Lady Chi and Xique adamantly insisted that the ointnt was not sent to her by Xie Jingchen and Su Jin.
The Old Madam was at a loss.
Even though she was certain the ointnt belonged to Lady Chi.
But what could she do?
There was no reason to trust a servant over Lady Chi, was there?
Su Jin had turned the tables on the Old Madam, leaving her helpless.
The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Lady Chi shifted the bla onto Mrs. Li.
The Old Madam had no choice but to continue questioning Mrs. Li.
However, Mrs. Li had confessed everything while cooling off by the well.
Further questioning would only compel her to lie.
"Did soone instruct you to do this?!" the Old Madam asked.
Su Jin’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
The Old Madam was trying to induce Mrs. Li to implicate Lady Chi, dragging her down with her.
As long as Mrs. Li confessed it was Lady Chi who directed her, the Old Madam could drag the unpopular concubine out for punishnt.
Mrs. Li, realizing the intention, pointed at Lady Chi and said, "It was Madam who instructed to do it!"
Su Jin chuckled.
"Lady Chi asked you to deliver the ointnt to Lv Xiu?" Su Jin asked with a laugh.
"Lady Chi has no dealings with Lv Xiu, they have no grievances or grudges; why would she want you to give the ointnt to Lv Xiu?"
"This box of ointnt is worth a hundred Lv Xius."
"The Prince Zhenbei Mansion is vast, and ancient wells are plenty; to kill a maid is as easy as a snap, using a poisoned ointnt is rather foolish."
"Moreover, this ointnt couldn’t take a life in a short ti. If Lady Chi really wanted to end it all, she wouldn’t need to seek death in such a roundabout way."
"Stepping back, Qingqiu Garden has only three people in total, and Lady Chi hasn’t set foot outside the manor for years. When was the last ti Xique left the mansion?"
Xique hurriedly said, "It was during the New Year."
Poor little maid.
The last ti she left the mansion was half a year ago.
"If Lady Chi really did instruct Mrs. Li to poison, then it must be Mrs. Li who bought the poison back," Su Jin said.
"Dragging her out for punishnt would surely reveal where the poison was purchased."
Second Madam sat there listening.
Listening to Su Jin speak, she realized the Old Madam could no longer escape the trap dug by the heir’s wife.
The pit was large, filled with mud.
Struggling would only make one sink deeper.
Besides, who among those able to enter this room would be so foolish?
By now, even a fool would know what had happened.
Second Madam never thought the high and mighty Old Madam could resemble a jumping clown.
More puzzling was the fact that she stole the ointnt to give to the eldest daughter of Yongcheng Bo Mansion.
Even if Elder Yong Cheng had saved her once, over the years, the Old Madam’s promotions had long repaid the debt.
How co Elder Yong Cheng had such rits and virtues, that the Old Madam would even steal a concubine’s ointnt to help cure his daughter’s scalded hand?
Especially—
This ointnt was snatched from the jaws of Princess Nanzhang.
However, this move did help deflect a disaster from Princess Nanzhang.
But such an extraordinary action makes one naturally curious about the Old Madam’s intentions.
...
In front of the Prince NanAn Mansion.
The Prince stopped his horse.
He had gone to the governnt office where Prince NanAn worked to find him but couldn’t, so he ca to the Prince NanAn Mansion.
The servants at the Prince NanAn Mansion, upon seeing the Prince arrive, were worried it was an illusion.
Old Master Xie received an edict today to be titled Prince, and the Princess Consort was busy preparing gifts to congratulate, unsure if she should go personally.
Princess Nanzhang, as the head mistress of Prince Zhenbei Mansion, was conferred the title of concubine.
For her, this was certainly no cause for celebration.
If the Princess Consort went to congratulate her, she wouldn’t be pleased.
But if she didn’t go, she’d seem neglectful.
Thus, the Princess NanAn decided to bypass Princess Nanzhang and congratulate the Old Madam directly, as a mother would be surely pleased with her son being titled as Prince.
