When Fourth Master and Lanqin returned to the South Courtyard, a room full of maids were watching Doctor Wu examine the three infants in the room where they lived.
Lanqin had only been away from Wuxiha for about a day, and now that she heard that Wuxiha was sick, and that all three of her children were sick, her heart was in her throat.
"Why are all three children sick?" Lanqin asked anxiously, her voice rising slightly, though it wasn't out of reproach, but out of concern.
One wet nurse was holding Wuxiha, taking Dr. Wu's pulse, while her own child was still lying in bed. When Lanqin asked her this question, the other wet nurse became anxious and couldn't say anything, because the three children had fallen ill suddenly and inexplicably.
Dr. Wu frowned as he took Wuxiha's pulse, but after a long time, he still couldn't figure out what was wrong with the three children. All three of them had the same symptoms: heavy, labored breathing, and constant drowsiness, as if they might stop breathing at any moment.
"Wu Youcai, how are the little princess and the other two children? Why are they like this?" Fourth Master didn't have time to question the wet nurse, because it wasn't just Wuxiha who was sick; the wet nurse's own child was also sick, so it was clear that Wuxiha hadn't been neglected.
"Reporting to Your Highness, I am currently taking the young princess's pulse. We are still unsure what caused the three children to suddenly develop these symptoms," Doctor Wu said, turning around and bowing to the Fourth Master.
"My lord, these three children seem to be poisoned. Otherwise, why would they suddenly show the same symptoms?" Lanqin saw that Wuxiha's little face was red, and his eyes were closed, not open at all. He was fine when she left this morning, how could he be like this after returning? Her heart ached terribly.
Could it be that someone poisoned the three children?
Lanqin was so anxious that she wished the Fourth Master would start checking the people in the room. In addition to the two wet nurses, a new maid had been sent to serve the young princess.
"Dr. Wu, perhaps we should start by examining the child's diet. He looks like he's been poisoned; maybe he accidentally ingested something?" Lanqin's heart trembled as she spoke. Ushiha was so young; she had only gone out once, and when she returned, she found the child in this state.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the entire room froze.
Fourth Master's face was so gloomy it could drip water. Wu Youcai hurriedly pulled the wet nurse aside and asked what the three children ate every day besides drinking milk. She had to tell him everything, without omitting a single one.
The wet nurse, of course, dared not omit anything and recounted all the food the three children had eaten over the past two weeks.
Lanqin sat beside Wuxiha, listening to the wet nurse's story. When she heard that Yan Yu had been sending Wuxiha barley porridge since Wuxiha was a month old, she couldn't help but ask, "Barley porridge? Wuxiha can't eat that yet. Why didn't you tell me?"
The wet nurse glanced at Lanqin cautiously and said, "When it was delivered, I told the concubine. The food that Princess Yu sent was not given to the children; we ate it ourselves. We fed a few bites to my children, and seeing that they liked it, we cooked the rest ourselves."
Lanqin was relieved and let the wet nurse continue. Finally, they checked all the food that had passed through the child's mouth and found nothing unusual.
But looking at the three children, they clearly appeared to be poisoned, yet nothing suspicious could be found. There was only one possibility: one of the wet nurses and maids serving the children had poisoned them.
The Fourth Master's eyes swept over the two wet nurses and three maids. Clearly, he had the same thought as Lanqin: unless one of these people had poisoned the children, it was impossible for the three children to be poisoned.
"Speak now, and I might spare your life. But once I find out who it is, I'll have them torn to pieces." The Fourth Master's icy voice suddenly rang out in the room.
The two wet nurses and three maids exchanged glances, all filled with fear, but none of them stepped forward to accuse themselves of murdering the child.
Seeing Wuxiha suffering, and looking at the other two children who were also in imminent danger, Lanqin said to Fourth Master, "The two wet nurses would not do such a thing to harm their own children."
The Fourth Master then ordered, "Su Peisheng, immediately go and call the head nanny to bring people here and take these three maids away for questioning."
Upon hearing this, the three maids immediately realized their predicament and knelt down, saying, "We are innocent! We would never dare to poison you. Please, Master, investigate thoroughly."
Lanqin didn't want to treat these maids this way, but they were the only newcomers in the house who were specifically there to serve the three children.
The three maids were dragged out by the people brought by Da Momo, crying.
"Wu Youcai, do you really have no way to help them? What kind of poison have they been poisoned with?" Fourth Master felt extremely distressed seeing Wu Xiha suffering.
"I am incompetent, please, Master, quickly fetch another doctor. I see that the little princess is in grave danger if she is not treated soon." Wu Liangcai truly could not determine what kind of poison this was.
Upon hearing this, Lanqin could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face. She cried to the Fourth Master, "Master, please think of something! Wuxiha is only a month old; she shouldn't have to suffer like this."
The Fourth Prince quickly said, "You stay here, I'll go to the palace right away and fetch the imperial physician."
After the Fourth Prince went to fetch the imperial physician, Lanqin and Nianxue stayed by the side of the three children who were suffering. Both wet nurses were weeping, afraid that they would be blamed in the end, and that their own children were also in imminent danger.
“Think carefully about whether anything unusual happened while you were feeding Ushiha and the others. Crying here won’t do any good,” Lanqin said, her voice filled with contempt for the two wet nurses. How could the wet nurses who cared for her children be so clueless and indecisive?
"Reporting to Consort, the little princess doesn't have any teeth yet. I've only fed her milk, a little red date soup, and a little barley porridge water. She hasn't eaten anything else." The wet nurse was completely baffled. Who could have put something in the three children's food? If he found out, he'd beat the person to death.
"Red date soup?" Lanqin thought to herself upon hearing this: What's the point of giving such a small child red date soup?
"It was sent by Consort Yin on the day of the little princess's one-month celebration. She said that drinking this soup would improve the little princess's complexion. Since all three children loved to drink it, I've been drinking it myself," the wet nurse said.
“But drinking jujube water will upset your stomach,” Lanqin said.
The two girls were plotting something in their minds when they knelt down again with a thud.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
