"Xiao Yu, why do you suddenly want to check the seasoning and the lunch that day?"
Su Xingyi looked at the bowl of red fish porridge, frowned, and pulled the mother and daughter away.
"Dad, I have a new discovery and I have to check..."
Xiao Xier carefully explained the trial results to Su Xingyi.
"Qinglian is very problematic. She is in charge of spreading the seasonings and has the best chance of replacing the salt shaker."
Xiao Lingyu: "Indeed, but when Mo Feng sent these over just now, he said that he didn't find any problematic items in Qinglian's room. Qinglian's reaction and explanation didn't seem like she had replaced them! After all, Ziyu and the others said the same thing as Qinglian. They confirmed that the few salts in the salt jar were damp. Let me test all of these first before I say anything."
The father and daughter were driven outside to guard the gate with Xiao Huang.
＊
"No wonder Ziyu tasted the salt. It must be because of the salt's dampness." The Empress Dowager was surprised to hear Yun Gu and Lin Fang's report. "Why didn't this girl tell you earlier? Do you think this salt is poisonous?"
Yun Gu said, "Zi Yu and the others wouldn't lie. The salt in the old salt jar must have dried up. The salt we found in Butler Hu's room is dry. The salt jar with the dried-up salt has disappeared, and the princess can't test it. I suspect these seasonings are as non-toxic as the water in the water tank. After all, the pheasant we brought back from the Niu family was poisonous. Maybe the dried-up salt dried up on its own when Butler Hu took it back."
The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "You've really confused me. Let's wait until the princess finishes the examination before we think about it. Have Du Yu bring some guards to watch over Butler Hu, Mrs. Zhang, and Qinglian. The bad guy is one of them."
Feng Jinyu originally thought that with Xiao Lingyu around, he would be able to quickly identify the poisoner, but he didn't expect that there would be two more suspects, and they were both people he trusted in the mansion!
Feng Jinyu suddenly remembered the evidence of rebellion that had suddenly appeared in his study. "Wanyi, this person was hiding very well and had entered the palace long ago, which allowed Feng Jinxiu to successfully frame him. He already had his men in my palace. The person who poisoned me might have sent that fabricated evidence of rebellion to my study."
Xie Wanyi was terrified: "Then... the person behind this is Feng Jinxiu?"
"He was demoted to a commoner and has disappeared. It's very likely that he is the one. His mother has given birth to a little prince, and he is also favored by our father. Once this prince dies of illness, he can always make a contribution and return to the capital."
"Your Majesty, you don't doubt the Third Prince or the Fourth Prince?"
Feng Jinyu was silent for a moment, "Don't rule them out."
After Xie Wanyi left, Feng Jinyu called Xu Mo into the room.
＊
Xiao Lingyu came out of the space halfway, had dinner and went back into the space to be busy for half an hour.
"Xingyi, Xiaoxier, come in."
Su Xingyi brought Xiao Xier in and glanced at the bottles, jars, pots, and plates on the table. "Are there any colorless and odorless poisons in these seasonings?"
Xiao Lingyu didn't keep the secret and said directly, "These seasonings are all clean and haven't been contaminated by any poison. Even this whole jar of new salt has not been tampered with, and this old salt jar is also clean."
"Mom, is the chicken soup poisonous?"
Xiao Lingyu nodded.
"What about the fish?"
"poisonous."
Su Xingyi said, "Then Mother Zhang is the one who poisoned her."
"Dad, the damp salt is nowhere to be found. It's impossible for the salt to dry up in a day or two just because of the hot weather and dry room. There must be something wrong with the salt."
Xiao Lingyu agreed, "Ziyu tasted the salt first because it was causing her to regurgitate. Now that we know for sure the pheasant is poisonous, we can't be sure if Mother Zhang poisoned the fish. It's unclear whether it was the salt or the fish itself that was poisonous."
Su Xingyi: "The evidence is very unfavorable to Mother Zhang. If the wrong person is arrested, the person behind the scenes will continue to harm Brother Yu."
“Even if the person who poisoned us is found, it won’t be easy to reveal the person behind it.”
"Dad, Mom, let's confuse the audience, lure the snake out of its hole, and then follow the clues to find the real culprit behind the scenes."
Hearing this, the couple looked at her in disbelief.
"Xiao Xi'er, you are getting smarter and smarter. You used three idioms in one sentence."
Xiao Xi'er secretly cried out in disbelief, revealing her cleverness again, "Daddy and Mommy, I am the future empress of Nankun, I can't be too stupid."
Su Xingyi patted her little head lovingly, "Smart little Xi'er, then tell me how we can follow the clues and find the real culprit behind this?"
"Now that everything points to Zhang Mama's disadvantage, we'll just assume she's the one who poisoned her. If she is, the person behind the scenes will definitely silence her. If not, they'll definitely prove she's the one who poisoned her and kill her to cut off the clues! Steward Hu, Qinglian, and the others won't have to watch over them. I'll secretly send my little cuties to keep an eye on them. If it's reported soon that Aunt Princess is pregnant, the person behind the scenes will definitely strike again! That will be a good time for us to follow the clues and track them down."
Su Xingyi said, "Mother Zhang can't really be silenced. If she wasn't the one who poisoned her, she would have died unjustly."
"Of course, mother and I will save her... Mother, do you think it's feasible?"
Xiao Lingyu nodded: "Okay, tomorrow morning we'll go talk to your uncle, the eldest prince, about it in detail."
＊
"Your Majesty, the spies at the Yangxin Palace just sent word that Qinglian, the steward of the First Prince's residence, is being held under special custody..."
Cui Wan's eyes flashed with ruthlessness, "How could Qinglian reveal such a big flaw this time?"
"Don't worry, Madam. Princess Xiao is still testing the ingredients. Based on Qinglian's experience, it's impossible for her to expose herself."
"It's better to be safe than sorry. Now that Xiao Lingyu has gotten involved, it's hard to say."
Pei Lan: "We have arranged for the Niu family to be found. Even if the people from the Grand Prince's Mansion dig three feet deep, they will never find it. That pheasant is poisonous. No matter how Princess Xiao tests it, it is poisonous. All the evidence points to the disadvantage of Mother Zhang. The Grand Prince's Mansion will definitely regard her as the poisoner!"
"That's fine, but what if Qinglian is exposed?"
"Don't worry, Madam. Even if she's exposed, she won't be able to open her mouth. If they catch the wrong person, things will be much easier."
Cui Wan was silent for a moment. "This is the only way now. It all depends on the results of Xiao Lingyu's poison test tomorrow..."
She didn't want to lose Qinglian, such a useful chess piece.
The next day, before Xiao Lingyu, Su Xingyi, and Xiao Xier, a family of three, had finished their breakfast, Xie Wanyi sent someone to wait for them.
"Let's go, Xingyi, carry the medicine box. I'll go check Feng Jinyu, and you go give her the injection."
Xiao Xier saw the two of them walking past her on their own, and they didn't even call her to follow them even after they had walked a long way. They seemed to have forgotten about her!
He raised his foot and took Xiao Huang to chase after him, holding "Dad" in each hand and "Mom" in the other.
"Daddy, Mommy, you've forgotten me!" Xiao Xier complained aggrievedly.
"No, how could I forget you? Look, Daddy is holding your little hand."
"Yes, mother is holding your little hand too."
Xiao Xier: ...
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