Chapter 15 - One Scheme After Another

A fierce look suddenly flashed in Shen Ninghua’s eyes and she looked up at the door.

A maid ran forward with a pale face. It was Xue Zhu, the head maid of the old lady: “Don’t drink. There’s poison in the wine!”

“Don’t talk nonsense! This drink was brewed by my sister. How could it be poisonous?”

Shen Linghan suddenly got up from her chair and yelled at Xue Zhu.

Shen Ninghua looked at her and laughed. She didn’t seem to be helping Shen Ninghua.

Shen Dong’s face was livid with anger. He frowned and glared at Shen Ninghua. Then, he asked Xue Zhu, “Why aren’t you serving the old lady and came here? What is the matter with the so-called poisoned wine?”

Xue Zhu knelt on the ground in shock, but was relieved to see that the fifth prince and others in the hall hadn’t drunk the wine: “In reply to Your Master, today the old lady was very happy after receiving the wine, so she immediately asked a servant to take a pot of wine to drink. The maid who went to fetch the wine was greedy when she smelled the extremely fresh and fragrant wine, so she secretly drank a little. Before long she was dead. The old lady remembered that you were going to entertain the guests with the wine, so she quickly sent me to warn you. Fortunately, you haven’t drunk it. ”

Shen Dong looked at the wine on the table. A layer of cold sweat appeared on his back. If it wasn’t because of the talking, they would have drunk the wine and the whole Shen family would be destroyed today!

The fifth Prince frowned, glanced at the wine cups on the table, and said in a deep voice, “Master Shen, you’d better look into this.”

Shen Dong hurriedly responded: “Yes, please don’t worry, Your Highness. I will definitely investigate the issue and report to Your Highness.”

His sword-like eyes glared straight at Shen Ninghua. He wished he could kill her instantly to be relieved. “Shen Ninghua, what’s wrong with your wine?”

Shen Ninghua sneered in her heart. So he already believed that she had done something wrong?

“Father, sister is a kind-hearted girl. She could not have put poison in the wine. I should also be blamed for deciding by myself to take out the wine to entertain the guests. Father, please punish me.”

Shen Linghan’s face was full of self-reproach, and she knelt down as she spoke.

“Get up. I will surely punish you if you have anything to do with the matter.

Shen Ninghua, now tell the truth.”

“Father,” Shen Ninghua stood up and looked at Shen Dong calmly, “even if a servant made a mistake, he should not be convicted without a thorough investigation. I’m your daughter, but if you ask me to confess merely after hearing a servant’s one-sided story, I can’t do that.”

Shen Dong choked. He frowned and shouted: “Someone, go and fetch doctor Qi here.”

“Yes.”

“Wait a minute,” Shen Ninghua looked at Xue Zhu. “You just said that maid drank the wine and died?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ask the doctor to check the cause of her death? Did she really die because of drinking the wine?”

Xue Zhu was stunned for a while: “The situation was urgent and we did not check.”

Shen Ninghua chuckled, “Since you had not checked the cause of her death, how can you prove that she died because of drinking poisoned wine?”

“Well…” Xue Zhu hesitated.

Shen Linghan came forward to mediate: “Sister, let’s fetch doctor Qi here first. After he checks the situation, things will be clear. If you are really wronged, father will definitely acknowledge your innocence.”

Innocence? This was clearly a scheme to kill her. Even if the emperor came, the first lady would not let her off the hook.

She didn’t expect that madam Zhao was in such a rash. Maybe the first lady was provoked when Shen Ninghua asked for her birth mother’s dowry.

Shen Ninghua wanted to say more, but Shen Dong ordered coldly: “Shut up! Someone, go and fetch doctor Qi. Besides, bring all the wine and the dead maid here. I will thoroughly investigate the matter. ”

Shen Ninghua sneered. It seemed that the first lady and Shen Linghan had plotted everything.

Her eyes swept over the people on the scene, and her heart was filled with coldness. These people were all foxy veterans. Can’t these people really see anything wrong? They just didn’t want to help her. That was actually not bad for her, because she wouldn’t have any misgiving when dealing with them in the end.

Soon, Doctor Qi arrived. Seeing the fifth Prince and Chu Junyi, he hurried forward to pay his respects.

“Doctor Qi, please check if something was added to the wine.”

Shen Dong said.

Doctor Qi’s heart shivered. Things in the Shen family were very complicated and he didn’t want to be involved. He only hoped that he would not get in the trouble. He opened the wine pot and examined it carefully. His eyebrows slowly frowned: “In reply to the fifth Prince and Master Shen, this wine…”

Shen Linghan’s pupil slightly tightened, and her eyes flashed with a smile.

“Doctor Qi, it’s OK. Say it.”

Shen Dong’s mind raced quickly. If Shen Ninghua was convicted, he needed to think of a way to save the Shen family. After all, murdering the prince was a big crime. Big enough to result in the extermination of the entire family.

While his mind raced, he couldn’t help loathing Shen Ninghua more and more.

“The wine contained arsenic.”

“What?”

“Shen Ninghua, you wicked wretch, kneel down!”

