"Has the Princess Consort seen Que'er?" Fourth Prince turned to look at his wife and asked.
"Que'er?" the Fujin asked, looking completely bewildered.
"The maid who used to serve Lady Li has now fallen into the life of a courtesan and is now working as a geisha. She said she came to ask you for help to get rid of her status as a courtesan," the Fourth Prince asked, staring into his wife's eyes.
"Oh. It's that Sparrow. Did she come to the manor today?" The Fujin still pretended to know nothing, which made Wu Shi and the others feel ashamed.
“That’s right. Ruyi said she went to see her, and Que’er told her she went to find the Fujin.” The Fourth Prince explained patiently. Just now, he saw that the Fujin’s eyes seemed to be completely unmoved, as if she really knew nothing about this Que’er.
Upon hearing this, the Fujin frowned. She carefully stood up, curtsied to the Fourth Prince, and raised her left hand above her head, saying, "I, Ula, swear that I have never seen Que'er. If I am lying, may I grow old alone, with no one to care for me when I am sick, and no one to mourn me after I die."
Lanqin was startled, and not only her, but all the women present were shocked. The vow that the Fujin made was incredibly cruel. Everyone fears being left with no one to rely on in old age, sickness, and death, yet she could make such a harsh vow to herself. Even the Fourth Prince dared not ask any more questions.
"If the Princess Consort needs to make such a vow, then she hasn't seen him." The Fourth Prince thought to himself, perhaps that Sparrow really hadn't seen the Princess Consort.
Wu Shi clenched the handkerchief in her hand, glanced anxiously at Lan Qin, who nodded to her. Then, she mustered her courage and said, "Your Majesty, Que'er did indeed tell me she was going to find the Fujin (the principal wife), and I am certain she will go. Please send someone to the main courtyard to look for Que'er." After saying this, Wu Shi's knees buckled and she knelt down.
"I also think that Que'er is very likely in the main courtyard. Please send someone to look for her immediately, Your Highness," Song said, standing up.
“As long as Que’er hasn’t left the Fourth Prince’s residence, we can find her. Please have someone immediately close all the gates on the front, back, left, and right, and not let anyone in,” Geng Shi said, standing up as well.
Upon hearing this, the Fujin turned around and looked at the people who had strongly recommended that the Fourth Prince search the main courtyard. They all met the Fujin's gaze without fear. Song Shi and Geng Shi, who used to bow their heads in front of her, now raised their heads high.
The princess consort withdrew her gaze and said to the fourth prince, "Your Highness, since all the sisters say that the sparrow is in my courtyard, why don't you come with me to search for it? That way, the sisters won't have any doubts."
Lanqin thought to herself: Since she dared to let everyone search, Que'er must not be with her. Going there now would probably be a waste of time. Where would she hide Que'er?
For a moment, the Fourth Prince was undecided. If he really searched the main courtyard of the Fujin (wife), her reputation would be greatly damaged. As his first wife, the Fourth Prince did not want that to happen.
The princess consort naturally noticed the fourth prince's hesitation, so she seized the opportunity to ask, "I wonder what Sister Wu wants to do with that sparrow?"
Wu looked at the Fujin with apprehension, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Has the Fujin forgotten that she ordered Wang to secretly hide the witchcraft doll under Li's bed? Also, Li was seriously ill for a period of time before she committed suicide, and I was pregnant. Someone poisoned her."
The Fujin still looked bewildered and asked, "I instructed Lady Wang? What evidence do you have for this, sister?"
Wu's eyes flickered slightly as she said to the Fourth Prince, "My lord, as long as we find Que'er, she can also testify that Wang did indeed secretly frame Li for the witchcraft doll that day. I saw her go in that day, and then the Fujin's people found that thing."
The Fujin sneered and retorted, "Sister, how strange. Wasn't Wang Shi on good terms with you back then, and went to the East Courtyard every day? What relationship do I have with Wang Shi? This is all just your speculation. You're making baseless accusations without any evidence."
Lanqin then said, "Master, Li was indeed poisoned before she committed suicide. I was almost poisoned as well, but fortunately, I didn't use those charcoal fires."
The princess glanced at Lanqin without leaving a trace.
Fourth Master frowned and said sternly, "What charcoal?"
Lanqin hurriedly said, "This servant has put away the charcoal from that time. Master, you can send someone to fetch it. The servant who delivered the charcoal to Lanqin can be found at the head nanny's place. If we find him, then we can trace the poisoner back to him."
Fourth Master immediately ordered Su Peisheng to go out and find someone to bring over some of the charcoal that had been used for Lanqin in the South Courtyard, and also summoned Doctor Wu.
The head maid was also summoned in, and she saw a room full of princesses; almost the entire backyard of the Fourth Prince was there.
"Your Highness, what brings you here?" The head maidservant bowed respectfully to the Fourth Master.
"Go and gather all the servants in this courtyard at the gate. The master wants to go see them later," the Fourth Master said to the head nanny without offering any further explanation.
Before long, the head maid gathered all the servants together, and they stood in the courtyard with their heads bowed.
When the Fourth Master led everyone out of the study, he saw that all the servants in the first platoon were standing there wearing the same clothes.
Lanqin, supporting Nianxue's hand, walked past them one by one, but still couldn't find the two people who had delivered the charcoal.
"Granny, is everyone here?" Lanqin asked politely.
"Yes, and then there are the eunuchs in the manor, they are really..." the head nanny said.
Upon hearing this, the Fujin clenched her handkerchief tightly in her sleeve, but her face remained blank.
"Granny, please bring all the servants responsible for cleaning the latrines and sewers throughout the mansion here. Make sure not a single one is missing," Lanqin said. Actually, she herself wasn't entirely confident, but now that she had come this far, she couldn't back down. Everyone had bravely stepped forward, and if she withdrew now, she would be letting her sisters down.
“Princess Niu, they are all wicked servants who have made mistakes and are engaged in contact with filthy things every day. It is really inappropriate for you to send them here,” said Madam Wang.
"Princess Wang, the two people I'm looking for, unless they're no longer in the manor, I'm sure I can find them. Someone put some kind of poison in the charcoal that Li and I used last winter. I wasn't seriously poisoned because I only used it for a few days, but Li wasn't so lucky. She probably inhaled too much poisonous fumes, which is why she got so sick." Lanqin, supporting her belly, walked to Fourth Master's side.
The head maid agreed and hurriedly went to summon the servants in charge of cleaning the latrines in the mansion.
Before long, a group of servants, whose clothes were slightly different from those of the servants, came in.
The princess's expression changed slightly, and she regretted not having dealt with those two people back then.
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