The Self-cultivation of a Salted Fish Concubine

Mother Li thought she was just surprised that Concubine Yun had a miscarriage, and her face became a little serious.

"The crime of murdering the prince's heir is unforgivable!"

"The prince and princess have sent a verbal order to lock the second gate and for everyone to remain in the courtyard without moving. The first thing they need to investigate is the source of this red flower."

Xie Run bowed slightly. "Mom, you are acting on behalf of the prince and princess, and we will certainly cooperate fully. I just don't know what we should do. Could you please tell me?"

Seeing that Xie Run was easy to talk to, Mother Li's face became more amiable. "I'm afraid we'll have to search the yard."

Xie Run was not at all flustered. He sat down on a chair in the yard, his charming and childish face showing a bit of seriousness.

"Dan Tao, Xiao Shu, lead the way for Mother Li. Make sure you search every corner. Everyone else stay in the yard and don't leave!"

Several maids immediately saluted: "Yes!"

Seeing Xie Run's cooperation, Madam Li heaved a sigh of relief and said to the maids around her, "Be gentle. If you damage the good things of the master and the ladies, you will be in great pain."

"Yes."

The maids responded and split up, entering the side rooms in the yard and starting to search the courtyard.

Fortunately, Xie Run had just changed the time for searching the yard to once every seven days, so she was very stable now.

With Dan Tao and Xiao Shu watching, she didn't believe anyone would dare to do anything.

After a thorough search, they found nothing.

Mother Li immediately took people to the next yard.

Xie Run had completely lost his appetite now. He gave some Mid-Autumn Festival silver to the maids and servants, and then took Dan Tao and Xiao Shu back to the main house.

Xie Run asked Dan Tao: "Is there anything damaged?"

"No. Madam Li has said so before, and these women know their limits."

Xie Run nodded and thought for a moment, "Send someone to find out tomorrow what happened tonight?"

Xiao Shu volunteered, "Master, how about I go back and ask my mother?"

"Don't go out tonight. Go and find out tomorrow."

As he spoke, Xie Run took off a filigree gold bracelet and handed it to Xiao Shu.

Xiao Shu subconsciously declined, but Xie Run said, "I heard your sister is getting married, so consider this as my gift for the bride price. You are not allowed to refuse."

"Before you go out tomorrow, ask your sister Dan Tao to get a bag of silver. When you go out to do things, you need money to pave the way. I understand this principle."

Xiao Shu couldn't refuse, so she accepted it.

Judging from her master's attitude in recent days, she also knew that her master wanted to use her.

Rewarding her with the bracelet was also a way to give her face. Xiao Shu was grateful and wanted to do the job well even more so as to live up to her master's appreciation.

After Xiao Shu left, Dan Tao breathed a sigh of relief.

She is young after all, and no matter how calm she appears on weekdays, she is still frightened at this moment.

"The backyard of this palace is truly dangerous. If you don't harm me today, I will harm you tomorrow. I now understand why my master is so cautious."

At this moment, Dan Tao didn't dare to be happy at all about the possibility that Xie Run was pregnant.

In fact, Xie Run also wanted to complain.

After all, it is the prince's backyard, and there are poisonings and murders everywhere. It leaks as much information as a sieve. I'm afraid it's just for the girl who traveled through the book to follow the plot?

Xie Run also sighed, "In this palace's backyard, getting pregnant isn't considered a skill. The real skill is being able to give birth to and raise a child."

Thinking of this, Xie Run suddenly admired Concubine Ning.

At least before that, she gave birth to two sons for King Jing.

This shows that he has extraordinary abilities.

Xie Run slept well that night and his sleep quality was not affected at all.

When she woke up, Xiao Shu had already gotten the news from her parents.

While eating breakfast, Xiao Shu blurted out everything, "Master, this matter is probably serious!"

"Last night, Madam Li searched the courtyard and unexpectedly found red flowers in Miss Wenxiang's yard."

Xie Run was drinking porridge and almost choked. "Who are you talking about? Wen Xiang from the princess's courtyard?"

Dan Tao was also very surprised, "Could this... be a misunderstanding?"

Last night, Mother Li received the princess's order and searched the courtyard with great fanfare, but she ended up finding something harmful in the princess's maid's room.

The princess was simply slapping herself in the face.

Xie Run said affirmatively: "It can't be the princess!"

"Firstly, there's no reason for the princess to harm Concubine Yun's child. Secondly... if it was really the princess who did it, she wouldn't have conducted such a large-scale search of the courtyard last night."

There is something else that Xie Run is not sure about.

Even if it was really done by the princess, the people who searched the yard were also the princess's men.

Even if there really is some harmful medicine hidden, Li Ma can completely prevent it from appearing in front of everyone.

