Chapter 63: One by One Interrogation
"Your Highness, I swear, I really didn't burn the small kitchen, and I didn't set the snake free. If I tell even a single lie, I'm willing to be struck by lightning and go to hell after death."
Hai Jiaren felt the cold gaze of King Lin and felt that this time was different from the usual house arrest. Her heart was beating wildly.
"You must go to Youlan Courtyard every day this month." Chu Cong looked at Hai Jiaren with cold eyes. Previously, in the hunting ground, Hai Jiaren had stabbed Ling Shu's horse.
Chu Cong was dressed in black clothes, had a serious face, and sharp eyes that seemed to carry the pressure of a superior. Hai Jiaren fell to the ground in fear.
The next moment, Hai Jiaren touched her belly, as if she had seen hope. She immediately knelt and crawled in front of Chu Cong, saying excitedly: "That's because I'm pregnant, and I want to ask Aunt Shen for advice on how to keep the baby safe."
Chu Cong's pupils shrank and his gaze fell on Hai Jiaren's abdomen.
"If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can ask a doctor to take my pulse." Hai Jiaren's eyes were full of hope, as if she had seen a savior.
"Go, invite Doctor Lin."
Chu Cong's words made Hai Jiaren feel relieved. Then, she looked at Concubine Fang with resentment. When she noticed the flash of sarcasm in her eyes, Hai Jiaren felt that something was wrong, but she didn't have time to think about it.
Hai Jiaren tearfully questioned, "Concubine, I treated you as a good sister, how could you wrong me like this? I don't even know that Xiao Tao. Let alone ordering her to burn down the small kitchen, it's hard for me to even have a hot meal in the yard!"
"This concubine has always been kind to the concubines in the backyard. Not to mention that you have caught the prince's eye, even the concubine Lin who has been ill has never been treated unfairly by this concubine."
Concubine Fang sat there calmly and magnanimously, not showing the slightest sign of panic. She turned sideways and looked at Prince Lin and said, "Your Highness, please send someone to verify this. I have understood my responsibilities since the day I entered the palace."
Concubine Fang's expression was clear and resolute as she said, "Take care of the backyard of the palace so that the prince has no worries. Take good care of the concubines in the backyard so that they can give birth to children for the prince as soon as possible."
Seeing her so calm, Hai Jiaren's heart skipped a beat. Her mind was in a mess, thinking about Chun Ju. Hai Jiaren calmed down again. Her hand fell gently on her abdomen. She was pregnant, and it was not her who harmed Shen Lingshu.
On the soft couch in the screen pavilion, Shen Lingshu watched this scene, and her eyes looking at Concubine Fang became more solemn. She was indeed the most sinister and vicious master in the early stage.
How did she do it? She used musk on every concubine but they couldn't get pregnant, yet she could still say with confidence that she took good care of every concubine in the backyard?
This kind of psychological quality is not something that ordinary people can have.
Noticing that the baby in her belly seemed to be moving restlessly, Shen Lingshu patted her belly gently, as if to comfort her: Even if she couldn't overthrow Concubine Fang now, she would definitely protect the child.
Soon, Nanny Hua and Nanny Liu arrived.
"Your Majesty."
After Madam Hua and Madam Liu paid their respects, they anxiously asked, "Your Highness, how is Madam Chen's child?"
"Madams, why don't you tell me what happened today? Also, how did the small kitchen burn?" Chu Cong asked in a deep voice.
Aunt Hua and Aunt Liu looked at each other, their hearts sank. Could it be that all their hard work in taking care of the pregnant Concubine Shen was in vain?
Aunt Hua said, "The small kitchen was accidentally set on fire by Madam Zhou's granddaughter, Xiao Miao. The fire wasn't big at the time and was quickly put out. The most serious problem is the snake on the bed today."
Aunt Hua said with a sullen face, "The bamboo green snake is extremely poisonous, and a snake that has just woken up from hibernation is even more poisonous. Not to mention pregnant Concubine Shen, even if an ordinary person was bitten, I'm afraid they would die."
“The person behind this wants the lives of Aunt Shen and the child in her belly!”
Nanny Hua said this with gritted teeth. Apart from coming to Prince Lin's mansion on orders, as Prince Lin's wet nurse, she really treated Prince Lin as a junior and loved him dearly.
For so many years, Prince Lin has not had a child. Finally, Concubine Shen became pregnant with twins. In order to compete for his favor, these concubines actually wanted to kill her and the children!
"Your Majesty, Concubine Shen's pregnancy is very healthy. I handle her food every day. I guarantee with my life that I have absolutely no intention of harming Concubine Shen."
Nanny Liu said with certainty that she was here to take care of Shen Lingshu on the orders of the emperor. She would only be safe if the baby in Shen Lingshu's belly was safe.
As she spoke, Madam Liu told the story of the past few days one by one. It was the same as what Madam Hua had said. The only difference was that Hai Jiaren came to deliver cakes every day.
"Madams, please stop spitting blood at me. You've all seen the cakes I sent you. There's nothing wrong with them."
Hai Jiaren listened to this and refuted without any panic. She said: "Your Majesty, I send cakes every day to learn how to keep the baby safe. The cakes given to Sister Shen also passed through their hands."
Nanny Liu moved her lips, wanting to speak, when Nanny Hua beside her said, "Once Doctor Lin has finished investigating this matter, the truth will naturally be revealed. Your Majesty, could you please allow me to go and see Concubine Shen?"
"Yeah." Chu Cong nodded, and Nanny Hua and Nanny Liu walked past the screen and went to the back to see Shen Lingshu.
Concubine Fang knelt aside, watching this scene, lowered her eyes, and seeing the prince's furious look, Shen Lingshu's child was really... impossible to save?
Concubine Fang dug her nails into her flesh and bit her lips tightly, afraid that she would laugh.
"Your Highness, I have found out that this pastry and spring orange are incompatible." The voice of Doctor Lin came.
Another conflict?
Chu Cong's gaze swept between Concubine Fang and Lady Hai.
Last time it was a conflict, is it still a conflict this time?
"Doctor Lin, didn't you tell them last time whether something is incompatible or not?" Chu Cong's voice became a little colder.
"Your Highness, the previous one was due to food incompatibility, but this time it was due to the fragrance. I was negligent, and I beg Your Highness to forgive me."
Doctor Lin said with a self-blaming tone, "There's a spice in this cake. Adding it to the cake enhances its flavor and is good for your health. However, if it's mixed with spring oranges, it's fine for ordinary people, but for pregnant women, it's like a poison that accelerates labor."
"Your Highness, look, I am innocent. The cakes I made were for nourishing the body. I had no idea that the fruit sent by the concubine would turn into a poison that would induce labor."
Hai Jiaren immediately protested her innocence. She said meaningfully, "If you want to say that it was me who harmed Aunt Shen, it was definitely not me, but Concubine Fang. After all, I didn't know that Concubine Fang would send spring oranges to Sister Shen, and I didn't know that spring oranges couldn't be eaten with cakes."
"Your Highness, Hai Shi has evil intentions. I thought Hai Shi said that pregnant women eating more fruits would help their children grow better, so I bought a lot of seasonal fruits from outside the palace."
"I didn't expect that you actually wanted to harm Aunt Shen's child, and even wanted to throw this basin of dirty water on me."
Concubine Fang spoke in shock, pounding her chest in grief, "If I had known earlier, I would never have bought these seasonal fruits."
The two of them each insisted on their own opinions. Chu Cong looked at them silently and said in a deep voice, "Bring all the maids here and interrogate them one by one!"
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