A sudden sense of unease arose in Wenniang's heart, and she instinctively stepped in front of the two children.
Unexpectedly, instead of heading towards the child, Nanny Qiao tripped over something on the way.
"ah!"
She cried out in surprise and fell towards Wenniang.
Wen Niang wouldn't let her get close to her. She simply pushed her away.
With a thud, Nanny Qiao knocked over a nearby table.
With a clanging sound, the table overturned and the vase shattered.
The palace maids guarding the gate were startled by the commotion and hurriedly ran inside.
Upon closer inspection, the west side room was littered with shards of porcelain, and Nanny Qiao had fallen among them, her body and face covered in cuts and bloodstains, looking utterly pitiful.
Wenniang stood in front of the bed, looking surprised, her hands still outstretched.
As for Jin, who was a little further away, she was completely stunned.
Nanny Qiao lay amidst the pile of porcelain shards, weeping bitterly.
"Wen Niang, even if you hate me, you don't have to be like this, do you? Do you only feel happy when I'm dead?"
Her face was covered in blood and tears; she looked horrifying.
Two young palace maids quickly stepped forward and helped her up.
"Nanny Qiao, please stop crying."
"I'll go and call the doctor right away... Miss Dingxiang went to Side Pavilion, I'll go and ask her to come back."
Wen Niang seemed to just realize what was happening and looked down at her hands.
"I...I didn't mean to."
One of the palace maids, clearly siding with Nurse Qiao, shouted angrily.
"Not on purpose? If it wasn't on purpose, why did you harm Nanny Qiao like this? If it was on purpose, would you have killed her?!"
Wen Niang's expression changed several times. She gritted her teeth and knelt down to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Nanny Qiao."
The young palace maid helped the sobbing wet nurse, Qiao, out of the palace, while another young palace maid quickly ran out of Changqing Palace to find Dingxiang.
Wenniang looked towards the palace gate, remained silent for a long time, and then suddenly turned to ask Jin Nainiang.
Did you see it clearly just now?
The wet nurse nodded hesitantly.
“I pushed her, but not very hard, how did she knock over the vase?” Wen Niang seemed to be talking to herself. “If she was faking it, that’s too cruel.”
Those porcelain shards are very sharp; who would dare to drop them on purpose?
Wen Niang wasn't quite sure.
The wet nurse comforted her, saying, "When Her Majesty returns, she will surely find out the truth."
Wen Niang twitched the corners of her mouth, her eyes suddenly fixing on something.
“She’s got her eye on me… No matter what Nanny Qiao does later, don’t interfere with me. Make sure to keep a close eye on the young masters and don’t let anyone get close.”
The wet nurse was startled by the serious expression on her face and nodded hastily.
Wen Niang instinctively realized that Nanny Qiao was targeting her.
However, she couldn't predict what Granny Qiao would do next, so she could only remain still and wait for the right moment to act.
She had thought that Nanny Qiao would complain to someone, but strangely, after waiting for a long time, Nanny Qiao did not take any other action.
After Dingxiang was called back, she was examined and told that it was a superficial wound, not serious. She was given two bottles of ointment and instructed a maid to apply it to her twice a day.
Time passed slowly, and soon it was late afternoon, and Consort Huang would soon be returning to the palace.
Wenniang was worried, so she went to the small kitchen to get the snacks she wanted for the afternoon.
Just as they reached the door of the small kitchen, a palace maid suddenly rushed out, and the two almost bumped into each other.
The lid of the food box the little palace maid was carrying was crooked. She quickly closed it and gave Wen Niang a curtsy apology.
Wen Niang casually asked, "Who is this for?"
The young palace maid bowed her head and replied, "It's for Nanny Qiao."
Wen Niang paused for a moment, then waved her hand and let her go.
After the maid left, Wenniang became wary and thoroughly searched the small kitchen, but found nothing.
With doubts in her heart, she had no choice but to put her thoughts aside for the time being and return to the main hall with the snacks.
Dingxiang happened to be there as well. Wenniang put down the food box and started talking about the little palace maid she had just met, looking worried.
"Miss Dingxiang, I don't know why, but I always feel uneasy."
Dingxiang looked up at her: "Are you afraid that Nanny Qiao is putting drugs in your food?"
Wen Niang bit her lip and nodded.
“After Jin’s wet nurse and I were affected, I can’t help but overthink things now.”
"It's good to overthink things, but it's always good to be cautious. Bring the item over so I can take a look."
Dingxiang waved to her.
Wen Niang then picked up the food box, opened the lid, took out all the contents, and placed them on the small table beside the bed.
A serving of red bean and barley cake, plus two small bowls of red date and white fungus soup.
The afternoon snacks were quite simple, mainly because I was afraid that if I ate too much, I wouldn't be able to eat dinner.
Dingxiangzai carefully inspected everything, including the bowl lid, the bottom of the bowl, and the inside and outside of the food box. Finally, she clapped her hands and said...
"Eat without worry! It's fine."
Wen Niang was relieved and called over Jin Nai Niang. The two of them first made a white fungus soup before eating the pastries.
But just as she picked up the pastry, before she could even take a bite, a panicked shout suddenly came from outside.
"Lilac Girl! Lilac Girl! Help!"
Dingxiang stood up abruptly and strode outside.
"What happened? Who's in trouble?"
Wenniang also ran to the palace gate and saw the little palace maid she had met earlier at the entrance of the small kitchen, her face full of fear and unease.
"Nanny Qiao, Nanny Qiao, something happened to her!"
She was out of breath from running, and only managed to utter a single sentence in fits and starts.
"What happened to her?"
Dingxiang frowned and asked again.
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