Chapter 728 The Deal before Death
“Madam, you’re awake! That’s great. We found the oiled paper buried in the backyard of the ancestral hall. Do you know what it was used to wrap? Where did it come from? Why do you have this kind of thing in your house?”
Seeing Madam of Duke Xing awake, Nanny Xi stepped forward quickly and asked the questions before Old Madam could speak.
She couldn’t help feeling worried. This matter was related to the palace and the Empress, so she had to report it. If she couldn’t find out the truth, she would definitely be reprimanded after she went back to the palace.
If what she had discovered just now had been an ordinary chronic poison drug, she wouldn’t have been so eager to ask the questions. But now, she must take it seriously.
Seeing Nanny Xi so anxious, Shao Wanru looked at Nanny Zheng who was standing calmly, and she then slowly lowered her head.
She had prepared this drug on Nanny Zheng’s proposal and replaced the chronic poison prepared by Honored Consort Shu with it. Sure enough, Nanny Xi was very concerned. It was best to have Nanny Xi spearhead the attack.
Even if Old Madam was irritated, she would only be angry at Nanny Xi. Shao Wanru only needed to watch the show. What Nanny Zheng had said had already attracted people’s attention. Fortunately, she was an etiquette instructor with an official title from the palace. Otherwise, Old Madam would not spare her for the words she had said just now.
Old Madam looked at Madam of Duke Xing with a gloomy face, and there was a mood in her eyes that others could not understand. Madam of Duke Xing had been raised by Old Madam since she had been a child, so she knew that Old Madam was very furious. But it was not the time for her to care about Old Madam now. Nanny Xi’s words made her notice the crisis.
“Well… I… I don’t know what you are talking about…” She looked at Nanny Xi weakly, with a pale face, pretending not to understand Nanny Xi’s words.
“Madam, this matter is huge. This kind of poison has appeared in the palace before. At that time, a concubine of the former Emperor was murdered. We had only found out who administered the poison, but we don’t know how the poison entered the palace till now! Just now, we found the same drug behind the ancestral hall where you live!” Nanny Xi snapped, and her face was sullen.
Madam of Duke Xing was at a loss, and then she seemed to think of something. Her face was instantly stiff, and she turned to Nanny Sheng in disbelief. She cast a sad look at Nanny Sheng, her lips trembling, and sad, “Nanny Sheng…you… Why did you do this to me?”
The oiled paper had been dug out from the backyard of the ancestral hall. The only possibility was that the poison had been administered there, and someone had buried the paper in fear of being discovered. There had been only two people in the ancestral hall. The poisoned one was Madam of Duke Xing, so Nanny Sheng was the prime suspect.
Shao Wanru sneered. Madam of Duke Xing was quite ruthless to herself. If she had poisoned Nanny Sheng instead of herself at that time, she would not have been able to justify herself.
Shao Wanru took a glance at Old Madam and saw the look on her face was less ugly than before. Shao Wanru’s eyes flashed with a hint of mockery.
“Madam… I… I…” Nanny Sheng knelt in front of Madam of Duke Xing with a thump, crying in sorrow and despair.
She was really desperate because there was no way for her to survive right now. “Nanny Sheng, how did I treat you? You’re Duke Xing’s wet nurse. I always give you the best I can and trust you the most. Since Old Madam designated you as my maid, you have been serving me for years. I didn’t expect Old Madam’s maid would hurt me! But you, you… How could you betray Old Madam and me like this?”
Madam of Duke Xing burst into tears weakly and tried hard to pull Nanny Sheng’s hand. It seemed that she wanted Nanny Sheng to explain. But after reaching out her hand, she fell back heavily on the bed, and her hand dropped weakly. She looked at Nanny Sheng with tears in her eyes, unable to speak a single word.
She had dragged Old Madam into this matter.
The corners of Old Madam’s eyes raised, and she stared at Nanny Sheng fiercely. She remembered it was indeed she that had given Nanny Sheng to Jiang Wanyan. At that time, Jiang Wanyan had just married Duke Xing and her maid had been gluttonous and lazy. Old Madam really couldn’t stand it, so she had sent her second son’s wet nurse to her. On the one hand, Nanny Sheng could take care of her better, and on the other hand, she had expressed to others that she valued her niece very much.
The reason why she had sent her second son’s nanny to Jiang Wanyan was that he had two nannies, and the two nannies couldn’t get along with each other well. Through this way had she saved her son from being bothered by their conflicts.
Over the years, Nanny Sheng had always behaved properly. She had always trusted her that she could take good care of her daughter-in-law. She hadn’t expected her to betray and poison her Jiang Wanyan with the drug relating to the palace. Old Madam was quite furious.
If Duke Xing’s Mansion was involved in the poisoning incident in the palace, the consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate!
Thinking of her kindness leading to such a big deviation, Old Madam became angrier at Nanny Sheng. If she had known she was such a malicious b*tch, she would have killed her early.
She must have Nanny Xi to confess. Even if she was upset, she must interrogate her fully.
“Say, who asked you to frame your madam?” Old Madam asked.
“Old Madam…Old Madam…I can’t say…I can’t say…” Nanny Sheng cried loudly while searching among the crowd with her eyes.
