The next day, the wet nurse's husband dragged his three children and the wet nurse's body to the gate of the Fourth Prince's mansion and wept in mourning.
Because only Li was present at the time of the incident, along with the already drowned wet nurse and the mute Fourth Prince Hongshi, the Fourth Prince could only conclude that the wet nurse and the Fourth Prince had accidentally slipped into the water and drowned.
Last night, the Fourth Prince ordered the head nanny to put the wet nurse's body into a wooden coffin, have it dragged out of the Fourth Prince's residence by carriage, and send it back to her husband's home, along with a considerable sum of money for her resettlement. Unexpectedly, the wet nurse's husband brought the body back, placed it in front of the Fourth Prince's residence, and then knelt beside it with his three children, wailing, attracting the attention of passersby.
Their commotion put Fatty Wang, who was standing at the door, in a very difficult position. He couldn't get rid of them no matter what. Fourth Master had gone to the palace to work early in the morning and never expected that the wet nurse's husband would come back to cause trouble.
The head maid was the first to receive the report. She hadn't expected such a thing to happen, and she quickly led two servants to the main gate.
"Dobi, what are you wailing about here? Hurry up and take your Sarigan back for burial!" The head nanny recognized this family; they were distant relatives. That's why she introduced the wet nurse to the Fourth Prince's residence, but she never expected such a thing to happen. The head nanny was also feeling quite distressed.
"Granny, how exactly did Wanqi die? She just disappeared without a trace. How am I supposed to explain this to her parents and three children?" The man named Duobi grabbed the hem of the head nanny's robe and said.
The head nanny gave him a complicated look before saying, "Didn't I say it was an accidental drowning? Are you complaining that the money wasn't enough?"
Duo Bi's eyes flickered as she said, "How could she suddenly drown? Wan Qi was a cautious person; why would she take the little prince to play by the pond and fall in? I heard her say when she came home that the Fourth Prince's mother was capricious and often lost her temper with him, sometimes even punishing the servants. Granny, Wan Qi's death was so sudden, I—"
"Shut up! If you want to live, don't spout nonsense. What kind of place is this? The owner of this mansion could kill you with a flick of his eyebrow. If you still want to live, hurry up and take Wanqi's body back for burial. Don't cause trouble here!" The head nanny patiently advised, but Duobi's words just now had a ripple of unease in her heart.
"Granny, I want to ask Consort Li myself. If she died so mysteriously, Wanqi will not rest in peace." Bi usually seemed carefree and unambitious, but at this moment she had an almost obsessive stubbornness.
"Are you crazy? You can't just see the concubine whenever you want. Go away, I have some silver here, take it." After saying that, the head nanny was about to take some more silver from her sleeve to give him, but Duobi stopped her. He pleaded, "Nanny, please help me one last time. Go and tell the concubine that Wanqi told me everything she did. If she refuses to see me, I, Duobi, will wait here for the Fourth Prince to return."
Wang Pangzi stood at the door, listening to the conversation between the two. When he noticed that the man mentioned Consort Li several times, he sent someone to rush to the east courtyard to report the news. In fact, Wang Pangzi had always been Li's man, but seeing that Lanqin had gained favor, Wang Pangzi wanted to get closer to her. However, Lanqin didn't buy into his schemes at all, which made him give up.
Furthermore, when Madam Li learned that Duobi was making a scene at the gate with the wet nurse's body, she panicked. Yesterday, she had already sent someone to deliver one hundred taels of silver to the wet nurse's family, yet that man still wasn't satisfied and dared to leave her corpse lying in the street!
"You said he wants to see me??" Mrs. Li said in disbelief.
"Yes, that's what Master told me. The head eunuch kept trying to persuade him at the door, but he still wouldn't leave," the little eunuch at the gate said in a low voice, his neck hunched.
"Que'er, go with this young eunuch and tell the head nanny to let him come in to see me. I don't need to teach you how to say it, do I?" Li said coldly.
Que'er nodded in agreement and followed the little eunuch toward the gatehouse.
Before long, when Que'er arrived at the door, she feigned surprise and walked to the head nanny's side, saying, "Nanny, does this person want to see my concubine?"
The head nanny was quite surprised by Que'er's arrival, and tentatively asked, "How did the concubine know that there was trouble at the gate?"
Que'er's eyes flickered slightly as she said, "No, I was just passing by the gate when I heard what he was saying, so I came over to ask if this man is Wanqi's wet nurse's husband?"
The man seemed to recognize the voice, and after looking Que'er up and down, he hurriedly said, "Are you the maidservant of the concubine? Take me to see the concubine. I want to ask her myself how Wanqi died."
The head nanny was at her wits' end with Duobi's unreasonable behavior. Seeing the head nanny's helplessness, Que'er interjected, "Since he will only leave after seeing our Fujin, why don't we go in and see him?"
Seeing that Que'er was asking for her opinion, the head nanny thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Duo Bi, you go with Miss Que'er. I will take care of your three children for you. Remember, don't say anything you shouldn't in front of the concubine."
Duo Bi quickly got up and followed Que'er into the two vermilion doors. When he reached the door, the threshold, which reached up to his knees, almost tripped him.
While Duobi was still reeling from the magnificence of the Fourth Prince's mansion, Que'er had already led him through several paths to the East Courtyard.
Madam Li sat upright in the main room, her eyes fixed on the man following behind Que'er, her face adorned with franc-pearl-and-tortoiseshell armor. A growing sense of resentment rose within her. This man only needed to quietly accept the money and bury the wet nurse, and everything would be fine. But he insisted on making a scene at the door. What was he after?
"You didn't kneel before our Lady of the House, and you're staring at her like that. I'll gouge out your eyes!" Que'er scolded lightly.
"This humble subject greets Consort, may Consort enjoy boundless blessings and peace!" Duo Bi patted his sleeves and bowed deeply.
"No need. I heard you caused a scene at the gate with your wet nurse's body and insisted on seeing me. Tell me, what is it you want?" Consort Li stared into Duo Bi's eyes and said.
"This humble subject has only come to ask what my wife, Wanqi, did that was so wrong that she was so anxious to take her life!" the man said coldly.
“How dare you! The wet nurse simply fell into the pond and died by accident. What does this have to do with me, Consort Li?” said Lady Li.
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