"What else did you find?"
Chun Jiao shook her head, "No, then we went to the big kitchen to eat. Not long after, we were taken into custody by Xu Mo and his men."
Xie Wanyi raised her chin and said, "Go wait in the yard and ask Ah Hu to come in for questioning."
"It's the princess."
After Ah Hu came in and greeted the two, she took the initiative to explain, "I'm responsible for washing the vegetables. After washing the vegetables, I will help Qinglian cut them. She is the one who does most of the cutting. The rest of the time, I stay in the small kitchen waiting for Madam Zhang to assign me work. I can't just sit there and wait, so I will help Zhuyue add firewood and water...Aside from Ziyu tasting the salt directly with her mouth, no one else noticed any unusual behavior or small movements."
"Okay, call Qinglian in."
When Qinglian came in, Xiao Lingyu's eyes lit up. After not seeing her for three or four years, she looked more and more beautiful.
Xie Wanyi definitely won’t like her!
Xiao Lingyu quickly stole a glance at Xie Wanyi's expression and saw that her brows were slightly furrowed, and she was indeed unhappy.
"Your servant Qinglian greets the princess and the princess."
"Quick, excuse me."
"Thank you, Princess."
Xiao Lingyu asked, "I heard you're good with a knife, so you've been in charge of cutting vegetables?"
"My knife skills aren't that good, not as good as the chefs in the big kitchens."
Xiao Lingyu asked again, "Besides chopping vegetables, what else did you do that day? Did you notice any unusual movements from others?"
Qinglian said truthfully, "I was also responsible for adding seasoning to each pot... but Ziyu directly took the salt jar and tasted the salt herself..."
Xiao Lingyu frowned slightly. A normal person wouldn't taste the salt, right? How could salt not be salty? Ziyu's behavior was truly bizarre, leaving people with a glimpse of her lacking proper manners. Was this something a maid from a wealthy family would do?
"This is against the rules in itself, and you didn't say anything to stop it—"
"There was no time at all. She took the salt shaker from the servant and tasted it herself, but she tasted it with a spoon that had been scalded by boiling water, not the spoon from the salt shaker."
Xiao Lingyu felt something was wrong but couldn't put his finger on it. Now three people came in and said similar things. Could it be that Mother Zhang really poisoned him?
"Go down and wait first."
After Qinglian responded, she turned around and left, and caught a glimpse of Xiao Xier playing with the familiar salt shaker in her hand. Her heart instantly rose to her throat. Could this have been taken from the small kitchen?
"Sister Wanyi, to save time, call your three maids in for questioning. If they can't provide any useful information, then Madam Zhang will have to prove her innocence."
Qinglian walked out of the door at this time. After hearing these words, her heart was still hanging in the air.
I hope Princess Xiao won’t find out.
"Okay, let all three of them come in."
As soon as Ziyu, Baizhi, and Shaoyao came in, Xiao Lingyu asked, "Ziyu, you are Sister Wanyi's personal maid. You know a lot of the rules, right?"
Zi Yu secretly thought that this was not good. The princess attached great importance to rules and etiquette. She would not use the incident of her accidentally tasting salt to lecture her, right?
"Yes, my lady. When I entered the Duke of Anguo's mansion, I was taught the rules by the housekeeper. I have outstanding abilities in all aspects, so I can serve as the head maid by the princess' side."
"In that case, when cooking delicious food for the masters, you shouldn't make such a low-level mistake as tasting salt with your mouth. Why did you make such a mistake and give them such a big handle?"
"It was my fault... I was negligent..." Zi Yu didn't know why Princess Xiao was making trouble.
"Sister Princess, I have already privately educated Ziyu. She will not make this mistake again."
"Why did you taste the salt and do such an incredible thing?" Xiao Lingyu ignored Xie Wanyi and looked at Ziyu who continued to ask aggressive questions.
Xie Wanyi was dissatisfied when she saw that Xiao Lingyu was targeting Ziyu for no reason. It was not Xiao Lingyu's turn to educate her maid.
Just as she was about to speak, Aunt Yun spoke first, "Princess, Ziyu was not the one who poisoned her. The Queen Mother asked the Princess to handle the matter on her own. Princess Xiao, please do not inquire about this matter any further. This is not considered abnormal behavior for Ziyu now."
Li Haiying echoed, "Yes, Princess, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager both know about it. This is not considered abnormal behavior."
"Wrong! This is abnormal behavior!" Xiao Xier walked up to Ziyu with the salt shaker. "It's labeled salt. You tasted the salt because it's made of sugar? Or is it because you can't read?"
Zi Yu suddenly realized, "I tasted the salt because I was worried about its quality because it had gotten damp. Since the new salt hadn't arrived yet, I tasted it to see if it was safe to use. After confirming that the salt was just damp and not spoiled, and that the saltiness was just right, I added it to the fish porridge. Only after the porridge was taken out of the pot and the heat was turned off did Butler Hu bring in the new salt."
"Mother, the salt in this salt jar doesn't look damp. It's in small grains, not sticking together."
"Show it to mother."
In the salt jar, a small amount of fine salt can be clearly seen at the bottom of the jar, and there is only a layer of salt stuck to the wall of the jar.
Xiao Lingyu shook the salt shaker, and the little bit of fine salt at the bottom of the shaker also shook.
"Ziyu, did you remember it wrong?"
Ziyu took the salt shaker, opened it, looked at it, and shook it. "This shouldn't be the old salt shaker in the small kitchen."
Xie Wanyi realized something, "Mo Feng, call Butler Hu in."
Qinglian saw that Butler Hu was called into the room again.
It can be confirmed that the salt shaker we just saw was the old salt shaker that Butler Hu replaced that day!
Damn it! She had actually forgotten for a moment that Butler Hu had always lived frugally!
He would lick that little bit of salt clean before filling it with new salt!
"Is this salt shaker the old one we replaced from the kitchen on the day the prince vomited blood and fainted?"
"Yes, Princess. Before I could use it urgently, Xu Mo arranged for someone to take it into custody."
Zi Yu said, "Butler Hu, you must have remembered it wrongly. Shouldn't this be something that was exchanged from the main kitchen?"
"If I remember correctly, this was indeed taken from the small kitchen in Xiaoyun Pavilion."
"Princess, I clearly remember that the salt here is moist, not dry!"
Xie Wanyi asked her back, "Is it possible that you remembered it wrong?"
Ziyu shook her head. "Impossible. It was because Qinglian said the salt was damp and she didn't know if it could still be used that I tasted the salt with my mouth. Otherwise, I wouldn't have given myself such a big handle that I didn't know the rules."
Xiao Lingyu pondered for a moment, "Is this the only salt used in fish porridge?"
"The salt isn't bad, and the new salt hasn't arrived yet. We've already put it in with the other dishes. Qinglian said long ago that the salt would be replaced when it was almost finished. That day, housekeeper Hu brought the new salt until lunch was almost done."
"Oh my god!" Yun Gu exclaimed, "Could it be that Mrs. Zhang poisoned the seasoning?"
Xiao Lingyu said, "Aunt Yun, the matter has not been concluded yet. We must not jump to any conclusions. Mo Feng, go call Qinglian in."
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