As soon as Princess Jingning and Shen Baozhu arrived at the main courtyard, Baizhi stepped forward to greet them. "Princess, the ginger and snow pear soup is ready. Shall I serve it?"
Shen Baozhu nestled in her mother's arms and gradually felt sleepy. She mumbled softly, "I don't want to drink. Baozhu wants to sleep."
"Okay, then we'll drink it after Baozhu wakes up." Princess Jingning gently patted her daughter on the back, laid her on the bed, and told Baizhi to keep the soup warm and be ready to serve it at any time.
Baizhi responded in a low voice, but instead of retreating, she looked at Princess Jingning nervously.
Noticing that Baizhi had something to say, Princess Jingning told Ziwan to guard Shen Baozhu and then got up and walked outside. Baizhi followed closely behind.
As soon as Princess Jingning walked around the screen, Baizhi immediately knelt on the ground and told the princess that she had failed to take good care of the little princess and caused her to be forced to take medicine. "The little princess is blessed and spat out the poison. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. Doctor Liu examined her carefully and said that the poison was somewhat like the 'Poison of the Abandoned Child'."
Hearing the words "Poison of the Abandoned Child", Princess Jingning's eyes turned fierce. If it was really this poison, the person behind this was really vicious!
Baizhi said in a low voice, "After I sent the little princess to Yunmiao Courtyard, I came back and searched the entire main courtyard. I didn't find anything unusual. There were only three people left in the small kitchen to serve..."
"Princess, besides the three people in the small kitchen, there is also a maid named Cuiliu who is responsible for cleaning. When I saw Doctor Liu off, I told her to clean up the room." Qingdai had just seen Doctor Liu out and happened to hear Baizhi pleading guilty. She quickly knelt down beside Baizhi and mentioned the existence of Cuiliu.
A look of confusion flashed across Baizhi's face. She murmured to herself, "When I came back to search, there was no sign of Cuiliu in the main courtyard. Moreover, wasn't she transferred away? Logically, she should have left the mansion by now."
The four maids around Princess Jingning each had their own duties.
Baizhi was good at cooking and took care of the princess's daily life. Qingdai was careful and brave and managed the main courtyard. Ziwan was quick-witted and good at gathering information. Hongshen was born with great strength and was responsible for guarding.
It was the butler who discussed with Qingdai about transferring Cuiliu. Compared with Baizhi, she knew more about the situation. "The butler said that Cuiliu was his distant relative. Her family had encountered difficulties before, so he sent her here. Now that her family is better off, he wants to transfer her to a rural estate outside so that he can find a good marriage for her. After the marriage is arranged, her family will pay to redeem her."
"However, a few days ago, the butler came to me again and said that there was a problem with the estate they had arranged before, so it would be delayed for a few days. Cuiliu will have to wait a few more days to leave."
It was also for this reason that Princess Jingning missed Cuiliu when she interrogated the servants.
The butler of the princess mansion was brought by the princess consort Shen Yunfeng from the Shen family. Thinking about how Nanny Sun had abandoned Shen Baozhu today to make egg custard for Shen Danqing, Princess Jingning had a general idea in her mind, but there was still no evidence for all this.
And the evidence had to be found from Cuiliu.
...
It wasn't until nightfall and the sky grew dark that Shen Baozhu woke up.
Hearing from Baizhi that Shen Baozhu had asked for her as soon as she woke up, Princess Jingning stayed by her daughter's side this time, never leaving for a moment.
As soon as Shen Baozhu opened her eyes, she saw her mother. She coquettishly threw herself into Princess Jingning's arms. "Mother, tell everyone else to leave first. Baozhu has a secret to tell you!"
Princess Jingning hugged her and smiled as she agreed.
When there were only the mother and daughter left in the room, Shen Baozhu pointed to the line of words still floating in mid-air. "There are golden shining words here. Only I can see them. No one else can. Baozhu has seen a fairy!"
"If it weren't for the kind fairy who gave me the antidote pill, Baozhu wouldn't be able to see Mother!"
The smile on Princess Jingning's face froze. She looked at the empty space in mid-air where Shen Baozhu was pointing. There was nothing there.
As Shen Baozhu spoke, she shrank further into Princess Jingning's arms.
"Baozhu..." Princess Jingning reached out and held Shen Baozhu still. Her voice was full of rare panic. "What golden shining words? When did you see the fairy?"
Shen Baozhu looked up, her voice serious and happy. "It was the words that appeared in mid-air after Baozhu fell into the water. Only Baozhu can see them."
"The fairy not only gave Baozhu the antidote pill but also a spiritual water bead. It's just a small water bead, but you can hold it. It tastes sweet. It's so magical!"
Princess Jingning's heart trembled slightly. She looked at Shen Baozhu and saw that her eyes were innocent. It didn't seem like she was lying. Combining Doctor Liu's words, she had a general guess in her mind. It should be that Baozhu was still young. After falling into the water and being forced to take medicine, she made up a fairy to save herself.
Now Princess Jingning didn't dare to mention the incident of falling into the water. She could only follow Shen Baozhu's words. If this "fairy" could really help Shen Baozhu get out of today's shadow, for her, wasn't it really a fairy?
Thinking that Baozhu had encountered danger twice today but was still safe and sound, perhaps there was really some mystery in it.
"Mother, what are you thinking about?"
Princess Jingning was so deep in thought that Shen Baozhu pulled her back to reality. "Mother is thinking that Baozhu should avoid Father these days."
"Okay!" Shen Baozhu answered loudly, but she curiously asked, "Why do I have to avoid Father?"
The reason was that Princess Jingning suspected that the person who had harmed Baozhu was related to Shen Yunfeng, but she couldn't tell Shen Baozhu this directly. Princess Jingning only had some doubts and no clear evidence in her hands.
For example, Nanny Sun was Shen Yunfeng's wet nurse. Because Shen Yunfeng didn't like Shen Danqing, she also ignored Shen Danqing. The few times she took care of Shen Danqing were only because Shen Heqing lived with Shen Danqing. Nanny Sun took care of Shen Heqing and did it as a matter of convenience.
Another thing was that the timing of Shen Yunfeng and Shen Danqing's appearance was too coincidental.
The person behind this wanted Princess Jingning to target Concubine Yun. Princess Jingning and Concubine Yun had planned to act out a play together, but unexpectedly, Shen Yunfeng had brought Shen Danqing back with him.
Shen Yunfeng rarely set foot in Yunmiao Courtyard, and Shen Danqing lived in the school with Shen Heqing. Just now, Concubine Yun had also sent a message that it was Nanny Sun who had told Shen Danqing to come back for the egg custard. Putting all these things together, it was hard not to suspect Shen Yunfeng.
Princess Jingning thought about all these things in her mind and finally said, "Mother thinks that Father was too much today. He didn't even hug Baozhu. So Baozhu should avoid Father and let Father come and coax you first."
Hearing that her mother was standing up for her, Shen Baozhu was extremely happy. She didn't ask any more questions but nodded vigorously. "Okay, I will definitely avoid Father and let Father know that Baozhu is really angry!"
...
In the garden of the princess mansion.
A figure walked in the night. He skillfully turned into the rockery.
The woman in the rockery had been waiting for a long time. When she saw the man's figure, she couldn't hide her excitement and eagerly threw herself into his arms. "Shen Lang, you've finally come."
However, "Shen Lang" pushed her away and sternly questioned, "Who told you to force medicine on Baozhu?"