"You've been taking care of the Third Prince, and now that he's been poisoned, we naturally have to start investigating from those around you. The only people who could have been in contact with the Third Prince, besides the wet nurse and the two maids, are Consort Yin and your maid. So, I, your concubine, will begin the investigation now. Does Consort Yin have any objections?" Lanqin felt this was a truly thorny matter. She needed to inform the Fourth Prince as soon as possible, and she also needed to find the source of the poison quickly. Otherwise, if Wu Youcai couldn't identify the poison, the Third Prince's life would be in grave danger.

Madam Yin was taken aback by Lanqin's sharp words and was speechless for a moment, so she had no choice but to agree.

"First, go and invite the head nanny here. Have her bring the executioners from the manor," Lanqin instructed Sihua, who had come with her.

For a moment, the women in the room fell silent, no longer uttering a sound. Perhaps none of them could have imagined that New Year's Eve would be spent like this.

Lanqin called Lanqi over and whispered a few words in her ear. Lanqi then obeyed and left.

"Consort, the Prince is currently in the palace with the Emperor. If he finds out about this, I'm afraid he won't be able to return immediately," Madam Song suddenly said. She was afraid that Lanqin would go and summon the Fourth Prince right now, which was why she said this.

Lanqin nodded and said, "While the master can't return immediately, we should still inform him and let him know the situation in the manor. Consort Yin, let me ask you, besides this concubine visiting the Third Prince, who else has come to see him recently? And what did they do?"

After pondering for a moment, Madam Yin said, "Besides the concubine, the principal wife has also visited two or three times. In addition, Sister Song, Sister Geng, and Sister Wu have visited a few times, but there was nothing special about it."

At this moment, a gloom seemed to hang over everyone's hearts. What should have been a peaceful New Year's Eve was now filled with anxiety because of the Third Prince's poisoning.

Lanqin said to the head nanny, "Please, head nanny, arrest the Third Prince's wet nurse and his two personal maids, and lock them in separate rooms for questioning. Do not allow them to be in the same room. No matter what method you use, you must get something out of them. Do you understand, head nanny?"

Madam Yin had never heard of such an investigation before. Just as she was about to say something, the head nanny stopped her from speaking.

"Yes, this old servant will take them down to ask. The Third Prince was poisoned, and these servants who served him closely are primarily to blame. Consort, this old servant will go and fetch them." Without further ado, the head nanny left with her people.

Everyone was a little taken aback by Lanqin's simple search method.

"Alright, ladies, you should go back now. The Third Prince is poisoned, and the source of the poison has not yet been found. Consort Yin can't think of any clues either. I've already sent someone to ask around and see if they can find out anything. I'm going back to rest too. There's no use staying here. If I stay up all night, I won't have the energy to continue the investigation tomorrow." Lanqin finished speaking and looked at Consort Yin.

Everyone was startled again, all taken aback by Lanqin's direct yet somewhat reasonable words. Logically, since the Third Prince was poisoned, she, as the temporary head of the household, should have been by his side.

But she insisted on saying no.

"Princess Yin, think carefully about whether there is anything special about the Third Prince. If you have thought it through tomorrow, you can come and tell me." Lanqin stood up and said to Madam Yin, who had been keeping her head down and remaining silent.

After everyone had left, Madam Yin, like a puppet released from its bonds, suddenly stumbled and almost fell. Fortunately, Ying'er caught her.

"Go and call Ye Ying here. You will replace her and stay with Doctor Wu," said Madam Yin after Ying'er helped her sit down.

When Ye Ying came out, she saw that Madam Yin's complexion was extremely bad, and said worriedly, "Princess, how could our medicine cause poisoning?"

It turns out that, in order to make the Fourth Prince visit the Third Prince more often, Madam Yin secretly added something to the medicine that Wu Youcai prepared for the Third Prince to prevent him from recovering quickly. She was truly heartless, and for this, she did not hesitate to abuse the Third Prince's body.

Madam Yin glared at Ye Ying angrily and said, "No, our medicine at most only makes it harder for the Third Prince to recover, how could it poison him?"

Realizing she had spoken out of turn, Ye Ying quickly lowered her head and whispered, "Could it be that someone really poisoned the Third Prince in secret?"

Madam Yin shook her head and said, "I'm afraid if Wu Youcai continues his investigation like this, he'll find out about our little affair. But who exactly poisoned the Third Prince right under our noses!"

Just then, a figure appeared like a ghost in front of the Yin family's house and quietly slipped inside under the cover of night.

"Princess Yin, this servant greets you." When Lingxiu entered the room, she saw Madam Yin and her servant talking. Even without listening, she knew what they were talking about.

"Why are you here so late, Miss Lingxiu?" Madam Yin stared at Lingxiu with the cold eyes of a stung snake.

“This servant was naturally acting on the orders of the Fujin. Now that the Fujin is not in the manor, and Consort Yin just saw off the concubine, if there are no new discoveries tomorrow, I'm afraid the master will blame Consort Yin for not taking good care of the Third Prince when he returns.” Lingxiu said with a smile, as if she had no worries about Consort Yin.

"What are your orders, Madam?" Lady Yin asked, her anger rising, but she held back and tried to be as gentle as possible.

"The Princess Consort said that if anything happens to the Third Prince, the Princess can simply sprinkle these things on certain items belonging to certain people." Lingxiu took out a porcelain bottle from her sleeve and said to Madam Yin.

"What is this? I don't understand what you mean, Madam." Madam Yin roughly understood, but she asked deliberately.

“Gege Yin is a smart woman. The stuff inside must be the same as the poison in the Third Prince’s body. Now that the Third Prince is seriously ill, besides you, it is the Consort who visits our Third Prince the most, right?” Lingxiu said.

"Does the Princess Consort mean I should find a way to transfer the poison from the Third Prince to Lady Niu?" Lady Yin said through gritted teeth. The Princess Consort would never make a move; this was another opportunity to use her.

"I wonder how the Princess Consort managed to put the contents of this bottle on the Third Prince?" Lady Yin was genuinely curious.

"You don't need to know that, Princess. In short, you must keep your promise to the Fujin." Lingxiu's smile vanished, replaced by a chilling expression.

That's right, Madam Yin had promised. As long as she could help adopt the Third Prince and give him a chance to catch the Fourth Prince's eye again, she would do anything for the Princess Consort.

"If Miss Lingxiu won't tell me how the poison was administered to the Third Prince, then this princess cannot touch this poison again," Madam Yin insisted.