Chapter Three, Warm Soup from the Kitchen (2).

Take action? Chu Chu was momentarily stunned, but quickly regained her composure, "Oh, okay!"

Chu Chu stood still, holding two green vegetables in her hand. Her small mouth pouted, her eyebrows furrowed, and she unabashedly fixed her bewildered gaze on Xiao Jinyu. This sudden attention caused Xiao Jinyu's previously flawless heart to suddenly ache.

Years of experience in handling cases have taught Xiao Jinyu that the more someone avoids letting him know something, the more valuable it is to investigate. Therefore, Xiao Jinyu calmly said, "Rest assured, I won't tell anyone."

If she really intends to take his life with deliberate planning, tonight he will give her a chance that truly deserves the phrase "once in a lifetime".

This person looks like he has a lot of knowledge, but he doesn't even understand this little thing. No wonder he has to use a wheelchair at such a young age!

Why?

Xiao Jinyu stared fiercely for a moment and asked, "Who said that?"

Her every frown, smile, word, and action gave Xiao Jinyu an indescribable sense of ease.

Xiao Jinyu furrowed her brows lightly. Although the matter of appointing an undertaker was trivial, the formulation of the list still belonged to the realm of official documents in the Ministry of Justice. It would not be considered valid without his signature and seal. At this moment, he had not even seen a trace of the draft list. Where could she possibly know? "Who said that?"

In the moment of being grabbed by the wrist, Xiao Jinyu realized that she was using her left hand to grab his right wrist, as if there was something held in his right hand.

Is someone bullying you in the Wang's residence?

The steward forbids speaking, as it will provoke the prince.

Don't apologize... Xiao Jinyu pressed his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat and rice soup, with a black face and said, "Just go ahead and do it, okay... "

Why didn't you have dinner?

Wu Jiang, disregarding the direction where Chu Chu is, hurriedly got up and knelt down, kowtowing and saying, "I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

Chuchu shook her head, "I want to be an investigator for the Six Fan Gates."

In a panic, Chu Chu only remembered to drop the pot lid in her left hand, but forgot about the rice spoon in her right hand. Xiao Jinyu looked up and stared at the large rice spoon she held in her hand, using all her patience to maintain a steady and calm voice. "It's nothing, just... a little cold..."

Oops! Sorry!

If she were really an enemy, Xiao Jinyu would be able to find relief in those seemingly endless case files tonight.

While Xiao Jinyu was momentarily stunned, Chu Chu had already raised her right hand and slapped the bald, smooth, and white egg that she had somehow flipped out of a bowl onto his forehead. The egg rolled back and forth on the reddened area.

Chuchu looked at him with a cold face, saying nothing, thinking that the power of an egg was not enough to relieve his pain. So, she lowered her waist and head, and gently blew on that light red.

Yes, his current physical condition is indeed helpless and unable to resist. If the heavens want him to die in this place at the hands of this woman tonight, he has nothing to say. But how can this woman try to kill him with a rice spoon!

It's not that Xiao Jinyu didn't want to speak up to stop her, but at this moment, he dared not make any movement except for his heart beating wildly. He even held his breath tightly, afraid that even a small movement would lead to a result of wanting to strangle himself.

Chuchu's firm tone made Xiao Jinyu almost start to wonder if there really was such a mysterious and powerful Six Doors in the capital city that he didn't know about. Fortunately, before she could lead him astray, the pain in his waist and back gradually became more unrestrained as his body warmed up. The increasingly clear pain reminded Xiao Jinyu of Jing Yi's words once again. His frail body couldn't help but tremble slightly in the pain bestowed upon him indirectly by this woman.

Just as he felt like he was about to pass out from holding his breath for too long, there was a loud "clang-dong" sound at the door. Instantly, his consciousness, which was about to float to the gate of the Yanwang Palace, was pulled back to this earthly kitchen.

Xiao Jinyu instinctively corrected, "Did you mean the Three Law Department?"

Could it be that the murder weapon was actually found on the scene...

