"No." The little maid lowered her head, not daring to look Ji Wushang in the eye.
Ji Wushang nodded, "You may all leave!" After saying that, he turned around and went back to his room.
Honey water… Ji Wushang frowned. Could there be something in that honey water? But it was so subtle that it was undetectable… What was it? The pastries that he had Zhu'er order were made shouldn't be a problem. Clearly, someone knew that he had invited Aunt Qin to eat pastries, and that's why they did this to frame him!
How ridiculous! How could a legitimate daughter of the royal family be so easily framed by her? She's seriously underestimating herself!
Since things have come to this, and it's too dark to take any action now, we can only wait until tomorrow.
The next day, after hearing the reason for the incident, Madam Yuan could not believe that Ji Wushang would poison Aunt Qin, so she had Ji Wushang taken to the West Garden.
After making some excuses, Ji Wushang took advantage of the short time it took to visit Madam Bei in the North Garden. Madam Bei was still unconscious, but her complexion had improved considerably. Afterward, Ji Wushang immediately gave some important instructions to Granny Shi, who was attending to Madam Bei, before heading to the West Garden. The West Garden was already filled with maids and servants, as well as Concubine Nangong, who was temporarily in charge, and Concubine Xie, who was caring for Madam Yuan. Madam Yuan had summoned Ji Yinxue, Ji Tiankui, Ji Wuxia, and the rest of the family.
Seeing Ji Yinxue leave the Orchid Garden, Aunt Nangong had nothing to say. Her orders carried little weight in the eyes of the Old Madam.
The matriarch sat dignifiedly to one side, her spirits much better. Tea was placed beside her. Looking at the people standing in the room, she sighed and said, "This family originally only wanted harmony and reunion. Now that Aunt Qin has been poisoned and caught a cold, you all need to give this old man an explanation."
"Madam, according to the doctor's description of the signs of poisoning, and based on the people Qin Yiniang came into contact with before she was poisoned, the prime suspect is the eldest young lady." Nangong Yiniang looked at Ji Wushang with a slight hint of smugness on her face. "The maids who accompanied Qin Yiniang can testify to this."
"Oh? Where are the maids?" The old lady's forehead furrowed slightly. "Where did they go?"
Aunt Nangong suddenly remembered that she had made them all go to the Hall of Repentance yesterday, but she had forgotten to let them into the West Garden.
"I'm asking you a question!" The old lady glared at her, and Nangong Auntie immediately bowed and said, "Reporting to the old lady, I locked them all in the Hall of Repentance so that they could reflect on their mistakes there."
"Bring them all here!" The old lady's words left no room for argument, and Aunt Nangong immediately beckoned her head maid, Qianjiao, to go and bring the people over.
The matriarch looked at Concubine Nangong and said indifferently, "She's not even a lady yet! And she's already putting on airs, imprisoning people at the drop of a hat. How can she command respect? How have you been taught all this?"
"Yes!" Aunt Nangong was unconvinced, but her face turned red and white as she was told what to do.
Suddenly, the matriarch heard soft sobbing from the crowd. She looked up and asked, "Who is crying? What's wrong?"
Hearing this, Ji Wushang came out with tears in her eyes. "Grandmother, it's Wushang. Last night, Aunt Nangong scolded me a few times. Before I even understood what was going on, Aunt Nangong was locked up in the repentance hall. This makes me feel so wronged. If word gets out, how will I face people? Besides, we haven't even figured out what happened with Aunt Qin yet! And now she's already... Waaah..."
Upon hearing this, the matriarch slammed her hand on the table, "Third concubine!"
"Your Madam is here!" Concubine Nangong immediately knelt on the ground in fright. This Madam Yuan was of extremely high status and could not be offended, especially since she was the highest authority in the mansion. "Madam, please calm down. I did not lock the eldest young lady in the Repentance Hall. I simply had someone bring her there and did not punish her. How could I dare to punish the eldest young lady at will?"
"My aunt was quite harsh back then, Grandmother. You don't know, as soon as Wu Shang came back, she found out that my aunt had already given Wu Shang's head maid, Zhu'er, twenty strokes of the cane. She didn't even have time to ask for the reason before hitting her. Isn't that bullying people?" Ji Wu Shang said, then cried again.
Upon hearing this, the matriarch couldn't help but feel more resentful towards Aunt Nangong. "From now on, without my order, none of you are allowed to touch the eldest young lady! Keep a close eye on those maids around her. If they get hurt, and the eldest young lady gets angry, you'd all better watch yourselves!"
"Yes!" everyone responded.
Aunt Nangong felt a lump in her throat. Was she looking for a backer? Her face was extremely displeased. This not only made her lose face, but also gave Ji Wushang another backer!
"Madam, it's not good for you to spoil the eldest young lady like this..." Aunt Nangong said tactfully.
