The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Great Wei, capital city, Rongguo Mansion.

Because she successfully gave birth to a boy in her first pregnancy, Sister Feng has been in a good mood for the past few months.

Furthermore, after she finished her postpartum confinement, Baochai took the initiative to return the power of managing the household to her, which gave her a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

On this day, she prepared crabs and fine wine, and invited her sisters to gather at Jiaying Hall to admire the flowers.

"Oh, oh, oh, I told them not to call you, but you're pregnant, why aren't you resting at home? What are you doing here?"

Feng Jie, who was greeting everyone, saw You Erjie coming with her maid and quickly went to help her up.

Sister You was somewhat flattered and bowed slightly, saying, "Sister, how could I not come to your treat? Besides, I'm only four months pregnant, it's nothing serious."

Even so, everyone still took her arrival quite seriously.

The younger girls, like Tan Chun and Xi Chun, even helped her sit down on a chair, just like little maids, after Feng Jie.

Being pampered like this, and seeing the concerned faces around her, Sister You was deeply moved.

She had always thought that, given her humble origins, it would be difficult for her to fit in with the ladies of noble families.

Even after discovering that she was pregnant ahead of Daiyu and after Fengjie, she was still somewhat uneasy.

Her mother and elder sister also repeatedly warned her not to become arrogant and complacent just because she was pregnant with the prince's child.

We should be even more cautious to avoid arousing jealousy.

But the reality was the opposite of what the mother and her daughters had expected.

For months, not only did no one envy or ostracize her, but for the first time in her life, Sister You Er experienced the meaning of "a mother's status rising with her son's."

Wherever she goes, she is now the center of attention.

Everyone, including Sister Feng, Daiyu and others, treated her with care and concern.

Sure enough, as soon as she sat down, her sisters-in-law surrounded her.

Xichun tentatively touched her belly, then said happily, "Sister-in-law's belly is getting bigger and bigger! I think I can feel my little nephew kicking my hand!"

Everyone laughed, saying she was talking nonsense.

She's only four months along, her pregnancy is just starting to show, it's probably not even fully formed yet, how could she possibly kick someone?

"Alright, alright, all of you stop crowding around her and be careful not to bump into her."

Sister Feng sat back down at the head of the table and watched as a group of young ladies and maids surrounded Sister You, trying to help her out of the predicament.

After the crowd had dispersed slightly, Sister Feng smiled and said to Sister You, "You are truly blessed. On your second day after entering the palace, the Prince led his troops into battle."

Logically speaking, you should be the least likely to get pregnant among us sisters, but unexpectedly, you're the one who got pregnant.

Unlike some people..."

As she spoke, Sister Feng glanced mockingly at Daiyu and Baochai beside her.

When everyone saw that Sister Feng was joking about this again, they all smiled and looked at Baochai and Daiyu.

It's really strange.

The one who came in just one day got pregnant first, while the one who came in first hasn't shown any signs of pregnancy at all.

In particular, as everyone knows, Daiyu was greatly favored by the prince after she entered the household in early February.

For more than a month, the prince practically doted on the two of them.

Today it's Hengwu Garden, tomorrow it's Xiaoxiang Pavilion, and the day after tomorrow it's Hengwu Garden again.

Despite such diligent cultivation, nothing has been planted?
As for Daiyu, well, her age and health are what they are.

But Baochai, whom even the elders thought had potential and that could give birth to a son, has not yet shown any signs of pregnancy.

This is absolutely unacceptable.

Faced with the teasing and scrutinizing looks from her sisters-in-law and maids, both Baochai and Daiyu blushed.

They've heard similar looks and comments a lot over the past few months, which has put a lot of psychological pressure on them.

Daiyu was a little better off, as she knew to some extent why she couldn't conceive.

Because Jia Lian didn't want her to get pregnant at all.

However, based on her experience of working with Baochai several times, Jia Lian clearly had no such concerns about Baochai.

Why can't she get pregnant either?
Thus, Daiyu calmly joined Li Wan and the others, scrutinizing Baochai.

