Wen Niang glanced at Jin Nai Niang, then quickly looked away and answered truthfully.
"Your Majesty, the recipe for the milk cake has been changed. A lot of sugar and lard have been added, so it tastes very sweet."
The nanny, looking rather silly, nodded in agreement: "Yes, it's much sweeter than usual, and it's delicious."
Song Xibai's gaze darted back and forth between the two.
"Who made these pastries? Why did they change the recipe without permission? Can't you taste what they added?"
Wen Niang and Jin Nai Niang's expressions changed drastically, and they quickly looked up and exchanged a glance.
Wenniang was annoyed and slapped herself.
"I was too careless. I noticed the taste was a little different when I ate it last night..."
Jin, the wet nurse, was almost in tears. She lay on the ground, her head banging loudly.
"It's my fault! I told the kitchen staff to add more sugar because the pastries were too bland. Your Majesty, please kill me! I've ruined the young masters' lives, sob sob sob..."
She cried her heart out, looking utterly regretful.
Song Xibai looked at her coldly, and it seemed she wasn't faking it.
No one is perfect. Song Xibai knew that everyone under her command had some flaws. For example, Fuliu was a bit petty, Wei Hong was too obedient and lacked her own opinions, Granny Fangqi was a bit arrogant because of her age, and Grandpa Lai would secretly hide some expensive ingredients...
As for Jin's wet nurse, she wasn't seriously flawed, except that she was a bit greedy, but she never expected to be taken advantage of.
Song Xibai did not immediately call out, but let Jin the wet nurse bang her head until it bled before slowly speaking.
"Get up!"
The wet nurse stood up tremblingly.
Song Xibai looked at the two of them expressionlessly.
"This matter must not be revealed. Once the person behind it is found, you two will be punished. Now, step down!"
Wen Niang and Jin Nai Niang both breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The two left.
Song Xibai touched the jade bracelet on her wrist, her eyes flashing with a cold light.
The only people who could tamper with the shards could be from the Changqing Palace.
However, those working in the small kitchen generally don't have the opportunity, because each time the food is prepared in the small kitchen, a designated person is responsible for taking it out, and the people making the pastries don't have the chance to touch the boxes.
I've been using this build box for a while now, and it's never had any problems before.
Freezing ice cubes in the bottom of the container and letting them melt overnight requires precise timing, which isn't easy.
Think about it, if you do it too early, someone else might eat it; if you do it too late, the wine won't have dissolved and it won't be effective.
Thinking about it this way, it could only have happened sometime after yesterday evening.
At that time, there were few people left to guard Changqing Palace. Wei Hong and a few others went to the banquet with him. In addition, many people secretly drank alcohol, so it was much easier to deceive everyone than usual.
After clearing his mind, Song Xibai calmed down and figured out how to find the mole.
A little questioning will reveal how many people touched the box yesterday evening.
But Song Xibai was more worried about another problem.
Where does the purified liquor come from?
The palace doesn't have such high-purity liquor. Song Xibai had specifically asked around and researched what kind of liquor to choose for the New Year's Eve banquet.
To purify ordinary wine, special methods are needed, such as distillation.
To achieve this level of purity, one distillation is not enough; at least five to eight distillations are required.
Such a commotion could not possibly go unnoticed by the manager of the wine, vinegar and noodles shop.
Therefore, this stuff either came from outside, or it was brewed privately by someone in the palace.
Song Xibai's brows relaxed.
At that moment, two cries suddenly rang out from inside the room.
Song Xibai jumped up from the chair and rushed into the inner room.
"woke up?"
Dingxiang had just put away the silver needles when she pointed both hands toward the bed.
"Here you go! Here are your two perfectly healthy children."
Song Xibai walked quickly to the bedside and looked at Zhao Jing, who was crying loudly, and Zhao Yan, who was sobbing softly. For the first time, she felt that the sound of a baby crying was so beautiful.
She gently picked up Zhaojing, who was crying the loudest.
Zhao Jing smelled the familiar scent and immediately reached out her little hands to grab at Song Xibai's chest.
Song Xibai subconsciously wanted to unbutton her clothes, but stopped halfway through.
She slapped her head in frustration.
"I also drank last night..."
Damn it!
I wish I hadn't drunk it.
We shouldn't have let our guard down like that; this is, after all, the imperial harem!
Song Xibai gritted her teeth and made a silent vow in her heart.
From this day forward, I will never touch alcohol again.
I won't touch a single drop!
Even if the wet nurses were beaten, they couldn't serve the two young masters. Even if they weren't beaten, Song Xibai was still worried.
Who knows how much of that square cake they ate?
Zhaojing tried for a long time but couldn't get any milk, so she cried even louder.
Her voice was hoarse and her cries were heartbreaking.
Song Xibai gently patted her back and coaxed her softly, but it was no use at all.
Zhao Jing was wailing at the top of his lungs, while Zhao Yan cried in a different way. His voice was soft, but he was sobbing intermittently, which was even more heartbreaking to watch.
Song Xibai paced back and forth in the room, first holding Zhaojing for a while, then switching to Zhaoyan, but he couldn't soothe either of them, and his head was about to explode.
Dingxiang offered suggestions from the side.
"How about feeding it something else first? The kitchen should have some milk, right?"
Song Xibai hesitated. The milk was freshly squeezed that morning, but it hadn't been sterilized. The child was still so young; could he drink it?
In theory, babies should only drink pure milk after they are one year old. Whether it is goat milk or cow milk, current methods cannot completely kill the bacteria in it.
There's no milk powder here.
"We can only pin our hopes on the new wet nurse."
She had just finished speaking when, not long after, Fu Liu's shouts came from outside.
"Granny, you've arrived?"
The next moment, Song Xibai saw Granny Fangqi walk into the room.
Behind her followed a young woman with a respectful demeanor.
Song Xibai's eyes lit up.
"Granny, have you found the wet nurse?"
Granny Fangqi brought the person to her: "After receiving Your Highness's message, this old servant immediately went outside the palace to look for someone. However, on the first day of the Lunar New Year this year, I couldn't find a suitable one in time, so I asked around at several princely residences. Only the Prince of Lu's residence had a wet nurse, so I invited her here."
When selecting a wet nurse, they actually looked at many families, but after the wet nurse was chosen, the other families who were not selected went to other wealthy families. It was only the beginning of the new year, and many families had returned to their hometowns, while others were in a mess and Fangqi was not at ease.
The Prince's mansion had strict rules, and the wet nurses were all carefully selected. They were also provided with special care for their food and drink, which was naturally better than that of other households.
The children of the Prince of Wu's mansion are all grown up and there are no suitable ones; the Prince of Qi's mansion has no children yet; the Princess of Qin is pregnant, and although several wet nurses have been selected in her mansion, none of them have given birth yet!
After considering all these options, only the Prince Lu's Mansion is the most suitable.
Princess Lu's child was born more than a month earlier than Zhaojing and Zhaoyan, which was indeed just right.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