"You have a problem with that?" The matriarch glared at her. This little concubine was actually questioning her actions?
"I dare not! Please forgive me, Madam!" Aunt Nangong said immediately, kneeling down.
“Grandmother, my aunt is worried that I will become arrogant and disrespectful in the future. Alas! How could Wu Shang be such a person!” Ji Wu Shang sighed.
"I had no such intention." Concubine Nangong felt resentment, but had no choice but to submit.
"Please forgive me, Grandmother. I only spoke carelessly. Please forgive me, Grandmother," Ji Yinxue said, kneeling down as she looked at her.
The matriarch looked at Ji Yinxue, noticing the slight sadness on her face, and waved her hand, "Alright, get up!"
Aunt Nangong had just stood up when, after a short while, her eyes darted around, and she didn't forget to remind Madam Yuan, "Madam, about Aunt Qin's poisoning..."
The old lady was thinking about the child in Aunt Qin's womb, so she asked, "Is Aunt Qin awake?"
"Reporting to Madam, Consort Qin has not woken up," said Zhu Cui, Consort Qin's head maid, immediately kneeling down.
"Were those doctors hired for nothing?" the matriarch roared. "So utterly useless! Humph!"
"Grandmother, please calm down. I have a suggestion. We should immediately invite the Ghost Doctor from Miaoshou Hall to examine Aunt Qin. He will surely wake her up soon." Ji Wushang wiped away his tears and looked at the Old Madam Yuan earnestly.
"A ghost doctor? What kind of ghost doctor?" The matriarch asked curiously, and everyone else pricked up their ears.
"My mother has fallen ill several times, and it is thanks to the help of that ghost doctor who administered medicine that she survived. Otherwise, she would probably be on the verge of death. I only hope that Aunt Qin can recover soon. The doctors in the manor are also capable, but Aunt Qin has not yet woken up. It would be good to let the ghost doctor give it a try."
"Hmm, that makes sense. Someone, go to the Miraculous Hands Hall and fetch the Ghost Doctor," said the matriarch. "Wu Shang is indeed very thoughtful."
Ji Wushang bowed to the matriarch, saying, "It is what Wushang should do." Ji Wushang watched the servant go to fetch the Ghost Doctor, hoping that Granny Shi could deliver the message and ask the Ghost Doctor to help him.
Before the man had even left, a servant came to announce his arrival. Upon reaching Madam Yuan's feet, the servant knelt down and said, "Madam, the Minister of Personnel has come to visit! He said that he hasn't seen Consort Bai return to the mansion for many days, so he personally brought gifts to come and see her."
The matriarch was taken aback. This was Bai Lixiong, the Minister of Personnel? Why was he suddenly visiting? And why wasn't her son home at this time…
Upon hearing this, Ji Wushang immediately remembered that Concubine Bai had only been confined to Qingya Garden for a few days before her father came to visit. Wasn't this clearly an attempt to see how Concubine Bai was doing? Since her father was no longer at home, if the Minister of Personnel found out about Concubine Bai's confinement and punishment, he would undoubtedly be extremely displeased. Whether out of necessity or for other reasons, Concubine Bai would likely have to be released…
Ji Meiyuan stood to the side listening, and immediately came out crying, "It's Grandpa! Waaah, Grandma, please let Meiyuan go see Grandpa."
The matriarch looked at the weeping Ji Meiyuan with suspicion. "You?" She turned to the servant and said, "Please invite the Minister of Personnel to sit in the living room. I'll be there shortly. Meiyuan and Wuxia, both of you, come here!" With that, she was helped to her feet by Granny Guo. The matriarch glanced at Ji Wushang, then at Aunt Nangong, whose face was contorted with suppressed anger, and then at the servants around her. She said, "You all keep a close eye on Aunt Qin! If anything happens to her, you're all to pack up your shops and go home!"
"Yes!" The crowd was afraid, but they still wanted to keep their jobs.
"The Ghost Doctor has arrived, so let him examine Aunt Qin's illness carefully. If he finds out that she has been poisoned, punish those who deserve it severely, and reward those who deserve it generously!" said Madam Yuan as she walked towards the living room.
Ji Wushang stepped forward, wanting to go into Aunt Qin's room to check on the situation, but was stopped by Qianjiao, Aunt Nangong's head maid. "Miss, please stop. This matter may be related to you! Please don't go near Aunt Qin."
Ji Wushang glanced coldly at Qianjiao, while Aunt Nangong stood there, her face arrogant and haughty.
"Get out of my way!" Ji Wushang said in a deep voice, glancing at her with an extremely cold aura.
Qianjiao looked on in fear, but Aunt Nangong was right beside her, so she couldn't leave without orders. "Please wait, Miss."
