Chapter 4
The north wind howled.
Xiao Chuchu woke up in the middle of the journey, hazily drinking milk, and heard the voices in the main hall.
"It's agreed, this wet nurse really has a problem and harbors malicious intentions. We caught her red-handed!"
Xiao Chuchu opened her eyes with great effort and found that Liu Ying was holding her. It seemed that they were lying on the long couch in the study instead of the original bedroom.
"Tie her up and invite the eunuch steward from the Imperial Household Department to come!"
Lower Concubine Liu ordered, but she lowered her voice for fear of waking up her daughter in her arms.
Xiao Chuchu blinked blankly, as if the critical danger of their winter night exposure had been resolved?
Had the perpetrator been caught?
That's good then.
She mumbled twice, but couldn't resist her infant drowsiness again.
After being gently patted on the back by Lower Concubine Liu, she fell asleep again with a full stomach.
The next day, Xiao Chuchu woke up in the fragrant arms of her wet nurse. She had just secretly stretched out her little feet when she heard a sharp, delicate voice in the room.
"This servant failed to identify the untrustworthy person and allowed such a shameless scoundrel who plotted against the imperial bloodline to get close to the young miss."
"Please forgive my offense, Concubine Liu!"
As he spoke, Xiao Chuchu had already opened her eyes out of curiosity.
She saw the eunuch steward from the Imperial Household Department, who was of medium height but had a broad face and round figure, stuffed a money bag to Lower Concubine Liu’s palace maid Qiu Li!
Managing the servants in the Imperial Household Department had always been a lucrative position.
The concubines who wanted to find a capable servant or palace maid had to give the steward of the Imperial Household Department some benefit.
It was rare for the Imperial Household Department to give money to a concubine,
especially someone of Lower Concubine Liu’s low status!
Xiao Chuchu smacked her lips.
The palace maid Qiu Li who received the gold ingots was also looking at Lower Concubine Liu in astonishment.
Lower Concubine Liu was about to sternly reject it, but she felt the little feet of the baby girl in her arms move.
【After this incident, the steward who allocated this wet nurse to my mother was afraid of being implicated, so he sent money to my mother early in the morning according to the story.】
【But my mother didn't take it, and in the end she offended this eunuch. 】
Xiao Chuchu in swaddling clothes looked at the money bag, feeling a little greedy.
【Oh but my mother rejected the ten taels of gold he gave, not only losing money but also offending this villain, leaving hidden danger for the future.】
Xiao Chuchu couldn't help but whimpered anxiously at Lower Concubine Liu.
Lower Concubine Liu’s beautiful eyes flashed. She immediately nodded slightly to the palace maid Qiu Li.
Qiu Li understood tacitly and quickly took the money bag from the steward’s hand.
【Wow, my mother is good at palace scheming. That's clever! That's right, investigate but also take the money. Who said you can't take money when investigating someone!】
【It’s unwise not to take it~ there are ten taels of gold inside ~】
【It can pay for meat and vegetables from the imperial kitchens for a month~】
Xiao Chuchu grinned happily.
If not for her infant body, she would have wanted to give Lower Concubine Liu a thumbs up.
Seeing her cute little smile, Lower Concubine Liu also couldn't help showing a smile.
The eunuch from the Imperial Household Department standing below saw this and immediately felt relieved.
He had thought Lower Concubine Liu would berate him as well and send him to the Palace Justice Department for investigation. If that was the case, he would have to pull some strings with his godfather and stir up trouble with Lower Concubine Liu.
But now that she took the money and even smiled at him, she was reasonable.
Since this was the case, he should return the favor and not brush her off with perfunctory words.
The steward from the Imperial Household Department sincerely bowed to Lower Concubine Liu again.
"This lowly one interrogated the wet nurse all night."
"She said she hated that Consort Min could be with the young miss every day, so she couldn't help committing the crime."
"Because whenever she saw you depend on each other, she would think of her own three-month-old baby. She hated you and the young miss to the bone when thinking that she had to serve the young miss in the palace while her own child couldn't be fed!"
"If the young miss died early, then she could go back home!"
