Chapter 212
Nanny Luo looked at the accountant, Wang Yuan, with a face full of confusion.
The Dowager Princess's current condition made ginseng completely unusable.
Why had he brought ginseng?
"Oh dear, Old Wang, why are you bringing ginseng now? The Dowager Princess can't use it," Liu Ming quickly interjected.
"Didn't the Young Miss Cousin say the Dowager Princess sent her to the storeroom to fetch ginseng for nourishment?" Wang Yuan asked, equally puzzled.
Zheng Qiaoshu, on the floor, hadn't expected Wang Yuan to show up at this moment.
"What's going on?" Liu Ming frowned and asked.
"Today, the Young Miss Cousin came to the storeroom saying the Dowager Princess wanted her to fetch ginseng to nourish her body. She didn't have the Dowager Princess's token, so this old servant didn't let her in. Didn't she say she was going to get the token?" Wang Yuan looked at Zheng Qiaoshu, somewhat confused.
"Uncle Wang, you must be mistaken. I didn't go to the storeroom today," Zheng Qiaoshu replied, her heart filled with panic, denying it without a second thought.
"Young Miss Cousin, this old servant is not so senile that I can't recognize people," Wang Yuan's face darkened. What did the Young Miss Cousin mean by that?
Was he old and muddle-eyed?
"The poison on these pastries is indeed the same as the one the Dowager Princess was poisoned with," Doctor Zhang announced after a short while.
"You wretched Zheng Qiaoshu! The Dowager Princess treated you like her own daughter, and you actually poisoned her!" Nanny Luo, upon hearing this, pointed angrily at Zheng Qiaoshu's nose and scolded.
"She treated me like her own daughter? Only you people would believe that. She just wanted me to work like a slave by her side," Zheng Qiaoshu, seeing her scheme exposed, had nothing left to hide.
If that old woman truly cared for her, why wouldn't she let her marry her son?
All that talk about finding her a good match—wasn't it just because she thought she wasn't good enough for her son?
Thinking of this, Zheng Qiaoshu felt furious. Why hadn't that old woman been poisoned to death?
"The Dowager Princess has us servants by her side. Where was the need for you to work like a slave? Hmph! Guards, take this vile woman who poisoned the Dowager Princess away. Wait for the Prince to return to deal with her," Nanny Luo ordered the guards who had been waiting outside for some time.
"Haha, return? They won't be coming back!" Zheng Qiaoshu, however, looked at Nanny Luo with a smug smile.
"What do you mean?" Li Tianyou grew anxious upon hearing this, as his daughter was surely among those who might not return.
"My master has long had people set up an ambush on the road from Li'an County back to the capital. Once Prince An passes that spot, he will be smashed to pieces!" Zheng Qiaoshu declared triumphantly to everyone in the room.
"You are utterly insane!" Nanny Luo clutched her chest, never imagining the Young Miss Cousin could harbor such treacherous ambitions.
"I'll go send a message to the Prince right now," Liu Ming said without hesitation and ran out.
"Lock her up in the manor prison!" Nanny Luo was now frantic with worry—on one side, the Dowager Princess was unconscious, and on the other, Prince An might be in danger.
"This old official will go to the palace immediately to beseech His Majesty," Li Tianyou said after a moment's thought.
After all, given the current situation, perhaps only the Emperor had the means to save Xu Heming and the others.
He just didn't know who the mastermind behind the Young Miss Cousin was.
Lanhuai Prince's Manor
"What? Captured? Useless trash!" Upon hearing that Zheng Qiaoshu had been captured, the Prince of Lanhuai was furious.
"Master, Zheng Qiaoshu is now a useless pawn in the An Prince's Manor. Should we try to plant another agent there now?" Shanzi asked cautiously.
"Don't act rashly for now," the Prince of Lanhuai frowned. With Zheng Qiaoshu's incident at the An Prince's Manor, it wouldn't be easy to place someone else there anytime soon.
Moreover, Zheng Qiaoshu's identity could only be used once.
"Should we rescue Miss Zheng then?" Shanzi asked carefully.
After all, if they wanted to rescue her, now was the best opportunity, since Prince An was not in the capital.
They could also enter the manor to rescue her with more confidence.
"Why save that useless trash? Find a way to eliminate her directly," the Prince of Lanhuai made a throat-slitting gesture.
In his heart, he was thinking about whether he could send his own daughter to the An Prince's Manor instead.
The Imperial Palace
Upon hearing Li Tianyou's report, Zhu Jingchen sprang to his feet.
Someone actually wanted Li Tianyou's life?
"How is the Dowager Princess's condition now?" Zhu Jingchen asked gravely.
"The physician said that because the antidote was administered in time, she is not in serious danger, but she hasn't woken up yet," Li Tianyou replied, thinking of the Dowager Princess and sighing inwardly. With her son not by her side, she had been harmed by her own niece.
Previously, he had seen how dearly the Dowager Princess doted on this Zheng Qiaoshu.
Who could have imagined this niece would bring such disaster upon her?
"Jin Yan, quickly send men to Li'an County to rendezvous with Prince An. You must inform him of this matter," Zhu Jingchen thought for a moment and ordered someone to notify Xu Heming immediately.
But who exactly was the mastermind behind this?
Li'an County
Li Zhiwei looked at the letter in Xu Qingshi's hand and asked curiously, "Qingshi, who is the letter from?"
"Pretty sister, please read this letter to me quickly. What did my grandmother write in her letter?"
Li Zhiwei curiously picked up the letter and saw the words "For Prince An's Eyes Only" written on it.
"Qingshi, this is a letter for your father," Li Zhiwei said, having no habit of reading others' letters.
Moreover, this was Xu Heming's letter. What if there was something important? It wouldn't be good if she saw it.
After all, for some things, not knowing is better than knowing.
"Pretty sister, this is a letter from the Prince's Manor. Please just read it for me. My grandmother hasn't seen me for a long time; she must miss me," Xu Qingshi tugged at Li Zhiwei's sleeve, pleading coquettishly.
"Qingshi, without your father's permission, we cannot read his letters," Li Zhiwei insisted, shaking her head.
"My father won't blame you. It's just a family letter from grandmother," Xu Qingshi didn't understand why Li Zhiwei wouldn't read it to him.
He really wanted to know what his grandmother had written to him.
Li Zhiwei sighed and was about to say something when
Xu Qingshi suddenly snatched the letter, opened it, and held it before Li Zhiwei's eyes.
"See? Isn't it a family letter?" Xu Qingshi said discontentedly.
Li Zhiwei originally didn't want to look, but after seeing the contents clearly, her entire hand began to tremble. The Dowager Princess was unconscious?
"Where is your father?" Li Zhiwei asked urgently.
"I don't know either. I haven't seen Father," Xu Qingshi said innocently, then asked again, "Pretty sister, what did my grandmother's letter say?"
"Your grandmother is fine. She's waiting for you to return to the capital. Qingshi, I have something to do. I need to find your father first," Li Zhiwei said, then took the letter and left.
"Adults, why are they all so strange?" Xu Qingshi frowned unhappily.
Then, remembering that Li Zhiwei still hadn't told him what was written in the letter, he quickly called out, "Pretty sister, you still haven't told me what the letter said!"
