Nanny Wu lay on the ground, raised her head with great effort, and stared at Sheng Xiyan's back. Her face was covered with tears and snot, and she muttered incoherently: "I said, I said..."

Sheng Xiyan turned around, the corners of her mouth slightly curled up, but her smile did not reach her eyes.

Nanny Wu was able to administer the drug for four years without anyone noticing, not only because of Master Jingle Jing's trust in her, but also because of her own "determination", which is why she did not reveal any flaws.

In her previous life, the princess didn’t even know until her death that it was the person closest to her who betrayed her.

This kind of person won't confess simply by being interrogated. What is needed is to completely break down her defenses.

Nanny Wu was dragged into her own room by the servant girl. She was half-kneeling and half-paralyzed, with a dazed look in her eyes.

Sheng Xiyan sat down casually at the table. Xigui handed her a round fan. She fanned herself leisurely with a calm expression.

"Go ahead."

These two words gave Aunt Wu a startle, and she finally came to her senses. In this midsummer season, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and her whole body felt cold, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head.

Sheng Xiyan asked, "Who asked you to put the heart-eroding grass in the princess's tonic soup?"

Nanny Wu lowered her head, and her whole spirit and energy seemed to have been drained away. She said dryly, "Your servant, your servant doesn't know..."

Madam Wu swallowed her saliva to moisten her dry throat, and said in a hoarse voice: "I really don't know. I have never seen what he looks like, and he has never appeared in front of me."

Sheng Xiyan rubbed the fan handle lightly with her fingertips, and then said with certainty: "He found you four years ago."

Aunt Wu's pupils shrank slightly, and she thought: How did she know? !

Sheng Xiyan took in all her reactions and continued, "Four years ago, you returned to the palace not because you were concerned about the princess, but to give her the drug..."

"As for why you wanted to do such a cruel thing to the princess..." Sheng Xiyan leaned forward, looked directly into her eyes, and said in a calm voice, "Is it for life? Gold and silver? Or maybe your son..."

When she said the word "son", Nanny Wu's hands that were on the ground suddenly clenched, and her breathing became heavier in an instant.

Sheng Xiyan confirmed that she did it for her son.

She put the round fan on the table, and the slight "pop" sound startled Aunt Wu so much that she almost jumped up.

Sheng Xiyan said calmly: "You planted the heart-eating grass on the princess every day, and your son benefited from it. I'm afraid he will be very successful now..."

Every word she said touched the depths of Aunt Wu's heart, making her feel that she could not keep any secrets in front of Sheng Xiyan. Everything she tried so hard to hide was exposed.

Nanny Wu's last bit of hope was gone. She gritted her teeth, not daring to lie anymore, and said, "My son is very talented in studying, but my family is a slave, and slaves cannot take the exam. So, five years ago, the princess showed mercy and released my whole family, and also cancelled their slave status with the government. I was so grateful to the princess at that time, and I thought to myself that even if I had to be a slave in the next life, I would repay the princess for her kindness."

She emphasized, "That's what I really thought at the time."

Sheng Xiyan smiled without saying anything, and her smile was full of sarcasm.

"Later, my son was coaxed by those rogues to go to the casino. Not only did he lose all the money the princess gave me for retirement, but they also wanted to chop off his hands."

"Kun'er wants to pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official in the future. How can he be without hands?"

"Kun'er is so studious. If it weren't for those little tricks, he would never have gambled!"

At this point, her eyes were full of madness, and she kept repeating in silence: "Kun'er is very talented. He can be the top scholar. The guests also said that Kun'er has a talent for studying and will become a high-ranking official in the future. Kun'er will definitely come back to fight for an imperial decree for me, he will definitely...definitely."

"And then?" Sheng Xiyan didn't want to listen to her nagging, so she interrupted her directly.

Madam Wu's face turned even paler, and she stammered, "... a little beggar came to tell me to go back to the princess and do what he said. He would pay off Kun'er's debt and give him a place to study at Donglin Academy."

"Kun'er failed the exam to become a scholar only because he didn't have a good teacher. If he could enter Donglin Academy..."

Sheng Xiyan interrupted her again and asked, "Who is it?"

Aunt Wu: “…”

She took a deep breath and said, "I don't know...I really don't know. It was always a different beggar who came to pass on the message. I have never seen him."

People can lie, but eyes can't. It seems that she really doesn't know, and Sheng Xiyan can't help but feel a little disappointed.

Nanny Wu was still mumbling, repeating the same thing over and over again, "I just wanted to save my son! If I didn't do it, Kun'er's hands would be chopped off. If Kun'er lost his hands, how would he study in the future! His life would be ruined."

"What about the princess?" Sheng Xiyan looked at her directly and asked coldly, "The princess has lost her life."

