The Grand Dowager’s eyes narrowed slightly, looking at Zitan with suspicion, as this matter was quite a coincidence.
Zitan’s gaze flickered, and before the Grand Dowager could ask, she proactively said, "This servant was montarily greedy and spoke out of turn, never expecting such consequences. I request the Grand Dowager to punish !"
It was only right to separate the incidents; she acknowledged her mistake straightforwardly, rendering others speechless.
"If you were truly just greedy, why didn’t you ask from the kitchen?" Xiqiu continued to question.
This remark was very targeted!
The First Madam raised her eyebrows, even the Grand Dowager was slightly taken aback.
"This servant was confused at the ti, and like Lianqiao, did not anticipate such an outco. If I had known, I would never have fed Young Master Xin the dicinal al, even at the cost of my life. I beg the Grand Dowager to punish !" Zitan, just like Qiuping, knelt on the ground without a word of defense. "I admit my guilt and have no face to argue, but no matter how the Grand Dowager punishes , I absolutely did not poison anyone. I plead the Grand Dowager, the Marquis, and Fourth Master to discern the truth!"
Punishnt was indeed necessary, but the charges were vastly different!
The First Madam smiled faintly.
The look the Grand Dowager gave Zitan had visibly changed, now more doubtful.
"Hmm." The Grand Dowager pointed at Qiuping and Zitan, about to speak, when suddenly Nanny Li rushed over, sweating and panting, saying, "Grand Dowager, sothing’s wrong, the Second Madam is shouting in pain from her stomach..."
"What!" The Grand Dowager stood up, her expression drastically changing, "How can her stomach hurt so abruptly? How is she now?"
Nanny Li replied, "This servant is not entirely sure. Nanny Wu is staying in the room to take care of the Second Madam and sent to fetch you and the Marquis to have a look!"
As the Grand Dowager was called, the situation might be serious.
"Let’s go and see." The Grand Dowager quickly walked out, then suddenly turned to Xiqiu, "You stay in the house, Young Master Xin cannot be left unattended." Then she looked at Fourth Master Xiao, "You handle it!" aning he should decide the punishnt.
The Grand Dowager and Xiao Yanyi hurried to the Second Madam’s courtyard.
Xiqiu frowned, looking at Zitan kneeling on the ground, and saw her fingers loosely unwinding from her clothing, her expression also relaxing considerably.
Qiuping’s face turned deathly pale, her expression very strange as if she was wildly happy and terrified at the sa ti...
Chunliu approached, saying to Xiqiu, "Should I go and take a look?"
Xiqiu waved her hand, thinking the Second Madam’s situation would quickly be communicated, and if they went to inquire it would seem like probing due to a guilty conscience.
"Let’s go inside and wait." The First Madam said calmly, leading the maids with her back to the main house.
Xiqiu turned to look at Fourth Master Xiao, who instructed Tiancheng with a few words before walking out with Xiqiu.
Clearly, he also sensed that the matter with the Second Madam was likely connected to their situation!
The three went inside to see Young Master Xin, sitting in the next room talking with Nurse Zhang. In no ti, footsteps were heard again in the courtyard, and Nanny Li ca again, telling Fourth Master Xiao and Xiqiu, "The Grand Dowager wants Nurse Zhang to go over and see, the Second Madam is still in stomach pain..."
Ruan Jingliu frowned, evidently reluctant.
Xiqiu took her hand, saying "Sister Jingliu, go have a look. The Second Sister-in-law is in pain; it’s hard to say what it could be. The baby is important!"
"Alright. I’ll be back soon." She spoke simply before leaving with Nanny Li and Wan’er, carrying the dicine box.
The First Madam lowered her head to drink tea, while Xiqiu instructed Chunliu to fetch water, then said to Fourth Master Xiao, "Fourth Master, wash up a bit. This weather is stifling, and the sweat is very uncomfortable."
"Sure!" Fourth Master Xiao stood up and left the room with his hands behind his back.
Xiqiu and the First Madam sat facing each other in silence, each absorbed in their thoughts.
When Fourth Master Xiao finished washing, the sky was just starting to lighten. Nanny Wu ca hurriedly with a group of maids to the courtyard, and Xiqiu was taken aback, exchanging a look with the First Madam. Fourth Master Xiao was already asking, "What happened?"
Nanny Wu replied, "In the Second Madam’s room, Saffron was found in the Ruyi Purple Cloud Cake..."
Not only Fourth Master Xiao, even Xiqiu was slightly taken aback, asking, "How is the Second Madam now?" Nanny Wu replied thankfully, "Fortunately, the Second Madam only took a small bite before feeling unwell and stopped. She has taken dicine and is fine now!" She was the one serving the Second Madam.
The First Madam asked calmly, "What is Nanny’s purpose in coming here?"
She did not ask why there was Saffron in the Ruyi Cake, but posed such a question.
Nanny Wu’s gaze fell on the room where Zitan and Qiuping were confined, and she replied, "How could Saffron just appear on the Ruyi Cake? Clearly, soone placed it there." After a pause, she added, "Soone saw Qiuping in the Second Madam’s room at dusk."
So that’s it!
Xiqiu seed to understand why Zitan and Qiuping reacted the way they did upon hearing about the Second Madam’s stomach pain.
"How did she get into the Second Sister-in-law’s room?" Of course, the Second Madam’s room was always guarded by maids inside and out, how could she have gotten in!
Nanny Wu imdiately answered, "This servant thought the sa and asked those in the courtyard. At dusk, the Second Madam went to the Grand Dowager’s room to talk with the other Madams, with all the main maids attending her. So, this servant asked several small maids and servants, only to find out that during that ti, the small maids were playing or eating, and only two servants were guarding the door."
How could it be so coincidental!
Xiqiu inwardly sneered repeatedly; usually, the place was guarded without a gap, yet yesterday the doors were wide open. Qiuping knew the Second Madam’s room would be montarily unguarded, so she took the opportunity to sneak in and poison the Ruyi Cake warming on the stove?
"Fourth Master!" Nanny Wu said, "The Grand Dowager wants you to investigate. Such a poison cannot be had in the manor; if she has it, she must have brought it in with help. Please investigate, Fourth Master. The Grand Dowager said she originally believed their loyalty to Young Master Xin was infallible, now she sees it was a well-planned sche to poison both sides, truly malicious!"
It seems all bla was placed on Qiuping.
Fourth Master Xiao stayed neutral, but the First Madam took Xiqiu’s hand, saying, "Leave it to Fourth Brother here, let’s go back to Young Master Xin!" She nodded towards Nanny Wu and turned to head indoors.
In the Second Madam’s room, she was wiping tears off her face, looking apologetically at the Grand Dowager, "It’s my negligence, almost..."
"It’s alright, it’s alright!" The Grand Dowager comforted her, "As long as you’re both fine."
The Second Madam nodded sorrowfully, saying, "She truly has a malicious heart, poisoning Young Master Xin here, and now targeting my food. If sothing happened to Young Master Xin and my unborn child, our branch would be..." the legitimate line would be cut off!
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