"What does this mean, Madam?" Yinzhen looked at Anlan below him indifferently, without telling her to get up.
A trace of sorrow appeared on Nara's face as she sighed softly, "Sister Li Jia suffered a miscarriage and is heartbroken. She is an old servant in the manor, having been here for several years. She finally became pregnant, but some people are just jealous and used their vicious intentions to harm the child in Princess Li Jia's womb. My lord, such vicious people cannot be tolerated in the manor."
At this point, she turned to face Yinzhen and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, those who harm the offspring of the family must be severely punished."
Nara then addressed Anlan, who was kneeling on the ground, "Anlan, tell me, where did that dress with medicine soaked in its embroidery come from?"
An Lan kowtowed to the person seated and said humbly, "Replying to the Madam, it was Consort Tong who gave it to Sister Li Jia not long ago."
"Did you see it with your own eyes?"
An Lan nodded, "Yes, it was delivered to Sister Li Jia's courtyard by Consort Tong's personal maid. Sister Li Jia was happy for several days and mentioned it to me a few times."
Upon hearing this, Lady Nara ordered her to step aside, saying, "Summon the maid Yiren from the courtyard. I have questions for you."
Yinzhen watched his wife interrogate him indifferently, without interrupting.
Nan Yi, who was inside the room, became anxious. She lifted the curtain and stepped into the outer room. "The Princess Consort is too hasty. She listened to only one side of the story and came here to interrogate people without saying a word. It seems that in the Princess Consort's eyes, Lan Courtyard is not even as good as the Vegetable Courtyard. At least the Vegetable Courtyard has a door. What is Lan Courtyard?"
She didn't even offer her greetings, but went straight to sit down at the lower seat, staring at An Lan with a cold and fierce gaze. "Concubine An, let me ask you, has this dress passed through the hands of anyone else? After my maid Yiren gave the dress to Sister Li Jia, did you touch it?"
Isn't it entirely possible that someone secretly tampered with my clothes and then made me take the blame?
After all, I didn't even know Li Jia was pregnant. How could I possibly harm her, and yet I could conveniently soak the embroidery thread in safflower juice? Am I a god, with foresight?
Nan Yi refuted her repeatedly, while An Lan remained silent. She hadn't expected that Consort Tong would be so quick-witted and eloquent, managing to stump her and clear her name of half the suspicion.
"I...I don't know, you'll have to ask Princess Li Jia," An Lan said in a low voice.
Nan Yi curled her lips into a smile, inwardly scoffing, "lackey, I knew she had ill intentions. Visiting her with Li Jia was clearly a malicious act."
An Lan's master is the Nara clan. Could it be that this scheme was set up by the Nara clan? What a brilliant move to kill two birds with one stone!
That's a clever tactic.
Nan Yi turned his head and looked at Nara, who was sitting at the head of the table, "What does the Princess Consort think?"
Nara's eyes flickered, her previous self-righteousness vanished, and she appeared troubled, "This..."
"What do you think, Your Majesty?" Lady Nara posed the question to Yinzhen.
Nan Yi sneered. This is really bad. If things get out of hand, she'll go find Fourth Master. If she doesn't come out, the blame will fall on her.
"I will investigate this matter personally. Your Highness, please return home first," Yinzhen said calmly.
Having gained nothing, and seeing no point in staying, Lady Nara rose and bowed, saying, "This concubine takes her leave."
After Nara left with her people, Nan Yi glared at Fourth Master with a mocking look, "See? Tell me if I'm wronged or not. Quickly find out who's behind this, or I'll be the one who harmed your children."
“Qing,” Nan Yi stood up, “Yiren, set out the meal, just for me. Master has other matters to attend to, he won’t be eating here.”
Yiren covered her mouth and chuckled, "This servant obeys."
******
The storm has not passed.
The next morning, Li Jia, dragging her body which had just suffered a miscarriage, ran to Lan Courtyard like a madwoman, crying and shouting to fight Nan Yi to the death.
Li Jia cried her heart out, her sobs were mournful, and a circle of masters and servants surrounded the courtyard.
Nan Yi stood under the eaves, trembling with anger. "Who spread the rumor that I am the murderer and that they want me to pay with my life? It's infuriating! I'm more wronged than Dou E! That brainless Li Jia doesn't even think about why I should harm her child."
Yiren was also jumping up and down in a panic, "The person behind this is truly hateful. They instigated Li Jia Gege to make this matter known throughout the mansion. They are clearly eager to punish their master. She is also afraid that the master will find out the truth."
“Who says it isn’t?” Nan Yi sighed helplessly.
Li Jia lost her child and lost all reason. She had nowhere to vent her anger, and even if the suspect was a murderer, she wouldn't let him go. It was better than having no one to vent to at all.
"...Tong, come out here! Don't think that just because you're a concubine you can do whatever you want. I won't let you off easily, I won't. My child, I'm so sorry."
Li Jia collapsed to the ground in tears. The child she had longed for for years was gone just like that. "Tong, I will make you pay with your life."
The maidservant who was serving her helped Li Jia up and patiently advised, "Princess, why are you doing this? Didn't the master say that it might not have been Master Tong who did it? You should at least find out the truth before asking the master for a decision."
Another maid also pleaded, "Yes, Princess, Mistress Tong has no grudge against you. It's not right for her to harm the child in your womb."
"No, Tong is jealous of my pregnancy, she's jealous of me!" Li Jia cried out angrily.
“I’m jealous of you. I didn’t even know you were pregnant. How could I be jealous of you? And why did you come to visit me that day? I’ve never liked associating with you. I just want to live my quiet life. Why did you suddenly show up at my door?”
"If it's because of a dress, you're two months pregnant, the time when you should be most careful. You've been so cautious, carefully hiding it all this time. For a dress, you could have simply sent a maid to find me. Why did you go all the way here yourself? Did you come on your own initiative, or was someone else arranging this for you?"
Nan Yi couldn't let her keep causing trouble at the entrance of Lan Courtyard. If things continued like this, and the matter escalated, if word got out of the manor, she would be in deep trouble, not only ruining her reputation but also tarnishing the reputation of the Tong family.
Even though they are no longer here.
"I originally wanted to send a maid, but Anlan said it would be more sincere for me to come in person. Waaah, if I had known, I wouldn't have listened to her." Li Jia regretted her decision.
Nan Yi wasn't surprised at all; she should have guessed it long ago, shouldn't she?
"So, it was she who arranged it? That's strange. You come, so why did she come along? I've never liked her, and she must know that too. Back then, when the Empress bestowed her and Qingyin upon the Master as concubines, I was angry and embarrassed her in front of him. She should be avoiding me, just like Qingyin. What do you think?"
If Li Jia still can't understand, then she is far too dull-witted.
"You mean..."
Nan Yi snorted, "I didn't say anything, but I swear to God that if I'm the one who caused the baby in your womb, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death. So, do you believe me?"
The ancients believed in gods and valued oaths and promises.
Her resounding vow stunned everyone present, and they all believed her, because no one dared to curse themselves so viciously.
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