Before she could even finish speaking, Ji Wushang slapped her across the face, sending Qianjiao sprawling to the ground. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Ji Wushang and cried, "Young Miss hit me!"
"I'm hitting you!" Ji Wushang glared at her angrily. "I am a young lady of high birth, and who are you? A mere maid! How dare a maid block my path to becoming a young lady! What kind of logic is this? Is this how Aunt Nangong taught you?" As she spoke, her eyes swept over Aunt Nangong. "Aunt, are you right? I was just fulfilling my filial duty by going in to check on Aunt Qin's health! Yet a mere maid dares to block my way? If word gets out, what face will our General's Mansion have? A maid can climb above the eldest daughter? What a big shot she is! Aunt, what do you think?"
"This servant wouldn't dare! This servant wouldn't dare!" Seeing how fierce Ji Wushang was, Qianjiao immediately disregarded the burning sensation on her face and knelt down at Ji Wushang's feet.
Aunt Nangong hadn't expected her to say that. She had originally planned to frame her for poisoning, thus preventing her from entering Aunt Qin's room and thus showing her power in front of everyone. However, Ji Wushang, relying on her status as the eldest daughter, had slapped her own head maid, Qianjiao! Moreover, the Old Madam had just given her the benefit of not being punished…
Aunt Nangong glanced at the people around her. The maids and servants around her had ugly faces and were trembling with fear. How could they dare to watch Ji Wushang make a fool of himself?
“Qianjiao is a bit confused! She thinks it was the eldest young lady who poisoned Aunt Qin, so naturally she’s protecting Aunt Qin and that’s why she’s blocking the eldest young lady’s way. The eldest young lady must understand,” Aunt Nangong said, looking at Yuanhua.
"Is that so, Qianjiao?" Ji Wushang lowered his head, his bright eyes looking at Qianjiao kneeling at his feet.
"Qianjiao, why don't you apologize to the young lady right away?" Aunt Nangong was afraid that Ji Wushang would do something else, so she immediately scolded Qianjiao.
Qianjiao immediately kowtowed to Ji Wushang, "Please forgive me, Miss! I was confused! Please forgive me, Miss!"
"I'm just asking you, is what Auntie said just now true?" Ji Wushang looked at Qianjiao with a mix of seriousness and joking.
Qianjiao couldn't remember which sentence it was, so she naturally assumed that Aunt Nangong was protecting her. Besides, she was Aunt Nangong's head maid, so she immediately said, "Yes, yes, what Aunt Nangong said is of course true, true."
"So you suspect that it's true that I poisoned Aunt Qin?" Ji Wushang turned to look at Aunt Nangong, whose face had turned deathly pale.
“Even Grandmother said that we have to wait for the Ghost Doctor to arrive before we can find out if there was any poisoning, but you are something else,” Ji Wushang sneered, “a mere maid dares to question me, the young lady, you are really bold! Don’t tell me that this is what your aunt taught you, I don’t think your aunt would raise such an arrogant maid!”
"Miss, as the saying goes, let these trivial matters pass!" Aunt Nangong saw that she was about to punish Qianjiao, so she naturally rushed up to protect Qianjiao.
Ji Wushang glanced at Aunt Nangong. So quick to defend her own? She didn't even settle the score with her for hitting Zhu'er yesterday while he was away! Today, he'll teach Qianjiao a lesson and show her if she dares to touch his people again!
"How can this be?" Ji Wushang walked towards Aunt Nangong. "Although this is a trivial matter, if it is not punished, then I think, wouldn't any maid in the manor be able to speculate about the masters' affairs? Wouldn't it be possible to suspect Aunt Nangong of poisoning Aunt Qin?"
"You, you mustn't say that!" Aunt Nangong stammered, taking a step back. "Of course, you can't just suspect me like that!" How could they suspect her? What a joke!
"Since Aunt has said so, then, someone come here!" Ji Wushang immediately turned around and walked towards Qian Jiao. "Qian Jiao maliciously prevented the eldest young lady from visiting Aunt Qin, and privately suspected and speculated about the poisoning, disrupting the order of this mansion! Considering that she has served Aunt Nangong for many years, she shall be given twenty strokes of the rod and locked in the woodshed!"
Qianjiao was immediately terrified and kowtowed to the ground, crying, "Young Miss, spare me! Spare me!" Then, seeing Ji Wushang staring unblinkingly at the rough old woman approaching, she immediately kowtowed to Aunt Nangong, crying, "Aunt Nangong, save me! Save me!"
"Get out!" Aunt Nangong scolded, "You useless, lowly servant!"
Seeing that even their mistress was acting this way, the rough-around-the-edges woman became even more rude and dragged Qianjiao away. Aunt Nangong watched Ji Wushang's retreating figure, her anger burning even brighter. This punishment of Qianjiao was naturally the same method she used to punish Zhu'er—not to kill her, but it felt like a series of slaps across her own face!
