

"Master, we're in the right! We don't need to be afraid! Master, please get up! Get up!!"

"Madam Shen shoved a basin of water over your head without even asking what happened. Even if the matriarch were here, we would still be in the right."

Sun An kept trying to pull Li Fuquan up, but Li Fuquan was like a limp shrimp and couldn't stand up at all.

Even with flour smeared all over his face, you could still see the bitterness in his expression.

"Oh dear, apprentice, why don't you kneel down too..." Li Fuquan mumbled incoherently.

Sun An: "???"

What's going on? Has the chef's brain been smeared with flour?

Before he could figure it out, he saw Li Fuquan crawl little by little to Shen Qing's feet, grabbing Shen Qing's skirt and shouting:

"Madam Shen, if you have something to say, just say it. We can resolve it internally in the Imperial Kitchen. Why bother inviting the matriarch over?"

"I've saved up a lot of money over the years. If you want it, I'll give it all to you. I'll find out whatever conditions you ask."

My life is so hard, so incredibly hard.

I really don't understand how Shen Qing discovered such a small amount of bitter almond powder.

He asks for nothing now, he just wants to live a good life.

Shen Qing snorted coldly and pulled her skirt out of Li Fuquan's hand: "Let's wait for Eunuch Zhao to arrive."

"you--"

"Don't push your luck! Even a cornered dog will jump over the wall!" Li Fuquan gritted his teeth, his voice fierce.

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow: "You try jumping it."

"I......"

Goodness, he really doesn't know how to jump.

He wanted to rush up and kill Shen Qing, but this was the palace, and there were so many people around, so there was absolutely no chance of success.

Sun An was confused. He took a few steps forward and grabbed Li Fuquan's shoulder: "Master, what are you doing?"

"What did you do?!"

Li Fuquan looked at Sun An with a face full of despair. As he looked at him, his eyes gradually changed, as if a drowning person had finally grasped a lifeline.

"master??"

Just then, a long, sharp voice came from outside the door:

"The Emperor has arrived!"

emperor???

Didn't we go to invite the ancestors?

The imperial chefs were terrified, and Li Fuquan trembled even more.

Everyone knelt down in a huge mass, shouting loudly, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Only Shen Qing stood in the middle, unmoved, showing no intention of kneeling.

I'm really sorry, I come from modern times and don't have the habit of kneeling.

The emperor rushed to Shen Qing and asked, "Madam Shen, what happened? Why can't you make the braised pork intestine noodles?"

Forget about "long live" or anything like that; all he can think about right now is braised pork intestine noodles.

As for whether Shen Qing knelt down or not, he simply ignored it.

Just kidding, this is Lady Shen. If he could eat Lady Shen's delicious food every meal, he, as the emperor, would personally kneel down to her.

Zhao Gou, standing nearby, also chimed in anxiously, "That's right, Madam Shen, please tell me if you have any difficulties. I've already set up the market, and His Majesty is in high spirits today. You absolutely cannot refuse to sell!"

He wanted to eat braised pork intestine noodles, and he also wanted Shen Qing to see the market he had worked so hard to set up.

Suddenly he said he couldn't do it anymore, he was done. His little heart really couldn't take it!

Shen Qing looked up, pointed to the flour jar, and said succinctly, "Li Fuquan mixed bitter almond powder into the flour."

The room fell silent for a moment after these words were spoken.

Sun An stared at Li Fuquan with a shocked expression and wide eyes.

Li Fu was trembling uncontrollably, his back covered in cold sweat.

"How dare you!! Who is Li Fuquan? Step forward and face me!!!" The emperor roared, his expression clearly indicating he was about to kill.

Li Fuquan took a deep breath, his eyes gradually hardening: "Your Majesty, I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

"This has nothing to do with me, it was Sun An, it was Sun An who mixed bitter almond powder into the flour!!!"

"Your Majesty, please see the truth! Lady Shen has made a mistake!"