Chapter 14: Exploration

Meier quickly tidied up and left with her things, so at this moment, only Danni and Xinhe were left in the room.

Danni leaned towards Xinhe and asked, "How is it?"

In a soft voice, Danni said, "In response to Miss, I carefully asked around. After we left, Second Miss and Madam Min dumped the swallow's nest and sea cucumber directly. Third Miss and Aunt Hui just took a sip and left them there, saying it was too hot and that they would drink it after it cooled down, but until now, the items are still untouched. Fourth Miss and Aunt Xia drank all of it, but shortly after, Aunt Xia helped Fourth Miss induce vomiting. Aunt He, however, drank all of it and didn't induce vomiting."

Hearing this, Xinhe sneered, "Good, good, they are truly a group of good aunts and sisters."

Xinhe clenched her fists tightly, her teeth grinding. Apart from Lady He, who was unaware of Li Min's plot to drug her, all the so-called sisters and aunts in the Prime Minister's Mansion were clear in their hearts.

The more she understood the true faces of these aunts and sisters, the more ferocious Xinhe's smile became, making her realize she wouldn't need to hold back in the future.

Especially Su Wanqing, her third sister, in her past life, she had not caused any substantial harm to her. Xinhe had thought Su Wanqing would be the only one in the Prime Minister's Mansion who didn't care for her, but little did she know that Su Wanqing was pure-hearted and was only happily watching Li Min harm her.

"Danni, you grew up in the countryside, do you know a type of wild plant called Gong Han Zi?" Xinhe held the steaming cup of tea, but no matter how hot the tea was, it couldn't warm Xinhe's already cold heart.

Furrowing her brows, Danni shook her head and replied honestly, "I've never heard of it."

"It's a common cold-resistant weed in cold places. It looks like honeysuckle. If a man ingests it by mistake, it won't have much effect, but if a woman ingests it, over time, she will lose her fertility. After ingesting it, regular physicians would not be able to diagnose it and would only think it's a common cold-affected condition."

Xinhe's hands trembled as she held the teacup, her head buried low, concealing her emotions.

Danni remained silent, thinking about Xinhe's previous instructions. She guessed around eighty percent that the plant Xinhe referred to was the substance Li Min added to Xinhe's supplements. It pained her heart, seeing her young lady suffering from abuse in the Prime Minister's Mansion without her mistress to protect her. If her mistress were still around, her young lady wouldn't have to endure such suffering.

Unconsciously, Xinhe's hand rested on her abdomen. In her past life, she fell into Li Min's trap, resulting in her inability to conceive after giving birth to Li'er. Even the renowned royal physician in the palace couldn't find the cause and attributed it to cold-related infertility, leaving it all up to fate.

If she hadn't met a bell doctor by chance when she went out one day, she might have never known that consuming a large amount of Gong Han Zi made it hard for her to conceive. In her previous life, she didn't know who had poisoned her, but in this life, Xinhe's mind was much clearer, and she guessed who had poisoned her.

After lunch, Xinhe took Danni to Aunt He's courtyard. Aunt He was sitting inside, embroidering, and was somewhat surprised when she saw Xinhe enter the room, putting down her embroidery and saying, "Miss, what brings you here today! Please sit down!"

Aunt He, who was childless, could be said to be a person who was neither here nor there in the Prime Minister's Mansion. And Xinhe, the legitimate daughter, had never considered these aunts as her true elders. The only person Xinhe was willing to be close to was her enemy, who made her unable to conceive in this lifetime.

"Aunt He, I heard you were ill, so I came to see you." Xinhe smiled and walked to a nearby stool to sit down. "I fell a few days ago and couldn't come to see you in time. Aunt He, you're not angry with me, are you?"

"How could that be? Such matters could easily be dealt with by just sending a maid or servant over. Now Miss has come to visit personally, it's already a great favor to me. How could I blame Miss?" Aunt He smiled and said.

"Aunt He must not belittle herself. You are a senior to me. How could a senior's illness not deserve a junior's visit?" Xinhe also smiled.

"Aunt He doesn't deserve Miss's flattery. I am just a lowly concubine, and I am by no means considered an elder." Aunt He furrowed her brows. She couldn't understand why Xinhe had come to her and said so much useless pleasantries.

"Aunt He, do you ever feel resentful about these years?" Xinhe picked up the embroidery work that Aunt He had put down earlier and carefully examined it. It was a beautiful young doll holding a carp. She reached out and touched the rosy face of the cute little doll embroidered on the fabric, asking.

"Aunt He, do you ever feel resentful about these years?" Aunt He was taken aback. Suddenly, her heart tightened. Clearly, she didn't expect Xinhe to say such a thing after saying so many useless pleasantries. If someone else had asked this question alone, it might not have had much impact, but Aunt He knew exactly what Xinhe was trying to say.

"I don't know what Miss is talking about." Although Aunt He knew what Xinhe was asking and what she was saying, she didn't answer Xinhe's question and responded calmly after calming her rolling shock.

"Auntie, how could you not know what I'm talking about?" Zenghe obviously knew that Auntie He wouldn't give her a straightforward answer, and she said lightly, clearly not planning to let Auntie He off the hook.

"I really don't understand what the young miss is talking about. Over the years, the master has taken good care of me, and I have lived a comfortable life in the prime minister's mansion."

Zenghe picked up the needle lying on the embroidered cloth and continued with the stitches where Auntie He had left off, saying, "If Zenghe remembers correctly, when Zenghe was eight years old, Auntie He almost had a brother for Zenghe."

At Zenghe's sudden mention of the events from five years ago, Auntie He's expression turned distant. That year was her nightmare. If that year's events hadn't happened, would her child be running around, calling her "mother" by now?

Seeing Auntie He's reaction, Zenghe smirked satisfactorily and continued, "However, somehow, after Auntie He returned from admiring the plum blossoms, the little brother disappeared. Zenghe remembers that Auntie He had been in good health, and the physician had always said the fetus was stable. But why did the little brother disappear, and in the end, it also hurt Auntie He's body? Auntie He is an intelligent person. Haven't you felt that something was amiss over the years?"

It was quite unkind to pick at someone's old wounds, but Zenghe chose to do it anyway. She wanted to recruit an ally for herself, a strong ally. She understood the feelings of a mother who lost her child and knew how to rouse a mother's resentment.