Chapter 571 Who is telling the truth?
Doctor Liu crouched down two steps and came to the wine warmer. His face was pale and he said, "To answer the concubine, the Second Prince's face is blue and purple, and his body is stiff... He's been poisoned by charcoal. There were four charcoal fires in the room yesterday, and the windows were sealed tightly, so the incident happened. The nurse who was keeping watch over the Second Prince yesterday is also dead."
Wen Jiu had some guesses in his mind, but he didn't expect the matter to be so clearly laid out before him, and he frowned slightly.
I always feel like something is wrong...
"Why was there only one nurse on duty yesterday? Wasn't there any feeding during the night? Where were the servants around her?"
Wenjiu asked with a frown.
The servants would go into the house every hour to check on the princes, at least before they got married.
Furthermore, everyone now considers breast milk a sacred nourishment product. Some wealthy gentry even drink it from childhood until they're old. The Second Prince, though two years old, has never abstained from breast milk. He has eight wet nurses serving him, with at least two people taking turns at night. How could this happen?
I had thought that carbon monoxide poisoning was unknown in ancient times, but what Doctor Liu said confirmed that everyone knew about it. With so many people serving him, I couldn't even count them on my hands. How could such a thing happen?
"In reply to Concubine Wen... this... this... was ordered by Concubine Li. Only Nanny Liu is allowed to serve at night..." A nanny knelt down beside her and said in a trembling voice.
"Who's behind this? Who's so vicious? Bitch! It's you! It's you, right?"
Li attacked Wenjiu like a madman again.
Wen Jiu used some strength in his hands to hold her steady, and said, "Wake up. Don't you want to find out how your son died?"
As soon as these words came out, Li's red eyes froze in a trance, and she immediately patted her son in her arms: "Nonsense, you are all talking nonsense, my son is not dead! Not dead!"
Wen Jiu didn't continue looking at Li. Instead, he frowned and scanned the crowd, finally landing on the nurse who had just replied. "Tell me everything that happened last night in detail. Also, the concubine has been under house arrest. What instructions did she give you? If you dare to tell a lie, I will pull out your tongue. Tell me clearly, and perhaps I can spare your life."
The nurse was stunned when she saw Wen Jiu's brilliant face. The Second Prince was dead, and the servants were destined to be buried with him. Now Concubine Wen was her last hope. She immediately knocked her head to the ground and replied in a trembling voice: "Concubine Wen, if I tell a lie, I will be struck by lightning.
Although Concubine Li has been under house arrest, she often sends Miss Dongchan to our courtyard to check on the Second Prince. Yesterday, Miss Dongchan arrived as usual, bearing the finest bird's nest. Upon arrival, she ordered us all to leave, leaving only Nanny Liu to attend. Afterward, I, along with the other nurses, went back to rest. When I returned in the morning, I found nothing to indicate that the Second Prince and Nanny Liu had been in trouble...
It’s just that, yesterday, when I was walking in the corridor, I seemed to hear…heard…”
"What did you hear?" Ulanara came to her senses and urged.
"I heard Concubine Li talking inside. She said the people around her didn't serve her well enough. The room was too cold, so she asked someone to close the windows..."
"You lowly thing! How dare you slander me? I'll tear your mouth apart!" Dong Chan glared at the wet nurse with a cold look in his eyes. "The concubine stayed in the yard all day yesterday and never went out. How could she have heard the concubine's voice?"
"Dong Chan, think carefully, your concubine's appearance here now can no longer be concealed.
"Going out without permission is just a small matter, but the Second Prince's matter is the top priority. Hiding it now would be the real harm to your concubine!" Wen Jiu said.
Dong Chan's face turned pale, and he shook his head with gritted teeth, "The concubine didn't come yesterday. It was this servant who didn't trust the other wet nurses beside the Second Prince, so he asked Nanny Liu to take care of him alone. I never thought this would happen. This servant is willing to die."
As Dong Chan spoke, he knocked his head to the ground.
Wenjiu frowned and looked at the nurse who replied, then looked at Dongchan and asked thoughtfully:
"Who was in charge of the charcoal fire yesterday? Why didn't you check it when you were off duty?"
As soon as these words were spoken, two young eunuchs of similar age came out and kowtowed: "In reply to Concubine Wen, we have checked, and the charcoal fire is fine.
The charcoal we sent yesterday was burning bright red. This kind of charcoal is only warm, without a trace of smoke, so there is no way you could be poisoned by charcoal… Besides, I was in charge of the small window for ventilation, and I deliberately opened it when I went out.”
Wenjiu frowned and looked at the charcoal again: "Why is the charcoal basin empty? Where are the charcoal ashes inside?"
"To answer Concubine Concubine, the one who cleaned the ash was Xiao Zhu. He's been sick for the past few days and has been on leave. During these days, whoever's free in our yard has been helping to clean it. Everyone was so frightened this morning that they didn't think to clean it up. I don't know how it disappeared."
Wen Jiu's eyebrows twitched. He sorted out the confessions of these people and finally set his sights on Li. He slowly squatted down and looked directly into Li's eyes.
"Why did you ask them to close the windows? Do you know that burning charcoal in a closed room can be fatal?"
"No... no!" Mrs. Li had already fallen silent when she was asked about the wine. Now she said with a distracted look, "I just felt that it was too cold in the house. It was snowing outside, and my son woke up from the cold. I must have closed the window... I don't know... No! It's not like that..."
Li was like a madman again, hugging the child tightly: "Bitch, you lied to me, you lied to me!"
Wenjiu listened and thought to himself, "As expected."
It seemed that Li had been here last night, and judging by Dong Chan's appearance, it was very likely that Li was to blame. Dong Chan would rather take the blame than point out Li's fault.
Then, what the wet nurse said is true.
The story, roughly pieced together, was that Li secretly came to see the child at night, felt the room was too cold, and had the windows closed.
Perhaps because they were afraid that her leaving the courtyard without permission would be exposed, they only asked Liu Nanny to look after the child that day. Unexpectedly, such a tragedy would occur...
That being said, it does make sense...
But how do you explain this charcoal fire?
The young eunuch said that the charcoal brought recently was all burning red.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is conditional. It is only produced when charcoal is not completely burned. And it can only occur in a confined space with no air circulation.
How could red-hot charcoal kill someone?
And that empty charcoal basin? After such a big incident, who would be so thoughtful as to dispose of the charcoal? How could such a coincidence happen?
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