The Self-cultivation of a Salted Fish Concubine

Chapter 165: Darkness beneath the lamp?

The princess took two sips of tea and suddenly felt a little nauseous.

But she always managed to keep her composure, never showing her emotions on her face, and calmly handed the teacup to the person next to her.

The first to arrive were the people from the big kitchen.

There were three people in total, standing in a row, from the steward to the maids who cooked and washed vegetables.

Steward Wu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said quickly, "On the way here, I heard that the Fifth Young Master had an upset stomach and was terrified. I quickly brought over Mrs. Deng, who is in charge of the wet nurse's meals, and the little maid Chi Yun!"

Mrs. Deng's face turned pale, obviously frightened all the way: "I really don't know!"

"The wet nurse's meals have always been prepared by this servant. They are still prepared the same as before, without any extra or less."

The little girl who was in charge of washing vegetables and doing odd jobs also said the same thing.

The princess glanced at Manager Wu calmly, "Is this your reply to me?"

Although the main kitchen was handed over to Wan Linlang, Manager Wu was the princess's man, so Wan Linlang would not dare to touch him.

Now, one word from the princess is worth a hundred words from Wan Linlang.

After hearing this, Manager Wu broke out in a sweat.

He immediately said, "On the way here, I specifically asked these two people. After thinking about it, I'm afraid it's not our chief chef's fault."

"Then what's the problem?"

Manager Wu glanced at the two maids beside him, hesitating to speak, but finally confessed, "I'm afraid it's Miss Qiulu's fault."

As soon as they heard the maid's name starting with the word "Qiu", everyone knew that this person must be someone close to Fang Yuaner.

Xie Run felt numb and heartbroken.

Ever since the incident with the wet nurse's meal, she had anticipated that it might be related to Fang Yuaner.

But it is precisely because Fang Yuaner is in charge of the kitchen that she would not do such a stupid thing. Instead, it clearly shows that there is someone behind the scenes.

This chain of events is extremely difficult to investigate.

Especially since this palace is full of talented people... I wonder who will be chosen in the end?

After Fang Yuaner moved into Songyayuan, she was actually not far from Chunshanyuan.

But she was busy dealing with official business in the palace at the time, so she delayed it for a while.

As soon as I entered the main courtyard, I heard Manager Wu say this.

Her smile remained unchanged, bright and profound. "Manager Wu just opened his mouth and threw dirty water on the people in my room. Do you have any evidence?"

Fang Yuan'er, dressed in bright and charming clothes, approached gracefully and said with a smile, "Who doesn't know that everyone in the kitchen has a mouth like you?"

"If it's just the kitchen guy, then I won't accept it!"

When she sat there, her aura was not weak at all, and the whole room became a little quiet.

Xie Run slowly spoke: "Sister Fang's words also make sense."

"Manager Wu said it was related to Qiulu, but is there any evidence?"

The little girl Chi Yun was frightened by this and started to cry, saying, "Ever since Concubine Fang took charge of the kitchen, Sister Qiulu has to walk around the kitchen every time she comes to serve food. She says she's supervising the kitchen, but in fact, she eats and takes things at the same time."

"Except her, no one else would pass by the wet nurse's meals every day."

"Even if someone from another master comes to deliver food, it's just a passing moment."

It was also a coincidence that Qiulu came here with Fang Yuaner.

Hearing this, his eyes narrowed and he shouted angrily: "You black-hearted little bitch, you are throwing dirty water on me recklessly, be careful of getting your tongue cut off!"

"You said I drugged the Fifth Young Master's wet nurse's food, but has anyone seen it with their own eyes?!"

"There are so many eyes in the kitchen. If I give you drugs every day, you will all be blind and not see it once?"

"Then you should be punished too! Are you all blind?!"

Chi Yun was so frightened that she stepped back repeatedly, crying with tears and snot mixed together, "But I didn't lie!!"

"These days, you've been the only one hanging around in the kitchen. Even if I don't believe what I say, the many girls carrying the food passing by must have seen it."

"Ms. Qiulu is of noble status, please don't scare this little girl. We are cowardly and can't stand being scared." Mother Deng, who was kneeling next to her, was also a seasoned veteran.

She was afraid of her masters, but not Qiulu at all. She immediately retorted, "You've been relying on your status as Concubine Fang to show off your power and authority. Whenever you're unhappy, you try to mess with the kitchen staff."

"When you say you want to inspect the masters' meals, who dares to stare at you? They'd all just duck their heads, afraid you'd find fault with the food they've prepared!"

"You..." Qiu Lu said angrily, "I was just checking the masters' meals!"

But this statement is not so convincing.

In fact, as Fang Yuaner's maid, it was normal for her to take advantage of Fang Yuaner's management of the kitchen to make some money.

Fang Yuaner assigned her to supervise the kitchen, which also meant to indulge her.

These are all things that cannot be investigated by the upper levels without any action being taken by the lower levels.

But among the maids around Fang Yuan'er, Qiulu was the most impatient. She had been showing off for several days in a row and became a little too proud of herself, which attracted the attention of the maids and old women in the kitchen.

Now that someone is using this incident to make a fuss, she really can't explain herself.

Fang Yuaner also frowned: "Qiu Lu, is what they said true?!"

Qiu Lu's initial confidence disappeared from her face, and she quickly said, "Master, of course not!"

"How could this servant possibly poison the Fifth Young Master's wet nurse?!"

"First, you are in charge of the kitchen. If anything goes wrong with the Fifth Young Master's food, you can't escape responsibility no matter what. Second, they also said that I check the meals every day. If any of the masters have problems, they will definitely suspect me first. No matter how stupid I am, I would never act like that!"

Fang Yuaner's eyes darkened, and she guessed that she was being plotted against.

She had already prepared a lot of drafts on the way here, but her people were targeted and framed, which caught her off guard, and now she has no way to get rid of it.

"Kneel down!" Fang Yuaner suddenly shouted harshly.

Qiulu knelt on the ground without saying a word.

Fang Yuaner: "What the people in the kitchen said is correct. You're the only one hanging around in the kitchen these days. You have the greatest chance of drugging people, so you're naturally the biggest suspect!"

After saying this, Fang Yuan'er bowed to the princess and said, "This girl got carried away with her pride and was caught by someone else... Alas, now I have no words to defend myself. I only ask that the princess punish me!"

Fang Yuaner kept condemning Qiulu and asking the princess to punish her, but she did not admit that she had anything to do with it.

If she didn't do it, then someone must have framed her?

If she really claimed to be putting the blame on others, no one would believe her.

This seemingly plausible confession only left the princess with a difficult problem.

Without solid evidence, should the princess convict her?

Just at this time, Concubine Li also hurried over with her wet nurse.

She bowed to the princess and said, "I have come here in a hurry because I heard that the fifth young master is unwell."

"In the past few days, Princess Duanmin has also been experiencing bloating and night terrors. I originally thought it was normal, but after hearing about the Fifth Young Master's story, I realized something was wrong. I brought the wet nurse here and asked the palace physician to take her pulse."

After King Jing came back, he also asked for a title for the third young lady, which was the two words "Duan Min".

Fang Yuan'er was feeling a bit angry and asked with a smile, "What's going on? Could it be that Princess Duanmin's wet nurse's food was also drugged?"