This was Aunt Nangong's head maid. Being punished in front of so many people made Aunt Nangong even more unhappy.
Ji Yinxue looked at Ji Wushang, wanting to say something, but with Aunt Nangong present, she could only remain silent. Ji Wusi, being young, had already been led away by Ji Tiankui to the other side.
Ji Wushang glanced at the maids and servants still standing there and said softly, "What? Do you all like standing? Do you want to stand here forever?"
"This servant wouldn't dare!" The group immediately knelt down.
"Do what you're supposed to do! If you like standing here, then stay standing!" Ji Wushang flicked his sleeve and led Xian'er into Aunt Qin's room.
Seeing this, Zhu Cui immediately followed. The person she wanted to protect was Aunt Qin, so she naturally had to stay close to whoever came to visit Aunt Qin.
Ji Wushang knew this, so he let her come along.
As soon as I entered Aunt Qin's room, I smelled a fragrance. It smelled wonderful and very sweet, similar to the incense Aunt Qin wore. I had smelled the same fragrance last night in the pavilion, but I really didn't know what it was.
Ji Wushang sighed inwardly, realizing his research wasn't deep enough. He then looked around the room.
The small window was slightly ajar, revealing a small grove of trees outside, their shadows swaying gently—a perfect spot for shade at midday. The room itself was kept very clean by the maids. A square table held some snacks and a potted plant with vibrant flowers. Incense burned on the table, its gentle smoke filling the room with its sweet fragrance.
Ji Wushang walked up to the incense burner, gently stirred it with his hand, and then smelled it. "What is this fragrance? It smells really nice."
"Reporting to Miss, it's rosemary for waking up." Zhu Cui wondered why the young lady wasn't going to visit Aunt Qin directly, but instead was looking around everywhere. However, she dared not ignore Ji Wushang's question.
Ji Wushang nodded without speaking, then looked into the inner room, where a beaded curtain and a screen separated the space. To the left was a tall shelf with a potted plant on it; he recognized it as a rose and didn't ask any further questions. The candlestick beside it had gone out after burning only halfway.
The maids following her didn't know what Ji Wushang was doing, but they didn't stop her. Ji Wushang walked to the inner room, lifted the beaded curtain, and went inside. What she saw was a half-finished bowl of honey water on the dressing table. Ji Wushang immediately went up to her and asked, "Zhu Cui, is this the honey water that Aunt Qin drank before she was poisoned?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cui looked at it and said, "Yes."
"Hmm." Ji Wushang smelled the honey water, then brought it to his lips. Xian'er looked at it and immediately cried out in fright, "Miss!"
Ji Wushang did not drink it, but put it down. Instead, he took out a silk handkerchief from his bosom and used it to soak up the honey water.
Xian'er was relieved to see that Ji Wushang hadn't drunk any.
Ji Wushang stepped forward to look at Aunt Qin, and then went to check Aunt Qin's pulse. Just as Zhu Cui was about to step forward to stop him, Ji Wushang swept his sharp eyes over her, and Zhu Cui didn't dare to say a word and could only stand aside.
Ji Wushang felt Aunt Qin's pulse. Her pulse was normal, but her heart was slightly palpitating and disordered. He looked at her face, which was pale, her lips were chapped, and her eyes were sunken.
"Have you decocted and drunk all the medicine the doctor prescribed?" Ji Wushang turned his head and asked. Zhu Cui, who was clearly in a daze, then replied, "Yes, I've decocted and drunk it all."
Just then, a commotion arose outside, and a young maidservant knelt down and said, "Young Miss, the Ghost Doctor has arrived." She was followed by Aunt Nangong and a group of people.
Ji Wushang glanced at Aunt Nangong and Ji Yinxue, and behind them he saw the Ghost Doctor, who had come with his page.
Ji Wushang placed Aunt Qin's hand down and immediately stood aside, saying, "Please ask the Ghost Doctor to take a look at Aunt Qin."
The Ghost Doctor glanced at Ji Wushang, a slight smile playing on his lips. He stroked his half-grown, gray beard with his right hand. Without waiting for Nangong's words, he led the boy forward to examine Qin's concubine.
Aunt Nangong glared at Ji Wushang, but Ji Yinxue looked at Ji Wushang with hopeful eyes.
After checking the pulse, the Ghost Doctor said, "Ladies and aunts, you can rest assured that what you have been given is not poison."
Everyone was astonished upon hearing this. Aunt Nangong stepped forward and angrily said, "I think you're a quack! What do you mean by 'not poisoned'? So many doctors we've seen in this household have all diagnosed poisoning, yet you say it's not? Are you just here to deceive the Ji family?"