Lanqin then turned and walked out, ignoring the Fucha family members who were burning paper money there.

She went to the servant in charge of looking after the courtyard, who became nervous upon seeing the concubine. He had accepted money from Lady Fucha and was obliged to help her fake that Hongqiao had hanged herself.

“Hongqiao was clearly bound hand and foot, how could she have hanged herself?” Lanqin looked the servant up and down. He kept his head down, not daring to look at Lanqin, his back hunched over, standing there like a shrimp.

"The concubine is asking you a question, why aren't you answering!" Si Hua reminded the servant when he didn't respond.

"Reporting to Consort Lan, I helped her untie her hands while she was eating. I saw that she couldn't use her hands while they were tied, so I let them go. I didn't expect that... Please punish me, Consort Lan!" The man was just thinking about how to answer Lanqin and let the matter pass as soon as possible, so he didn't reply.

Lanqin's eyes flickered, and she asked, "Food? Where did the food come from? Did you bring it for her?"

The man quickly replied, "It was sent by Princess Fucha. She said that Hongqiao was her mistress and servant, and she couldn't bear to see her go hungry. So I had her bring the food in."

"Have you finished eating?" Lanqin asked quickly.

"No, there are still some," the man quickly replied.

"Bring me all the food that Princess Fucha sent," Lanqin said immediately.

The man didn't dare hesitate and immediately went to the tidying area in the courtyard to retrieve the food box left by Lady Fucha. He was extremely conflicted, unsure how he had gradually become involved with Lady Fucha. But when the woman revealed her surname, family background, and who her family members were, he was so shocked he almost cried out. Moreover, she was incredibly generous, giving him two thousand taels of silver—the amount he would earn in his entire life.

He brought the food box to Lanqin and said to her, "This servant dares not dispose of this casually. I have kept it all this time. Please take a look, Consort."

Si Hua took the food box and asked him, "What's your name? Are you from the Imperial Household Department?"

“My surname is Wu, and my given name is Yong. I am a bondservant of the Bordered Blue Banner,” Wu Yong said, bowing his head.

Lanqin was startled, glanced at him, and then opened the food box. Inside were three dishes and several steamed buns. These dishes were not something a servant could receive; they were naturally Fucha's meals.

"You stay and guard Hongqiao's body. I'll have Doctor Lin come and take a look," Lanqin said to Wu Yong.

After saying that, Lanqin and Sihua carried the food box out of the courtyard.

"Master, do you suspect that the food is poisoned, and that the wound on Hongqiao's neck is fake?" Si Hua asked.

“Yes, Fucha hates Hongqiao to death now, so that all the things she did will be buried with Hongqiao forever,” Lanqin said. “I didn’t expect her to act so quickly. Let’s go find Doctor Lin.”

The master and servant hurried toward the house where Doctor Lin was staying.

"Consort, there is no poison in this food!" Upon hearing Ming Lanqin's words, Doctor Lin immediately took out a silver needle to test for poison.

"No poison?" Lanqin was convinced that the food must be poisoned, but this was the only word she heard.

"Master, if there was no poison, does that mean that Hongqiao really was a member of the Fucha clan and committed suicide?" Si Hua asked.

"Doctor Lin, please come with me. Examine that maid's neck wound carefully; I believe she didn't commit suicide," Lanqin said after a moment's thought.

Doctor Lin dared not delay and immediately followed Lanqin and her servant back to that courtyard.

When Lanqin and the other two hurriedly returned to the place where the body lay, they found that Hongqiao's body was gone.

“Call that Wu Yong!” Lanqin immediately said to Si Hua.

A moment later, Wu Yong arrived with Si Hua.

"Where is Hongqiao's body? I didn't ask you to guard it!" Lanqin shouted sternly.

"Reporting to Consort Fu, after you left, Consort Fucha said that Hongqiao should be buried as soon as possible, so she asked me to put her body in a coffin and leave." Wu Yong looked like he was in a dilemma. In fact, it wasn't Consort Fucha at all. He was just afraid that Lanqin would find out something, so he immediately put Hongqiao in a wooden box and asked Consort Fucha to have someone carry it out.

"How long have you been gone?" Lanqin glanced at Wu Yong several times and hurriedly asked.

“We’ve been gone for a quarter of an hour,” Wu Yong said.

"Chase them!" Lanqin said to Sihua.

“But Master, we don’t know where they left the manor from,” Si Hua said.

“The dead body must have come from the back door, which is closest to here!” Lanqin said hurriedly.

Wu Yong's heart skipped a beat. Luckily, he had been careful and had the body carried out through the side gate. He slipped ten taels of silver to the gatekeeper, saying that it contained things belonging to Lady Fucha, before leaving the mansion.

Lanqin and Doctor Lin had no choice but to wait in the courtyard. She looked around and found Wu Yong an eyesore, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.

Si Hua naturally failed to catch up and returned to report to Lan Qin. Lan Qin had no choice but to let Doctor Lin leave first, while she then called Wu Yong to her side.

"I clearly told you to guard her body, so why did you immediately do as Princess Fucha told you to remove Hongqiao's body? In this mansion, is the order of the concubine more effective, or the order of a princess?" Lanqin asked with a stern face.

"Reporting to Consort Wu, this servant knows his mistake and begs for punishment!" Wu Yong knelt down with a thud.

Lanqin stared at the top of his head, completely at a loss for what to do.

Wu Yong was certain that once he admitted his mistake, Consort Niohuru would be powerless. He had heard that she was not as ruthless as Consort Nian and was more lenient with the servants, so Wu Yong was willing to risk being punished by her and quickly joined forces with Lady Fucha to get Hongqiao away.

"Sihua, inform the head nanny to give him twenty lashes!" Lanqin saw that this man was openly defying her orders, so she decided to teach him a lesson.

That very night, news of Lanqin hitting Wu Yong spread far and wide. Upon learning this, Lady Fucha immediately took some of the finest ointment and secretly delivered it to Wu Yong.

With Hongqiao "dead," Lady Fucha has no capable maidservants left, so she must immediately promote someone to a higher position.

"Ping'er, from now on, you will be my personal maid!" Lady Fucha called Ping'er to her bedroom and said this to her personally.

"Thank you for your promotion, Princess. But I'm clumsy and afraid I won't be able to serve you well." Ping'er was a timid maid. When Hongqiao was around, she never stood out and was content to do odd jobs under her.

"You're unwilling?" Fucha frowned and asked.

"It's not that I'm unwilling, but that I'm not up to the task," Ping'er quickly said, shrugging her shoulders. Although she rarely served in Lady Fucha's bedroom, she knew a little about what Hongqiao and Lady Fucha had done. Hongqiao was dead; should she continue down her path?