Nanny Wu's sweat dripped down her forehead. She said nervously, "It's impossible. How could the princess die? There are many old ginsengs in the palace. I would make a bowl of ginseng for the princess from time to time. The princess is just a little weak at most."

Yes, how could the princess die?

In fact, she had always carefully controlled the amount of Heart-Erosion Grass she used. Over the years, the princess only had occasional chest pains, which she could just endure and pass. It was no big deal. Moreover, if the princess suffered too many pains, she would stop using the Heart-Erosion Grass for a while. The princess grew up under her care, so how could she deliberately hurt her?

She was forced.

She only has Kun'er as a son in her life, so of course she has to consider him, right?

She has no choice...

The princess was raised by her breasts. Even if, even if she repays her for all the care she has given her over the years, what good does it have to do?

Thinking of this, she straightened her back a little and said in a firm voice: "I don't want to."

Sheng Xiyan gently stroked the ink bamboo on the fan and sighed slightly in her heart.

She had thought that after so many years of friendship, Aunt Wu might feel a little guilty. What a pity...

She didn't know whether Nanny Wu had ever regretted her actions in the past, but now, all her regrets, guilt and even humanity had disappeared completely after four years of drugging her day after day.

In this case, there is no point in saying more.

Nanny Wu looked up at her cautiously, feeling guilty: "Miss, for the sake of the princess, please spare me."

"Who gave you the Erosion Heart Grass?" Sheng Xiyan asked again.

Madam Wu struggled to speak: "I didn't know that every once in a while, a bag of erosion grass would be placed in my room. I didn't dare to resist..."

Sheng Xiyan asked again: "Who else knows about this?"

Madam Wu quickly replied, "Only Xiaoyu. Sometimes, Xiaoyu would even help me boil medicine."

"Who is the little fish?!"

These questions came one after another, leaving Madam Wu with no way to think. She could only follow Sheng Xiyan's train of thought and answer each question: "Xiao Yu is a servant in the palace. Her parents are both family-born children. As soon as she entered the palace to work, she followed me and helped me."

Lending a hand means that Xiaoyu is the maid who takes care of her.

An old lady like Nanny Wu, who is respected by her master, would have one or two maids to serve her.

"Besides the small fish?"

"No, no more." Nanny Wu shook her head repeatedly.

How could she dare to let others know about this? Once discovered, even if the princess was kind and didn't take her life, her son's future would be ruined.

Nanny Wu had already made up her mind that if the truth was revealed one day, she would kill herself. For the sake of their past friendship, the princess would definitely not kill Kun'er. Even if the princess was so heartless, there would be no evidence, right?

Sheng Xiyan waved her round fan and remained silent for a long time.

The surroundings became increasingly quieter. The less she spoke, the more afraid Nanny Wu became. She didn't know what was waiting for her, and this made her so depressed that she could hardly breathe.

Finally, Sheng Xiyan spoke, smiling and saying, "Well, the last question..."

Nanny Wu raised her arm and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Immediately afterwards, Sheng Xiyan's voice exploded in his ears: "That person not only gave you Heart-Erosion Grass every time, but also gold and silver."

Nanny Wu's pupils shrank and her head started buzzing.

"Let me guess how much," Sheng Xiyan smiled more widely, but his tone became colder, "It takes a lot of money to support a student, and the money you have received in the past four years is not only enough for your son to pay off his gambling debts and continue his studies, but also enough for you to buy property and enjoy wealth and glory."

Aunt Wu hesitated: "I..."

Sheng Xiyan gently placed her palm on the table and stood up. She walked over to Aunt Wu and said with a half-smile, "Don't make yourself sound so forced. In the end, you're only after a little selfish desire and wealth."

This blow tore off the last veil in her heart, revealing her dirty thoughts.

She sat on the ground helplessly, mumbling to herself, "No, he insisted on giving it to me... I didn't want it." A little light flashed in her eyes, and she quickly said, "I didn't ask for it! Believe me."

Sheng Xiyan was a little bored.

That's what evil people are like. They will always justify their actions in their mind, as if that makes what they do not wrong.

In her previous life, hadn't she seen enough people like this? Why should she waste time with Aunt Wu?

Sheng Xiyan tapped her hands twice, and the door opened from the outside. E Rui came in with a bowl of steaming medicine, knelt down and said, "Miss, the medicine is ready."

The soup has a faint fishy smell, not strong, but without other smells suppressing it, the smell is much more obvious.

Aunt Wu has been cooking the erosion grass for four years, so she is naturally very familiar with the taste.

"Mammy, I'm sure you've also smelled it. This is the erosion grass. It fell out of your bag. There's a big bag of it." Sheng Xiyan said gently, "Mammy, have you never wondered what it smells like?"

