Chapter 48

Chapter 48: This Account

That evening, trouble struck the Prime Minister’s residence once again.

The little maid who had eaten the preserved fruit was writhing in excruciating stomach pain. Initially thinking it was just a stomachache, she found no relief even after using the latrine. Pale-faced and soaked in sweat, she lay helplessly on the bed.

Meng Zhenzhen was startled; she watched from inside her room but didn’t dare call a doctor, fearing that if it really was the preserved fruit again, the blame on Liu Ji truly couldn’t be shaken off.

“I’ll have someone fetch medicine for you first, just bear with it a little longer.” Madam Meng said, then sent someone to the pharmacy to hastily grab some pain relievers and fed them all to the little maid.

“Mistress… please call a doctor for me.” The maid looked at her with tears streaming down her face. “It hurts so much, this medicine isn’t working…”

Clenching her teeth, Meng Zhenzhen sat by her bedside and said, “It’s not that your mistress is heartless, but the situation outside is tense right now. If something happens here again, things could turn ugly.”

“But…” the maid wept bitterly, “I’m in so much pain, I’m dying…”

“You just took medicine, maybe it will start working soon. Just bear with it a little longer.”

“…” The little maid tried to endure, but her face grew paler and paler, her brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

The next morning, a piercing scream echoed from the Jade Pavilion.

A maidservant stumbled out, shouting as she ran, “A dead body! There’s a dead body in the Jade Pavilion!”

Shen Zaiye had just gotten up and was changing his clothes when he heard the commotion outside. He couldn’t help but glance at Zhan Lu beside him.

Zhan Lu frowned. “I didn’t strike with a lethal hand—it shouldn’t have caused death.”

That little bit of medicine could easily be cured by any ordinary doctor; how could he possibly have died?

Slightly pursing his lips, after tidying himself up, Shen Zaiye pushed open the door and strode out.

Zhanlu followed alongside, whispering as they walked, “Everything else has been arranged, and the doctor has already been notified. They put Leonurus sibiricus in the dried fruits and plums, which is harmful to those with insufficient liver blood and to pregnant women.”

Shen Zaiye nodded. As soon as he entered the Soft Jade Pavilion, he saw Meng Zhenzhen rushing toward him.

“My lord!” she cried, her face streaming with tears. “Someone wants to destroy my Soft Jade Pavilion! You must stand up for me!”

Taking two steps forward, Shen Zaijie slowly crouched down and looked at her: “Is it really someone who wants to harm you, or are you being your own worst enemy? Motherwort isn’t a poison. If your maid was suffering from insufficient liver blood and couldn’t take it, seeking timely medical help would have been enough. How could it have escalated to a fatal incident?”

Mrs. Meng’s eyes widened, and she shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum: “My lord, don’t listen to others’ nonsense! Little Qing didn’t take motherwort at all! How could motherwort possibly poison someone to death!”

Shen Zaijie raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the side.

The physician stood by, still holding half a packet of preserved fruits. Seeing him look over, he hurriedly bowed and said, “I have already examined these. There is nothing else mixed in these preserved fruits except for a significant amount of *Leonuri Fructus* that was likely unintentionally added during the curing process… The plums from Lady Gu also contain the same substance.”

“Added during the curing process?” Shen Zaiji took a sharp breath. “Are you certain it wasn’t just sprinkled on the surface?”

“No,” the physician shook his head. “If it were merely sprinkled on the surface, then the inside of the preserved fruits and plums should not contain it. However, I have examined them thoroughly; even when the preserved fruits are cut open, the flesh inside still carries the scent of *Leonuri Fructus*. Therefore, it must have been added during the curing process.”

“*Leonuri Fructus* should have a slightly bitter taste,” Shen Zaiji turned to look at Meng Zhenzhen. “Didn’t you notice anything when you ate them?”

Lady Meng shook her head dazedly; she hadn’t eaten any at all, so how could she know the other maids hadn’t noticed either?

“It seems I truly wronged Taohua.” With a somber look in his eyes, Shen Zaiye stood up and called out sternly, “Zhanlu!”

“Your servant is here.”

“Go report to the Kyoto Magistrate’s Office and have the owner and manager of the Liu Ji Dried Fruit Shop arrested at once!”

“Yes!”

Meng shi’s legs went weak with fear, nearly failing to keep her kneeling posture. She hastily grabbed the hem of Shen Zaijie’s robe and said, “Master! Liu Ji’s shop is such a big establishment—how could they add something like that while pickling? There are many pregnant women who buy preserved fruits and plums, so why did it only happen to our Prime Minister’s Mansion?”

“How do you know only the Prime Minister’s Mansion was affected?” Shen Zaijie snorted coldly. “Perhaps there are innocent victims outside as well. But none of that matters now. What’s important is that my household has lost two lives, one of them my future eldest son!”

As he spoke, his brows furrowed slightly, and he lowered his head to look at her. “Does Liu Ji have any connection to you?”

Opening her mouth, Meng Zhenzhen couldn’t decide whether it would be better to speak out or keep it hidden, her anxiety causing tears to stream down her face.

Seeing her remain silent, Shen Zaiye seemed to lose patience and ask no more, simply turned around and walked out, preparing to attend the court assembly.

Once the Prime Minister left, the residence immediately descended into chaos. Without any concern for decorum, Lady Meng rushed to the Linghan Courtyard, grabbed Qin Jieyu’s hair, and began to brawl with her.

“You vile woman! It’s not enough that you harmed me—do you plan to harm my entire family too?”