Shen Dong was furious.

Shen Ninghua’s face was gloomy, and she was extremely disappointed in Shen Dong. Any father would try his best to protect his daughter, but Shen Dong was only worried that her death came too late. He used to be so, and was even more so.

“Father, I don’t believe it. Please get another doctor.”

“Miss Shen, are you suspicious of me?”

Qi Zhengjun was sullen-looking. “I have been a doctor for the Shen family and I never told any lies!”

“Of course, I dare not doubt doctor Qi. It’s just that people might make mistakes. It doesn’t hurt to get one more doctor. Anyway, it’s a matter of life and death.”

“Good, good. Master Shen. I’m a poorly-trained doctor, so you’d better get another expert.”

Qi Zhengjun said and gestured to go out.

Shen Dong was so angry and his face became blue. He went forward and slapped Shen Ninghua in the face: “You wicked cub! Kneel down! ”

Shen Ninghua knelt on the ground with a thump. She kept her back straight and looked up at Shen Dong. Her black eyes were emotionless and extremely cold. Shen Dong, who was furious, suddenly felt a shiver in his heart. Somehow he couldn’t raise his palm again.

Chu Junyi saw Shen Ninghua’s expression and his hand that was holding the cup jerked. He suddenly remembered the emotion that Shen Ninghua revealed when he woke up suddenly in the cave. It was the same coldness…and despair….

Just then a cry was heard:

“It’s a matter of life! Your master, please speak up for me!”

“Who is making the noise?”

Shen Dong’s anger seemed to find a vent, and he suddenly shouted coldly.

A sad-looking man in blue clothes was brought up. When he saw Shen Dong, he immediately threw himself on the ground and cried, “Master, please speak up for me.”

“Aren’t you Liang Yu, Liang Cai’s son? What are you doing here?”

“In reply to Your Master, my mother was called away by the first young lady yesterday morning, and she had been away from home for a whole day. I have no choice but to ask Your Master for help. Please help me and let the first young lady release my mother.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes turned to Liang Yu and said, “I don’t know who you are, let alone your mother.”

“Important people have short memories, first young lady. My mother is Nurse Zhou! She offended you before, but she has been punished. She is very old. If you punish her again, she will be dead. Please forgive her and let her go.”

Shen Linghan said with concern: “Nurse Zhou has served my mother for many years. She made mistakes and received proper punishment. Mother couldn’t bear to see her and asked her family to take her home. Sister, have you sent for Nurse Zhou?”

“No.”

“Miss, please vent your anger to me, not my mother. One day ago, I saw your maid Wan Xiang come to fetch my mother. I also personally sent my mother to the gate of the yard. Many people saw it. Master, please help me. Otherwise, I have to report to the government.”

Shen Dong’s patience was exhausted: “Shen Ninghua, what have you done?”

Shen Linghan looked at Shen Dong with a worried look: “Sister, Nurse Zhou used your mother’s things without permission, and you have every right to be angry. But she has served our family for a long time. You should not keep her in custody. You’d better let her go.”

She really was her good sister!

“Ever since Nurse Zhou was punished by grandmother, I have not seen her again. Neither have I asked Wan Xiang to call her away.

Besides, Wan Xiang was a gift from mother and I treated her well every day. I didn’t let her do anything at all.”

Even if she wanted to punish Nurse Zhou, she would not let a new maid fetch her.

Shen Linghan looked considerate: “Since sister has doubts, why not send someone to look for her in the yard? Maybe we can find Nurse Zhou somewhere.”

“So you want to search the yard of the first daughter of the Shen family for a servant?”

Shen Ninghua asked in a cold voice.

“I didn’t say that, but I wanted to help prove your innocence.”

Shen Linghan grinded her teeth, secretly blaming herself for being impatient. But in her heart she was extremely disdainful. I’ll let you be overbearing for a while and see how you cry later.

“Thank you very much. Since you are so warm-hearted, why not search your yard first?”

“You…” Shen Linghan gnashed her teeth.

“Master Shen,” Chu Junyi broke his silence. He put down his wine cup, looked at Shen Ninghua, who was kneeling on the ground, and said, “let’s stop arguing about the issue of Nurse Zhou. The poison in the wine hasn’t been confirmed yet.

The first young lady was right. After all, it’s a matter of human life. We’d better get an extra doctor.

There is no need to bother others. Send someone to the mansion of Xiao and fetch Doctor Chen. Just say it’s my order.”

Shen Ninghua looked up at Chu Junyi and was very surprised. Doctor Chen was a doctor with excellent medical skills. He was now head of the Academy of Imperial Physicians. He was very upright and righteous. He once saved the emperor’s life. Many people have tried to flatter him for many times, but he impeached them anyway to the emperor.

She had heard before that doctor Chen and the Xiao family were on friendly terms and the two maintained very good relationship. Normally, Doctor Chen would accept invitations only from the head of the Xiao family. Even Baili Jinze, the Fifth Prince, was unable to bother him.

She didn’t expect Chu Junyi was also able to bother Doctor Chen.