Nanny Wu's ears were buzzing and her heart was beating wildly. She wanted to say, how could she be curious about what this smelled like! Over the past few years, she had watched Princess Jingle's health deteriorate day by day.

He was a normal person who could ride a horse, draw a bow, and wield a spear or a sword in the past. But now, even if he just runs a lap in the martial arts field at a slightly faster speed, he will feel pain in his chest and can hardly control himself.

She saw it all, but she didn't even dare to touch it, let alone be curious. Every time she took it, she would wash her hands immediately.

Originally, she had collected all the Heart-Erosion Grass herself. This time, she was afraid that Xiaoyu would act rashly while she was away and be discovered, so she brought out all the remaining Heart-Erosion Grass.

Sheng Xiyan waved her round fan lightly and said with a smile, "Erui, take it to Madam Wu."

E Rui responded, walked over and placed the bowl of thick soup made from elegans in front of Nanny Wu.

The smell of the oleander was intensified by the fact that the medicine was still hot.

Nanny Wu took several steps back using her hands and feet, as if there was some poisonous snake or ferocious beast in front of her.

"Madam Wu, don't be afraid. It's up to you whether to drink it or not." Sheng Xiyan smiled slightly, calm and relaxed. "I have always been upright in my work, unlike you who secretly added some erosion grass to the tonic soup. Look at me, I am very generous. I asked someone to make you a full twenty yuan of soup. I guarantee it will be rich... and delicious."

Twenty dollars? Aunt Wu was shocked. The letter from that person said that one dollar can be used three times. There are twenty dollars here. Wouldn't it be heart-wrenching to die if she drank a bowl of it? !

"Miss, you are the most considerate." Xigui said in unison, "You always tell us that no matter what we do, we must be willing to do it, and we can't force others."

Sheng Xiyan tapped her forehead and said with a smile, "Of course, everything must be done willingly to last long. Otherwise, who knows when the world will suddenly turn upside down."

"Madame Wu, what do you think?"

Madam Wu, who was sitting paralyzed on the ground, slowly raised her head. What she saw was a face with a happy smile, but the cold almond-shaped eyes were like unsheathed swords, emitting a cold light that made people shudder.

Yes, her world is turned upside down, isn't it? !

Her world is turned upside down, but what about Kun'er's?

Nanny Wu stared intently at the bowl of medicine in front of her.

Sheng Xiyan said that it was up to her to drink or not, and she would not force her. However, Sheng Xiyan was too scary, and she would not let him go so easily. It was conceivable that if he went against her wishes, Kun'er might be the one who would be in trouble!

Of course I will!

The more Nanny Wu thought about it, the more frightened she became. Her fear of Sheng Xiyan was like a tide that almost swallowed her up.

She crawled towards the soup and picked it up with trembling hands.

Sheng Xiyan said that she could choose, but she actually had no choice.

Nanny Wu's hands were shaking badly. The bowl was only seven-tenths full of medicine, but several drops still spilled out, all landing on the back of her hand. The fishy smell that surged in her nose became stronger and stronger, almost making her vomit.

At this moment, she really wanted to smash the bowl, but she thought of her son.

My son is still in Donglin Academy...

My son wants to pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official!

If Sheng Xiyan calms down, she might let Kun'er go...

Nanny Wu closed her eyes and drank the medicine in one gulp.

The fishy taste in her mouth made her throat feel sour. She couldn't help but want to spit it out by holding her throat, but all she got in return was a burst of dry vomiting.

She kept coughing and wiping her face with her sleeve until an uncontrollable pain suddenly surged up from her chest.

Nanny Wu uttered a muffled groan.

It was a throbbing pain, as if someone was clutching her heart tightly, trying to crush it and then pull it out of her chest.

She couldn't breathe and covered her chest with her hands, like a fish pulled out of the water, with her mouth wide open, breathing desperately, her chest feeling like it was about to explode.

Will she die?

Why does it hurt so much...

Her back was soaked with sweat and her underwear was sticking to her body, but she didn't find it unbearable at all. At this moment, her heart was filled with fear, the fear of death.

Will she die...

"Let's go." Sheng Xiyan smiled at the two maids and walked out.

Nanny Wu opened her confused eyes wide, endured the pain in her heart, and crawled over desperately, trying to grab her skirt and beg her to save her.

"Miss, Miss..."

However, Sheng Xiyan didn't even look at her, as if she didn't exist at all.

The door opened before her eyes and then closed tightly, closing her last hope along with it.

Listening to the painful moans coming from inside, E Rui couldn't help but look back and asked worriedly, "Girl, will she..." die.

In recent days, E Rui has been following Xigui in and out, responsible for some personal service work, and Sheng Xiyan has also gotten to know her a little.

E'rui is shy, not as steady as Xigui, but she is quite steady in her work and can complete any task given to her properly.