But the exam you can participate in is the one held by the Ministry of Justice.

Chu Chu chopped the green vegetables, chopped two shiitake mushrooms, and then chopped half a piece of salty dried tofu into the pot. After stirring contentedly for a while, she suddenly realized that she hadn't heard any movement from Xiao Jinyu for quite some time. When she turned her head, she saw him with his head down, his face pale and sweating profusely on his forehead, trembling in the wheelchair. Startled, she hurried over and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

What if you didn't pass the exam?

If I tell you, you must not tell the prince.

Just as Chu Chu raised her right hand, she raised it so quickly that she forgot she was still holding a large object in her right hand. As a result, before Chu Chu's hand could reach it, the round and smooth side of the iron rice spoon struck solidly and squarely, making a "dang" sound as it hit the forehead of Xiao Jinyu, who was still sweating profusely.

Chuchu successfully grabbed a few red dates and a handful of dried longan, closed the cabinet door, jumped off the stool, threw the things in her hand into the pot, and then said, "I heard that the prince is a stubborn old man with a very bad temper. Whoever provokes him will get their butt beaten!"

Unfortunately, Chu Chu is currently pondering that since the cabbage leaves are so fat, it would be better to chop them into smaller pieces for the braised cabbage rice to be more flavorful.

She admitted to killing, beating, and kidnapping him. After all, it was not too shameful to be defeated by someone who could act so well that even Jingyi couldn't detect any flaws.

Chuchu turned over a few seasoning jars by the stove again, finally chose a bottle, scooped out two large spoons of brown sugar and sprinkled them into the pot, "Master, he has been here for many years."

Xiao Jinyu took out a handkerchief from his body and buried his head to wipe his forehead. He didn't even notice what Chu Chu suddenly turned around to do. He just heard the sound of pots and pans clattering for a while. Before he could lift his head, he was grabbed by the wrist by Chu Chu.

Jing Yike didn't say there was this one... ... !

No.

Has she caused less trouble today...

Chuchu turned her back to him and rummaged through the boxes and cabinets for a while, "I have to say, you can't laugh at me."

He accepted that he was mature beyond his years, but the old man...? Where did he come from?

Chuchu opened her mouth but remained silent for a while. Was it Jingyi, Wujiang, or Housekeeper Zhao? They all gave her the feeling that it was already a done deal. But come to think of it, no one had ever clearly told her that she had passed the exam.

Xiao Jinyu furrowed her brows lightly, "Did you offend the prince?"

Chuchu didn't look back, she bent over and flipped out two plump and fat green vegetables from the basket. She scooped up a ladle of clear water and carefully rinsed them. "Hmm... I have to go. I just figured it out. If I don't have any work to do, I won't even have money to eat, let alone stay in the capital and find the Six Ministries!"

This hit wasn't as fierce, nor as painful, but for Xiao Jinyu, who was already struggling, it was enough to make his head spin for a while.

Why are you crying?

Surprised, Chu Chu turned her head to the side, only to see that there were no obstacles in front of Xiao Jinyu's eyes. It was then that she realized that the heavy object entering the door in a prostrate position was none other than Wu Jiang.

There was no ambush, nor any intention of probing. It was simply his cautious and meticulous mind not knowing what got into it, purely wanting to spend some time with her.

Watching as Chu Chu rushed back to the stove, Xiao Jinyu let out a sigh of relief as if he had survived a calamity.

Xiao Jinyu remained silent. In the past twenty years, he had never imagined that there would be a moment in his life when he would be held at a disadvantage by a woman of unknown background, with a peeled egg rolling on his forehead. Therefore, he really didn't know how he should react at this moment.

He came back to the kitchen in the middle of the night wanting to find something to eat, but before he even entered the door, he saw Chu Chu standing in front of Xiao Jinyu. Chu Chu was holding Xiao Jinyu's wrist, with one person looking down and the other looking up... From the angle at the door, it was obvious that the two of them were... In a moment of shock, he forgot that there was a threshold under his feet, so he fell straight in with a loud crash.