Such a scene early in the morning truly frightened Mei Zhaoxue, who was still sipping tea nearby. She stared blankly at the two of them, momentarily forgetting to have her maids step in and pull them apart.

Qin Jieyu was never one to be trifled with. Having her hair grabbed out of nowhere, she immediately kicked Meng Shi in the stomach, sending her stumbling back a few steps before falling to the ground.

“You shrew, why not keep pretending to be delicate, frail, and sickly? With such brute strength!” Qin Jieyu, her eyes red with anger, cursed as she stepped forward, grabbing Meng Zhenzhen and slapping her twice across the face.

The two continued to brawl, tearing at each other’s clothes and hair, cursing and refusing to back down, their viciousness matching each other blow for blow.

All the masters in the courtyard came over to watch the commotion. Madam Liu couldn’t help but laugh, “What is going on here?”

Mei Zhaoxue pursed her lips, seeing that it was about time, she had someone step forward to separate the two. With a stern face, she said, “Have you lost all sense of rules?”

“With disaster looming over the entire family, what rules do I care about?” Meng Zhenzhen’s eyes were red with anger as she glared fiercely at Qin Jieyu. “Usually, your petty tricks were bearable—at most they just caused me some suffering. But I truly never imagined your heart could be this cruel. What on earth have my family ever done to offend you?”

Qin Jieyu straightened her clothes and turned away. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t understand?” Mrs. Meng sneered, “Last time you mocked my father for marrying a concubine almost my age, and now you’ve set your sights on her brother’s Liu’s Dried Fruit Shop. How obvious can you be? A legitimate business—why on earth would they add *chongweizi* to the preserved fruit? You’ve played your moves well step by step, even dragging Mrs. Jiang into this!”

Qin Jieyu chuckled lightly, a hint of smugness flashing in her eyes as she glanced at her. “Your own family is running a shady business, and now you’re blaming me? What? Could I possibly be so powerful as to go poison your family’s preserved fruit workshop? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You…” Mrs. Meng was so angry she burst into tears, yet she had no way to deal with the woman before her.

“Enough arguing?” Mei Zhaoxue’s face darkened as she slammed her teacup down on the table.

The room finally fell silent. Meng’s legs went weak and she knelt before Madam, choking back sobs as she pleaded, “Please, save me, Madam!”

Rubbing the space between her brows, Mei Zhaoxue said, “Given the situation, how do you expect me to save you? Master made it clear earlier that whoever was responsible for this would face severe punishment, with no leniency. Now it’s your family’s shop involved, and more than one life has been lost. What do you expect Master to do?”

“I…” Meng felt utterly wronged. “How was I to know that maid would die from eating it?”

“Motherwort seed is forbidden for pregnant women and those with liver blood deficiency. Since your maid was still a maiden, she must have suffered from liver blood deficiency. Eating a little wouldn’t have been fatal. Didn’t you call a physician for her?”

“…” Mengshi pressed her lips together and lowered her head, her conscience weighing on her.

Liu Xiangjun watched, covering her mouth as she murmured softly: “How ruthless indeed. That person didn’t have to die, yet she ended up being killed by her own master.”

“Cause and effect will bring their due retribution.” Mei Zhaoxue shook her head, saying: “You should go back now and wait for the master to return from court to handle this.”

“Madam…”

Tears suddenly streamed down Meng’s face as she broke into sobs, crying out uncontrollably, “Even if we were to set aside all other considerations and assume that it truly was Liu’s fault, what does that have to do with me? Those were Liu’s possessions. At worst, my father could have divorced that woman…”

“You can save those words to tell to the master,” Mei Zhaoxue shook her head, gazing at her with a look of pity. “I can’t help you with this.”

Meng Shi knew in her heart that even if she could help, the lady wouldn’t assist her. But she was truly at the end of her rope, and could only sit there crying.

Shen Zaiye had already taken his place in the court. After reporting a series of important matters to His Majesty, he stepped back to stand at the side, his expression rather grim.

The emperor looked at him with concern: “We have heard that Minister Shen has lost a son. You must grieve in moderation and not let it overwhelm you.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty,” Shen Zaiye sighed. “I still wish to seek justice for that innocent child.”

“This is only natural,” the emperor nodded. “If there truly is someone so venomous at heart, not to mention you, even I cannot stand to see it.”

In today’s court session, only Shen Zaije could stir the emperor’s attention even with personal household matters. The civil and military officials all understood this well, and those who had married into the Shen family, standing on the side, inevitably felt uneasy.

After court adjourned, Shen Zaije was surrounded by crowds from all sides, as everyone was concerned about the child who had been lost.

Shen Zaije only said calmly, “I have already had the perpetrator apprehended and will surely seek justice. As for those who have any ties to the perpetrator, I will certainly not keep them in my residence any longer.”

Everyone was startled. Though they verbally assented, in their hearts, they all prayed fervently that it was not their own daughters being referred to.

“Lord Meng,” Shen Zaice turned his head, his face devoid of any smile as he looked at the round, plump man beside him. “This time, I’m afraid you and I need to have a serious talk.”

Lord Meng, the Minister of the Imperial Stables, was taken aback. Once he understood the implication in Shen Zaice’s gaze, his face instantly drained of color.

The others breathed sighs of relief, each offering their farewells and quickly taking their leave, leaving only Lord Meng, who stood trembling as he stared at Shen Zaice.

“Prime Minister?”

“The Liu Family Dried Fruit Shop—not only did it cost me my eldest son, but last night a maid died as well.” He lowered his head, his face cast in shadow against the sunlight, appearing particularly somber. “I will settle this score thoroughly.”