Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Nanny Li only assumed she was shocked by Concubine Yun's miscarriage, and her expression turned several degrees more solemn. "To harm the Prince's offspring is a crime punishable by death!" "The Prince and Princess Consort have sent word that the second gate is to be locked, everyone is to remain in their courtyards and not move, and the first thing to be investigated is the source of this safflower." Xie Run gave a slight bow. "Since Nanny acts on behalf of the Prince and Princess Consort, we will certainly cooperate fully. But might I ask what exactly needs to be done? Please enlighten us, Nanny?" Seeing that Xie Run was easy to deal with, Nanny Li's expression softened somewhat. "I'm afraid we'll have to search the courtyards." Xie Run was not flustered in the least. She sat down on a chair in the courtyard, her delicate, youthful face taking on a hint of seriousness. "Dantao, Xiaoshu, lead Nanny Li's people around and make sure every single spot is searched thoroughly. Everyone else stays in the courtyard and doesn't move!" The maids immediately bowed in acknowledgment: "Yes!" Seeing Xie Run so cooperative, Nanny Li also breathed a sigh of relief and said to the matrons beside her, "Be gentle with your movements. If you damage any of the mistresses' or young ladies' fine belongings, mind your own hides." "Yes." The matrons acknowledged the order and split up, entering the side rooms of the courtyard to begin the search. Fortunately, Xie Run had just recently changed the courtyard search schedule to once every seven days, so she was perfectly composed right now. With Dantao and Xiaoshu keeping watch, she didn't believe anyone would dare pull any tricks. After a thorough search, indeed nothing was found. Nanny Li then hurried off with her people to the next courtyard. Xie Run had completely lost her appetite by now. She distributed the Mid-Autumn silver to the maids and matrons, then returned to the main room with Dantao and Xiaoshu. Xie Run asked Dantao, "Was anything damaged?" "No. Nanny Li had given her warning beforehand, and those matrons knew their limits." Xie Run nodded, then after a moment's thought said, "Tomorrow, have someone go find out what exactly happened last night." Xiaoshu volunteered eagerly, "Mistress, why not let me go ask my mother?" "Don't go out tonight. Go make inquiries tomorrow instead." With that, Xie Run slipped off a gold bracelet woven with intricate filigree work and handed it to Xiaoshu. Xiaoshu instinctively tried to decline, but Xie Run said, "I heard your elder sister is getting married. Consider this my contribution to her dowry. No refusing." "Before you go out tomorrow, get a pouch of silver from your sister Dantao. When conducting business outside, one must pave the way with silver—I understand this principle well enough." Xiaoshu couldn't refuse and accepted it after all. Observing her mistress's recent attitude, she also knew that her mistress intended to give her greater responsibility. Giving her the bracelet was also a way of granting her face and standing. Xiaoshu felt deeply grateful and became all the more determined to do the job well, so as not to disappoint her mistress's trust. After Xiaoshu left, Dantao let out a soft sigh of relief. She was still young after all. No matter how composed she usually appeared, she couldn't help feeling shaken at this moment. "This Prince's rear courtyard is truly treacherous. If it's not you harming me today, it's me harming you tomorrow. Now I understand why you, mistress, are so cautious." At this point, Dantao didn't dare feel the slightest bit happy about the possibility that Xie Run might be pregnant. Xie Run also felt like complaining. This was, after all, the Prince's rear courtyard, yet it was riddled with poisonings and schemes, leaking like a sieve. Was it just there to provide plot material for the woman who transmigrated into the book? Xie Run sighed along with her. "In this rear courtyard, getting pregnant isn't a skill. Being able to successfully give birth and raise the child to adulthood—that's the real skill." Thinking about it this way, Xie Run suddenly felt great admiration for Concubine Ning. At the very least, she had successfully borne Prince Jing two sons before this. That clearly took extraordinary ability. That night, Xie Run slept soundly, her sleep quality completely unaffected. By the time she woke up, Xiaoshu had already returned from gathering information from her parents. Over breakfast, Xiaoshu spilled everything at once. "Mistress, this matter is going to be huge!" "Last night when Nanny Li searched the courtyards, she ended up finding safflower in Wenxiang's courtyard!" Xie Run was drinking porridge and nearly choked. "Who did you say? Wenxiang from the Princess Consort's courtyard?" Dantao was also extremely surprised. "This... could it be a misunderstanding?" Last night, Nanny Li had conducted the searches with great fanfare on the Princess Consort's orders, only to find the harmful substance in the room of the Princess Consort's own maidservant. The Princess Consort had essentially slapped herself hard across the face. Xie Run said with certainty, "It couldn't have been the Princess Consort!" "First, the Princess Consort has no reason to harm Concubine Yun's child. Second... if she really had done it, she wouldn't have conducted such a conspicuous search last night." There was another point Xie Run didn't voice aloud. Even if the Princess Consort had truly done it, the people searching the courtyards were still her own people. Even if the harmful drug were truly hidden there, Nanny Li could have completely prevented it from appearing before everyone's eyes. Unless the Princess Consort herself knew nothing about it and had been set up by someone, catching her completely off