Xiaoyan is a little maid in Song Baimo's outer courtyard. She was arranged by Lixia to work there. She is usually responsible for monitoring Baochun.
Lixia said as she poured out a pill from her purse, "Xiaoyan secretly took out a pill. I thought I'd ask you to take a look at it first, and then ask Eunuch Wang to take it out to see what it is."
Meng Qi was about to reach out to take it, but Lixia quickly wrapped a handkerchief and handed it to her.
"No need. I'll ask His Majesty to have someone check it later. You can put it in your purse."
Lixia put the pills back in and said, "Madam Hai has been having some troubles these past few days."
"What's wrong?" Meng Qi was puzzled.
"She's been going home quite frequently these past few days, staying home for several nights. She's not even paying much attention to the affairs of the eldest young master's courtyard. I heard from Xiaoyan, and from others, that the man her youngest daughter was originally destined to marry has changed, and Matron Hai is furious about this."
Meng Qi thought of the rumor about Madam Hai's little daughter. With such a character, which family would dare to marry her?
"Has she heard from her eldest son lately?"
Lixia shook her head. "No, I heard that even without a letter in the past, she would bring something back, and usually the letters were asking Madam Hai for money. But lately, there has been no news. A few days ago, her eldest daughter-in-law came to look for her. I don't know what she said, but she was wiping away tears. I specifically asked Madam Hai's neighbors on the back street, and it seems that her eldest son is in trouble in the south. Perhaps the problems of her son and daughter have merged. Madam Hai has been really sad lately."
Seeing Meng Qi straighten up, Lixia hurried forward, patted the pillow, and helped Meng Qi lean forward. "Because her youngest daughter's marriage was arranged by Baochun Niang, and because of this marriage, Madam Hai gave Baochun's family a lot of money. This time, for some unknown reason, the marriage didn't go through. It was said that her daughter-in-law went to ask for the money, but Baochun Niang refused to give it. Madam Hai even went to the eldest young master's courtyard to look for Baochun, but Baochun's attitude towards Madam Hai was different from before, and she was very stubborn."
Meng Qi sighed. Did Baochun find a more powerful backer? This also proved that Baochun was not Madam Hai's person, but someone used Madam Hai to put Baochun in Song Baimo's yard.
"You should find out what happened to Madam Hai's daughter and what the letter her son sent back was about."
Meng Qi always felt something was wrong. She remembered what Jiang Wu's people said when they went to investigate Nanny Hai's son, that it seemed like someone was watching her son.
But before she could get the exact news, word came back that Nanny Hai was gone.
Meng Qi looked at Song Chengze's very sad expression and couldn't believe what she heard.
"They said it was cold, so they lit an extra pot of charcoal. As a result, the doors and windows of the house were closed too tightly, and..." Song Chengze shook his head. Not only Nanny Hai, but also her eldest daughter-in-law were suffocated to death by the charcoal.
After all, she had been with him since he was in the palace. Song Chengze had very complicated feelings towards Madam Hai. Although she had deceived Song Chengze about the recent investigation into her eldest son, Song Chengze still gave Madam Hai a grand funeral.
Meng Qi, however, felt that this was all rather odd. To save money, the servants usually only heated the kang, so even if it was cold, they would just light an extra charcoal basin. Besides, it was only the beginning of winter, so there was no point in lighting two.
Besides, it wasn't her first time using the charcoal brazier, so how could she not know to open the window a little? Madam Hai wasn't a child.
Also, Nanny Hai’s eldest daughter-in-law usually doesn’t sleep in the same room with Nanny Hai, so why did they sleep together that day?
What made Meng Qi even more suspicious was that this happened after she had investigated the situation of Matron Hai's eldest son. The timing was perfect for Jiang Wu's men to return and bring back news from the south.
Could it be that Jiang Wu's people went to investigate Nanny Hai's eldest son and were discovered there? They were afraid that Nanny Hai would reveal something else, so they killed her to silence her?
The more Meng Qi thought about it, the more likely this was. She also regretted that she should have asked Matron Hai the moment she learned about her eldest son's condition. However, she had been overwhelmed by the situation and had focused her energy on the Emperor's birthday celebration.
This also shows that the person who used Matron Hai was hiding too deeply in the palace, and the power behind him was too strong. This person must be found out. He was completely different from Mrs. Bai and Ms. Zhang.
Two days later, news came that when Bai was going to the temple on the mountain to offer sacrifices to her parents, her carriage accidentally slipped into a mountain stream.
Just like that, three people who once played an important role in the palace disappeared.
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