Wu Ruyue stared in disbelief at the gourd-shaped piece of jewelry in Fourth Master's hand, feeling a tightness in her throat.
Wu stared intently at the piece of jewelry; she remembered that she hadn't worn this beaded flower in a long time.
Moreover, she clearly saw it this morning when she was combing her hair; it was lying in her dressing case.
"This is not mine, Your Highness! I do have such a pearl hairpin, which was given to me by Your Highness," Wu said anxiously.
The Fourth Prince looked at Wu Shi with a deep gaze, but the pearl hairpin in his hand was clearly the one he had given to Wu Shi back then, so he immediately knew that it belonged to Wu Shi as soon as he saw it.
Lanqin and Song exchanged a glance, and you could clearly see the anxiety in each other's eyes. Wu's belongings were found where the meals were kept—was this considered physical evidence?
“Your Highness, my younger sister’s fate is currently unknown. In my opinion, anyone suspected should not be let off easily,” Nian Gengyao said loudly when he saw that the Fourth Prince remained silent.
Lanqin glanced at Nian Gengyao a few times, thinking to herself: The Nian family is indeed arrogant; they're already interfering in the affairs of the Fourth Master's inner quarters!
"Your Highness, I truly don't know how that item ended up in the East Courtyard. If Your Highness doesn't believe me, please send someone to my room to check. If my pearl hairpin is still there, then what Your Highness has in your hand is not mine." Madam Wu clearly remembered seeing the pearl hairpin lying quietly in her box when she was combing her hair that morning. No one had been to her room today, not even Madam Nian's people, and she herself hadn't left, so the pearl hairpin should still be in her box, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
"Alright, send someone to check immediately. Ruyi, do you remember where you put it? Have someone go with your maid to get it!" Fourth Master said with a stern face.
Madam Wu dared not refuse, and turned to nod to Hongying behind her, indicating that she should go with the people sent by the Fourth Master to retrieve it. She had seen Hongying comb her hair that morning.
After the two left, everyone fell silent. The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat awkward.
"Mother, is something wrong?" Namin nestled in Wu's arms. Although she didn't fully understand what had just happened, she knew it was something bad.
"It's alright. Be good." Wu was not without fear at this moment, but she couldn't show it, otherwise Namin in her arms would be even more frightened.
“It’s alright. If you didn’t do it, someone else must have.” Lanqin’s voice reached her ears, causing Wu Shi to straighten up abruptly. Lanqin had already stood up, walked behind Wu Shi, and placed her hand on her shoulder. Song Shi also stood up and stood beside her.
Wu immediately felt that the emptiness in her heart that had just been there was not so frightened anymore because of Lanqin's comforting words.
Fourth Master and Nian Gengyao had already turned around and gone inside to check on Madam Nian. The courtyard was deserted, and it seemed as if one could hear the flowers blooming. Lanqin saw that the children were so frightened by what had happened that they were speechless, and she felt sorry for them. She went to Madam Nian's inner room herself.
"Consort, it is not advisable for you to go in now!" Song called out. She was worried that if Lanqin went in at this moment, she would be implicated by Nian Gengyao, so it was best for her not to approach Nian at this time.
Lanqin understood what Song meant, gave her a reassuring look, and then helped Sihua into the house.
The Fourth Prince and Nian Gengyao were standing in the inner room, while Doctor Lin and Nian's maid were feeding Nian's medicine.
When Lanqin entered, Nian Gengyao turned around and saw it was her. Anger flashed across his face, but he refrained from showing it because she was the Fourth Prince's concubine. The Fourth Prince also saw Lanqin enter, frowned, walked over, and asked, "How did you get in?"
"Your Highness, the children are still young, and it is already late at night. Why don't we have the maids take them back to rest?" Lanqin said to the Fourth Prince in a low voice.
“No, what if someone pretends to take the child back and takes away something important? Right now, we shouldn’t let even a fly out,” Nian Gengyao said immediately after hearing Lan Qin’s words.
When Fourth Master heard what Lanqin said, he had actually agreed with her suggestion in his heart, but after Nian Gengyao said that, he couldn't refute him to his face, so he could only say, "Why don't we have someone prepare a room in the East Courtyard and let the few of them go down to rest? They can stay in the East Courtyard."
Upon hearing this, Nian Gengyao knew that further objection would be unreasonable, so he fell silent. Having received this instruction from the Fourth Prince, Lanqin turned and left.
With the help of Cui Ling and Bai Zhi, Nian managed to swallow a little medicinal soup. However, after drinking it, Doctor Lin used a silver needle to test the poison in her blood. He found that the poison had indeed lessened, but she still hadn't woken up.
Seeing Nian Shi's state, Nian Gengyao paced back and forth in the room, completely disregarding the fact that the Fourth Prince was still inside.
After hearing Lanqin's words, the person sitting outside let the child go with a steward from the East Courtyard to be settled.
"Mother, Hongli doesn't want to go to sleep," Hongli said, refusing to leave Lanqin's side.
"My dear, there's no use in you staying here. Go and rest for a while. Once things are cleared up, your mother will take you back to the South Courtyard." Lanqin touched Hongli's face and then instructed Wuxihabiechuk and the others to go together.
After the children had gone to rest in the side room of the east courtyard with their maids, Wu's maid Hongying and the person sent by the Fourth Master returned.
Hongying's face was deathly pale. She glanced at Wu Shi and then fell silent.
Fourth Master and Nian Gengyao came out together to listen to the man's report.
"Your Highness, when we returned with Hongying, we did not find the pearl hairpin in Consort Wu's dressing case," the servant reported.
Wu's heart skipped a beat, and she felt dizzy. How could this be? The thing in the Fourth Prince's hand was indeed what she had seen this morning while combing her hair. Then who stole her pearl hairpin? Was it her maidservant? Had someone become someone else's spy?
“Your Highness, what is there to say now? It’s obvious someone saw that my sister was unhappy and poisoned her food. Please, Your Highness, apprehend the suspect immediately and make her hand over the antidote.” Nian Gengyao glared angrily at Wu Shi.
The Fourth Prince's eyes flashed with fury, and he was about to speak when Lanqin suddenly said, "Your Highness, Sister Wu's pearl hairpin fell in the food storage area. That doesn't necessarily mean Sister Wu went there. She has many maids and servants around her; anyone could be bribed to secretly take it when she's not looking and place it there to frame her. But did anyone witness Sister Wu poisoning someone? If not, can we really conclude this based solely on a pearl hairpin?"
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