The Daily Life of Consort Chun Winning by Lying Down: Qing Dynasty Transmigration

Transmigrated to become a maid in the household of the Fourth Prince Hongli, Su Yushan trembled. She realized that when Hongli later ascended the throne as Emperor, she was highly likely to become ...

Chapter 46 Hongli's Favoritism

When Hongli asked, Su Yushan didn't hide anything and directly revealed her true thoughts: "I have always behaved properly in this mansion and rarely offended anyone. The only person I offended was Princess Jin."

Hongli narrowed his dark eyes slightly and followed her words, saying, "You mean, Jin Minjing drugged the rouge to frame Xilan?"

"I can't think of any other possibility."

Hongli stood up, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, pondering, "Have any of the people from Pixia Pavilion come to your bedroom?"

“Girl Jin came once, but she only went to the tea room and never to my bedroom. None of her servants came, but I don’t know if there are any people in my room who have been bribed by her.”

Su Yushan was truthful and did not lie. Hongli pondered for a long time before saying, "In other words, this is just your guess. You have no substantial evidence to prove that it was Jin Minjing who did it."

“Who else could have harmed me besides her? No one else has any motive.” Su Yushan thought this was the most reasonable guess, but Hongli said, “Everything must be based on evidence. We can’t just make a whimsical conclusion based on intuition and say that Jin Minjing did it.”

Upon hearing this, Su Yushan's expression froze, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, her red lips pursed slightly, and her voice was displeased, "It seems you trust Princess Jin very much."

“I don’t trust her. If it turns out to be her, I will definitely not tolerate it. But right now there is no evidence pointing to her. I am the head of the family and I cannot wrong anyone. This is my principle.”

Hongli spoke righteously and acted in accordance with the rules, but Su Yushan felt there was little hope. Unable to find a breakthrough, she smiled bitterly, "I guess all the evidence has been destroyed, and in the end, the investigation will come to nothing."

The current situation seems to be without any clues, but Hongli firmly believes that "if you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. I will definitely investigate this matter to the end and will not let you suffer in vain."

Su Yushan didn't respond, her expression clearly somber, and she lowered the curtain again.

A curtain separated the two. She would not have peace of mind until the matter was investigated. Hongli knew that promises were useless; only by doing practical work and finding the real culprit would she truly trust him.

The atmosphere between the two was somewhat heavy. Hongli was thinking of something to say to change the subject when a servant came to report that Physician He had arrived.

When Physician He arrived, he reached the same conclusion: unless the real culprit confessed, the source of the medicine could not be determined.

While the real culprit must be found, it's not something that can be done quickly. Hongli believes the most urgent task is to treat Yushan. "Based on your many years of diagnostic experience, don't you have a single clue?"

Stroking his white beard, Physician He pondered to himself, "Judging from Su Gege's current symptoms, there are roughly three possibilities: one is that someone has put a drop of 'dried pearl' in her rouge, and the other is that it may have been mixed with geranium pollen or poison ivy sap. We need to determine the cause before we can prescribe the right medicine. If we prescribe the wrong medicine, Su Gege's rash may become more severe."

"Then arrange for three people to test the medicine." Hongli planned to find three people to test the medicine, apply the rouge to each person's face, and then have Physician He prepare three kinds of medicine, have them each apply one, and compare the effects.

Chang Yue was the first to kneel down and declare, "This servant is willing to test the medicine for you, Princess."

Su Yushan also hoped that Chang Yue's face could be healed, but the method Hongli suggested seemed somewhat inappropriate. How could she bear to let Chang Yue take such a risk for her?

“It’s too cruel to do this. What if they can’t be cured? Wouldn’t their faces be ruined? I can’t sacrifice others for my own sake.”

"Treating your illness is the priority. I'll take care of everything else, so you don't need to worry. Since they're being tested, they certainly won't be treated unfairly."

To put Su Yushan at ease, Hongli ordered that each participant in the test would receive ten taels of silver as a reward.

The servants didn't care about their appearance and were mostly willing to cooperate with the doctor. However, the doctor said that men's and women's skin was different, and in order to get a more accurate result, they could only find women under the age of twenty-five to try.

Chang Yue originally intended to do something for her master, but Su Yushan strongly objected, unwilling to let her take any risks.

Since Hongli has already offered compensation, this matter is much easier to handle, and there is no need for Changyue to make sacrifices.

Ten taels of silver was undoubtedly a huge temptation for the servants, since their monthly allowance was only one or two taels. Ten taels was equivalent to what they earned, and such an opportunity was rare.

Some of the younger girls were worried about their faces being ruined, while others who had already been married were not afraid, so the three of them were found quickly.

Based on his speculation, Physician He prepared three kinds of ointments and had them tested on the three people who had applied rouge, and then waited for the results.

Su Yushan was both worried and hopeful about this, hoping that Physician He's medicine would be effective and cure those women, so that they wouldn't end up like her, with their faces ruined.

Upon hearing this, Princess Fucha exclaimed, "To summon the imperial physician, find test subjects, and cause such a commotion, it seems that the Fourth Prince really cares about Princess Su, and actually came up with such a method to treat her illness."

The mention of this gave Xi Lan a headache. "I also hope that Yu Shan can recover as soon as possible, otherwise Fourth Master will continue to suspect me."

While researching new spices, Princess Fucha put down the pestle in her hand and couldn't help but remind her, "Whether Yushan has recovered or not, you have already become a suspect in the Fourth Prince's eyes."

Xi Lan was at a loss for words and was almost in tears. "I really didn't hurt her! You know my personality. I just want to make more friends and I never want to make enemies."

Gently pinching the rose petals in her hand, Princess Fucha's eyes flickered as she pondered, "The other party deliberately put the drug in the rouge, clearly trying to frame you. She's playing a two-birds-with-one-stone game; she's very shrewd!"

"The one who has a grudge against me and against Yu Shan is none other than Jin Minjing!" Xi Lan became increasingly angry as she thought about it.

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