The situation in the city did not improve because of the emperor's punishment of Prince Qing.
The emperor's fury stemmed not only from the chaos and soaring prices caused by the flying silver, but also from his anger at Prince Qing for extending his influence over the city gates to prevent outsiders from entering, all in an attempt to conceal the truth. The people of Shuojing City, being relatively wealthy, were thus delayed in discovering the deception.
If we had intervened earlier, the people wouldn't have lost trust in the Flying Silver Bureau, and things would have been much easier.
Lu Zhaoan had been blocked outside the city gate and unable to enter the city, but Princess Ruining used her influence to bring him into the city.
At that time, there were already many refugees at the city gate, and the emperor sent someone to handle the matter.
The Emperor truly doted on Princess Ruining. Although she was still confined to her residence, he turned a blind eye to anyone else entering or leaving the princess's residence if she wanted to do something.
Their circumstances were completely different from those of Prince Qing, who was confined to his residence and forbidden from entering or leaving, cutting off all contact with the outside world.
However, upon reflection, Princess Ruining hadn't actually done anything wrong. It was just that Prince Qing implicated her. Before the matter was investigated, if both of them weren't confined to their quarters, it would likely invite gossip. Even though the Emperor favored Princess Ruining, he had never openly shown favoritism. If he continued to treat Princess Ruining favorably without verification, the censors would probably complain to the Emperor again.
Even a saint is in a difficult position when it comes to being a father.
The emperor was reluctant to confine Princess Ruining to the palace as well, so it's understandable that he tightened the confinement of one child while loosening it of the other.
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The Gu family was initially spared mistreatment in prison. This was evident after Gu Yaoniang's audience with the emperor, when there was no further news of her, though someone had initially shown them some concern. However, with so many days passing and no one coming to check on them or issuing any orders to release them, the prison guards, always quick to favor one family over another, began to make life difficult for the Gu family in prison.
The Gu family entered suddenly, and they didn't have much cash on them, only some loose silver and some loose silver coins.
Initially, the Gu family could barely afford to eat their fill with the silver. But later, when the loose silver ran out, the jailer, knowing that Fei Yin had gotten into trouble, claimed he didn't care about Fei Yin, yet still confiscated all of it, still saying that the Gu family hadn't given any tribute.
Without orders from above, the prison guards wouldn't dare to do things like torture or abuse. But they would engage in plenty of underhanded tactics.
Making sarcastic remarks and offering meager meals are commonplace.
That day, the jailer brought them a bowl of noodles and a plate of wood ear mushrooms. Perhaps because they had been sitting for a while, they smelled a bit sour, and Gu Yaoniang immediately lost her appetite.
Qiaoniang was also listless and had no appetite.
Bitao said with great concern, "Ladies, please at least eat something."
Looking at the yellowish noodles and dark wood ear mushrooms, she felt a wave of nausea. But she couldn't not eat them!
For several days in a row, they've been delivering meals; my wife hasn't had a proper meal in a long time.
Filled with rage, Bitao kicked the wooden bar of the prison door hard.
Gu Yaoniang found it amusing: "Why are you arguing with a block of wood?"
Although he was smiling, his eyes were deep and thoughtful.
She looked at the little girls and said, "You all eat. I really can't eat anymore."
Having exhausted all other options, Bitao divided the noodles and wood ear mushrooms among herself and handed them to the others. Gu Yaoniang and Qiaoniang could choose not to eat, but the others had to. People are made of iron, and food is steel. If these people here didn't eat and collapsed, and something else happened, Gu Yaoniang would have no one to rely on.
Bi Shuang stirred the noodles with her chopsticks, then smelled them and said, "These noodles are probably inedible. Let's not eat them."
Everyone else knew that Bi Shuang was an expert in medicine and poisons, and upon hearing this, they couldn't help but feel nervous, and a layer of fine sweat broke out all over their bodies.
Gu Yaoniang asked, "What's wrong?"
Is it poisonous?
Bi Shuang nodded: "I saw it when I was with my master. Some people ate these yellow noodles and then vomited and had diarrhea that they couldn't stop. They would vomit whatever they ate and then starve to death after a few days. It was like an epidemic."
These noodles don't look that yellow, but they do look somewhat like the sour soup noodles that person was eating. Just to be on the safe side, I'd better not eat them.
Qiaoniang was a little scared: "So, someone wants to harm us?"
Bi Shuang nodded, then shook her head: "It's hard to say. Even my master and I only know about food compatibility and incompatibility after seeing it once. I wouldn't dare say I know everything now."
The implication is that the person delivering the food might not have known that eating like this could kill someone, and was simply deliberately sending spoiled food to disgust people.
Ordinary spoiled food won't kill you. At most, it'll cause diarrhea, and you'll recover in a few days. But if you really have uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, and it's mistaken for an epidemic, then you could die.
The group only ate a couple of bites of the wood ear mushrooms and then stopped eating.
When the jailer came to collect the bowls, Gu Yaoniang, thinking of Gu Xingzhi who was alone on the other side, asked, "Young man, is everyone eating the same thing today?"
The jailer was extremely arrogant: "What do you mean by 'same' and 'different'? You criminals, do you think you can eat the same food as us?"
Gu Yaoniang knew he had misunderstood her meaning, but she also blamed herself for not explaining things clearly. Seeing Bitao frown, she quickly stopped her.
Seeing this, Qiaoniang smiled and went up to him: "Young man, we wanted to ask if our second master is eating these today as well?"
She removed the armlet that had been wrapped around her arm and handed it to the jailer. She turned her uninjured side towards him, smiling sweetly. The jailer stared, swallowed hard, and said, "Of course it's the same."
Gu Yaoniang found this scene jarring. How could things have come to this!
After the jailer had gone far away, Qiaoniang noticed that her complexion was not good. Without suspecting anything, she comforted her, "Second Master has been living a life of luxury for so many years, so don't worry too much. Perhaps he just found that the food was spoiled and stopped eating it."
Even so, Qiaoniang was still worried.
Although they hadn't eaten the spoiled noodles, the maids still felt unwell with headaches that night. Fortunately, Bishuang knew some ways to help people. She hadn't eaten anything that night either, and she still had the energy to press acupoints on Bitao and Bizhu. The two vomited once, fell into a deep sleep, and were fine when they woke up.
Gu Yaoniang breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned back on the straw, wanting to close her eyes and rest for a moment, but in the dim light shining through the small grille, she saw a glistening sheen on Qiaoniang's face.
She walked over quietly and nudged Qiaoniang's arm with her elbow. Qiaoniang snapped out of her turbulent emotions and quickly wiped the water from her face with the back of her hand, leaving only her eyes still misty and red.
Gu Yaoniang sat down next to Qiaoniang, leaning slightly towards her: "You're worried about Second Uncle, aren't you?"
Qiao Niang didn't say anything. Actually, she didn't need to say anything; Gu Yao Niang naturally understood.
"Sister Qiaoniang, do you know? From the first day I arrived in Shuojing, I've been curious about what kind of relationship you and Second Uncle have."
Qiao Niang stiffened for a moment, then relaxed again.
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