"Cui Niang, immediately tell that Taoist priest outside to leave. Give him fifty taels of silver. What ghost are you trying to catch? The ghost is actually in those incense sticks!" Lanqin said.
Cui Niang immediately agreed and hurriedly took Nianxue out.
"Consort, ladies, this incense is called 'Bewitching Incense.' It's not from our Great Qing Dynasty, but rather a type of incense used in temples in Java, Southeast Asia. This Bewitching Incense can induce hallucinations in those who smell it. This incense is mixed with some Bewitching Incense, so its concentration isn't strong, and you wouldn't be able to smell it. Consort Song's sense of smell is extraordinary; she was able to detect such a subtle difference. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to discover that someone had tampered with this incense," said Doctor Liang.
"But we smelled these fragrances, so why didn't we hallucinate?" Wu asked.
"This is because the concubine inhaled the most bewitching incense. None of the other princesses or the maids who served her inhaled as much as she did. Because the amount mixed in with this incense is extremely small, inhaling a little bit will not cause hallucinations. Only if the concubine slept in this room all night could she inhale enough to cause hallucinations," Doctor Liang said.
"What a vicious method!" Lanqin shouted fiercely for the first time. She had never been so angry before, because the other party was not only hurting her, but also the child in her womb. These days, she couldn't sleep day or night, and her mind was in a daze. The child in her womb seemed to sense Lanqin's pain and had been unusually restless for the past few days.
"Who on earth is so vicious as to devise such a method to harm you!" Madam Song frowned. Her first thought was of the Fujin (the Princess Consort), but she quickly dismissed it. The Fujin was currently imprisoned in the main courtyard; how could she possibly harm anyone? Could it be Madam Nian?
"Yes, this person is so meticulous. Consort, you must not let her off the hook again. Go to the head nanny and get the evidence. When the Fourth Prince returns, he will definitely hold her accountable." Wu Shi was also thinking of the Fujin.
“The ways to harm people are truly unpredictable. My sister is lucky that Sister Song noticed it. Otherwise, such a secretive method would be terrifying to think about,” said Madam Geng.
"These were sent from the head nanny's place. Call the head nanny over, and everything will be clear." After instructing the maids to handle the matters outside, Cui Niang came in to await Lan Qin's instructions.
"Since she dared to do this, she must have a backup plan. Call the head nanny over; we might not get anything out of her. But we should still ask," Lanqin said. She was certain it was the Fujin (principal wife), not Nian Shi. Although Nian Shi was domineering, she wasn't so vicious and despicable. Only the Fujin could do such a thing. How she hated that woman; she had harmed her time and time again, even her child, yet Lanqin was powerless against her.
The three princesses stayed with Lanqin until the head nanny arrived and carefully inquired about the origin of the incense. As Lanqin had predicted, there was nothing suspicious about any part of the process. However, there was something wrong with the incense, but they couldn't pinpoint exactly where the problem occurred.
"Grandma, why does this only happen to the incense in the South Courtyard?" Lanqin asked. "Clearly, someone deliberately sent this tainted incense to my South Courtyard."
The head nanny was also nervous, after all, this whole affair was her doing. She was the one who sent the incense. Therefore, everyone on her side was suspect.
“Grandma, I need you to tell me who has been in contact with this incense?” Lanqin asked.
"It's really hard to say. Since we bought this incense, it has passed through many hands, and since it was stored there, many people have had access to it. Because it's just a candle, any of my servants can handle it," the head nanny said.
"So, does that mean it's impossible to find out the truth, and we're just going to let the person hiding in the shadows get away with it?" Lanqin asked sternly for the first time.
"That's not what I meant. I just thought it would be difficult to investigate," the head maid said. Lanqin's words just now were quite sharp; she hadn't expected to be intimidated by a maid who was not even twenty years old.
"Then go investigate, investigate them one by one. I, your concubine, am giving you orders now: go and investigate whoever had contact with these incense sticks. I refuse to believe we can't find her!" Lanqin said. She was completely enraged. She had intended to remain in her secluded courtyard under the blue sky, neither bullying nor being bullied, but she had still been tricked and was almost on the verge of collapse.
"Yes, this servant will go and check them one by one right away," the head nanny curtsied.
“Cui Niang, take another look. Before this incense came to our courtyard, did anyone from other courtyards come to the South Courtyard?” Lanqin asked.
“Reporting to Consort Cui, none of us here touched those incense sticks; they were all lit for you by Nianxue and others. If you’re still worried, you can ask them one by one,” said Cui Niang.
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