What could Baochai say about this?
Ever since Sister You found out she was pregnant, she had been secretly taking care of her body.

After all, Jia Lian still doted on her in the days before he left.

Since Sister You Er was able to get pregnant, her chances are not small either.

However, the truth is that no matter how much she hoped, there was no sign of pregnancy.

Therefore, she not only had to endure the scrutiny of her family members, but also the nagging from her mother.

It's really annoying.

It's just that Sister You is too strong.

You can win a bid in just one night.

Hopefully, she's the only one experiencing this.

If her sister were like that too...

Thinking of this, Baochai couldn't help but recall the amusing reactions everyone had when they learned that Jia Lian had taken You Sanjie to Korea.

She was alright, after all, Jia Lian had secretly taken her to Tianjin for a month-long "honeymoon" without telling anyone.

But Daiyu was very unhappy; her little mouth was pouting so much it looked like she could hang an oil bottle on it.

Later, people explained that You Sanjie had been training female soldiers for Jia Lian for two years, and perhaps this was just to check the results.

Daiyu reluctantly accepted this explanation.

Just as everyone was chatting and laughing, Ping'er, accompanied by her maids, brought over steaming hot crabs.

Xiangyun arrived at the right time, and everyone laughed when they saw her: "As expected of Yun girl, she's always there when there's something good to eat."

Xiangyun chuckled, not at all bothered by the teasing, and walked over, smiling as she spoke:
"I don't know what's wrong, but many of the maids and wives are complaining of stomach aches today."

When I came over just now, I saw several people running towards the outhouse.

He does not mean that.

Baochai frowned and said, "When I came over just now, Jinchuan also said that her stomach hurt."

I asked her what was wrong, and she said it was probably because she was lazy and drank untreated water.

Sister Feng, having managed the household for many years, knew that anything unusual must be suspicious.

If it were just one or two people having stomach problems, that would be fine, but since many people are experiencing the same thing, it's something we have to take seriously.

Just then, Ping'er put down the steamer and came over to say, "Grandma, I've heard about it too. This morning, quite a few people in the garden had stomach aches, and some even vomited nonstop."

Sister Feng's expression hardened slightly: "Is there such a situation on the old lady's side?"

In this era, if similar symptoms appear on a large scale, people's first reaction is to determine whether it is an epidemic.

If so, it would be serious and troublesome.

Ping'er thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I don't think I've heard of any cases outside. It seems that those who have stomach problems are all people in the garden."

Sister Feng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Perhaps everyone ate something unclean. You should quickly take some people to check..."

"Ouch~"

Just as Fengjie and Ping'er were talking, Xiangyun, who had been staring at the big red crabs that the maids had brought out, suddenly clutched her stomach and cried out.

Seeing that she wasn't joking, everyone quickly stood up to ask her what was wrong.

Xiangyun looked pained, her brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"My stomach hurts so much, ouch, I'm going to get a cramp..."

Everyone hurriedly asked the maids to help Xiangyun to the outhouse.

But Xiangyun said she just had a stomach cramp.

Baochai took a deep breath, rubbing Xiangyun's stomach as she asked, "What did you eat just now?"

Xiangyun realized she must have eaten something wrong. After thinking for a moment, she gave up and said, "I didn't eat anything. It's just that when I passed by the kitchen just now, Liu Wu'er's mother was making rose dew for the maids, and I couldn't resist eating half a bowl..."

"And another thing, I ate half a crab, but I didn't eat anything else..."

Xiangyun was very embarrassed.

She went to the kitchen because she heard that Sister Feng had bought several baskets of big, fat crabs and was going to host a dinner party.

She couldn't resist and decided to go and take a look.

Sister Liu was a tactful person. Seeing that she was envious, she immediately took the initiative to give her a very big one, which she shared with Cuilu.

Even in her haste, she didn't say that Sister Liu had given it to her; instead, she said that she had stolen it, which shows her loyalty.

However, at this point, no one cared about such a trivial matter as her sneaking food.

