Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Duke Yu rushed to the bedside, and upon seeing the old lady's appearance, his face darkened instantly.

"What happened? Everything was fine, how could this happen?"

Granny Wu explained the situation again.

Duke Yu stared at Doctor Ye. "Could there be a problem with the medication?"

Doctor Ye was examining the old lady's symptoms when he was asked a question. He looked up and said firmly, "Your Excellency, this is inappropriate."

"Although the ointment is newly formulated, all the medicinal ingredients used are mild and should not cause such severe symptoms. The old lady seems to be having an allergic reaction."

"Whether it's an allergy or something else, if anything happens to Grandma, you won't escape responsibility!"

The atmosphere was tense, and the Duke of Yu's words betrayed his impending blame.

"Father."

Pei Zeyu stood between Doctor Ye and Duke Yu, his tall figure blocking his father's gaze that could burn a person out of a hole.

"Dr. Ye's medical skills are evident to all. When my grandmother was ill, even the imperial physicians were helpless. It was Dr. Ye who treated her little by little, and she regained consciousness and was able to stand up."

Liu Wenying raised her eyelashes; the Second Master was referring to what she had said in the carriage earlier.

"The most important thing right now is to find out the cause of the illness."

Duke Yu barely suppressed his anger, but still stared at Doctor Ye and said, "Continue the investigation, you must find out the truth."

Dr. Ye bent down again to carefully examine the old lady's symptoms.

He picked up the newly prepared ointment and brought it to his nose to smell it.

"Wait... why does the medicine have such a pungent smell?"

Doctor Ye used a silver needle to pick out a small amount of ointment and gently heated it over a candle flame.

The aroma becomes more pronounced when heated.

Not only did he smell it, but people nearby also smelled it.

Dr. Ye turned around abruptly, "The old lady isn't having an allergic reaction, she's been poisoned!"

"Poisoning?!" Duke Yuguo couldn't believe it.

"Something else was mixed into the ointment I prepared. It was this thing that poisoned the old lady."

Someone actually dared to harm the old lady in Mingxi Hall!

Duke Yu flew into a rage, slamming his hand on the table: "Investigate! Investigate this thoroughly!"

Pei Zeyu, however, did not follow the Duke of Yu's anger.

He looked at Doctor Ye, "The most important thing right now is to save my grandmother. Do you have a way to detoxify her?"

"I will do my best to alleviate the symptoms, but the detoxification requires identifying the poison. Rashly attempting to detoxify may backfire and worsen the condition."

This statement has brought us back to square one.

Duke Yuguo ordered, "Summon all the staff of Mingxi Hall, whether maids, servants, or laborers, and check them one by one!"

In a short while, all twenty-odd maids, servants, and boys from Mingxi Hall were summoned into the room.

Everyone stood with their heads bowed, silent as if frozen in winter.

Liu Wenying stood at the front. She was the head maid, in charge of the storeroom and handling the medicinal herbs.

Regardless of who poisoned her, she, as the person in charge, cannot escape responsibility.

A voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"My lord, I have something to say."

A maidservant stepped forward; she was usually close to Xi Chun.

She glanced at Liu Wenying and continued, "There's a medicinal herb missing from the storeroom today. It was Steward Liu who went out to buy it herself. Maybe... she poisoned it."

As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp gaze shot over.

Pei Zeyu said slowly, "Be careful what you say, things that are still undecided."

The maid trembled under his gaze, fell silent in fright, and shrank back into the crowd.

Duke Yu turned to Liu Wenying, "Tell me, is what she said right?"

Liu Wenying replied, "Your Excellency, this servant did indeed go out to buy medicine today."

That medicinal herb was missing from the storeroom, and Doctor Ye needed it urgently, so I personally went to the pharmacy in the south of the city.

After purchasing it, it was handed directly to Doctor Ye, without passing through anyone else's hands.

She paused, then said, "Doctor Ye can testify to this, and I did not poison anyone."

