Adding bone broth to a tonic soup is like adding water to white wine.
The concentration is lower, but the intoxicating effect is still there.
Drinking the soup she brought had no contraceptive effect, and at the same time, Lotus was to be sent to spread rumors outside the concubines' courtyards, which would surely cause an uproar among the concubines.
"Have you heard? The young princess has been secretly making some kind of tonic soup these past few days. I don't know what kind of medicinal herbs she's added to it. Drinking that soup will definitely be very nourishing."
"Wow, why has this little princess suddenly become so nice? Didn't she used to dislike these concubines?" a maidservant chimed in.
"Hmm...maybe she wants to learn how to cook? After all, it's not an important day, why would she suddenly send the concubines such nourishing soup?"
The maids nodded, agreeing that it made sense.
Their conversation was overheard by one of the concubines, who felt extremely uncomfortable.
Yes, how could someone who usually looks down on these concubines suddenly have a change of heart and send them medicine?
There must be something wrong with this herbal medicine!
————
That night, the mistress's room was even more lively than during the New Year.
More than a dozen concubines surrounded the mistress's room, each with a resentful expression on their face.
Lan Shuang walked in and was shocked by the scene.
"What's going on? Why aren't you concubines staying in the backyard? What are you doing here?"
Lan Shuang thought that these concubines would leave obediently after hearing her reprimand, but to her surprise, the resentment on their faces deepened.
She turned her head suspiciously and saw that the mistress's face was also extremely ugly.
Only then did she begin to feel uneasy.
"Mother...what's wrong? What happened?"
As soon as the mistress raised her hand, a maidservant came out carrying a red wooden tray with a bowl of soup in the center.
Lan Shuang's heart pounded, and her unease intensified.
"Lan Shuang, did you make this soup?"
Lan Shuang's expression flickered, and she glanced awkwardly into the bowl. Some dregs of medicine were still at the bottom of the bowl, and a small piece of ginseng was very conspicuous.
Wasn't this soup given to Gu Jiangli? Xiaolian even said she had already drunk it, so how come it's here?
"Speak!" The mistress's voice grew louder, making Lan Shuang tremble.
"Mother, it's just a bowl of soup, why get so angry?" Lan Shuang pretended to be calm, but her fleeting glance did not escape the eyes of the mistress.
She knows her own daughter best; if she weren't guilty, she wouldn't have evaded the question like this.
"Lan Shuang! Why did you do this! Do you know what offspring mean to your brother! You know perfectly well that I've been hoping that your brother would let me hold my grandson!"
"And you! You secretly brewed contraceptive soup and gave it to the concubine in the backyard! Do you really want to see your brother without an heir?"
Lan Shuang's face suddenly turned deathly pale.
"Mother, I didn't! I didn't give my aunt any contraceptive soup! I'm innocent!"
Lan Shuang was extremely anxious and desperately wanted to explain, but she didn't know where to begin.
She did deliver the soup, but it was delivered to Gu Jiangli; she didn't deliver it to the concubines at all!
A sudden realization dawned on her. Wasn't this Gu Jiangli framing her?!
She is truly innocent!
"Mother, it's not like that! I really didn't do it! It was Gu Jiangli... that vile woman who framed me!"
The mistress's brow furrowed, and outside the door, Prince Yu led Gu Jiangli in.
"Lan Shuang, I advise you to watch your words!"
Gu Jiangli followed Prince Yu into the room, and the concubines stepped aside to greet them.
Prince Yu's cold gaze was like a knife, cutting into Lan Shuang, and she shivered again.
But then, when he thought about how he had been wronged, he got angry again.
"Brother...she, she framed me! And you're still protecting her! This Gu Jiangli is extremely vicious!"
Gu Jiangli looked puzzled and asked:
"How have I been malicious? Lan Shuang, what exactly happened?"
Her portrayal of doubt and innocence was perfectly executed.
The mistress casually pointed to a concubine, "Aunt Du, you speak. Repeat what you just said to me to everyone."
Aunt Du walked out with a resentful look on her face, glanced at Lan Shuang with utter disdain, and then said:
"Yes, mistress."
"During the day, a maid suddenly came and brought me a bowl of soup, saying it was a very nourishing soup. I asked who sent it, and the maid said that the young princess had instructed the concubines in the back courtyard to send it specially."
"I am very puzzled. Why would the young princess, who rarely interacts with the inner court, send me a tonic soup?"
Actually, she noticed something amiss after overhearing the maids' conversation, but she didn't say anything.
"I felt something was wrong, so I went to ask the other two concubines, and sure enough, they had also received the tonic soup."
"But I noticed something amiss in Aunt Liu's soup—the ginseng slices in it!"
As Aunt Du spoke, she pointed to the bowl of soup on the table. Gu Jiangli and Prince Yu both craned their necks to look, and sure enough, there was a small piece of ginseng lying inside.
Gu Jiangli asked, "What's wrong with this ginseng? Is there a problem?"
Aunt Du continued, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but my father has been a doctor for many years, and I have been exposed to medicine since I was a child. This is not ordinary ginseng, but bitter ginseng, which is cold in nature."
"When doctors prescribe medicine for women, they usually avoid using Sophora flavescens because it is cold in nature and can easily cause infertility."
"The young princess sent a bowl of this tonic soup containing bitter ginseng to every concubine in the back courtyard. I had no idea what the young princess's intentions were."
Gu Jiangli nodded repeatedly, full of approval.
There are truly talented people hiding in this backyard.
I thought the aunts would secretly find a doctor to examine the soup if they felt something was wrong, but I didn't expect that Aunt Du's family was doctors, and she could tell at a glance the harmful effects of sophora flavescens.
No wonder it got to the mistress so quickly.
The mistress listened again, sighing and shaking her head.
"Lan Shuang! What can I say about you! Luckily, Aunt Du discovered the problem with the sophora flavescens and stopped the other concubines from drinking the soup. If she hadn't, you would have caused a huge disaster!"
"Mother! I really didn't..."
"Ah!" Gu Jiangli exclaimed, covering her mouth and drawing everyone's attention. "But I drank it!"
A look of worry suddenly appeared in Prince Yu's eyes: "You drank it? She sent you this soup too?"
Gu Jiangli nodded vigorously, "Yes, it was Xiaolian who brought it. Xiaolian said that the young princess wanted to apologize to me, so she brought this nourishing soup to make peace."
"I didn't really want to drink it at first, but Xiaolian said she would only forgive the little princess if she saw me drink the soup."
"I had no choice. I thought we were family and would have to get along together in the future, so I drank the soup. Xiaolian left after she saw that I had drunk the soup."
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