Unless the princess was unaware of this matter and was being plotted against, she would not have been caught off guard.

In Qingsong Courtyard, the princess also argued in the same way.

"Your Highness, Concubine Yun isn't the only one pregnant in the backyard. Why would I harm an unborn child? Is there any benefit to me?"

The princess remained calm, unaffected by the rumors. "And if it was really me who did it, why would I have asked Mother Li to search the courtyard immediately? Are you afraid that what you did wouldn't be discovered?!"

Concubine Ning came to pay her respects early in the morning and was waiting for this moment.

She immediately said, "There is more than one pregnant woman in the backyard, but Concubine An accidentally ate something cold a while ago, and the pregnancy is still not stable... There is no need to trouble the princess to do anything."

"As for asking Madam Li to search the courtyard... the thief crying thief has been common since ancient times." Concubine Ning's lips were bright red, and her smile was full of sarcasm.

The princess sneered, "Are you certain that I am plotting to murder Concubine Yun?"

Concubine Ning quickly stood up and saluted, saying rather aggrievedly, "That's not what I meant. I was just pointing out the loopholes in your words..."

"This may not be done by you, Princess."

The princess was not happy at all after hearing her words.

As expected, Concubine Ning changed her tone and said, "It's probably because the princess was careless and didn't properly discipline the servants around her that Sister Yun suffered such misfortune."

These words were said in a sarcastic tone, and it was unclear whether he was saying that the princess was innocent and was implicated by Wen Xiang, or that the princess had done something evil and did not let Wen Xiang hide the poison properly, which harmed Concubine Yun.

The princess sneered, "I really didn't train my servant well, so the vicious person took advantage of me."

Concubine Ning smiled nonchalantly.

Then the princess said calmly, "But my lord, I have a way to prove my innocence!"

King Jing, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke slowly, "Of course I believe in you, Princess."

Concubine Ning frowned and subconsciously glanced at Mother Zhang beside her.

Mother Zhang shook her head slightly, signaling her not to act rashly.

Concubine Ning also sneered and leaned back in her chair confidently, waiting to see how the princess would prove herself.

Soon, Wen Xiang, who had been detained for a night, was brought up and knelt in the hall.

The princess's voice was not loud, but it was very clear to the ears. "Where did the red flower in your hand come from?"

Wen Xiang said weakly, "Isn't the red flower given to me by the master?"

"You always have severe pain during your period. I don't know where I heard this folk remedy, saying that safflower can invigorate blood circulation and dissolve blood stasis, and that occasional consumption can treat your period pain. So I asked you to buy some at the pharmacy when I get home." Wen Xiang seemed very aggrieved and said, "I was just following your instructions. I don't know what I did wrong."

"Master Yun's miscarriage has nothing to do with this servant. I really didn't know..."

Concubine Ning tapped the armrest with her slender fingers. "Really? But Sister Yun's maid said that she only saw you before delivering the pregnancy-maintaining medicine, and you even opened it and took a look... There are quite a few witnesses to this matter."

Wen Xiang: "But this pregnancy-maintaining medicine was given to Master Yun by the princess. I will check it every time to make sure there is no problem before giving it to Master Yun."

This is also the rule of the palace.

If a concubine becomes pregnant, the princess will personally give her medicine to keep the pregnancy going, which is considered a way of showing her virtue.

The princess has always been cautious and was afraid that the pregnancy-preserving medicine would be tampered with, so she specially arranged for the second-class maid to smell the fragrance and keep an eye on it.

Unexpectedly, despite all the precautions, something still went wrong.

Concubine Ning was relentless, "Isn't it the most convenient thing to embezzle from a supervisor?"

"No one else touched the medicine, but you did. No one else had safflower, but you found it right away... How could there be so many coincidences in the world?" Concubine Ning laughed and said, "Too many coincidences, I'm afraid it must be a deliberate murder."

The princess glanced at Concubine Ning, her smile full of sarcasm, and watched Concubine Ning perform with cold eyes.

After the surroundings were quiet, she stood up slowly and saluted King Jing.

"Your Highness, originally, this involved a family scandal, and some things were not to be made public. But now that things have come to this, I, the concubine, have no choice but to speak out for the sake of my own innocence."

King Jing's eyes were calm and composed. He raised his hand and said, "You have always been cautious in your actions. Just speak frankly."

The princess thought that all the years of hard work in the backyard were not in vain.

She turned to look at Concubine Ning and chuckled, "Half a month ago, Fang came to the main courtyard to look for me once."

Concubine Ning didn't know what the princess meant by mentioning Fang Yuan'er at this time, and she had a bad feeling.

The next second, the princess said, "She came to complain to me, saying that Concubine Ning was a traitor and had stolen her soap recipe and given it to the Ning family, so that the Ning family's shop could compete with the prince's."

