Chapter 20: Ash of Medicine

Ning Wanyin saw that he understood her implication, so she took Lianrui to the small kitchen.

This was the excuse for outsiders.

In reality, she was here to investigate…

Where the strange fragrance was coming from and what it actually was.

Due to Ning Wanyin’s sincerity in wanting to handle it herself, the other palace servants did not follow; only Lianrui accompanied her into the small kitchen.

The small kitchen was located in a corner of the backyard of Lingxue Pavilion.

The kitchen was clean and tidy, with the mixed aromas of sesame oil, chili, fresh fish, and pork. The strange fragrance was not too pronounced, and Ning Wanyin followed the scent directly to the stove.

After staring at the large pot on the stove for a moment, Ning Wanyin reached out and lifted the pot down.

“Mistress!” Lianrui was shocked.

Ning Wanyin whispered, “There’s something in this stove…”

Inside the stove, there was a pile of ashes.

Ning Wanyin took a piece of firewood from a stack in the corner and used it to poke through the ashes. The strange fragrance spread a little more. Among the normal firewood, there were some remnants of aromatic herbs that had burned.

“Mistress, what kind of firewood is this, and why does it have a faint herbal aroma?” Lianrui asked in surprise.

Some types of wood, when burned, do produce a faint fragrance.

As long as there weren’t any skilled medical practitioners in the small kitchen, no one would notice if someone threw something into the stove.

And apart from Lianrui and Luju, no one else usually came to the small kitchen.

It was rarely noticed.

“This is the ash from burning Tianzhu grass. Tianzhu grass is both a medicinal herb and a spice; if used frequently for incense, it can cause infertility.” Ning Wanyin focused on the ashes for a moment, her gaze becoming stern.

Lianrui almost gasped, quickly covering her mouth with both hands, and whispered, “Mistress, someone wants to harm your fertility? Quickly, stay away from these dirty things!”

“It won’t have much effect for a while.” Various clues surfaced in Ning Wanyin’s mind.

She usually didn’t come to the small kitchen, so she was unlikely to smell it, and it wouldn’t harm her.

If someone truly wanted to harm her, they would have thrown it into the incense burner in her sleeping quarters.

But Ning Wanyin was always cautious about her inner chamber, and Lingxue Pavilion was cleaned twice a day; even if the drug ash was placed in the incense burner at midnight, it would be cleaned out by the next morning.

As for the stove, the ashes typically piled up for a week or so before being cleaned, which wouldn’t draw much attention.

To conceal something in the stove, the person behind this had a clever mind.

Tianzhu grass, besides causing infertility, could also lead to miscarriage in pregnant women…

Could it be…

But currently, there were no reports of any concubines in the palace being pregnant.

Otherwise, she would know whom to guard against.

Now, with so many uncertainties, based on the current clues, she could only roughly guess that someone in the palace might be pregnant. Secondly, someone wanted to frame her.

This drug ash was the evidence.

Moreover, the methods used by the other party were very clever. They didn’t hide Tianzhu grass itself, but rather the herb ash.

Who would keep unused herbs in their own palace when trying to harm someone?

They would definitely dispose of the evidence.

Who would have thought that the imperial physician could find clues from the inconspicuous stove ash?

It seemed that she was the mastermind behind the plot, needing to destroy evidence.

This was a chain of evidence, leaving her with no room for defense!

A cold glint flickered in Ning Wanyin’s eyes; she had long suspected that there were traitors within Lingxue Pavilion, and changing people wouldn’t help; replacing them again would yield the same results.

Because of the Ning family’s decline, she had no foundation in the palace, and there was no one she could trust.

This matter must be handled with caution.

“Lianrui, later I will summon everyone for a lecture. You use some paper to wrap up these ashes and throw them into the lotus pond.”

Both ashes and paper dissolve in water.

Completely destroying the evidence.

“Also, this piece of firewood is contaminated, throw it in as well.” Ning Wanyin handed the firewood to Lianrui.

“This servant understands.” Lianrui nodded.

No matter how ingenious the other party’s plan was, she directly destroyed the “evidence,” cutting off their roots.

…

Ning Wanyin picked some honey beans and soaked them in clear water.

She calmly walked out.

