The Poison Taster Who Outlived the Princess's Dinners novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: The Pantry

The Marquis said nothing at all in the garden.

He bowed to the princess, turned his cane once in his hand, and walked away through the rain.

That was worse than if he had shouted.

"He will tell my mother," Mingzhu said, in the dining hall, with her wet hair in a towel.

"Will he?" said Ruoxi.

"Not yet. He will wait until it is useful."

Lanyin came in with a tray, set it down, and left without a word.

On the tray were two bowls of ginger soup.

Ruoxi tasted both and said they were safe, and neither of them touched the soup.

In the morning the Marquis sent a note by a eunuch.

It said that he had been moved by the Pavilion's loyalty, and that a taster's devotion was a precious thing, and that he would be glad to see her at the Records Hall at noon to discuss it.

Ruoxi read it on the kitchen steps.

She read it twice.

She knew exactly what it meant.

"Child," said a voice behind her.

Fang Liyun, the Mistress of the Eastern Kitchen, stood in the doorway with flour to her elbows.

She was a stout woman in a white head cloth and she had fed Ruoxi since the first week of her post.

"What does the crane want?" she asked.

"To use me."

"Against her?"

"Against us," Ruoxi said. "He saw."

Fang's big face did not change.

"Go and get the preserves," she said. "I have a jar of her favorite plums. You can take her some."

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