Xiao Jinyu's composure, no matter how good, has already been sincerely angered.

Xiao Jinyu was slightly stunned. Ever since the decree was issued strictly prohibiting storytellers from composing and performing anecdotes related to government offices, he hadn't heard anyone say these three words so seriously for many years. Now, what's this about the Nine Great Divine Constables? "Do you want to report a case, or seek justice?"

Chuchu pouted her small mouth, turned around and faced the stove, scooped half a bowl of rice and poured it into the pot, "Originally, I heard Brother Jing say that it was the exam for the Six Doors, but I didn't realize until after I finished the exam that what we were talking about was not the same Six Doors."

No, that's just my guess. Chuchu covered the lid and squatted down to light another stove, while explaining her reasoning process to Xiao Jinyu with solid evidence. "Isn't the prince the seventh uncle of the emperor? I heard that the emperor is several years older than me. I have an uncle who is almost fifty years old. So, wouldn't the prince be an old man?"

Chuchu discovered that the red color was originally faint and not at all obvious. But as she blew, it became even redder, and the more she blew, the redder it became. It's really strange!

Just thinking about being trapped in this chair at his age must be very sad. Although it was just a passing thought in his mind, Chuchu still felt like he had done something wrong, his face flushed, and he could no longer speak loudly, "Using eggs to disperse the blood stasis, then it won't be red, swollen, or painful."

Jing Yi first deceived her and tried to keep her, and then deceived her again and tried to monitor her. Xiao Jinyu looked at the small figure spinning around the stove in an orderly manner, and frowned slightly. "If that's the case, even if you pass the exam this time, you won't go, will you?"

Xiao Jinyu hasn't even uttered the first half of the word "no" yet, and Chu Chu has already raised her hand to touch his forehead.

As if afraid that she would remember the wound again, Xiao Jinyu took the initiative to divert the topic as far away as possible.

Chuchu turned around with a bag of rice in her arms and looked at Xiaojinyu with a serious expression, "No, it's not the Three Law Departments, it's the Six Ministries, the one with the Nine Great Divine Captains, the Six Ministries."

Mr. Zhao said... Is the Lord an old man?

Xiao Jinyu was ready to face death calmly, but as soon as he looked up, he was glared at by Chuchu. Then came a scolding like scolding a son, "What are you messing around for? You'll get a bump if you keep rubbing it!"

I have never been scared like this before, even after having a knife held against my neck countless times.

I have already passed the exam.

Chuchu started a fire, added two ladles of water to the pot, and began rummaging through things. "Do you know about the Six Gates? I came to Beijing to find them."

If she doesn't pass the exam...! She won't even have the money to go back home!

Chuchu found a piece of ginger in a vegetable basket, washed it a few times, and placed it on the cutting board. "Ka ka," she cut it into several pieces, then threw it into the pot. While continuing to search, she said, "I've been crying in the house, and when I got tired, I fell asleep. When I woke up hungry, I came out to find something to eat."

"Still cold?" Chu Chu was afraid that he would feel cold, so when she pushed him in, she specifically pushed him to a place not far from the stove. Now she was sweating from the heat, so why was he still cold? "Did you catch a cold from being exposed to too much cold wind?"

However, the pitiful look on her face was not as enduring as the pain that flashed through Xiao Jinyu's heart. "If I don't pass the exam... I'll just find some odd jobs in the capital, as long as it allows me to stay until I pass the Six Ministries Exam," she said calmly before turning around and continuing to chop vegetables.

Chuchu is just a petite girl with limited strength, but for Xiao Jinyu at this moment, it is enough to let him manipulate her as he pleases.

Xiao Jinyu's face immediately darkened another layer. Hearing her response, it seemed like she was really begging him to come and kill her!

There is reason in these words.

Chuchu tiptoed on a small stool, stretching her arms to pull a pile of dry goods in the cupboard, "No, no one is bullying me..."