"Princess Nian had better reveal everything she knows, instead of squeezing it out little by little like toothpaste!" Lanqin said rather impatiently. She had long seen through Nian's little scheme; she just wanted to figure things out herself and then curry favor with the Fourth Master.
Nian Shi clearly didn't understand Lan Qin's "squeezing toothpaste" approach, but she also knew that if she continued to hide it, she didn't want Ye He Shi to escape.
"Consort, I have explained everything I know. There is nothing I haven't explained. I was confused for a moment and didn't report to you in time," Lady Nian said hurriedly.
Lanqin glanced at Doctor Liang and said, "Alright, I understand. You may leave now."
After Doctor Liang left, Lanqin said to Madam Nian, "Sister Nian, if you had come sooner, we would have had witnesses. Now that Taohua is dead, the only thing we have is Doctor Liang's testimony that Taohua did not hang herself."
Lady Nian gritted her teeth and said, "Actually, the master already has suspicions. Why don't we arrest Lady Yehe? Under severe torture, what else will she not say? I think we should start by questioning that Yuhen."
When Lanqin saw that Lady Nian wanted to torture Lady Yehe and her servants herself, she said sarcastically, "To torture a princess based on mere speculation is not a proper method. Sister Nian, please go back. I, the concubine, will only convene everyone once we have concrete evidence."
Lady Nian was taken aback by Lanqin's sudden change of attitude; just moments before she had been speaking softly and gently, but now she was issuing an order to leave. However, since the matter concerned the Yehe clan, Lady Nian could not retaliate. She stood up, curtsied, and took her leave.
After Lady Nian left the south courtyard, she said sternly to the maids behind her, "Hurry up! I've been waiting here since early morning, while they were still asleep. And the tea they drank was much better than mine!"
Seeing that Nian was throwing a tantrum, Cui Ling didn't dare to step forward and say anything. Bi Rou, standing to the side, felt a little helpless: "You insisted on coming so early in the morning. Didn't I tell you to come later? You didn't listen, and now you're throwing a tantrum."
Meanwhile, Lanqin, supporting Cui Niang's hand, led Si Hua and Xi Cha towards the room where Chun Niang was being held. She was unconscious when she was taken away; it was all done by the Fourth Master's guards, who didn't tell her anything and kept her eyes covered the whole time.
The guards standing at the door, with their arms crossed in front of their chests, all bowed when they saw Lanqin.
"Open the door, let me go in and ask her," Lanqin said.
Chunniang had been bound with her hands behind her back, her head covered with a strip of cloth, and her mouth gagged. After Lanqin came in, she ordered Sihua to untie her hands and remove the cloth from her head and mouth.
"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me here?" Chunniang was a woman in her thirties. She was wearing a peach-colored jacket with a green pleated skirt. Her hair was styled in a double-butterfly bun, adorned with silver beaded flowers. In the center was a small gold flower, surrounded by red coral beads.
“Chunniang, if you tell the truth, I will naturally let you go back. But if you refuse to tell the truth, you will only bring trouble upon yourself.” Lanqin thought to herself: If Yuhen is proven guilty, he will definitely die, and even this woman in front of her will be implicated. But if she tells the truth, she might be able to say a few words for her. Lanqin would not be soft-hearted towards anyone who hurts Fourth Master, but Chunniang might be completely kept in the dark, so it is still understandable.
"Who exactly are you? Where is this place?" Chunniang saw Lanqin's rich and exquisite attire, looked at the room she was in, and then looked at the servants behind Lanqin. She knew that this was no ordinary place.
"You are Yuhen's mother. What did she take from you on those two visits?" Lanqin asked. "If you tell me, I can let you go back immediately."
Seeing that Lanqin wouldn't answer her questions, Chunniang bluntly asked the questions that had been troubling her. Actually, when Yuhen took those things from her, she had asked what they were for. Yuhen wouldn't say, but how could Chunniang not know? Anyone who took such things must be using them to poison someone.
"She just came to see me. She didn't bring anything." Chunniang avoided Lanqin's sharp gaze and subconsciously chose to protect Yuhen's words.
“If you don’t tell the truth, I can’t guarantee they won’t torture you. The things Yuhen has done are probably beyond your ability to bear,” Lanqin said, seeing Chunniang’s reaction. She knew that even if a woman like Chunniang died here, no one would care.
Chunniang was clearly frightened by Lanqin's words. After all, she was just a courtesan. To her, Yuhen was already a daughter who had been sold. Knowing that Yuhen was a maid in a wealthy family, she thought that as long as Yuhen didn't follow in her footsteps, it would be fine. But she never thought that Yuhen would be involved in such a thing, and now she had been tied up here as well.
"What will happen to Yuhen? She was just helping her master. If I tell you, will you let Yuhen go?" Chunniang was now pretty sure that Yuhen had lost the battle for favor with her master and was now being questioned by the First Madam for her fault.
Lanqin saw a mother's worry for her child, but she really couldn't give her any assurances. Yuhen's assistance to Yehe Clan in administering the drug meant he was almost certainly doomed.
When Chunniang saw that Lanqin refused to say anything, she knew that Yuhen was probably beyond saving. A very conflicted look appeared on her face. If she didn't speak up, she probably wouldn't be able to leave here.
“If you don’t speak, I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave. Now we only lack evidence, we can already confirm it, we just need evidence to make them bow their heads and confess. Even if you don’t speak, we can find other evidence to prove it. However, if you don’t speak, you will only be implicated by Yuhen and punished as well. The Fourth Prince of the current dynasty wants to punish you, do you think you can avoid it?” Lanqin was really worried about this woman, who was really implicated by others, but was in a difficult position.
Chunniang was torn and couldn't make a decision. In the end, she couldn't bear to send her daughter to confess her crimes, so she refused to speak anymore. Lanqin saw that she was pitiful and didn't want to really have someone torture her, so she locked her in the room and had Jinju bring her three meals a day, while she went back to her room.
“Master, if you don’t pressure her, she probably won’t tell,” Cui Niang said from the side.
"Yes, but I think she's a muddle-headed person. Her daughter came to ask for help, and she didn't even ask questions before helping someone she shouldn't have. Let me think, there must be other ways." Lanqin felt a little tired after working all morning.
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