The choice of gifts was difficult, eventually, she decided to go buy ginseng in the bustling market.
She had just left for barely a quarter of an hour when Prince Zhenbei arrived at Prince NanAn Mansion.
Coming in such a hurry to Prince NanAn Mansion, what urgent matter could it be?
The servant snapped out of his stupor, approached, and said, "Greetings, Prince Zhenbei."
"Is Prince NanAn at the mansion?" the Prince asked.
He did not dismount.
The servant hurriedly replied, "Our Prince is in."
Only then did the Prince dismount and step into the Prince NanAn Mansion.
In the study room.
Prince NanAn was polishing a mutton fat jade bottle he had selected, then placed it in a brocade box, along with a couple of paintings, as a carefully weighed gift.
Just as he finished, a knock on the door was heard, followed by the servant’s urgent call, "Prince, Prince Zhenbei has arrived."
Prince NanAn, startled, didn’t imdiately realize who Prince Zhenbei was.
Once he did, his brows knitted tightly.
Why did Brother Xie co to him first?
Hopefully, nothing serious had happened.
Prince NanAn hurried out to greet him, and as soon as he left the study, he saw Prince Zhenbei approaching.
"I was just about to congratulate Brother Xie and pay a visit to the Old Prince, how co you’re here first?" Prince NanAn said.
"Has sothing happened?" he asked with concern in his eyes.
The Prince looked at him and said, "There’s sothing I’ve co to ask you about."
"What is it?" Prince NanAn asked curiously.
"Let’s discuss it in the study."
Prince NanAn invited the Prince into the study.
It was only when they entered that he noticed the Prince was holding a painting.
Once inside, the Prince didn’t bother with pleasantries, unrolled the painting, and asked, "I’ve heard from Elder Yong Cheng that soone from Prince NanAn Mansion is searching for the person in this painting?"
Is it about this?
Prince NanAn’s heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled.
He smiled, "Indeed, I did dispatch people to search for the person in the painting, as Fengfeng asked , before accompanying Marquis Dongxiang to Liangzhou to suppress bandits, to help him find a friend’s mother, saying she was a very important friend, and asked to be very attentive."
"I sent people searching for over half a month, but there wasn’t even a single trace."
"Chenchen also asked His Majesty to help with the search?" Prince NanAn laughed.
After speaking, he felt sothing seed off.
Prince Zhenbei had only just returned to the Capital. With such a major event as being conferred a princely title, it wouldn’t be fitting for the heir of Prince Zhenbei to act so indiscreetly.
Moreover, not only was he asking him for help, the Marquis Jingguo Mansion and Duke Dingguo Mansion had also been entrusted.
If none of them could find a lead, bringing Prince Zhenbei Mansion into it wouldn’t make a difference.
When he first saw this painting, he felt it seed vaguely familiar.
Now that he thinks about it —
The painting style is remarkably similar to Brother Xie in his younger days.
Only after Brother Xie went through many experiences did his character change substantially, and his painting style changed greatly as well, making it difficult to recognize at first.
Looking at the Prince, he asked with surprise, "Could this be the birth mother of Chenchen in the painting?"
The Prince didn’t speak.
He neither confird nor denied.
He was lost in thought.
He was pondering how Xie Jingchen managed to get hold of this painting.
Why would he assu she could be found in the Capital?
If she could be found, why wouldn’t he have searched himself?
The Prince deep in thought, Prince NanAn did not wish to disturb him.
When the painting first arrived, he and the Princess NanAn had mistaken the person in the painting for Prince NanAn’s sweetheart.
After the Princess NanAn engaged the Commandery Heir, she decided not to assist the search further.
Later, at the mahjong table, Marchioness Jingguo was the first to ntion the portrait.
Not only the Princess NanAn, but the ladies from the Marquis Jingguo Mansion shared the sa belief.
Could it be that they were all interested in the sa woman?
Only then did they start aiding the search.
Lost in thought, he heard a knocking sound at the door.
"Prince, the Young Master has arrived!"
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