Nany Zheng took a step forward and stood in front of Shao Wanru. She was taller than Shao Wanru and blocked her completely.
“Nanny Sheng is the most trusted subordinate of Madam of Duke Xing. If that person could give orders to her, he or she must be very powerful in Duke Xing’s Mansion. Otherwise, Nanny Sheng wouldn’t have betrayed her madam!” Nanny Zheng said slowly with a calm expression.
When Nanny Sheng had been looking for someone in the crowd just now, Nanny Zheng had known they were still trying to play dirty tricks. So, she stood in front of Shao Wanru and threw these words out.
Both she and Shao Wanru who was standing behind her understood that Nanny Sheng wanted to frame Wanru before she died. Nanny Sheng and Madam of Duke Xing must have made a deal before they had come in.
Hearing Nany Zheng’s words, Nanny Sheng stared at her fiercely. She was now a dying person, so she was afraid of nothing.
“She looks really fierce,” A little servant girl muttered, frightened.
“Who the hell are you working for? Why do you want to kill Madam of Duke Xing?” Nanny Xi was furious because she had been ignored by them. She walked in front of Nanny Sheng, trying to pull her up.
Nanny Sheng shook her hands off hard, even pushed her away rudely, and turned to look at Old Madam, saying “Old Madam, I was forced by Fifth…”
Shao Wanru’s heartbeat quickened, and she got nervous. If Nanny Sheng said it was Shao Wanru who had given her the order, after Nanny Sheng died, she wouldn’t be able to clear her name.
“How dare you push Nanny Xi!” Nany Zheng stretched out her hand and pushed Nanny Sheng hard. Nanny Sheng was shoved back several steps and almost fell.
“You’re just a nasty traitor! How dare you be so arrogant! How dare you!” Nanny Xi had not expected that the old maid who had been caught on the spot would dare to push her. At this time, she was fuming with anger. Hearing Nanny Zheng speaking for her, she felt even more furious.
Since when did she need others to stand up for her?
Rushing in front of Nanny Sheng, Nanny Xi slapped her hard in her face. The face of Nanny Sheng immediately became swollen. But the slaps didn’t let off Nanny Xi’s steam, and she couldn’t help but kick Nanny Sheng to the ground.
“Nanny Xi, calm down. Judging from the evidence, she might be involved in a conspiracy against the Emperor. If so, her entire clan will be put to death. No one can save her!” Both Nanny Xi and Nanny Zheng were etiquette instructors, and they had been getting along well before. Nany Zheng stepped forward to stop Nanny Xi, pulled her back a few steps, and tried to calm her down.
Nanny Sheng had been kicked and fell to the ground. She was struggling to look at Madam of Duke Xing, her face full of begging.
Her entire clan to be put to death? She had never thought of the possibility. Not only she was going to die, but her children and grandchildren might also face the death penalty? No! She couldn’t admit the guilt now.
She hesitated!
“Nanny Sheng, you are also a mother, how could you do such a thing? You…you were trying to murder me, your madam. I am always kind to others. Who asked you to harm me? Tell Me!” Madam of Duke Xing cried loudly to Nanny Sheng, and she seemed to have finally fetched her breath.
Shao Wanru sneered secretly. This was a very good statement. She was telling Nanny Xi this matter would not be escalated to the level of treason and it would be dragged back to the women’s inner court dispute. This gave Nanny Sheng confidence and let her know that this was only a battle in the backyard and she was the only one who would die.
“Madam…” Nanny Sheng wailed. She really didn’t want to wait for death, but she did understand the meaning of Madam’s words. She must do what Madam had ordered.
Gritting her teeth and scanning the crowd, she was still looking for Fifth Miss, but she was not attempted to frame her now. When she was dying, she suddenly became sober. If Fifth Miss could be easily framed, Madam would not have got into such a plight!
She knew the crime of treason even if she had always worked in the inner court. If she were convicted of treason, her entire clan would be put to death. Since she must die, she had to make it snappy. She couldn’t give people any ground to suspect. Otherwise, her family would not be able to survive.
Fifth Miss could not get involved, otherwise, things would become complicated. Even if she was dead, his family might get in trouble!
“Madam… Madam…Please don’t…” Nanny Sheng stood up with tears streaming down her face, but no one sympathized with her now. A maid who had betrayed her madam must end up miserable.
“Take her to interrogate! I must know where the poison came from and who ordered her to poison Madam of Duke Xing,” Old Madam said angrily.
Madam of Duke Xing looked as if she were too sad to look at Nanny Xi, and she raised her sleeves to block her face.
Shao Wanru had always been paying attention to her movements, so she saw that she clenched her fists in her cuffs fiercely. Shao Wanru’s watery eyes flashed with mockery. She had not expected to defeat Madam of Duke Xing all at once, and she would remove her henchmen first…
Two old maids went over to take Nanny Sheng to interrogation but were pushed away severely after she stood up.
“No, stop her!” Nanny Xi exclaimed immediately. She was experienced.
But before the two old maids could react, Nanny Sheng banged her head against a cabinet hard, covering her face. Her head immediately began to bleed, and she slowly slipped down the cabinet…