Tianliangyuan

Chapter 119 Quickly, we must stop them!

When I looked at it, I was really shocked.

Several women were missing from the group; besides Xu Zhaozhao, Princess Anhe and Miss Qin were also absent.

Princess Leyang was sitting with them: "Reporting to Mother, Princess Anhe and Miss Qin heard that there were two jars of peach blossom wine in Zhaozhao's carriage, so they thought they would be the first to move them to their own carriage."

Peach Blossom Wine is currently the most popular fruit wine among women among the ten thousand wines. Most men don't like this wine, but ladies find it to be fragrant and rich, and they've also heard that it has beauty benefits, so they all rush to buy it.

So the reason that the two of them went to move the wine is quite convincing.

"Then where did Xu Zhaozhao go?"

The one who asked this question was Princess Qingping.

Princess Leyang glanced at her indifferently, but she felt that today's events were related to her.

"Xu Zhaozhao's dress was accidentally soiled by a maid, so I arranged for someone to go to the guest courtyard to change her dress."

Princess Qingping sneered, "She's been gone for quite a while, hasn't she? She was just changing clothes, how come she hasn't returned so late? Could it be that she did something wrong and ran away?"

Princess Leyang was furious: "Shut up! This is the Prince Qi's residence, and we are the hosts. How can we arbitrarily accuse our guests? I think you've had too much to drink and are talking nonsense!"

Princess Qi frowned: "Someone, help Princess Qingping down. I think she has indeed drunk too much and her mind is muddled."

"Yes, princess."

Princess Qingping was shocked. The matter was not yet fully resolved, so of course she did not want to leave.

However, if she did not listen to the princess's words, she would be disobeying her stepmother. If word got out, which lady would want a daughter-in-law like her?

But if they were to step down, how could this play continue?

In her desperation, Princess Qingping actually came up with a solution.

"Yes, it was all my fault. I'll sit here and sober up for now, and leave once my mind is clearer. What do you think, Mother?"

Since she's already said that, how could Princess Qi possibly say no?

Most importantly, in front of so many guests, Princess Qi did not want people to think she was a wicked stepmother who could not tolerate her illegitimate sons and daughters.

"Your Highness, Miss Xu and her maid have brought a servant woman here, saying they discovered a wicked servant stealing."

Princess Qi was in a real bind. The matter of Lady Hua's miscarriage was still unresolved, and now this incident of a wicked servant stealing had surfaced.

Will she even be able to hold her birthday banquet?

After bowing, Xu Zhaozhao reported truthfully: "Your Highness, this maid led us to the guest courtyard to change our clothes. After we came out, my head maid Dingxiang noticed a servant woman acting suspiciously. She immediately called her over, but to her surprise, the servant woman turned pale with fright. After being confirmed by your maids, it was confirmed that she was a servant who served the Hua family in your household."

Then I asked her why she seemed so flustered, but she stammered and couldn't explain. She just wanted to leave first, but Dingxiang stopped her. As she struggled with Dingxiang, a gold hairpin fell from her sleeve.

As soon as Xu Zhaozhao finished speaking, she presented a gold hairpin. Upon seeing it, Princess Qi's expression changed slightly: "Isn't this Hua's gold hairpin? How did it end up in your hands?"

This question was naturally directed at the maid.

The maidservant, however, was gagged and could only shake her head incessantly. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered in red and bruises; in short, she looked quite unsightly.

Xu Zhaozhao ordered someone to remove the rag from her mouth. After all, she was a servant of the Prince Qi's mansion, and no matter how reasonable she was, she couldn't make the decision.

The maidservant kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Highness, I was only greedy for a moment and had absolutely no intention of harming anyone. I know I was wrong, please have mercy, Your Highness!"

This means he has admitted to stealing Hua's property.

Xu Zhaozhao's lips curled slightly. "You think you can get away with it by confessing?"

The maid who returned with Xu Zhaozhao to report spoke up in condemnation: "Your Highness, it was just a gold hairpin that fell out. This wicked woman had no way to deny it and confessed. In my opinion, we should search her body carefully and even her residence. Who knew that this wicked servant had done something disrespectful to her mistress?"

Princess Qi originally intended to stop there, take the person away and lock them up, and deal with it after the banquet.

However, now that the maid has brought it up, and it was Xu Zhaozhao who led the arrest, she can't just deal with it without clarifying the situation. If the Marquis of Anxin's mansion thinks that this wicked servant was trying to do something indecent to Xu Zhaozhao, that would be a real problem.

"Alright, you two search her body first."

"Yes."

Two female servants stepped forward and subdued the wicked servant, while another nanny searched him.

They found another jade bracelet and a silver ingot.

"Okay! How are you going to explain that?"

The wicked woman couldn't think of a reason to exonerate herself, and dared not reveal her master, so she could only lower her head and remain silent.

It wasn't until the bag she had hidden in her shoe was found that she truly panicked, losing all her strength and becoming limp and weak as if her bones had been stripped away.

"What is this?"

Xu Zhaozhao remained silent. Although she knew this, it wasn't her turn to speak up now.

Miss Qin, who had just returned, took the initiative to step forward and identify it: "This looks like a red flower, but judging from the color, it should be paired with something else."

safflower?

What substances can cause a pregnant woman to miscarry?

This brings us into contact with Hua's miscarriage.

"Men, search this wicked woman's place again!"

"Yes, princess."

The maid realized that there was no way to turn the tables. She was shivering with cold, her lips were turning blue from fright, and her heart was probably beating twice as fast as a normal person's.

Princess Qi consulted a physician, who quickly concluded that the medicine contained not only red medicine but also blood-activating herbs. If a woman in labor used it, she would suffer a fatal hemorrhage.

Princess Qi was quite frightened: "What if someone who has miscarried uses it?"

"They are the same; they will all die from the disease."

Now, the entire courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

terrible!

"Quickly, go to the Hua family immediately. We must find out the truth and absolutely not give them any unknown medicine."

"Yes, princess."

Princess Qi reacted quickly, and the servants below dared not be careless, even jogging along with her.

After all, it's a human life.

Moreover, it happened at the Princess Qi's birthday banquet. A miscarriage is already an inauspicious event, and to lose a life because of it would be even more heartbreaking.

Fortunately, the people sent by Princess Qi arrived in time. The medicine that Hua Shi originally wanted to use was intercepted, and the relevant maids were also temporarily tied up and imprisoned.

After the doctor tasted the medicine, he confirmed that it contained a large amount of blood-activating drugs. If Hua had actually drunk it, he would have died of hemorrhage within a quarter of an hour.

So who could be so cruel as to cause Hua's miscarriage and then try to kill her as well?

At this point, everyone understood that the person who pushed Hua Shi was definitely not one of the guests present; most likely, it was the result of an internal power struggle within the Qi Prince's residence.

I just don't know which person has such high skills and such a ruthless heart!