Seeing her face grow increasingly pained, Baochai immediately stood up, looked at the crabs that the maids had already placed on the table, and shouted, "Don't touch these crabs... Give the order that from now on, no one in the garden is allowed to eat anything."

When Ping'er and the others saw Baochai's expression, their expressions changed slightly.

They all responded in unison and began to relay the orders.

Feng Jie reacted a little slower than Baochai, but at this moment she did not blame Baochai for overstepping her bounds. Seeing that Ping'er and the others were already following Baochai's orders, she said, "I'll leave this to you."

With that, he turned and walked quickly to the east.

Seeing this, everyone knew that Sister Feng had gone to see her son, and their hearts tightened even more.

If anything happens to the young prince, the whole affair will be exposed.

……

"Reporting to Princess Xue, the investigation has been basically completed."

Everyone who had an upset stomach or was vomiting ate food from the kitchen this morning.

It's certain the problem lies in the kitchen.

Baochai nodded, stood up and said, "Let's go, let's go check out the kitchen."

After two rounds of expansion, the kitchen of the Grand View Garden is now almost as large as the main kitchen of the Rongguo Mansion.

There are about twenty cooks alone.

The head of all the cooks was Liu Wu'er's mother, known as Sister-in-law Liu.

At this point, Sister Liu was completely terrified.

She and the other cooks were all guarded by a group of fierce-looking old women.

It is said that she poisoned the food in an attempt to harm her masters.

Sister Liu felt she was even more wronged than Dou E.

But she also heard that many people had stomach problems today, and coincidentally, they had all eaten food from the kitchen.

Among these people were not only maids and servants, but also Miss Yun!

Sister Liu remembered very clearly that just now, she had personally prepared a crab and a bowl of rose syrup for Xiangyun.

Terrified, she saw Baochai approaching as if she had seen a savior, and rushed forward to cry out her grievances.

Over the years, she has served in the garden with all her heart and soul, striving to serve each mistress and young lady well.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to secure this lucrative position.

Baochai naturally recognized Sister Liu and asked, "Whether you are innocent or not can only be determined after a doctor comes to examine you."

Without giving Sister Liu a chance to say anything more, he glanced at the cooks squatting in the kitchen and asked, "Are all your men here?"

Sister Liu turned around and nodded, then hurriedly said, "Everyone on duty today is here."

Even those who had also suffered from stomach upsets have all returned; they're all here.

Are you kidding me? After something like this happened, would you dare not be here?
If you honestly return and accept the investigation, your master might be able to clear your name after the investigation.

If you run away because you're afraid of taking responsibility, then you'll be the one who did it, even if you didn't do it.

Baochai carefully observed the expressions of the cooks and already knew what was going on. She felt that the problem probably didn't lie with the cooks.

Just as they were waiting for the doctor to come and examine them, Yuanyang also came over to question them on the orders of Grandmother Jia.

Baochai replied that it was nothing serious and that she would personally explain to Grandmother Jia after clarifying the situation. Yuanyang then returned home with some skepticism.

Immediately, Jia Yun personally led the doctor over.

Seeing such a large commotion, the doctor felt a chill run down his spine, fearing he might be drawn into some conspiracy and get himself into trouble.

Sure enough, after only examining the most conspicuous crabs in the kitchen—those freshly cooked ones—he said in a heavy tone, "The crabs are poisonous!"

At this moment, Sister Feng's expression changed drastically.

These crabs were bought to treat her sisters, and now she's being told they're poisonous?
She immediately looked at Ping'er, who was handling the matter.

Ping'er was unusually flustered, but she immediately questioned, "That's impossible. After the crabs were brought in this morning, I steamed a few. My grandmother, the county princess, and I all ate them, and nothing has happened to us so far."

Sister Feng was taken aback. "That's true."

If there were something wrong with the crabs, she and Ping'er would have been in trouble long ago.

The doctor said with certainty, "These crabs are definitely poisonous, and it seems to be arsenic, but the dosage is very low. Eating them won't kill you, but you might experience diarrhea, cramps, vomiting, etc."

Everyone's expression changed, because what the doctor said was correct!

