The princess's eyes flashed, and she said in a deep voice, "May I ask, Princess Niu, who is trying to frame you and slander you?"
Upon hearing this, Lanqin knew that she had firmly secured the upper hand and was pressing her relentlessly. However, she had Lanqin by the throat because Lanqin still did not know who had bribed Huanbi. At least she had no evidence to prove that Huanbi had been bribed.
"This concubine knows nothing, this concubine has not done anything, please investigate thoroughly, Your Highness." Although Lanqin knew that the woman in front of her was the mastermind behind all of this, she had no evidence to prove that she was the culprit.
“Gege Niu, that’s really funny. Now that the red flower was found in your yard, you think you can explain everything by saying you didn’t do anything?” Yan Yu couldn’t help but retort sarcastically.
“Yes, if anyone does something wrong in the future, they can just say ‘I didn’t do it,’ and our household will probably be in chaos.” Madam Wu quickly added fuel to the fire.
The Fourth Prince looked at the little princess standing there alone. Although Huanbi said that Lanqin had instigated her to do it, he still couldn't believe or accept that she was such a vicious woman.
Lanqin did not refute the sarcasm behind her back one by one. She silently looked at Fourth Master, trying to see from his eyes whether he still believed in her and how much he still believed in her.
"Huanbi, let me ask you, when did I send you out of the manor to buy safflower, and where did I buy it?" Lanqin suddenly said to Huanbi, who was kneeling beside her.
Huanbi was clearly caught off guard by Lanqin's sudden question and panicked for a moment. After clearing her tongue, she said, "Your Highness did not ask me to go out and buy it. Instead, Your Highness gave it to me personally. As for where, when, and where Your Highness bought the safflower, I have no idea."
It must be said that Huanbi is quite quick-witted. She didn't follow Lanqin's plan. If she admitted to buying the item outside the manor, Lanqin would immediately accuse her of lying, because Huanbi had indeed not left the manor. If she said she bought it in a certain place, Lanqin would immediately suggest that the Fourth Prince go there to inquire.
Lanqin's mind raced, and she asked again, "When did you join that pot of jujube tea? Mingyan, who was by Li's side, said that she had been watching over there the whole time."
Lanqin asked this question to make Huanbi give the wrong time. As long as her time did not match the time Mingyan gave, it would prove that she was talking. Fortunately, neither Madam Li nor her maid were there.
Judging from Li's assessment, Lanqin concluded that this incident was likely the work of the Fujin (Prince's wife), not Li herself. Otherwise, why would Li have been confined to her quarters by the Fourth Prince?
Huanbi panicked a little. She could use the excuse that she hadn't left the manor before, but now Lanqin was asking a question that would directly determine whether she had poisoned the pot.
Upon hearing this, the Fujin thought to herself: Niu Shi is truly extraordinary, with such a meticulous mind. No wonder she has won the favor of the Fourth Prince.
Although Huanbi learned from the person who bribed her about the time Mingyan left, it was only a rough estimate and not accurate. So she stammered, "Reporting to Master and Consort, I can't quite remember, but it was probably between 5 and 7 pm."
The Fourth Master suddenly said, "Has anyone seen you go to the kitchen? Head Madam, go to the South Courtyard and ask if Huanbi left the South Courtyard between 5 PM and 7 PM!"
Lanqin had actually intended to say those words, but the Fourth Master spoke first, which made Lanqin's numb and aching heart feel a little better.
Huanbi was startled, but fortunately she had already discussed it with that person beforehand, so the answer the head nanny would ask would definitely be yes, because she had left under some pretext at that time.
Seeing that Lanqin still couldn't gain the upper hand, Li Shubao couldn't help but want to reveal the truth about Huanbi being bribed. However, Lanqin clearly gestured to him not to rush into anything rashly, forcefully stopping him from speaking.
"Huanbi, if I ordered you to remove the safflower, how could I have left some, especially hidden in your room? Logically, you should have thrown it away. Keeping it only makes you a suspect!" Lanqin felt these ancient women needed to improve their thinking; their constant framing and false accusations were really tiresome, weren't they?
Upon hearing this, Madam Song nodded happily, Madam Geng also showed a dignified smile, while Yan Yu said indignantly, "Perhaps you didn't tell her to do this, and she didn't think of it for a moment, so she left the rest of the medicine behind. It's not impossible."
“My lord, everything requires evidence. What Consort Niu said is just her words, and there is no evidence to back it up. Now Huanbi has admitted that she was acting on her orders, and physical evidence has been found in the South Courtyard. I beg you, Fourth Master, to give the ladies of the inner quarters a fair judgment!” The Fujin said this because she saw that arguing with Lanqin was useless and would only give Lanqin more opportunities to make excuses.
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince, though still unwilling to believe that Lan Qin had truly done such a thing, could find no way to refute the words of his wife.
"Master, in fact, Lanqin had no motive to harm Princess Yanyu!" Lanqin finally couldn't help but say. "Everything needs an original motive. May I ask, Master, what benefit would Lanqin gain from harming Princess Yanyu and the child in her womb? It would only bring trouble upon herself. Lanqin would never do something that harms others and herself."
motivation?
The people in the room were so stunned by Lanqin's use of a few modern words that they were temporarily speechless.
“You naturally have a motive, and that motive is the child in Princess Yan Yu’s belly. You remember that she became pregnant before you, so you feel resentful,” Madam Wu suddenly said.
"Hehe, Lanqin is only fourteen years old and has no plans to have children yet. So my jealousy of Yanyu's pregnancy is truly baseless!" Lanqin looked at the Fourth Master with utmost sincerity and harmlessness.
Upon hearing Lanqin's words, Fourth Master's lips twitched several times. The troublesome little thing, he knew she wouldn't be at a disadvantage outside with her sharp tongue, so he wasn't worried at all that she would lose an argument with them.
The Fujin (principal wife) standing to the side was utterly speechless with embarrassment at Lanqin's actions. She hadn't expected this little princess to be so quick-witted; she was definitely not the innocent girl she appeared to be!
"That sounds nice, but think about it, which woman doesn't want to conceive a child soon? Do you really not want to?" Seeing that Fourth Master remained silent, Yan Yu became anxious and immediately said this. However, her words were too blunt, and she only received a cold glance from Fourth Master.
Seeing that look, Yan Yu decisively shut her mouth.
“My lord, we now have witnesses and physical evidence, all pointing to the South Courtyard. Furthermore, there is the matter of Li secretly practicing witchcraft. I urge you to make a decision.” The Fujin ignored Lanqin’s explanation and directly forced the Fourth Prince to make a statement.
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