Chapter 41.2

Everyone within the room was a mess. Lu'er and some of the other servant girls also rushed over anxiously.

"What happened?"

Nanny Qian saw that Yaoniang arrived. She pointed at Yaoniang and said, "Mammy, Nanny Wang and I just arrived for our shifts and we didn't even have the chance to feed the little princess yet. It must have been Nanny Su who was gluttonous and ate something she shouldn't have. Otherwise, how could the princess be like this?"  

When Yaoniang heard these accusations, she was stunned. 

Before she even bothered to defend herself, she hurried over to Yucui's side.

In her arms laid the little princess with red rashes all over her face. The little princess had cried herself hoarse so her face was completely flushed. This caused her rashes to look even more swollen.

Hearing Nanny Qian's accusations, Mammy Mu looked over with sharp eyes.

Yaoniang began to explain."I didn't eat anything weird. I only ate the food from the small kitchen."    

Nanny Qian couldn't let the matter drop like that. She asserted, "You can easily tell the princess has a rash at first glance. At her current age, she can only drink breast milk. It must have been the wet nurse who ate something bad, causing the princess to be like this. Nanny Su, if you ate something you shouldn't have, hurry up and confess. Don't prolong the princess's illness. Otherwise, no one would be able to save you."

"Mammy, this servant didn't eat anything wrong."

Mammy Mu instinctively believed that Nanny Su had nothing to do with this. She was partial towards Yaoniang because she knew about the special relationship between her and Jin Wang. But it was also because of this relationship that she had some doubts with her heart.

Everyone in the manor knew that Jin Wang favoured Side Consort Hu. A woman's jealousy was terrifying. Mammy Mu understood this extremely well from her year of working within the imperial palace.

Even a woman who was docile and virtuous could do all sorts of terrible things because of jealousy. Within the palace, imperial concubines miscarried and baby princes died. Although infants indeed had a high mortality rate, everyone knew that the truth wasn't so simple. 

Indeed, the truth wasn't simple. The culprits must have been one of the countless beautiful women in the palace. 

Was it possible that Yaoniang was jealous of Side Consort Hu so she tried to harm the little princess? Even if this matter wasn't caused by jealousy, Yaoniang was someone that Consort Jin had dispatched. Recently, those two women were fighting like fire and water. Could it be Consort Jin who ordered Yaoniang to ruin Side Consort Hu's greatest pillar of support?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Mammy Mu's mind. After she heard Yaoniang's explanation, she chose to remain silent.        

Mammy Mu's attitude influenced the other maids within the room. Lu'er and Yucui's gazes toward Yaoniang were now filled with suspicion.    

Yaoniang was a little dejected. Ever since she came to work in the small courtyard, she was sincere and diligent. The people in the courtyard all treated her with affection. Although some may have had other motives behind their kindness, she always thought that Yucui and Lu'er sincerely treated her well.

As people who served the little princess, their only wish was for the princess to be well. Since everyone had the same goal, they shared a sense of intimacy.   

But now this sense of intimacy was destroyed by the sudden change.    

Why was it so fragile? Why did no one believe her?    

At this moment, Yucui suddenly spoke up. "Nanny Qian, don't say anything if you don't have evidence. We all know Nanny Su's character. She isn't a liar."     

Yaoniang felt strengthened when she heard this.     

She glanced at Yucui gratefully. Then she turned to Mammy Mu and said, "Mammy, this servant only ate the food that was served from the small kitchen and didn't eat anything else. Please uncover the truth behind this matter."

"Who knows whether you ate anything bad or not?" retorted Nanny Qian.   

Mammy Mu pondered for a moment. Then she said, "Guilty or not, now isn't the time to decide. Whether Nanny Su had caused the princess to become sick will be decided by his highness."

As she was speaking, Yuyan hurriedly led Doctor Liu into the room.

Doctor Liu was an old man in his sixties. He was as thin as a stick and had a goatee. He originally was an imperial physician that served within the imperial palace. But when Jin Wang came to Jinzhou to establish his manor, he followed him to Jinzhou too. He was a well-respected doctor who served within Jin Wang's manor and had excellent medical skills.

He entered the room with Yuyan and approached the princess. He instructed the servants to lay the princess on the bed. Then he took a silver needle from his assistant behind him and carefully inserted it into an acupuncture point on the princess's neck. She calmed down right away and fell unconscious.

"This kind of crying isn't good for her. Let her rest first." When he finished speaking, he reached out a hand to take her pulse.   

By this time, not only had Side Consort Hu arrived, but Jin Wang and Consort Jin also arrived.    

The three of them rushed over. Obviously, they came as soon as they had heard the news.   

When Side Consort Hu came in and saw the state of her daughter, she started weeping. Started to blabber about how pitiful her baby was and then she started to blame Yuyan and the others.

Consort Jin frowned and her expression was solemn. "Side Consort Hu, beware of propriety. Doctor Liu is treating the little princess right now. Can you please shut up?"

Truth was that Consort Jin didn't want to be here. She couldn't wait to see Side Consort Hu get in trouble. If something happened to the little princess, she'd be happier than anyone else. It was a pity that as the hostess of the manor, it was her obligation to show up.

After Jin Wang came in, he immediately sat down on a nearby chair. Fucheng stood behind him. 

His handsome face was cold and solemn. His left hand fidgeted with the sapphire ring on his right hand. Those familiar with him would know that he was feeling uneasy.

After Side Consort Hu heard Consort Jin's words, not only did she not listen, she also refuted it with sentences of her own. Jin Wang immediately snorted. The temperature of the room chilled and it was like falling into an ice cellar.   

Suddenly, everyone was afraid to speak and the sound of breathing was barely audible. The room was silent as if there was no one there. 

After a while, Doctor Liu released a breath of air, breaking the silence. 

"It appears that the little princess ingested something inappropriate, causing rashes to break out."