Who Would Understand, Her Ladyship Wrote A Hundred Palace Regulations - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Medicine Ash

Ning Wanyin saw that he understood the implication of her words and led Lian Rui to the small kitchen.

This was the reason she gave to outsiders.

The real reason was that she wanted to investigate…

Where the unusual scent came from and what it was.

Because Ning Wanyin was determined to cook personally, the palace servants didn’t follow her, and only Lian Rui accompanied her to the small kitchen.

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

The kitchen was clean and tidy, with a mixture of smells from sesame oil, chili peppers, fish, and pork. The unusual scent wasn’t very noticeable. Ning Wanyin followed the scent and walked straight to the stove.

She stared at the large pot on the stove for a moment, then reached out and lifted it down.

“Mistress!” Lian Rui was shocked.

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

There was a pile of ashes in the stove.

Ning Wanyin took a piece of firewood from the corner and poked through the ashes, and the unusual scent became more noticeable. It was mixed with the scent of herbs.

“Mistress, what kind of firewood is this? It smells like herbs,” Lian Rui asked curiously.

Some trees could emit a faint fragrance when burned.

As long as there wasn’t someone in the small kitchen who was an expert in medicine, no one would notice that someone had thrown something into the stove.

And apart from Lian Rui and Lu Ju, no one came to the small kitchen regularly.

It was unlikely to be noticed.

“This is the ash of Tianzhu grass, a type of medicine and fragrance. If burned regularly, it can cause infertility,” Ning Wanyin said, staring at the ashes.

Lian Rui almost gasped, quickly covering her mouth with her hands and whispering, “Mistress, someone is trying to harm you and make you infertile? Please stay away from these dirty things!”

“It won’t have much effect in a short time,” Ning Wanyin said, various clues flashing through her mind.

She rarely came to the small kitchen, and the smell was hardly noticeable, so it wouldn’t harm her.

If someone really wanted to harm her, they would put the ash in the incense burner in her bedroom.

But her bedroom was heavily guarded, and Lingxue Pavilion was cleaned twice a day. Even if someone put the ash in the incense burner at night, it would be cleaned up the next morning.

The ash in the stove was usually cleaned once every seven or eight days, so it was unlikely to be noticed.

The person who put the ash in the stove was clever.

Tianzhu grass could not only cause infertility but also induce miscarriage…

Could it be…

But there was no news of any concubine being pregnant in the palace right now.

Otherwise, she would know who to defend against.

Now, it was shrouded in mystery, and based on the current clues, she could only roughly speculate that someone in the harem might be pregnant, and someone wanted to frame her.

The medicine ash was the evidence.

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

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

It must be destroyed.

Who would have thought that the imperial physician could find clues in the seemingly ordinary pot ash?

It seemed that she was the mastermind behind the harm, and she needed to destroy the evidence.

This was a chain of events that left no room for debate.

Ning Wanyin’s eyes flashed with a hint of coldness. She had long suspected that there was a mole in Lingxue Pavilion, and replacing the servants wouldn’t help.
Another batch would be the same.

Because the Ning family had declined, she had no roots in the palace and no one she could trust.

“Lian Rui, after I give everyone a lecture, wrap these ashes in paper and throw them into the lotus pond,” Ning Wanyin said. The ashes and paper would dissolve in water, completely destroying the evidence.

“Also, this piece of firewood has been contaminated. Throw it in too,” Ning Wanyin handed the firewood to Lian Rui.

“I understand,” Lian Rui nodded.

No matter how clever the other party’s plan was, destroying the evidence would be a fatal blow.

…

Ning Wanyin picked some honey beans and soaked them in water. She walked out calmly.

Xiao Guizi was standing guard not far away. Ning Wanyin looked at him and said, “Summon everyone to the courtyard. I have something to say.”

“Yes!” Xiao Guizi responded respectfully.

The twenty lashes had taught everyone that Ning Wanyin was a strict mistress, and they wouldn’t dare to slack off on her orders.

In a short while, two eunuchs and four palace maids stood in the courtyard.

Lv Ju was one of the earliest palace maids assigned to Lingxue Pavilion. She was good at brewing tea and preparing small snacks, so she often went to the small kitchen.

After Dan Li left, the Imperial Household Department assigned another palace maid named Dan Tao.

The second-grade palace maids mostly learned skills for personal attendance, and Dan Tao was good at needlework and makeup.

The other two palace maids, Cai Sang and Cai Ye, were third-grade palace maids assigned by the Imperial Household Department after Ning Wanyin became a Meiren. They were responsible for cleaning the courtyard and pruning the flower beds.

As for Xiao Guizi and Xiao Yuanzi, the two eunuchs originally helped with cleaning and running errands.

Ning Wanyin looked at each of them without saying a word, letting them stand there.

Everyone was calm, and it was impossible to tell who the mole was just by looking at them.

Until Lian Rui returned and nodded slightly, indicating that everything was taken care of.

Only then did Ning Wanyin slowly speak, “I’ve lost a bracelet.”

Lian Rui understood and shouted at the palace maids, “Who stole Mistress’s bracelet? Return it immediately!”

“Mistress, this servant didn’t steal it!” Xiao Guizi thought he understood why milady was making them stand and was the first to speak up, professing his loyalty.
“Please, Lian Rui, search us! Search our quarters to prove our innocence. This servant is loyal to Mistress!”

“I didn’t steal it either!” The palace maids all rushed to clear their names.

Everyone in Lingxue Pavilion knew how ruthless Ning Wanyin was when punishing her servants after the incident with the twenty lashes.

But milady also gave generous rewards. They didn’t want to leave, and as long as they didn’t make mistakes, milady’s temper was actually quite good. She wasn’t harsh on her servants.

With this pretext, Lian Rui immediately began searching each of them, checking their bodies and quarters…

After a while, she returned to report, “Mistress, we didn’t find your bracelet.”

They didn’t find any clues on the servants or in their quarters. This was what Ning Wanyin had expected.

The culprit had already hidden the medicine ash, so it wasn’t necessary to take any chances.

However, to eliminate any potential risks, she naturally had to search everyone.

“It seems the bracelet might have been lost somewhere else,” Ning Wanyin said to the servants. “I almost wronged you. You’re all loyal to me. Each of you will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver.”

“Thank you, Mistress!” The servants were overjoyed and accepted the reward.

“Lian Rui will stay here today, and Xiao Guizi and Lu Ju will accompany me,” Ning Wanyin instructed.

Lian Rui was a bit worried but understood that her Mistress was leaving her behind because something big was going to happen today, and she needed someone to guard the palace.

She would keep a close eye on Lingxue Pavilion and ensure no one harmed milady.

…

Ning Wanyin left Yonghe Palace and whispered to Xiao Guizi beside her, “Go call female physician Sun. My knee is aching strangely. Maybe the old injury flared up because it wasn’t fully healed.”

Xiao Guizi was taken aback. Mistress’s leg injury was just superficial and had healed long ago.

But then he thought that if mistress’s old injury really flared up, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t be able to keep her.

First, there was the sweet soup, and now there was an old injury. Mistress’s tactics to deal with the Empress Dowager were becoming increasingly clever.

Given the Empress Dowager’s previous behavior towards Ning Wanyin, it was perfectly reasonable for Ning Wanyin to pretend to be sick on the day of paying respects.

Xiao Guizi took the order and immediately went to the Imperial Hospital.

Ning Wanyin’s journey to Jingxi Palace went smoothly.

She kept her distance from the other concubines and avoided any opportunities for trouble.

After thinking it through carefully and ensuring everything was perfect, Ning Wanyin stepped into the gate of Jingxi Palace.