Seeing this, the doctor became even more certain: "Since the princess said that she was fine after eating it in the morning, then the poison must have come from her later."

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng's face turned fierce.

Her first thought was that someone was trying to frame her.

Everyone knows that she got this batch of crabs to host a dinner party.

She subconsciously looked at Baochai.

It wasn't that she understood Baochai's motives, but rather that in her mind, framing her would benefit Baochai the most.

The doctor had already asked if there were any fresh crabs left, and Sister Liu replied that there were, and immediately sent someone to bring them out.

The doctor examined the crabs and confirmed that they were indeed not poisonous.

The conclusion that the crabs were poisoned midway through the trip is now a foregone conclusion.

Seeing Feng Jie's increasingly unpleasant expression, everyone subconsciously moved away from Baochai.

It wasn't that they suspected Baochai like Sister Feng did, but they all noticed that Sister Feng clearly had a tendency to suspect Baochai.

However, Baochai herself seemed completely unaware of Fengjie's hostility.

She moved slowly through the kitchen, her gaze sweeping over the ingredients and finished products.

Suddenly, he said to the doctor, "Please trouble you, sir, to examine all these ingredients and pastries."

The doctor could tell from Baochai's clothes and demeanor that she was a top figure in the Prince's mansion, so he dared not have any objections and obediently began to examine her.

Then he got confused.

The kitchen has an enormous variety of finished and semi-finished food products.
But as he examined each item, he discovered something strange.

These foods, including ingredients, vary in quality; some are poisonous, and some are not.

In all my years of practicing medicine, this is the first time I've encountered such a ruthless and brazen poisoning monster.

He didn't understand, nor did he want to understand, so he simply told the truth. For each item he tested, he said it was poisonous if it was poisonous, and not poisonous if it wasn't.

At this moment, Baochai looked at Sister Liu and said seriously, "Did you hear what the doctor said? Do you have anything to say, or any discovery?"

Sister Liu's face turned green at that moment.

She never imagined that her huge kitchen would contain so many poisonous substances!

That's okay.

If all these things were taken out and fed to her masters, her entire family wouldn't be able to compensate her.

Therefore, he was trembling and couldn't speak.

Fortunately, a cook shouted, "Reporting to Princess Xue, this servant understands!"
Almost all of these poisonous foods were made fresh today.

Sister Liu was taken aback, then suddenly realized: "Yes, yes, yes, that's it!"
These poisonous foods were all made today.

Those that weren't poisonous were all prepared beforehand, including the ingredients.

What came out of the washing machine today was poisonous.

"What's stored in the cabinet isn't poisonous!"

Baochai took a deep breath and said to the doctor, "Please, sir, examine the water in this bucket and the water vat."

I suspect the source isn't the food, but the water.

Upon hearing this, the doctor seemed to understand and quickly went to verify it.

"Yes, yes, Madam is right, there is indeed a problem with the water."

These waters contain a large amount of arsenic, much more concentrated than in food.

"It must be because they used this poisonous water that the food is contaminated!"

Before her masters could press her for answers, the cook, her face pale, volunteered, "That's impossible! This water was just drawn up from the well in the back this morning by Chen Ma and me. It couldn't possibly be poisonous."

Sister Liu also said, "Yes, many of us were there when they were fetching water."

No one left the kitchen all morning; there's no way someone could have poisoned it.

At this point, the doctor finally understood and began to utilize his expertise.

He bowed to the only person whose identity was confirmed, Sister Feng, and said, "Your Highness, it is very likely that someone poisoned the well in this situation."

"May I take this humble servant to the well to investigate?"

Sister Feng slowly said, "Okay."

So the group left the kitchen and went to the well in the back kitchen where they often drew water.

The result was exactly as the doctor had predicted.

Arsenic was thrown into the well, and in a very large amount.

This is an attempt to wipe out the entire Pingliao Prince's Mansion! Who dares to be so audacious?

Aren't you afraid that when the Prince of Pingliao returns, he will exterminate his entire family? (End of Chapter)