Others might not like her unpleasant personality, but Sheng Xiyan thought it was just right.

Whether or not someone can do something can be taught slowly, but human nature cannot be changed easily.

She would rather have an honest maid who follows the rules than one who thinks too much.

"No." Sheng Xiyan explained to her patiently, with a hint of teaching, "Heart-Eroding Grass is not a poison, it will not kill people immediately. It will only corrode people's heart veins over the years, causing chest pain first, and then the chest pain attacks become more and more frequent, until they can no longer be suppressed.

Princess Jingle's health also deteriorated day by day during these four years.

"Although the concentration of this bowl of erosion is a bit stronger, it will only cause pain in her chest and damage her heart veins. It's still a long way from death."

However, because the concentration is too high, the pain will only become more unbearable and occur more frequently until the heart fails completely.

Jingle must be made to experience all the sins she has committed in the past four years.

E Rui understood that she had been worrying in vain, she pursed her lips and smiled, looking somewhat adorable.

By this time, it was already daybreak.

The morning sun shone through the clouds onto Sheng Xiyan's body, covering her with a thin layer of golden gauze. The girl stood facing the sun, her fair skin seemed to glow.

Of course she would not let Nanny Wu die here. She was not an official and could not decide the life and death of others. What's more, Nanny Wu was Princess Jingle's person and she could not interfere in her affairs.

She just wanted to let Nanny Wu feel the pain that Princess Jingle had gone through in the past four years, and the pain that could torture a good person into such a state.

Nanny Wu didn't say it explicitly, but Sheng Xiyan could tell that she must have felt that it was just a temporary pain in her heart and it was nothing at all. In that case, let her experience the feeling for herself. I hope she can still feel that it is nothing.

"Put a lock on the door."

Sheng Xiyan ordered, yawned tiredly, and said, "Go back, girl, I'm tired."

She wants to have a good sleep.

She didn't wake up until 9:00 p.m. Xigui came over to help her wash and comb her hair, and said, "Madame Wu knocked on the door an hour ago, but now there is no movement. I checked and the person is not in danger of death."

"Let her be." Sheng Xiyan said, "Except for three meals a day, no one should pay attention to her and don't let her out."

"Later, you should move the maids who live nearby to another place so as not to disturb their rest."

Xigui responded to all the requests.

Sheng Xiyan rubbed her eyes sleepily, and went to the study after finishing her brunch.

She had taken out all of Old Lady Xu's medical notes yesterday and copied down all the pulse diagnoses and medications for chest pain. She also looked through all the medical books, found all the sections related to chest pain, and read them carefully several times.

Then, Sheng Xiyan repeatedly considered, modified, and overturned it.

It took me three whole days, during which I didn't step out of the study room except for eating and sleeping. I wrote and wasted a thick stack of paper before I finally wrote a prescription.

This was based on a prescription that Old Lady Xu had used to treat chest pain. She had made some slight modifications based on Princess Jingle's pulse and added herbs that could repair damaged heart vessels.

She thought over each of the medicines listed above again before putting down her pen.

"Returning from the past."

Sheng Xiyan gave her the prescription and said, "Go to Baicaotang for me and bring back three copies of this prescription." She wanted to make honey pills for Princess Jingle.

Sheng Xiyan planned to wait until the honey pills were ready and send them to Jingle, then ask Aunt Wu what to do with them.

"Please buy me some more jujube flower cakes!"

Xigui responded with a smile, then hurried out with the prescription.

Sheng Xiyan had been busy for several days, and now that she had some free time, she couldn't help feeling sleepy.

She leaned back on the beauty couch, thinking about what Nanny Wu had said.

Nanny Wu said that she didn't know who ordered her to do this, which should be true. Moreover, Sheng Xiyan was sure that this person was not the emperor.

In fact, from the very beginning, Sheng Xiyan felt that it was unlikely that the emperor had done it, or that it was not the emperor's direct order.

Because of Xiao Shuo...

She died early in her previous life, so she didn't know many things. However, the novel wrote that Xiao Shuo and Chu Yuanchen were close friends. Xiao Shuo was the supervisor of the East Factory and the emperor's confidant. The East Factory was "a traitor, a traitor, and a traitor". If the emperor really wanted to take action against Jingle, Xiao Shuo couldn't have been completely unaware of it.

And considering his relationship with Chu Yuanchen, he would not allow Jingle to be drugged.

For the supervisor of the East Factory, it would be too easy to replace the heart-eating grass with something else harmless. There was no need to sacrifice tranquility in order to deceive the emperor.

Unless even Xiao Shuo doesn’t know.

But as an emperor, wouldn't it be even more unreasonable for him to give orders personally?

Aunt Wu's words actually confirmed her guess.