Chapter 324: Cheng Yunshuo Clashes with Qin Shaojing

Chapter 324: Cheng Yunshuo Clashes with Qin Shaojing

Nanny Wan's words shifted the attention back to the food in the mansion.

Upon hearing this, Nanny Qin, who attended to Qin Shaojing, was upset. "What do you mean by that, Nanny Wan? Our Miss tested the dishes for poison in front of our lady. Are you implying that our Miss tampered with the food?"

"This servant would not dare," Nanny Wan said, kneeling on the ground and looking at Lady Qin. "It's just that our young mistress has not left the house these past few days and has only been eating the food from the mansion. If it were only Young Master Cheng who had fallen ill, one might think he ate something bad outside. But since both the young master and young mistress have been affected, it is clear that someone in the mansion is trying to harm the masters!"

"You old and sly servant, spreading unfounded rumors and causing panic..." Nanny Qin angrily retorted, determined to stop her from continuing the investigation.

"Enough!" Lady Qin interrupted her at this point.

Nanny Qin turned to Lady Qin. "Madam, I believe that both the young master and young mistress do not seem to be poisoned. Moreover, our Miss has already tested the food, and the silver needles showed no change, which means there is no poison. If we continue to investigate, it will only cause undue panic throughout the mansion."

Nanny Qin's words seemed to be for the good of the Marquis's Mansion.

However, her argument would only hold if it were just Lu Lingyun or Cheng Suying who were poisoned. But now, Young Master Cheng Yunshuo was also involved!

"Investigate again!" Lady Qin said coldly, glancing at her before bypassing Qin Shaojing and turning to Nanny Wen. "Nanny Wen, you investigate. Find everything the young master and mistress have eaten, used, or touched today, and check everything again. Not a single thing should be missed!"

"Yes!"

Nanny Wen led the investigation, and soon, everything Lu Lingyun and Cheng Yunshuo had touched that day in the mansion was found and examined, including the well in Lu Lingyun's courtyard, which had been dug by the Lu Family when she married into the mansion.

One by one, the silver needles were inserted into the items, and Nanny Wen presented the results.

None of the needles changed color.

With these results, Qin Shaojing sighed in relief again.

The plan Li Bihan gave her was indeed clever. Though she didn't know why it was discovered so early and involved Cheng Yunshuo, it still made it hard for anyone to discover the truth.

No one would suspect she used food incompatibility instead of poison.

A hint of smugness flashed in Qin Shaojing's eyes.

At that moment, Nanny Qin also chimed in. "Madam, I said there was nothing wrong with the food in the mansion, and it is even less likely that anyone would try to harm the young master and young mistress. This is causing undue panic in the mansion."

She spoke with an air of concern for the Marquis's Mansion, her eyes filled with sarcasm as she looked at Nanny Wan, who was still kneeling.

Suddenly, Nanny Wan raised her head. "Oh, Madam, I just remembered, our Miss also fell ill yesterday!"

"Although our Miss's symptoms are different, she also seems to have eaten something bad! All the food was from the mansion!"

Upon hearing this, the doctor confirmed, "Miss indeed had diarrhea and vomiting from bad food. The young master and mistress also seem to have eaten something bad today."

"What do you mean by that? The food has already been tested twice, and nothing was found to be wrong," Qin Shaojing reluctantly spoke, her brows furrowing as they continued to focus on the food.

Lady Qin interrupted her and asked with a frown, "What common dishes have Suying, Yunshuo, and Lingyun eaten over the past two days?"

Kneeling on the ground, Nanny Wan thought carefully. "There were no common dishes among the masters' meals over the past two days, except..."

Nanny Wan suddenly became hesitant.

"Except what!"

"Madam, this servant does not dare to say."

"Speak!" Lady Qin didn't have time for her nonsense and immediately slammed her hand on the table.

"Nanny Wan was startled and said in fear, 'For the past two days, they both ate dishes that were bestowed by you, madam. This is the only common factor!'"

As soon as she said this, it was as if she had directly mentioned Qin Shaojing.

"You old scheming servant, how dare you accuse the young miss! Are you trying to overturn the heavens?" At that moment, Nanny Qin quickly spoke up, falsely accusing Lady Qin of trying to poison.

Her intervention served two purposes: it confused everyone and hid their young miss, while also putting heavy pressure on Nanny Wan with this serious accusation, preventing her from saying more.

Sure enough, with Nanny Qin's intervention, Nanny Wan could only plead, "Madam, this old servant dares not. I was only worried about the safety of our masters. Since you asked me to speak, I have. And I know you would never give the masters tainted food. I’m also confused. Everything had been fine before, but for the past two days, they've gotten sick after eating dishes from your courtyard two days in a row..."

"Enough! How long are you going to accuse my aunt?" Qin Shaojing interjected.

But it was already too late. Lady Qin looked at her with a strange expression.

Lady Qin wasn’t foolish. She could tell from the arguments of these old servants.

They were saying the problem lay with the dishes from her courtyard.

But those dishes... were arranged by her own niece...

"Forget it," Lady Qin said deeply, looking at Qin Shaojing. "This matter ends here. For now, we should focus on allowing the young master and your young mistress to recover."

Lady Qin didn’t want to investigate further. At that moment, Cheng Suying burst in from outside, "Grandmother! We need to get to the truth of this matter! My mother has fallen ill, and this must be thoroughly investigated!"

"What’s it to you?" Qin Shaojing said dismissively to Cheng Suying.

Cheng Suying was merely a concubine’s daughter, adopted under Lu Lingyun’s name. If she had been the legitimate wife’s daughter, Qin Shaojing might have given her some attention. But the daughter of a concubine whose mother had already passed away? What right did she have to speak in front of her?

Her contempt for Cheng Suying was obvious.

As her words fell, a deep, muffled voice came from behind, "What business of mine?!"

Cheng Yunshuo, who had regained some color and could now speak, had spoken up.

Seeing Cheng Yunshuo able to speak, Qin Shaojing huffed in defense, "Cousin, I think Miss Suying is just a little girl. What does she know?"

"No matter how little she knows, she is still a daughter of the Cheng family. As for you, who do you think you are to stop her from speaking?"

Cheng Suying looked at Cheng Yunshuo in surprise, astonished that he was speaking up for her.

Being contradicted by Cheng Yunshuo, Qin Shaojing was infuriated, "Cousin, I'm only trying to help you!"

"Who asked for your help? Take care of your own mess before you worry about others!" Cheng Yunshuo rebuked Qin Shaojing without sparing her any embarrassment.

Immediately, Qin Shaojing flared up and tattled, "Aunt! Look at him!"

"Enough!" Lady Qin wearily interrupted the two. She looked deeply at Qin Shaojing, "Apologize to your cousin this instant!"