Dr. Ye nodded in confirmation: "That's right, she personally handed me the medicine."

Granny Wu was extremely anxious, and her words carried a hidden meaning.

"Anyone capable of poisoning someone must have access to the medicine. Doctor Ye wouldn't harm the old lady, so the only one who could have poisoned her is..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she was about to say. All that remained was Liu Wenying's understanding.

Xi Chun stood in the crowd with her eyes downcast, but the corners of her lips subtly curved upwards.

"My lord, I did not poison anyone, nor did I have any motive to do so."

"The old lady's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain, and I have no choice but to be loyal to her."

Dr. Ye also spoke the truth.

"The recovery methods that Steward Liu came up with are very beneficial to the old lady's condition. If she had any ill intentions, why would she go to such lengths?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, Xi Chun couldn't help but stand up.

His outward expression was feigned concern, but his tone was extremely provocative.

"Dr. Ye is right. If it wasn't intentional, then perhaps it was unintentional? How can such a careless person continue to serve the old lady?"

Duke Yu understood that regardless of whether Liu Wenying was involved or not, she had to take responsibility.

"Guards, remove Liu Wenying from her position as manager and expel her from Mingxi Hall."

Ling'er could no longer hold back. She suddenly raised her head and looked at Liu Wenying, her eyes immediately filled with tears.

Dr. Ye also frowned, looking anxious and distressed.

Xi Chun could no longer suppress the smile on her lips; it curved upwards, for she had finally waited for this moment.

Liu Wenying caught a glimpse of everyone's reactions, especially Xi Chun's barely concealed smugness.

In a flash, countless thoughts raced through her mind.

Just as the guards were about to drag her away, she called out loudly, "Your Excellency, I have something to say!"

Almost simultaneously, another voice rang out.

"Wait a minute."

Duke Yu raised his hand to signal the guards who were about to drag Liu Wenying away to stop.

He turned to Pei Zeyu, "Yu'er, do you have something to say?"

Pei Zeyu remained expressionless. "I just feel that she has served in Mingxi Hall for quite some time, so she can't be considered careless in taking care of her grandmother."

Her son often came to take care of her when she was ill, and she personally witnessed her massaging her grandmother, feeding her medicine, and doing everything herself.

There may be more to this than meets the eye.

Duke Yu glanced at him, "You do seem to care about your servants."

"I am only thinking of my grandmother. If we wrong a loyal person and let the real culprit go free, my grandmother's safety will be in jeopardy in the future."

Duke Yu pondered for a moment, then said to Liu Wenying, "You speak."

Liu Wenying pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on Xi Chun.

Xi Chun felt a tightness in his chest under her gaze, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

"My lord, the first thing I want to tell you is that Xi Chun embezzled the money for food at Mingxi Hall and cut back on the servants' meals."

As soon as he said that, Xi Chun became the focus of everyone's attention.

Liu Wenying appeared calm and composed, producing evidence—accounts she had copied and compiled into a book.

"This is a comparison of the food accounts of Mingxi Hall's small kitchen and the main kitchen over the past few months. What I'm saying is true."

Duke Yu took the account book and quickly flipped through a few pages.

His brow was furrowed, but he did not show much anger.

In the eyes of Duke Yu, the servants were embezzling a little bit of money.

Although it was a mistake, it wasn't a big deal.

Compared to the old lady's poisoning and uncertain fate, that little matter is not worth mentioning at all.

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

Seeing that the Duke had put it down gently and didn't seem to care, Xi Chun felt relieved.

She was just worrying about how to refute Liu Wenying's accusations, fearing severe punishment, but she didn't expect that the Duke didn't care about that little bit of money at all.

But Liu Wenying's next words made her unable to laugh anymore.

"Compared to the old lady's safety, embezzling the vegetable money is really nothing."

"But the second thing I want to say is truly about the old lady's daily life."

…………