Concubine Ning's scalp tingled, and she slapped the armrest, her eyebrows raised, "Nonsense!"

"Let's not talk about whether this is true or not. What does this incident, Princess, have to do with your attempt to murder Concubine Yun?" Concubine Ning's heart was about to jump out of her throat. "Please don't change the subject!"

I secretly hated those useless people in the Ning family.

She took the soap recipe back and repeatedly asked them to spread the recipe, open a few stores first, and then start her own business.

Unexpectedly, the Ning family was greedy and short-sighted. They completely ignored her instructions and embezzled the soap recipe.

At that time, there were only a few soap shops in the capital, and they were all owned by King Jing.

A company suddenly appeared, and with a little investigation, you can find out who is behind it.

When outsiders knew about this, they would just think that Prince Jing favored Concubine Ning. However, Concubine Ning knew that she was a typical traitor, and if Prince Jing knew about this, she would probably be severely punished.

Fortunately, King Jing did not pursue the matter, and she finally felt relieved after a few days of anxiety. She never expected that the princess would bring it up at this time.

The princess was not at all flustered. "Princess Ning, please don't be anxious. I haven't finished speaking yet."

Concubine Ning gritted her teeth and asked, "When did I become anxious?"

The princess chuckled softly, her gaze returning to Prince Jing as she continued, "Ms. Fang came to complain, but I couldn't just convict Consort Ning without evidence, so I sent a servant to investigate."

King Jing clenched his hands, already showing a hint of anger, and asked in the same tone, "What did you find out?"

The princess naturally knew that this anger wasn't directed at her, and her smile widened. "Just two days ago, a servant followed the soap shop's purchases and discovered that they bought a few more items than usual... This is safflower."

Concubine Ning suddenly stood up. "Princess, your ability to slander people is getting stronger and stronger! Since you sent people to investigate secretly half a month in advance, how do you know it wasn't you who was plotting behind the scenes?"

"Besides, if you really think I'm going to harm someone, why didn't you tell me a few days in advance? Isn't it too late to say this after Sister Yun's child is gone?"

The princess nodded slightly, "What Concubine Ning said makes sense."

She bowed slightly to Prince Jing and said, "Then please investigate and find out who harmed Concubine Yun."

Concubine Ning said in a panic: "The prince and I have nothing to do with each other, someone is trying to harm me!"

Now it was the princess' turn to make sarcastic remarks, "The matter hasn't even been investigated yet, and Concubine Ning is already saying someone is trying to harm you? Obviously there's no need to investigate, you've already admitted it yourself."

Concubine Ning angrily said, "Which of your words, Princess, doesn't condemn me to death? If you want to clear yourself of the charge of harming others, you must shift the blame onto others to clear yourself!"

Prince Jing glanced at Consort Ning meaningfully, "That's enough."

The princess and Consort Ning quieted down at the same time.

Concubine Ning looked at Prince Jing with tears in her eyes and called out softly, "Your Highness..."

King Jing said calmly, "I will send someone to investigate. No matter who they find out, they will not be spared."

After saying that, he put the teacup in his hand on the table.

"Shi'an, send someone to escort Concubine Ning back to Lanxiang Garden. Until the truth comes out, no one from Lanxiang Garden is allowed to leave the courtyard."

When Concubine Ning heard this, her face was filled with shock, her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty, Jue'er comes to Lanxiang Garden for meals every day. If he knew that I was under house arrest..."

King Jing: "I have forgotten Jue'er."

Concubine Ning's expression became much more relaxed, as she thought that King Jing would show some mercy to her.

As long as the people around her can move, there will naturally be a way to solve her worries.

Unexpectedly, King Jing said, "Shi'an, take Jue'er to the main courtyard. During this period, Jue'er will be raised by the princess."

The princess was also stunned, but she knew it was an order.

In this society that emphasizes husband supremacy, she has to support him even if she doesn't want to.

"Yes." The princess took the initiative to say, "Your Highness, before the truth comes out, the people of Qingsong Court will never take a single step rashly."

King Jing also looked at the princess meaningfully and said the same thing.

"Of course I believe in you, Princess."

It was already evening when the news of what happened in the main courtyard came out.

Xie Run also learned from Xiao Shu the main reason why Concubine Yun was still alive.

It turned out that Concubine Yun was frail and had taken a large amount of safflower at once. By the time the imperial physician came, she had already developed symptoms of hemorrhage.

The imperial physician said that it would take at least half an hour to stop the bleeding with acupuncture. In order to prevent Concubine Yun from collapsing, he had to use a hundred-year-old ginseng to keep her alive.

But the prince and princess are far away in the palace, and without a matching card, who would dare to rashly open the warehouse to take the ginseng?