Chapter 45.1

When she woke up the next day, the room was quiet and empty. On top of that, a sweet scent lingered in her nostrils.

Yaoniang's head was hurting, her body was in pain, and she felt like she had been run over by a carriage.

When she thought about how she had to report for duty soon, she braced herself and got out of bed. After washing up, she headed to the small courtyard where the princess lived. By that time, Yucui was already at her wits’ end.

Yesterday, Nanny Wang was taken away by Fucheng and Nanny Qian was sent to Liuchun Pavilion. The little princess had woken up and whined for milk. Yucui wanted to go look for Yaoniang but was stopped by Yuyan. Instead, Yuyan went to the small kitchen and asked for some thin porridge. The two of them worked together to feed the little princess. But porridge was porridge. Milk was milk. Even after drinking it, the princess was still hungry so she kicked up another ruckus. 

Yaoniang hurried inside to feed the little princess. She also learned that yesterday’s incident was caused by Nanny Wang, who did it under Side Consort Hu’s orders.

Yaoniang wasn’t surprised by the fact that Side Consort Hu had orchestrated everything. But she didn’t expect Nanny Wang’s involvement. 

Ever since she could remember, she had the impression that Nanny Wang was an honest and diligent individual.

It appeared to be that Nanny Qian’s actions were from no small effort on Nanny Wang’s part. Yaoniang’s heart was conflicted, and she realized that she still has much to learn.

Nanny Wang and Nanny Qian were both gone. Now, she was the only wet nurse serving the little princess. Yaoniang worried about this. If it was before, it wouldn’t bother her one bit, but now, her supply of milk is decreasing. If she only worked a single shift during the day, she could manage to scrape by. But now that she was the only wet nurse remaining, she feared it may not be enough.

Yaoniang had hidden the fact that her milk supply was dwindling from those in charge of the small courtyard. After all, she was a wet nurse. If she had no more milk, could she still keep her job? But now, she couldn’t continue to hide it. Just as Yaoniang decided she was going to admit the truth, Yuyan returned from the outside with an ugly expression.

From listening to her, Yaoniang understood why her milk supply was decreasing.

It turned out that Nanny Wang had added malt-infused water in secret into her meals. When mixed in with her meals, this water was scentless and tasteless.

Malt-infused water had the effect of decreasing milk supply. It was also a raw ingredient in lactation suppression medications. Nanny Wang had bribed a woman in the kitchen to put some in her food every day. Fortunately, she didn’t put in too much out of fear of being discovered. But as the ingested amount accumulated over time, her supply of milk gradually dwindled.

Yaoniang then asked when did the woman start putting it in her food. Turned out that Nanny Wang had made up her mind to deal with her after Yaoniang had taken the opportunity to calm the princess’s crying.

After she heard everything, Yaoniang was shocked.

At the same time, she also had a sense of sorrow. During her previous life, she had encountered countless shots fired in the open and many arrows shot in the dark. It wasn’t like she had no experience. But she did not expect that in this lifetime, one after another would target her.

She was only a wet nurse.

If the situation between her and Jin Wang was known…

Yaoniang couldn't bear to imagine what would happen.

The only reason she had managed to live for so long in her past life was Consort Jin’s support. During this life, she has only lived in the manor for less than four months. Yet she has already seen and heard her fair share of schemes and malicious plots.

After she reflected, Yaoniang felt even more satisfied with the choice she had made in the beginning. She would stay away from trouble and perform her duties sincerely. When Jin Wang became tired of her, she would return home.

But the street vendor-

Yaoniang couldn't help but remember what Jin Wang had said last night. Even after continuous pondering, she still couldn't understand what he had meant. She even wondered if she had heard it wrong. After all, she wasn't clear-headed at the time. Maybe she did hear it wrong.

But just as she was going to move on to something else, Yaoniang suddenly realized why Jin Wang had asked about the vendor.

When her brother-in-law had made up her family background, he made it so that she was married to a poor street vendor. Even worse, the man was short-lived. An accident had happened when he went out to sell goods which caused her to become a young widow.

But why did Jin Wang ask about this? Could it be that he was drinking vinegar?*

"Nanny Su …"

Yaoniang couldn't help but shudder. She didn’t dare to tie Jin Wang and jealousy together. It was more likely that Jin Wang had sent someone to investigate her background.

Thinking of this, Yaoniang thought that she should find some time to go home.

As for the current situation of Yaoniang’s dwindling milk, Mammy Mu specially instructed Yucui to go ask Doctor Liu about it.

Doctor Liu said that the malt water may have caused her milk supply to decrease, but it wouldn't be a big problem if it was properly taken care of. When Yucui returned, she brought back a few packs of medicine and a list.

The list contained ingredients that were good for breastfeeding and promoting lactation. With the kitchen preparing food according to the list, Yaoniang could be nursed back to optimal health.

But it would take time for her to return to normal, and the little princess couldn’t go without food. When Mammy Mu was about to have Yuyan go to Liuchun Pavilion and ask for Nanny Qian, people from Siyi Courtyard arrived.

Consort Jin had dispatched Zi Yan along with two newly-hired wet nurses to the small courtyard.

One had to admit that the consort did things swiftly and resolutely. Mammy Mu didn’t ask anything but simply accepted the two of them.

Mammy Mu doesn’t completely trust Consort Jin, but Consort Jin was a very intelligent woman. Since she took the initiative to send someone to the door, it indicated that she wasn’t willing to harm the little princess. Ensuring that everything went smoothly was tantamount to her reputation. Since she had sent the two nurses, it was the same as giving others something to hold against her if something bad happened.

Mammy Mu was also not willing to ignore Consort Jin’s considerate gestures. As far as she was concerned, as long as it wasn’t harmful to the little princess, she could ignore it. This was why Yaoniang and Cuizhu could come and work in the small courtyard without any trouble. When the little princess had the rash, Mammy Mu and Jin Wang intuitively believed that Side Consort Hu self-directed and self-acted everything. Their suspicion for Consort Jin was not great at all.