“My sister won’t admit to something she didn’t do. My father has always seen how I’ve treated the Third Prince. I have no reason to harm him. He’s already my adopted son. If he recovers, I’ll have someone to rely on in the future.” Madam Yin said rationally, her smile fading.
“That’s how it should be, but unfortunately some people are too ruthless. I’m afraid they won’t be content with just an adopted son; they might even prefer a child born of their own. Although we don’t yet know why you put that ginseng in the hidden compartment of the pottery jar, it should be easy to find out once we find Wu Youcai.” Seeing that Madam Yin was still stubborn, Lanqin stopped talking to her and said coldly.
"Lanqi, go to the head nanny's place and ask Wu Youcai to come. I have something to ask him!" Lanqin said.
Madam Yin remained silent, only looking down at the gilded hand warmer in her hand.
Song and Geng exchanged a glance, then looked at Lanqin. For a moment, the room fell silent, with only the ticking of the clock slowly eroding time.
In no time, Wu Youcai was brought down under the escort of the head nanny. He looked thinner than he had been in just one day, and his face was listless. It was clear how much Lanqin's words yesterday had affected him.
"Nianxue, bring a stool for the head nanny, please sit down," Lanqin said softly, straightening her posture.
"This servant is just a servant, I dare not be presumptuous in front of the concubine. This servant will just stand here," the head nanny said sternly.
"Did those maids vomit anything?" Lanqin smiled slightly and then asked.
Upon hearing this, Madam Yin's body twitched slightly, but she dared not say anything and could only continue to lower her head and wait for the head nanny's reply.
"Don't worry, Consort. They're just a few maids. If they don't speak up, they'll face plenty of punishment. None of them can endure that." The head nanny's face was as cold and silent as an autumn pond in winter.
Lanqin glanced unconsciously at Lan Qi's figure outside the door, a faint smile appearing on her lips. She then said to Wu Youcai, "Doctor Wu, you should think carefully before answering the questions I, the concubine, have asked you. If you still harbor any deception, it will only compound your sins."
Wu Youcai frowned slightly, swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and his slightly dry lips slowly opened as he said, "This servant will certainly remember Consort's words. Please give your instructions."
"Now, I have found something in the Third Prince's pottery jar. Please have Doctor Wu take a look." Lanqin gestured for Nianxue to take out some of the broken ceramic shards for Wu Youcai to see.
Madam Yin's face turned pale instantly. Her self-assured confidence had begun to crumble when she heard what the head nanny had said, and now that she had seen Wu Youcai take the porcelain shard, she became even more nervous.
Wu Youcai took the porcelain shard, then picked out the ginseng slices inside, examined them closely, and smelled them. He exclaimed in surprise, "These are red ginseng slices?"
As Wu Youcai spoke, Yin's hand trembled slightly involuntarily. This small movement had already been noticed by Lanqin, Song, Geng, and others.
"Dr. Wu, these red ginseng slices are very nourishing. Is there anything wrong with adding them to the medicine you prescribed for the Third Prince?" Lanqin asked hurriedly.
Doctor Wu stared at the pale red ginseng slices in his hand with a complicated expression, his lips trembling as he said, "The Third Prince suffers from a cold-related illness with internal heat and external cold, and he cannot take any more of these blood-tonifying and qi-tonifying tonics. Adding these red ginseng slices to the decoction will only aggravate the Third Prince's internal heat. No wonder the Third Prince's health fluctuates; it turns out this was added to the decoction."
The Princess Consort never instructed him to change any medicine pots; she only told him to conceal the fact that the Third Prince had been poisoned, and to know nothing else. Lady Yin was truly being too clever for her own good, actually adding such a thing to the Third Prince's medicine. She had really brought trouble upon herself. There was no need for me to cover for her anymore; otherwise, if the Fourth Prince investigated, I wouldn't be able to escape.
"Head Madam, that's enough. Take Doctor Wu away. As for those maids, go tell them that if they're willing to confess who switched the Third Prince's medicine pot, I, the Consort, am willing to plead for them. At least their lives can be saved, and they might even be able to stay in the manor to serve him. If they remain stubborn, things won't be so easy when the Master returns." Lanqin's tone carried an undeniable air of authority and decisiveness.
"Yes, I will have these maids speak." The head maid curtsied and then had a servant take Wu Youcai out.
"My two elder sisters, Lanqin is tired too, let's call it a day. As for Sister Yin, why don't you go back and think about how to explain things to Fourth Master? I won't keep you any longer." Lanqin said, adjusting the kingfisher feather enamel openwork gold nail guard on her little finger.
Yin silently stood up, followed by Song and Geng, and all bowed to Lanqin before leaving.
Since Madam Yin had come alone, she realized that she hadn't put on her shawl when she came out, so she had to turn around and walk back into Lanqin's room. Madam Song and Madam Geng, who were walking towards her, looked at her with suspicion as she passed by.
“My sister is still so young, yet she has such a deep mind. If she had used that mindset on the master, she would surely have no trouble receiving his favor in the future. It’s a pity that she has used it in the wrong place, which is truly a shame. Sister Geng, don’t you think so?” Madam Song was always kind and gentle and never spoke sarcastically. But at this moment, she couldn’t help but say a few words. Firstly, she was truly ashamed of how Madam Yin had treated the Third Prince, and secondly, she wanted to persuade her to expose the Fujin (the wife of the Third Prince) so that she could vent her pain of harming her son.
Madam Yin was unmoved by her words and went straight inside, as if she hadn't heard a thing.
Lanqin was helping Nianxue stand up from the warm couch when she saw that Madam Yin had left and then returned. She stopped to see what her purpose was.
"My cloak was left in Consort Yin's room," Lady Yin said politely.
"Xi Cha, see if you can put Yin Gege's cloak on her. It's freezing outside, and without a cloak, she might fall ill," Lan Qin said. After saying that, she turned around and was about to take Nian Xue's hand to lead her into the inner room.
"Consort, I have something I wish to say to you alone. May I serve you this once?" Lady Yin suddenly said.
Lanqin smiled slowly, nodded, and said to Nianxue, "Go and fetch a pot of tea to the study. Consort Yin doesn't need to serve the Fujin anymore, so why don't you go to the study and enjoy tea and read together?"
After speaking, Lanqin took Nianxue's hand and brushed past Madam Yin. Madam Yin paused for a moment, then turned and followed Lanqin to the study.
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