At this moment, Geng's heart had turned to ice. Now that Nian's pregnancy was in danger, she herself seemed unable to explain herself. She had never been so terrified. She could only shake her head desperately, but she couldn't utter a word.
"It's you, it must be you. You're the only one by my side now. If it's not you, who is it that's harming me?" Seeing Geng's pitiful and wronged appearance, Nian felt even more disgusted. She had originally orchestrated this whole charade to suppress Geng's favor, but now that her pregnancy was truly in danger, she was even more determined to shift all the blame onto Geng.
"No, I really don't know anything about musk, and I've never seen any musk before," Geng said hurriedly, her eyes welling up with tears.
Seeing the suspicion in the Fourth Prince's eyes as he looked at Lady Geng, Green Orchid, feeling anxious, quickly said, "My lord, the Princess has never harmed Princess Nian. The Princess and the Consort have always had a good relationship. How could such a good person as the Consort associate with a wicked person with malicious intentions?"
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince thought of Lanqin, and then he remembered that Lady Geng and Lanqin were indeed very close. He also thought about how Lady Geng had been living a quiet and unassuming life in the mansion for so many years. As a result, the doubt in his eyes gradually faded away.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince hesitated again, Lady Nian's hatred for Lülan intensified, and her loathing for Lanqin, who was far away in the capital, grew even stronger. She couldn't believe that just mentioning her name would make the Fourth Prince show some mercy to those connected to her; it was truly infuriating.
"Doctor, please carefully examine all of my wife's belongings. See where the musk is hidden in her room," Fourth Master said to the doctor.
Upon hearing this, Geng was overjoyed: Yes, as long as something containing musk was found, it would prove her innocence. She was certain she hadn't given anything containing musk to Nian.
"Su Peisheng, immediately investigate the people in the kitchen, question them one by one. Find out who has been handling Princess Nian's recent meals," the Fourth Master added.
Seeing that the two groups of people had begun to move, Fourth Master said to Madam Geng, "You should go back to your room first. It's not too late to come back when we have discovered something."
When Madam Geng saw that the Fourth Master's tone wasn't so cold and harsh, she knew that he didn't believe she would harm Madam Nian, and she immediately felt much better. So she bowed to the Fourth Master and left.
After seeing that Lady Geng had left, Lady Nian took the Fourth Prince's hand and said, "My lord, I am so scared. Is it really impossible for me to keep this pregnancy? Please, my lord, find a way to save the child in my womb."
Fourth Master patted Madam Nian's hand and said, "The doctor has already gone to prepare the medicine. He will do his best. You should close your eyes and rest. I will handle everything. Don't think about it anymore. You must rest well to have any chance of holding the baby in your belly."
In fact, the doctor had already made a conclusion about Nian's pregnancy, but the Fourth Prince still ordered him to first prepare medicine for Nian to protect the pregnancy, since it was necessary to try to protect it.
Meanwhile, Geng Shi, supported by Lü Lan, returned to her east room.
"Princess, let me pour you a cup of hot tea." After helping Madam Geng sit down, Lülan noticed that her hands were still ice-cold, so she quickly went to pour her some tea.
Geng sat somewhat absentmindedly in her main room, recalling everything that had happened since she and Nian left, unable to find anything suspicious about her surroundings. If what the doctor said was true, that Nian had been suffering from musk poisoning, then there must have been musk nearby, but where could it be?
It's terrifying! Someone has secretly planted musk poison around Ms. Nian, causing her body to suffer from its effects. Now, it seems she won't be able to keep this baby.
"Princess, have some hot tea." Seeing that Madam Geng was lost in thought, Green Lan said, "We didn't do anything. That year, Madam Nian was too arrogant and domineering. Someone couldn't stand it and took action against her a long time ago."
"Shut up. At a time like this, if Fourth Master hears you talking like this, he'll think I also have malicious intentions towards her. Didn't you see? Fourth Master almost believed it just now, if you hadn't brought up Lanqin." Madam Geng said angrily. She knew very well that if Lülan hadn't brought up Lanqin in time, she probably wouldn't be sitting here safely right now.
"This servant knows her mistake, please punish me, Your Highness," Green Lan hurriedly apologized, because Madam Geng had never spoken to her so harshly before.
“You must not utter any more disrespectful words towards Madam Nian. Do you understand? If she loses this pregnancy, I'm afraid I'll become the prime suspect. Because during her pregnancy, I was the only one who stayed with her. What do you think others will think?” Madam Geng said.
Green Orchid immediately understood and quickly comforted her, "Princess, don't worry. The master won't blame us for things we didn't do."
Madam Geng smiled bitterly, "Sometimes, innocence doesn't guarantee safety. I'm not Lanqin, after all. I can't predict how much trust Master has in me. Now I just hope that doctor can find something containing musk near Madam Nian, otherwise I'm afraid it will be really hard for me to clear my name."
Meanwhile, after taking the herbal decoction prepared by the doctor, the feeling of heaviness in her lower abdomen improved slightly, but the Fourth Prince still advised her to rest in bed. Then, the Fourth Prince had the doctor examine all of Nian's belongings, including clothes, jewelry, skincare products, books, objects, and some daily necessities.
After thoroughly searching through all of Nian's belongings, including bird's nests, snow frogs, and other food items, the doctor found no trace of musk.
Fourth Master summoned the doctor, Cui Ling, and Bai Zhi to the front courtyard for questioning, while Bi Rou and Zi Ning stayed behind to take care of Nian Shi.
Upon arriving at the Fourth Prince's temporary study, the Fourth Prince asked the doctor, "Is there really no way to help the lady with her pregnancy?"
The doctor shook his head and said, "Madam's body was already harmed by musk when she was pregnant. She barely managed to conceive, so her foundation was weak. This pregnancy is destined to fail. The medicine I just gave her can only prolong her life a little longer; it won't do anything fundamental."
Upon hearing this, Cui Ling and Bai Zhi were heartbroken for their princess. They knew that if she found out, she would definitely lose her temper.
The Fourth Master was silent for a moment, then looked up at Cui Ling and Bai Zhi and said, "Has your mistress ever acted strangely, or has anyone ever given her something that she has kept by her side?"
Cui Ling thought for a moment. All of Nian's belongings came from her dowry. Even when she was in the Fourth Prince's residence, she rarely used the items allocated to her by the family; she mostly used her dowry. Bai Zhi thought about it. It seemed that Nian's rewards all came from the Fourth Prince and his wife; most of her other items were dowry items. The food she ate daily was brought from the kitchen, and it had all been tested for poison with a silver needle. Besides, musk wasn't something put in food.
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