When these servants, who were specifically responsible for cleaning the latrines and dredging the underground drains in the mansion, entered, the other servants naturally stepped aside, as if afraid of being tainted by their bad luck.
Si Hua and Lan Qi were the ones who carried the charcoal in. Now, Lan Qin asked Si Hua to go down and identify it. Si Hua walked up to the servants and smelled an unpleasant temperature emanating from them.
They themselves felt ashamed of doing the lowest of jobs, and all of them hung their heads.
Si Hua walked past them one by one, her gaze sweeping over their faces twice.
Si Hua couldn't confirm which two people they were.
Madam Song and the others couldn't help but feel anxious, fearing that she had forgotten what the servant who delivered the charcoal looked like that day, otherwise they wouldn't be able to find the source of the poison in the charcoal fire.
As the Princess Consort watched the Painter's retreating figure, she prayed in her heart that the Painter wouldn't recognize the two people. It was Granny Li who gave the order that day, and she had never directly met the servants responsible for delivering charcoal to Lanqin and Li Shi, so even the Princess Consort herself didn't know which two they were.
"Sihua, have you found the person who delivered the charcoal?" Lanqin asked from the bottom of the steps.
Si Hua stopped in her tracks, stood in front of a servant, and asked in confusion, "You were the one who delivered the charcoal that day, but who was the other one?"
At this moment, the servant who had been called out waved his hand in a panic and said, "Miss, I don't know you, and I've never delivered any charcoal to you. You must have mistaken me for someone else."
Si Hua ignored his explanation, turned around and walked to Lan Qin's side, saying to the Fourth Master, "Reporting to Your Highness, the person just now was the one who delivered the batch of charcoal to the Princess. There is another person who is not among them."
The princess's heart sank, but she showed no sign of panic and remained standing there with her head held high.
"Everyone else, disperse. You, kneel down immediately and explain yourself to the master." The head nanny shouted sternly at the crowd, then addressed the servant who had been pointed out by Si Hua.
Lanqin smiled inwardly and gave the head nanny a grateful look.
Everyone left in a line as if they had been granted a pardon, except for the servant who knelt on the ground uneasily, repeatedly saying, "Please have mercy, Master. I have always been responsible for cleaning the outhouse in the west courtyard of the mansion, and I have never delivered any charcoal as that young lady said."
Lanqin stared at him with a grim expression. If this person refused to speak, then this line of investigation might not be able to continue.
At this moment, Doctor Wu entered from outside with his head down. Ever since he had shown his weakness in the matter of Princess Yu last time, he dared not be careless with this princess in the South Courtyard again.
Seeing her with her large pregnant belly, still tirelessly questioning the servant, I felt a pang of worry for the Fujin (principal wife), fearing she wouldn't stand a chance against the woman in the South Courtyard.
"Your Majesty, something was indeed found in the charcoal," Doctor Wu reported truthfully. At this point, he dared not conceal anything.
"Speak!" Fourth Master's icy expression, though on a hot summer day, was as cold as an ice cellar.
"It's cinnabar. Someone ground cinnabar into powder and added it to the charcoal. When the charcoal burns, the fine cinnabar particles melt into dust or even gas at the high temperature and float into the air. People who are exposed to this environment for a long time will inhale some of the cinnabar powder, and over time, they will be poisoned," Dr. Wu said in one breath.
The Fourth Prince's sinister gaze was now tinged with surprise; he hadn't expected to find such a cunning woman in his own household.
Lanqin and the other women all turned pale. To be able to come up with such a method to harm people, they were truly vicious and cunning.
"Head Granny, tie him up and beat him right here. If he doesn't talk, beat him to death with sticks!" Fourth Master said fiercely.
At this moment, everyone fell silent. Only at this moment could they truly feel that the Fourth Master was the real master of this courtyard.
Even the Fujin (principal wife) could only remain silent at this moment. She knew she couldn't step forward, because pleading for a servant she didn't know would only arouse the Fourth Prince's suspicion even more.
The head nanny understood and immediately went to call in the person who was usually in charge of executions. She brought in a stool and pressed the servant down onto it.
"My lord, please, all of you gentlemen, step aside to avoid any clashes. If we end up with blood splattering everywhere, I'm afraid it will frighten you all," said the head nanny.
Fourth Master nodded and said to his wife, "You should all go back first. We can discuss it after he confesses. Granny, are all the gates in the mansion sealed? We mustn't let anyone escape at this moment."
The head maid hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, all the locks have been put up as you ordered. I have also sent people to search the garden for any unfamiliar maids."
After everyone had returned to their respective homes as instructed by the Fourth Master, only Lanqin was kept behind. He took her hand and, naturally, didn't stay in the main courtyard, but went to the small garden at the back.
As for the Fujin (principal wife), she supported Lingxiu's hand as they walked towards the main courtyard. Li Mama's face was ashen, like the ashes of burnt grass. That servant boy was indeed one she had taken in that day; the other one, it seemed, was someone she had fallen into the latrine and drowned. She had been careless and hadn't dealt with him properly; she hadn't expected him to become a ticking time bomb.
"Has Que'er been dealt with?" The Fujin walked with incredibly elegant steps along the corridor of the mansion. Servants passing by would greet her and then lower their heads to avoid her.
"Reporting to Your Highness, he's still hiding in the woodshed at the back," Lingxiu said.
"Fortunately, the master still had some sense of my dignity and didn't order a real search. Now we must hurry back and deal with this girl. We must not let her see the master alive," the wife said.
“Yes, this servant will take care of it right away,” Lingxiu said.
"No, it's not you who should go. You go, Granny!" The Fujin suddenly stopped, but instead of turning around, she spoke to Granny Li who was following behind her.
"This servant obeys the order and will bury her immediately. Even if Your Highness searches again, you will not find anything," said Granny Li.
After Li Mama left, Lingxiu continued to help the Fujin walk back, carefully observing her expression as they walked.
“Madam, it’s not difficult to get rid of this matter. I have an idea,” Lingxiu said.
"Oh, what's your idea?" The Fujin stopped and turned to stare at Lingxiu. She liked the girl's cleverness and ruthlessness. Li Mama, Chunliu, and Xiahe were all servants who had been with her for over ten years, and she had a mistress-servant relationship with them, but she also knew that she had too many weaknesses, and sometimes she had to consider their feelings when doing things.
“If we get rid of Wang, then we'll have no connection with the Fujin anymore,” Lingxiu said. Although she didn't know what had happened back then, she could roughly guess what it was from what she had seen in the front yard.
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