"Yes. Consort Fucha often comes to pay her respects to the concubine," Bai Zhi said. She knew that she had revealed the relationship between Lady Nian and Lady Fucha, but she had already let it slip and now it was too late to take it back.
“In that case, search Fucha’s house. If she poisoned someone, there will definitely be clues.” Nian Gengyao added more directly, “Search that Consort Wu as well.”
Fourth Master was already somewhat displeased with Nian Gengyao, but considering that he was worried about Nian's family, he had no choice but to suppress his discomfort and said, "Since Wu did not approach Shilan's table, her suspicion can basically be cleared. The poison could not have been put on the table before it was served."
Bai Zhi was secretly alarmed. What would Lady Nian's reaction be if she woke up and found out that it was Lady Fucha who had ultimately poisoned her? Bai Zhi still couldn't understand whether Lady Fucha was the one who poisoned her. She was clearly a pawn in Consort Nian's hands, so how could she turn around and poison Lady Nian?
"This matter can only be addressed tomorrow. Once everyone is gathered, we can send someone to thoroughly investigate her room," said Fourth Master.
After half a night of effort, Physician Zhang and Physician Chen finally pulled Madam Nian back from the brink of death. However, they still did not know what kind of poison Madam Nian had been poisoned with; they only managed to control the poison with silver needles.
The next day, after the Fourth Prince and the others woke up early, they immediately sent messengers to various places, instructing them to come to the East Courtyard at 9:00 AM as before. The imperial physicians had not yet determined what poison had afflicted Lady Nian, and could only continue their treatment.
Early in the morning, before Madam Wu had even gotten up, Hongying, Hongqian, and Xiangyun came to her bedside together.
"What did you say?" Upon hearing the three maids' guesses, Wu Shi was so startled that she sat up abruptly from the bed. Her black, silky hair cascaded down, making her face appear even more beautiful.
“Princess, the three of us can vouch for each other last night; none of us left your room,” Hongying said. “Princess, we’ve been with you for over a decade and consider you our closest person. We would never betray our mistress. Please think it over carefully, Princess.”
Wu Shi didn't sleep well all night. She weighed the people around her carefully and knew their temperaments well. The three maids were all slaves without family or relatives, and they were absolutely loyal to Wu Shi because she could decide their lives.
“Princess, Miss Ruyue has been unwilling to go back, and you’ve told her so many times. We servants think that only she is allowed to get close to your jewelry box, and she did go out yesterday,” Hongying continued.
Madam Wu stared with complicated emotions at the three trusted maids kneeling by her bedside. They were all maids who had come with her from the Wu family as part of her dowry. Because she was the old lady's legitimate daughter, beautiful, and not bad at talking, she was quite favored by the old master Wu. Although he still used his daughter as a pawn in the Wu family's schemes, he treated Madam Wu relatively better. That's why he had given her these three maids as part of her dowry, along with their indentures.
"Go and summon her, I have questions for her!" Madam Wu was filled with resentment. After spending the past six months together, she had come to understand Wu Ruyue's personality. This girl was far from the adorable and endearing child she once was; she had grown up, and so had her heart. She had kindly intended to help her, not wanting her to follow in her footsteps, and had finally arranged her engagement to Song Shucheng, the young master of the Song family. Yet, Wu Ruyue was still reluctant to return home.
A quarter of an hour later, the three maids had already left. When Hongying woke Wu Ruyue from her bed, she felt uneasy.
"Sister, why are you up so early?" Wu Ruyue entered Wu Shi's boudoir and found that none of the maids were there; they must have been dismissed by Wu Shi.
Madam Wu was already dressed and was sitting in front of her dressing table with her back to Wu Ruyue.
"Ruyue, was it you who took that beaded flower?" Wu Shi said. She actually hoped that it wasn't her own sister, whom she had been so devoted to, who had taken it, but Hongying and the others' words did indeed suggest a possibility.
Wu Ruyue was caught off guard by Wu Shi's sudden question and stammered, "Sister, how could you... how could you even doubt Ruyue? I... how could I possibly harm you, sister!"
Upon hearing Wu Ruyue's explanation, Madam Wu understood that it was most likely Wu Ruyue who had taken it, and a surge of grief and anger welled up in her heart.
"Do you think my pearl hairpin has legs? Yesterday, the three maids Hongying, Hongqian, and Xiangyun didn't leave the west courtyard. Hongying and Hongqian went with me last night, and they didn't leave the banquet table at all. On the contrary, you went out during the day yesterday, and then dragged me to the toilet last night, and then mysteriously disappeared for a long time before I found you. Tell me, you didn't take it?" Madam Wu suddenly turned around, staring intently at Wu Ruyue, as if she could see into her bones.
Wu Ruyue was only thirteen years old, and under Wu Shi's repeated questioning, she immediately lost her composure. She had been feeling guilty since the previous night, after all, she was the one who took the pearl hairpin, causing Wu Shi to be suspected by the Fourth Prince. Of course, she was more worried that if she were exposed, she would lose any good impression in the Fourth Prince's eyes.
"Speak now!" Madam Wu roared angrily. It was infuriating that this person was her own sister, someone she couldn't deal with. If it were a maid, she would have dragged her away and beaten by now.
"Sister, I didn't put that thing there, I didn't put it there." Wu Ruyue's mind was thrown into chaos by Wu Shi's shout.
"So it was you who took it. What have I ever done to wrong you that you would harm your own sister!" Wu's eyes blazed with anger, and she wanted nothing more than to slap Wu Ruyue a few times, but in the end she didn't.
"Sister, I didn't mean to harm you. I really didn't, sister!" Wu Ruyue immediately knelt down. She was still afraid that she had truly offended Madam Wu, after all, she was her legitimate sister and she was just a concubine's daughter. If the family found out, she was afraid she would be beaten to death by the family law.
When Wu saw Wu Ruyue kneeling before her, with tears streaming down her face, the anger that had just risen in her heart subsided slightly.
"Tell me quickly, who gave you permission to take it? What exactly is going on between you two?" Madam Wu asked in a softer voice.
“Sister, it’s Princess Fucha. She found me and said that if I do one thing for her, she will help me in the future.” Wu Ruyue didn’t care about anything else at the moment and immediately said it.
"Fucha clan?" Wu asked, staring at Wu Ruyue in surprise.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
