Chapter 166

Chapter 166 "I never knew I had such nerve—relying on my position managing the main kitchen to directly poison the young masters and misses of the Prince's household?!" "And one wasn't enough—I had to harm two?" Fang Yuan'er sneered mockingly: "That sickly one in Concubine An's courtyard—why not pin his illness on me too?" "Side Consort Fang!" The Princess Consort suddenly spoke, coldly warning Fang Yuan'er: "These words exceed your bounds!" Everyone knew the Fourth Young Master had always been sickly, but Fang Yuan'er bringing it up to mock others was highly improper. No matter how noble Fang Yuan'er's status, she was not noble enough to freely jest about the Prince's offspring! Consort Li kept her head lowered, her voice cool and clear, unafraid of Fang Yuan'er's ridicule. "If I may ask the household physician to first examine the wet nurse's pulse." Xie Run said calmly: "Side Consort Fang is well-traveled and knowledgeable—surely she understands the phrase 'dark under the lamp'?" "As for things that seem unreasonable—if someone delights in doing the opposite, wouldn't that make them reasonable?" "No one witnessed Qiu Lu poisoning anyone with their own eyes, but this poison must have been administered through daily contact with the wet nurse's meals. Aside from her, no one else had the opportunity." When all impossible answers are eliminated, the one remaining must be the answer. This time, Xie Run was truly confronting Fang Yuan'er head-on. Regardless, the main kitchen and Qiu Lu implicated in her son's incident were inseparable from Fang Yuan'er. If she could still amiably play sisters with Fang Yuan'er, that would be the real problem. Fang Yuan'er let out a cold laugh: "Sister Xie is insisting that I ordered Qiu Lu to harm your son? Your refusal to distinguish right from wrong only lets the true culprit behind this gloat in triumph!" Xie Run said softly: "Then I must trouble Sister Fang to prove that the medicine wasn't administered by your maid—wouldn't all the problems then be resolved?" "Sister Fang's words imply someone is framing you. If so, where's the evidence?" "At least there are witnesses from the main kitchen regarding Qiu Lu's poisoning. You can't just claim to be falsely accused with empty words and expect to be completely absolved of any connection to this matter, can you?" Fang Yuan'er choked, grinding her teeth: "I never knew you were so eloquent before!" Xie Run remained unhurried: "If I can't even speak up when my own son has been poisoned, cowering in silence—then am I even human?" "By Sister Fang's logic, I might as well build a Buddhist shrine in Spring Mountain Courtyard and just sit myself down in it, wouldn't I?" The biggest problem in this matter was that Qiu Lu was the prime suspect. Fang Yuan'er wanted to cry innocence, but she had not a shred of evidence to clear Qiu Lu of suspicion. The Princess Consort had been silent at the head of the room for some time. Seeing the two women's argument growing heated, she finally spoke slowly: "Qiu Lu is the prime suspect, so let's begin the investigation with her." Fang Yuan'er couldn't help but sit up straighter. Sure enough, she heard the Princess Consort say: "Send two people to search Qiu Lu's quarters." "Wait!" Fang Yuan'er suddenly interjected. Xiaoshu called out from the side: "Is Side Consort Fang feeling guilty? Why else would she obstruct the Princess Consort's order to search Qiu Lu's quarters?!" Fang Yuan'er shot Xiaoshu a glare: "Since when do you have a place to speak here?" Xie Run shielded Xiaoshu, smiling: "Sister Fang, don't be so overbearing—you won't even allow someone to speak?" "This is Spring Mountain Courtyard. Qiu Lu dared to publicly intimidate the little maid of the main kitchen—who knows how arrogant she was in the kitchen itself? That's the way you've spoiled her, Sister Fang." The Princess Consort looked at Fang Yuan'er expressionlessly: "Side Consort Fang, what do you wish to say?" Of course, Fang Yuan'er didn't want anyone searching Qiu Lu's room. If someone truly was framing her, Qiu Lu's room had probably already been stuffed with evidence. Once the items were found, they would become irrefutable proof that Fang Yuan'er had harmed the Fifth Young Master. Fang Yuan'er racked her brain for a way to turn things around: "Why not wait until the wet nurse of Princess Duanmin's examination results come back?" The Princess Consort refused: "The two matters don't conflict." The moment she finished speaking, someone had already left Spring Mountain Courtyard, heading to Songya Courtyard to conduct the search. Fang Yuan'er's face sank. She could only hate that Prince Jing wasn't present today—she had no way to appeal to him, and was left at the Princess Consort's mercy! Soon, Doctor Zhao finished his examination and bowed to the assembled company: "Princess Consort, honored mistresses, there is nothing wrong with Princess Duanmin's wet nurse." Fang Yuan'er laughed coldly again and again. As if she had finally been vindicated of injustice. Consort Li was slightly surprised: "It was Doctor Zhao who took Youyou's pulse yesterday—did you notice any similarity with the Fifth Young Master's pulse condition?" Because Princess Duanmin was still young, Consort Li hadn't brought the child along on this visit. Doctor Zhao pondered for a moment: "For children with bloating and Soul-startle, the pulse patterns are mostly the same. I'm afraid I'll need to feel the pulse again." The Princess Consort said calmly: "In that case, send someone to bring Princess Duanmin here for a joint examination." With so many matters at hand, the Princess Consort had no patience to investigate them one by one. Tomorrow she still had to enter the palace to attend to the Emperor's illness. Today was her rare day of rest, and it was all being consumed by these sordid affairs of the Prince's household. Consort Li was reluctant, but fearing that someone might truly be working in the shadows, she could only send her personal maid back to bring the child. Xie Run suddenly added: "When you go to fetch Princess Duanmin, bring along a bowl of the water she drinks daily." "Remember, it must be something she drinks daily—don't make a mistake." Though Consort Li didn't understand the reason, her heart inexplicably sank. Anything Consort Xie would specifically emphasize at a time like this could never be anything good. Within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Princess Duanmin was carried in. Also brought along was the water Princess Duanmin had used that day. This time, Doctor Zhao only took a single sip and immediately detected the taste. But he said nothing, instead feeling Princess Duanmin's pulse again. Only when the surroundings fell utterly silent did Doctor Zhao speak: "To report to the masters, this water has been laced with a very small amount of tapioca powder." "The Princess's abdominal bloating and night terrors these past few days are likely related to this water." Doctor Zhao raised his slightly clouded eyes and glanced at Xie Run: "It's probably because the Princess hasn't yet started on solid foods—she's not as severely affected as Fifth Young Master." Consort Li's face changed. "What?" "Yoyo has actually been harmed!" Only then did Xie Run speak slowly: "Sister Fang and Sister Li arrived late, so there's something you wouldn't know." "Within Spring Mountain Courtyard, it's not just the wet nurse's meals that had fleeceflower root added—even the water specially prepared for Taotao was laced with tapioca powder." "That's why Taotao has been crying day and night, without stopping for days on end." Xie Run wore a look of shame: "Had it not been for this, I wouldn't have realized for some time that someone was trying to harm my child." "What?!" Consort Li was greatly shocked. At that very moment, the maidservants who had been searching Qiu Lu's room returned.