guard. At the Green Pine Courtyard, the Princess Consort was making the same argument. "My Prince, Concubine Yun is not the only one pregnant in the rear courtyard. Why would I bother harming an unborn child? What benefit would that bring me?" The Princess Consort was extremely calm, completely unaffected by the rumors and gossip. "And if I had truly done it, why would I have sent Nanny Li to search the courtyards at the first opportunity? Was I afraid my deeds wouldn't be discovered?!" Concubine Ning had come early to pay her morning respects, and this was exactly the moment she had been waiting for. She immediately said, "It's true that there's more than one pregnancy in the rear courtyard, but Concubine An accidentally consumed something cold a few days ago and hasn't yet had a stable pregnancy... there's no need to trouble the Princess Consort to take action." "As for having Nanny Li search the courtyard... there's no shortage of cases throughout history where the thief cries 'stop thief'." Concubine Ning's red lips were vivid, her smile laced with mockery. The Princess Consort sneered, "Your words suggest you're certain that I, the Princess Consort, harmed Concubine Yun?" Concubine Ning quickly rose to bow, looking rather aggrieved. "I wouldn't dare imply such a thing. I'm merely pointing out a flaw in the Princess Consort's words..." "This matter may not have been done by you, Princess Consort." Hearing this, the Princess Consort felt no pleasure at all. Sure enough, she heard Concubine Ning's tone shift, "Perhaps the Princess Consort was careless and failed to discipline the servants around her, which allowed Sister Yun to meet with such misfortune." These words were spoken with veiled sarcasm—whether she meant the Princess Consort was innocent and implicated by Wenxiang, or that the Princess Consort was guilty and hadn't hidden the poison well enough, thereby harming Concubine Yun, was unclear. The Princess Consort laughed coldly. "I indeed failed to discipline my servants, which allowed a malicious person to exploit the gap." Concubine Ning smiled nonchalantly. Then she heard the Princess Consort say unhurriedly, "However, Your Highness, I have a way to prove my innocence!" Prince Jing, who had remained silent all along, finally spoke slowly, "I naturally trust the Princess Consort." Concubine Ning frowned and instinctively glanced at Nanny Zhang beside her. Nanny Zhang shook her head slightly, signaling her not to act rashly. Concubine Ning also let out a cold laugh, leaning confidently back in her chair, waiting to see how the Princess Consort would prove herself. Soon, Wenxiang, who had been locked up all night, was brought up and knelt in the hall. The Princess Consort's voice was soft but clear to the ear, "Where did the safflower on your hands actually come from?" Wenxiang said weakly, "Wasn't the safflower given to me by you, mistress?" "Every time your monthly cycle came, you suffered great pain. You heard some folk remedy from who knows where, saying safflower can invigorate blood and dissolve stasis, and occasional consumption could treat your menstrual pain. So you had me buy some at the pharmacy when I went home." Wenxiang said with great grievance, "I was only following your orders. I don't know what wrong I've done." "Concubine Yun's miscarriage has nothing to do with me at all. I truly don't know..." Concubine Ning tapped the armrest with her slender fingers. "Is that so? But Concubine Yun's maid said that before the miscarriage-preventing tonic was delivered, only you had touched it, and you even opened it to check... There are quite a few witnesses to this matter." Wenxiang: "But the tonic was bestowed by the Princess Consort to Mistress Yun. I would inspect it every time to make sure there were no problems before sending it to her." This was also a rule of the prince's residence. If a concubine became pregnant, the Princess Consort had to personally bestow the miscarriage-preventing tonic—this was considered a way of displaying virtue. The Princess Consort had always been careful, fearing the tonic might be tampered with, so she had specially arranged for her second-rank maid Wenxiang to oversee it. Who would have thought that despite all precautions, something still went wrong. Concubine Ning pressed on relentlessly, "A guardian who steals what they guard—isn't that the most convenient method?" "No one else touched it, but you did. No one else had safflower, but it was found on you... How many coincidences can there be in this world?" Concubine Ning smiled. "When there are too many coincidences, it looks like deliberate harm." The Princess Consort glanced at Concubine Ning, her smile tinged with mockery as she coldly watched Concubine Ning put on her show. When the surroundings quieted, she rose unhurriedly and bowed to Prince Jing. "Your Highness, this originally involves family shame, and some matters are not fit to be aired publicly. But now, for the sake of my own innocence, I must speak." Prince Jing's eyes were calm and unruffled, very composed. He raised his hand. "You have always acted with prudence. Speak directly." The Princess Consort thought to herself that all these years of enduring in the rear courtyard had not been in vain. She turned to look at Concubine Ning and gave a light laugh. "Half a month ago, Lady Fang came to the main courtyard to see me once." Concubine Ning didn't know why the Princess Consort was bringing up Fang Yuan'er at this moment, but her instincts told her something was wrong. The next second, she heard the Princess Consort say, "She came to complain to me, saying that Concubine Ning was biting the hand that fed her—stealing her soap recipe and giving it to the Ning family, letting their shop compete with His Highness's shops." Concubine Ning's scalp went numb. She slapped the armrest, her