"Could you perhaps have Doctor Wu examine Yan Yu's body? I have some doubts about whether she committed suicide or was murdered. The best way to cover it up is to poison her, as that would be less likely to be discovered," Lan Qin said.
"You mean the Fujin poisoned Yan Yu to death? They were sisters." The Fourth Prince also put down his chopsticks and looked at Lan Qin.
"I never said that it was the Fujin who poisoned her; that was said by the Fourth Prince himself. I only said that Yan Yu might have been poisoned, or perhaps she really did take poison herself," Lanqin hurriedly said. She only suspected the cause of Yan Yu's death, but made no attempt to imply who had poisoned her.
"You mean I was just judging you by my own petty standards?" Fourth Master raised an eyebrow, the little princess's serious expression was truly adorable.
"That's what I meant. Perhaps everyone would have reacted the same way as you did just now, but I didn't mean anything by it. I was just stating the facts of the matter," Lanqin said.
Seeing the little princess's indignant expression of being wronged, the Fourth Prince couldn't help but laugh. He picked up a crystal xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) and held it to Lanqin's lips, saying gently, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have doubted you. My Qin'er is kind-hearted and intelligent."
After saying that, he beckoned to Lan Qi, who was serving outside, and instructed her to immediately send Doctor Wu to the main courtyard to examine the body.
This was the first time Lanqin had heard the Fourth Prince praise her like this, and she felt a sweet warmth in her heart. She asked, "Doesn't Your Highness have to go to court today?"
The Fourth Master was displeased and said unhappily, "You don't want to see me and want to kick me out?"
Seeing that Fourth Master was unhappy, Lanqin quickly scooped a spoonful of millet porridge from her own bowl and brought it to him, coaxing him like a child, "I was just concerned about you, Master. I just said it casually. It didn't mean I wanted to send you away! Be good, have some porridge."
Nianxue and Xicha, who were standing to the side, were immediately embarrassed to watch any longer. These two were acting like children.
Meanwhile, Doctor Wu had already received the Fourth Master's order and arrived at the main courtyard.
"Doctor Wu, I didn't call you. Why are you here?" The princess already knew the fourth prince's response and buried Yan Yu according to the standards for a concubine.
"Reporting to Your Highness, I have come to examine the body." Doctor Wu dared not look up at His Highness, for upon receiving this decree, his first reaction was that his master suspected His Highness and that Yan Yu's death was suspicious.
Upon hearing this, Lingxiu, who was standing next to the Fujin, frowned and glanced at the Fujin, whose expression was also unpleasant.
"Doctor Wu, Yan Yu has committed suicide by poison. Go and see her. Lingxiu, take Doctor Wu with you," the Fujin said calmly.
Lingxiu glanced at the Fujin subconsciously, but seeing that the latter did not give her any special hints, she had no choice but to lead Doctor Wu to the place where Yan Yu lay dead.
The princess sat blankly on the main couch. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she took out the exquisite snuff bottle from her sleeve, put it under her nose, and took a deep sniff. Only then did she relax with a satisfied look on her face.
"Xiahe, close all the doors and windows. No one is to enter without my permission," the Fujin ordered Xiahe, who was dusting the furniture.
Xia He knew that the Fujin was going to inhale the contents of that snuff bottle again. She wanted to say something, but dared not, so she could only agree and leave.
After having breakfast, Fourth Master and Lanqin returned to the front courtyard. Lanqin was worried about Wuxiha and Xichen, so she asked the wet nurse to bring the two children to her room. She decided to take the wet nurse's child home; after what had happened, it didn't seem right to keep her there any longer.
Lanqin felt particularly guilty towards the wet nurse who had lost her child, so she took two thousand taels of silver from her own savings and sent it to her. The Fourth Master's compensation was also around several hundred taels. The wet nurse, having lost her child, had no heart to continue serving, and Lanqin allowed her to do some easier work elsewhere. Because they were bondservants, they could not be separated from their masters; therefore, they were servants of their masters for life.
When Song and Geng came to visit, they saw Lanqin holding Wuxiha in the yard, basking in the sun, while Xichen was being held by a maid to look at the vegetables and fruits in the small garden.
When Song Shi and the others learned that Lanqin wanted to adopt the child, they were naturally puzzled, which is why they came early in the morning. However, they waited until it was almost time for Fourth Master to leave before arriving. Since their last encounter with Fourth Master at Lanqin's place had been rather awkward, Song Shi and the others had privately agreed not to come when Fourth Master was in the South Courtyard.
"Sister is here." Lanqin, holding Wuxiha, saw Songshi and Gengshi walking out from around the corner of the courtyard gate.
"Is this the child?" Song and the others walked up to the vegetable garden and looked at Xi Chen.
"Hmm, look, what an adorable child." Lanqin carried Wuxiha over.
"Come here, let me hold you." Madam Song wanted to hold him, and the maid who served Xi Chen glanced at Lan Qin. Seeing her nod, she handed Xi Chen over to her.
Geng took out a cloth tiger to tease Xi Chen, who was only six months old and loved to laugh. Before long, Geng and Song made him giggle.
“The little one is quite good-looking. I really didn’t expect that person would dare to bring a child in,” said Madam Geng.
"What's even more unexpected is that it was the Fujin (principal wife) who exposed her. Now that she's dead in the main courtyard, what exactly happened?" said Madam Song.
"This child is so adorable, I couldn't bear to see him sent away to die, so I begged the master to let him stay. As for Yan Yu's death, I've already sent Doctor Wu to examine her, to see if he can find anything. How can we possibly understand the affairs between those sisters? Let's just live our own lives well. As for our Fujin, we need to be prepared for a protracted battle." Lanqin unconsciously used a modern phrase again.
"Hehe, a war of attrition? That's a vivid way to put it, little sister. I've been fighting a war of attrition with her for ten years already," Madam Song laughed.
"Come here, let Aunt Geng give you a hug." Seeing that Xi Chen was amusing, Madam Geng couldn't resist giving him a hug.
Madam Song handed Xi Chen to Madam Geng, then reached out and touched Wu Xiha's little face, saying, "Yan Yu is gone just like that, it's really unexpected. She put in a lot of effort to bring her younger sister in. But unexpectedly, she's gone in just one year."
Lanqin looked at Wuxiha's face, which was as white as spring dew, and said, "Now that we have Wuxiha, she can no longer do anything underhanded. I wanted to ask Cui Niang to help me, but she seemed afraid of the Fujin and refused. Sister Song, wasn't Cui Niang the Fujin's person back then?"
Upon hearing this person's name, Song was momentarily lost in thought.
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