What a ridiculous argument!
Lower Concubine Liu was extremely angry.
The wet nurse entered the palace voluntarily.
If it wasn't for Lower Concubine Liu’s own report and her actively going to the Imperial Household Department to register, she wouldn't even be on the candidate list for wet nurses.
Even if she regretted it after entering the palace and wanted to go back home to nurse her own child, would she not have let her go?
How could this woman harm such a young child because of this!
Lower Concubine Liu was both angry and afraid afterwards.
But the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department glanced at her meaningfully.
"It is best for Concubine Liu to know that this wet nurse is from Hangzhou."
Lower Concubine Liu was taken aback.
Hangzhou?
The words came suddenly, but Lower Concubine Liu understood after a little thought.
She had listened to her daughter's inner voice and accepted the money, which was her statement of not pursuing this eunuch.
So this eunuch sold her a favor and hinted at the real reason why the wet nurse tried to harm the young miss?
Hangzhou, was it related to the mastermind behind the scenes?
【Oh, the murderous wet nurse is from Hangzhou!】
Xiao Chuchu also recalled along with the eunuch's words and hummed quickly.
【But this perpetrator bit hard that she acted out of her own jealousy, and there was no evidence found in the Palace Justice Department’s interrogation that linked it to Concubine Chen.】
It turned out to be her!
Lower Concubine Liu was shocked. She and Concubine Chen entered the palace at the same time and both lived in Consort Min’s Donghua Palace.
Having been neglected for many years, they were as close as sisters.
Xiao Chuchu blew bubbles tiredly, 【Oh, Concubine Chen was jealous that my mother had two children around like her despite being neglected...】
Lower Concubine Liu was stunned.
After a long while, Lower Concubine Liu took a deep breath, "I'll have to trouble you to come with me to see Consort Min."
She lived in the right side hall of Consort Min’s Donghua Palace with the young miss. According to their ranks, they had to notify Consort Min first for any matter, let alone something that was likely related to Concubine Chen who lived in the left side hall.
The eunuch from the Imperial Household Department immediately bowed with hands folded in front, "I'm completely at Concubine Liu's service!"
*
It was three hours before dawn.
In Qianxi No.5 Residence where the princes lived, the Fifth Prince specially asked a little eunuch to fetch a basin of cold water and press a towel on his face to keep him awake.
He had tossed and turned last night and barely slept a wink.
His mind was preoccupied with the strange inner voice of his sister that he overheard yesterday.
Could that be real?
If there really was a bold villain who tried to harm his sister and her wet nurse in the middle of the night, then it would prove that his sister’s other premonitions could also come true, including the tragic ending of him and her family.
The Fifth Prince regretted last night that he didn’t care enough about the wet nurse in ordinary days. He also reflected that he was not strong enough yet.
More than that, he worried whether the wet nurse and his sister had escaped the danger of being harmed by the villain late at night.
With such restlessness going back and forth, he was sleepless all night.
At this moment, the Fifth Prince pressed the cold towel on his forehead while keeping his eyes on the entrance of his residence.
Soon, he saw a little eunuch rushing breathlessly into the yard, almost tripping over.
The Fifth Prince's heart thumped.
His eyes were like swords. Before the other party lifted the door curtain, he asked, "What happened!?"
The little eunuch panted and said, "Fifth Prince, I just went to fetch breakfast early. As you said, I took the chance to go to the entrance of Donghua Palace to look for the purse you dropped there. But then I saw Lower Concubine Liu taking the young miss and the tied-up wet nurse to Consort Min’s main hall!"
The Fifth Prince stood up abruptly and threw the towel into the basin!
At the same time, in the rear alley of West Chang’an Avenue in the imperial capital, the old madam of the Liu family manor also had dark circles under her eyes, worriedly looking towards the imperial palace.
"Madam, a note came from the palace. It said that the wet nurse by our Answering’s side is problematic!"
"Our family has promised Consort Min that we would recommend two familiar wet nurses to attend the little princess!"
Lady Liu knocked over the blue and white tea cup next to her with a bang.