Recovery

The big chef whose name she had yet to know was sobbing uncontrollably. 

"Calm down." Chi Lian handed her a bottle of water and covered her with a thick blanket. 

The woman was too absent minded to wonder where these items were coming from.

"Last year, when it was time for me take my qualifying exams in the capital, I suddenly fell sick. My sense of smell suddenly died and I couldn't even taste what I cook anymore. 

The hospital did every test but they found nothing wrong with my body. With no choice left, I gave up on the test. My father was disappointed but instead of giving up, he chose to go everywhere in the empire with me looking for a cure for my ailment. 

We found a traditional Chinese medicine expert who said that I had been poisoned. We were both shocked to hear this. How could I have been poisoned? All the food I ate during that time frame was prepared from home including all the ingredients. We grow and process everything ourselves.