Xiao Guizi was guarding nearby. Ning Wanyin looked at him and said, “Summon all the palace servants to the courtyard, I have something to say.”

“Yes!” Xiao Guizi respectfully accepted the order.

The twenty lashes last time had made everyone understand that Ning Wanyin was very strict with her servants, and they didn’t dare to neglect her orders.

In a short while.

Two eunuchs and four maids stood in the courtyard.

Luju was one of the first second-class maids assigned to Lingxue Pavilion, skilled in making tea and snacks, so she often went to the small kitchen.

After Danli left, the Internal Affairs Department filled the vacancy with a new maid named Dantao.

Second-class maids mostly learned how to serve closely; Dantao also served in her room, skilled in needlework and makeup.

The other two maids were third-class maids assigned by the Internal Affairs Department when she was promoted to Meiren; their names were Caisang and Caiye, mainly responsible for cleaning the courtyard and pruning the flowerbeds.

As for Xiao Guizi and Xiaoyuanzi, the two eunuchs were originally responsible for cleaning the outer area and running errands.

Ning Wanyin looked at them one by one, without saying a word, just letting them stand there.

Everyone was calm, and from their appearance, it was impossible to tell who the traitor was.

Until Lianrui came back and nodded quietly, everything was taken care of.

Only then did Ning Wanyin slowly speak:

“I lost a bracelet.”

Lianrui understood and shouted at the palace servants, “Who among you stole the Mistress’s bracelet? Hand it over immediately!”

“Mistress, this servant did not steal it!” Xiao Guizi, believing he understood why the Mistress was punishing them, was the first to stand up and show loyalty:

“Please, Miss Lianrui, search this servant! Search this servant’s quarters to prove this servant’s innocence. This servant is wholeheartedly loyal to the Mistress!”

“This servant didn’t steal it either!” The maids scrambled to clear themselves.

After the twenty lashes last time, everyone in Lingxue Pavilion knew that Ning Wanyin was ruthless in punishing her servants.

But she also gave generous rewards. They were unwilling to leave; as long as they didn’t make mistakes, the Mistress was usually very kind and didn’t treat her servants harshly.

With this pretext, Lianrui immediately investigated them one by one, searching their bodies and quarters…

After a while, she returned to report, “Mistress, your bracelet hasn’t been found.”

They didn’t find any clues on their bodies or in their quarters.

This was also what Ning Wanyin expected.

The other party had already hidden the ash, there was no need to go to such lengths.

However, in order to eliminate all hidden dangers, she naturally had to check them.

“It seems that the bracelet was lost outside.” Ning Wanyin looked at the palace servants and said, “I almost misunderstood you, you are all loyal to me, each of you will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver.”

“Thank you, Mistress!” The palace servants happily received their rewards.

“Today, Lianrui will stay behind, Xiao Guizi and Luju will accompany me out.” Ning Wanyin instructed.

Lianrui was a little worried, but she also understood that the Mistress kept her behind because there was clearly something big happening today, and she needed to guard the house.

She will keep a close watch on Lingxue Pavilion!

She would absolutely not let anyone harm the Mistress.

…

Ning Wanyin left Yonghe Palace and whispered to Xiao Guizi beside her:

“Go and invite Miss Sun, the physician, here. For some reason, my knees are aching. Perhaps the previous injury hasn’t healed, and the old ailment has recurred.”

Xiao Guizi was stunned. The Mistress’s leg was just a minor injury, it had already healed.

But on second thought, if the Mistress’s old ailment recurred, it would be difficult for the Empress Dowager to keep the Mistress.

First, the sweet soup, then the old ailment.

The Mistress’s methods to deal with the Empress Dowager were getting more and more clever.

With the Empress Dowager Xue’s previous harassment of Ning Wanyin, it was perfectly reasonable for Ning Wanyin to feign illness on the day of paying respects.

Xiao Guizi immediately went to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Ning Wanyin’s journey to Jingxi Palace was smooth.

She kept a close watch on her surroundings and maintained a distance from every concubine she met on the road, firmly avoiding giving anyone a chance to attack her.

After carefully thinking it over three times and confirming that everything was flawless, Ning Wanyin stepped into the gates of Jingxi Palace.