Gu Yurong's face turned deathly pale, and she was caught off guard.
The matriarch understood the key point and gestured to the maid to bring the chicken soup from the table.
"Please trouble the imperial physician to take a look and see if there's anything wrong with this ginseng and chicken soup?"
The imperial physician stepped forward to examine it and replied, "This is a top-quality wild ginseng, a rare find even once in a hundred years. It is mild and nourishing and will not harm the fetus."
Song Ziyu's face froze, then he frowned and looked at Gu Yurong, scolding, "What exactly happened!"
Gu Yurong was also incredulous. She had clearly added something to the ginseng, so how could there be no problem?
She grabbed Aunt Ru's maid and questioned her, "It was her! She just said that Aunt Ru got into trouble because she drank half a bowl of chicken soup too much!"
The maid was startled and knelt on the ground.
"Reporting to the General, this servant is not lying! The concubine did indeed drink too much chicken soup and felt unwell, so she went outside for a walk to digest her food. She slipped on the pebbles, and it was Madam Jiang who happened to be passing by and saved her."
"Madam Jiang injured her leg and could only return to her concubine's room nearby, and sent someone to fetch a doctor."
At that moment, Aunt Ru's voice came from the other side of the screen.
"Yes, thanks to Madam Jiang's rescue today, otherwise my child would probably have been lost."
Upon hearing this, Song Ziyu's face turned pale and then red, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
He vented his anger on Gu Yurong: "It's all your fault! You didn't understand the situation and kept talking nonsense. What kind of behavior is this! Apologize to His Highness!"
Gu Yurong gritted her teeth, unable to express her bitterness, and could only kneel down to admit her mistake, squeezing out two tears.
"I have misunderstood, Your Highness. Please forgive me."
The matriarch was also somewhat embarrassed.
Jiang Wan was the one who saved the person, but in front of the Crown Prince, they framed her as the murderer.
What kind of people have they become?
Pei Xuan didn't even glance at Gu Yurong's tear-streaked face, too lazy to pay her any attention.
He was never interested in the Song family's private affairs.
The Qingwu in the martial arts arena is real; he has already sent people to hold her back. Now, it remains to be seen whether Jiang Wan is really inside.
Pei Xuan said, "Since there's nothing else, move the screen aside. I'd like to have a few words with Madam Jiang."
Aunt Ru coughed lightly and said, "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I am still shaken and my clothes are disheveled. It is really, really inconvenient..."
"In that case, Madam Jiang may come out herself."
Pei Xuandao.
"My matter is very important, and I must tell her to you in person."
There was a moment of silence behind the screen, then Jiang Wan's voice came through, sounding somewhat muffled through the curtains and screen.
"Since Your Highness insists, I will leave."
Immediately following was the sound of struggling to move.
"Madam, be careful!"
With a gasp from Aunt Ru, everyone looked up.
The landscape screen has an openwork section at the bottom, allowing a clear view of a person falling onto the floor tiles.
The hem of her crabapple blossom skirt revealed a pair of fair and delicate ankles.
Several bloodstains were visible on the hem of her skirt, especially noticeable in the sunlight.
Seeing this, the imperial physician couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, I just stabilized Lady Jiang's foot bone. Walking now will not only cause her unbearable pain, but I fear she may develop a limp for life..."
Pei Xuan frowned almost imperceptibly.
The matriarch and Song Ziyu exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with doubt.
Such treatment of an official's wife is not the proper etiquette for the royal family.
If this gets out, I wonder what people will say about it?
The Crown Prince was never an impolite person.
As expected, Pei Xuan stared intently at the screen for a long time before saying, "That's enough."
He said a few words and then walked out the door.
"Since it is inconvenient for Madam Jiang, let's talk about it another day."
The elder lady and her entourage all rose and personally escorted the person to the gate of the mansion.
Hearing the sound of the Crown Prince leaving, Aunt Ru, behind the screen, breathed a long sigh of relief.
Biluo called out, "Auntie, get up."
She stood up from the ground, wearing Jiang Wan's dress.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face still showing signs of shock.
Yes, it was her who pretended to fall to the ground just now.
And that voice that sounded just like Jiang Wan's... Aunt Ru turned her head and looked incredulously at the handsome young man on the bed.
A few days ago, Jiang Wan told her that the Crown Prince would come to the mansion on the first day of the martial arts examination and asked her to help her put on a show to pretend that she was there.
In fact, Jiang Wan did not appear today. Her personal maid was her person, so she would naturally lie for her.
Doctors would avoid suspicion when examining women, so they would do so through a curtain, naturally preventing the doctor from seeing the injured leg. The blood was from Biluochun, and the blood was prepared in advance with chicken blood.
Heaven knows, Aunt Ru was terrified.
The slightest mistake would be a crime of deceiving the Crown Prince.
For example, Jiang Wan instructed that by taking advantage of Gu Yurong's suspicion, she should keep her away and pretend to be obedient, so that the Crown Prince would not force her to show herself...
Fortunately, everything went as she expected.
Incidentally, it also resolved its own crisis.
According to Jiang Wan, there is no such thing as being a thief for a thousand days but not being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days.
Gu Yurong intended to cause her to miscarry. If one plan failed, she would devise another, making it impossible to guard against.
The matriarch, being sharp-eyed and discerning, would surely notice Gu Yurong's strange behavior today. With a little investigation, she would be able to find out that the ginseng had been poisoned.
The matriarch of the family values this pregnancy and has her own ways of punishing Gu Yurong.
This way, she can have a safe delivery.
While Aunt Ru was lost in thought, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard. Song Ziyu, who had just seen off the Crown Prince, had returned.
She was about to remind him when she realized that the boy on the bed had already left.
"Thank you for your help today, Auntie."
As Biluo spoke, she lifted her foot.
"When Madam returns to the manor, she will come to thank you in person."
Aunt Ru watched as she deftly contracted her ankle, and the injured ankle returned to normal.
Immediately afterwards, he quickly climbed out the window and left.
At night, I walked in the courtyard.
Jiang Wan returned from the martial arts examination and, after hearing Biluo's report, knew that everything had gone smoothly that day, and she was relieved.
After a long day of travel, she ordered someone to boil water in preparation for a bath.
Unbeknownst to them, a figure was silently approaching from outside the courtyard.
It was Pei Xuan.
Under Shen Ci's cover, he came through the side gate without alerting anyone.
He stopped in his tracks, looking at the flickering candlelight in Xingzhi Courtyard.
During his time recuperating at Linglong Pavilion, he and Qingwu studied lost ancient fragrance recipes and identified various spices together.
He discovered that Qingwu had a keen sense of smell, but was not sensitive to one particular spice.
This is a secret known only to the two of them.
Today, during the martial arts competition, he secretly applied this spice to Qingwu's body.
Sure enough, the other party was completely unaware.
Pei Xuan did suspect Jiang Wan, but he also knew that she was intelligent and that the trap set by the person in the secret letter was no match for her.
The reason I cooperated was simply to divert her attention.
His real intention lies here.
Now, all he needs to do is check if Jiang Wan's room has that fragrance... to confirm his guess.
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