willow-shaped brows rising in anger. "Nonsense!" "Setting aside whether that matter is true or not, what does what the Princess Consort said have to do with you harming Concubine Yun?" Concubine Ning's heart was about to leap out of her throat. "Don't try to change the subject!" Inwardly, she cursed the worthless members of the Ning family. She had taken the soap recipe back and repeatedly instructed them to leak the recipe, letting a few shops rise first before doing business themselves. Who would have thought the Ning family was greedy and short-sighted, completely disregarding her instructions and keeping the soap recipe for themselves. At that time, there were only a few soap shops in the capital, all under Prince Jing's name. When one suddenly appeared, a little investigation would reveal who was behind it. Outsiders would only think Prince Jing doted on Concubine Ning, but Concubine Ning knew this was a textbook case of biting the hand that fed her—if Prince Jing found out, she would likely face severe punishment. Fortunately, Prince Jing did not pursue the matter, and after a few days of anxiety, she let her guard down. She never expected the Princess Consort to bring it up at this moment. The Princess Consort remained perfectly composed. "Concubine Ning, don't be hasty. I haven't finished speaking yet." Concubine Ning gritted her teeth. "When was I ever hasty?" The Princess Consort let out a light laugh, her gaze once again falling on Prince Jing as she continued, "Lady Fang came to lodge a complaint, but I couldn't very well convict Concubine Ning without evidence, so I sent a servant to investigate." Prince Jing's hand tightened, a hint of anger already rising, though his tone remained unchanged. "And what did the investigation uncover?" The Princess Consort naturally knew that this anger was not directed at her, and her smile grew even wider. "Just two days ago, the servant followed the purchaser from that soap shop and discovered that they had bought more than usual... and that item was safflower." Concubine Ning shot to her feet. "The Princess Consort's skill at framing others grows more impressive by the day! Since you had people investigating in secret half a month in advance, who's to say this wasn't a scheme you orchestrated behind the scenes?" "Moreover, if you truly believed I intended to harm someone, why didn't you speak up days earlier? Now that Sister Yun has lost her child, isn't it a little late to be saying all this?" The Princess Consort gave a slight nod. "What Concubine Ning says makes sense." She offered a small bow toward Prince Jing. "Then I ask His Highness to investigate thoroughly and see who truly harmed Concubine Yun." Concubine Ning said in a flustered tone, "Your Highness, I have nothing to do with this—someone is trying to frame me!" Now it was the Princess Consort's turn to make cutting remarks. "Before the investigation has even begun, Concubine Ning already claims someone is trying to frame her? It seems there's no need to investigate at all—you've already admitted it yourself." Concubine Ning retorted angrily, "Is there a single word from the Princess Consort that doesn't condemn me to death? To clear yourself of the crime of harming others, you must shift the blame onto someone else!" Prince Jing cast a meaningful glance at Concubine Ning. "Enough." Both the Princess Consort and Concubine Ning fell silent at once. Concubine Ning looked at Prince Jing with tearful eyes and called out softly, "Your Highness..." Prince Jing said in a calm tone, "I will send people to investigate. Whoever is found responsible will not be shown leniency." With that, he set the teacup in his hand down on the table. "Shi'an, have someone escort Concubine Ning back to Orchid Fragrance Garden. Until the truth comes to light, no one from Orchid Fragrance Garden is permitted to step outside the courtyard." Upon hearing these words, Concubine Ning's face filled with shock, and her legs went weak beneath her, nearly causing her to collapse. "Your Highness, Jue'er comes to Orchid Fragrance Garden for meals every day. If he learns that I've been placed under House Arrest..." Prince Jing said, "I had nearly forgotten about Jue'er." Concubine Ning's expression relaxed considerably, thinking that Prince Jing would show her some consideration. As long as those around her could still move freely, she would naturally find a way to resolve her worries. Unexpectedly, Prince Jing said, "Shi'an, bring Jue'er to the main courtyard as well. For the time being, Jue'er will be cared for by the Princess Consort." The Princess Consort was taken aback as well, but she knew this was an order. In a society that emphasized the husband as the authority, she had no choice but to raise the child whether she wanted to or not. "Yes." The Princess Consort said proactively, "Your Highness, until the truth comes to light, no one from the Green Pine Courtyard will take a single step out of place either." Prince Jing also gave the Princess Consort a meaningful look, repeating the same words. "Naturally, I trust the Princess Consort." By the time word of what happened in the main courtyard spread, it was already evening. Xie Run learned from Xiaoshu the main reason Concubine Yun was still alive. It turned out that Concubine Yun had a delicate constitution, and having consumed a large amount of safflower at once, she had already begun showing symptoms of massive hemorrhaging by the time the imperial physician arrived. The imperial physician said that to stop the bleeding with acupuncture would take at least half an hour, and to prevent Concubine Yun from succumbing, a century-old ginseng would be needed to sustain her. But with the Prince and Princess Consort away at the palace, and no authorization token available, who would dare open the storehouse and retrieve the ginseng?