The crowd was slightly startled.
Nan Rong Qi was the first to hide behind Gu Ming Yue.
As the Crown Prince of a nation, his status was the most noble, and naturally, nothing could happen to him.
Gu Ming Yue, however, was different.
She was merely a concubine not yet officially part of the Eastern Palace, so her life was naturally not as important.
Even if she were carrying his imperial heir, what of it? There were countless women in this world eager to bear him princes, and he did not care for this one.
Beside them, apart from Nan Gong Mo and Gu Qian Ying who remained in their positions, everyone else had retreated several steps in fright.
After all, everyone present had personally witnessed the agonizing deaths of the two women at the banquet, their faces covered in white worms.
At this moment, General Gu and Gu Ye Feng each immediately shielded Gu Qian Ying, while the latter shielded both Gu Qian Ying and General Gu behind him.
As cries for help echoed, the crowd then saw several maids, each covering their faces, running out of the house.
At this moment, Gu Ming Yue was the first to speak, "Your Highness, look quickly, Eldest Sister really has those disgusting things! It's so scary."
Saying this, Gu Ming Yue turned around,绕 from in front of Nan Rong Qi. Originally intending to hide in Nan Rong Qi's embrace, he noticed that Nan Rong Qi was even more afraid of Xi Er than he was. Thus, after a few coy pleas, he merely stood in front of Nan Rong Qi.
Gu Ming Yue's words had already confirmed that Gu Qian Ying was infected with white worms and had used them to kill the two foreign ladies at the banquet, thereby solidifying her guilt.
Observing this scene from within the crowd, the Third Concubine, Madam Han, believed that Gu Qian Ying was surely doomed this time. She then followed Gu Ming Yue's lead and spoke, "Qian Ying, how could you be so foolish? Murder is punishable by imprisonment!"
Madam Han wore an expression of "disappointment in one's offspring," her words seemingly expressing regret for Gu Qian Ying. However, her objective, like Gu Ming Yue's, was to see Gu Qian Ying dead.
While speaking, she cast a glance at her personal maid, Cai Guo, unnoticed by others.
Cai Guo, understanding immediately, used the excuse of fetching the Third Concubine's outer robe to quickly leave the crowd.
A moment later.
Cai Guo arrived at the residence of the First Madam and shouted loudly, "First Madam, this servant has important matters to report. I beg the First Madam to see this servant."
Inside, the First Madam was drinking medicinal soup with the company of her maid. Earlier, when everyone had been targeting her daughter, Gu Qian Ying, she had intended to stay by her daughter's side and protect her.
However, it was time for her to take her medicine, and her daughter had repeatedly urged her to return to drink it, even threatening to cry if she didn't.
She knew that her daughter cared most about her mother's health.
For this reason, she had no choice but to return with her maid to drink the medicinal soup.
Before returning, she had specifically instructed her son to protect her daughter well, and no matter what those people said or did, he must not let anyone harm her daughter.
At this moment, upon hearing from the attending maid that a maid outside was requesting an audience and claiming to have important matters to report.
"Let her in."
The First Madam picked up the medicinal soup in front of her and took a small sip, then quickly put a piece of preserved fruit prepared by the maid into her mouth.
Before she could put down the soup bowl, she heard the maid, Cai Guo, who had been led into the room, exclaim, "First Madam, something terrible has happened! Eldest Miss is in trouble."
The First Madam's hand trembled, and she suddenly looked at Cai Guo, anxiously asking, "What happened to Qian Ying?"
"Eldest Miss has been convicted of murder, and the Crown Prince's men have arrested her."
"What!"
With a clang, the soup bowl fell to the ground, splashing the soup all over the First Madam.
The maid serving her at the side exclaimed in fright, "First Madam!"
The First Madam, disregarding her own injuries, hurriedly stood up, intending to rush out.
Seeing the First Madam's urgency, Cai Guo added, "First Madam, I heard that the Crown Prince himself arrested Eldest Miss, and the Ninth Prince was also present. The Ninth Prince could not protect Eldest Miss, only saying that someone as cunning and wicked as Eldest Miss deserves to be imprisoned and thoroughly interrogated to see if she has committed similar acts before today."
"What!"
Upon hearing this, the First Madam's face turned ashen.
No matter how foolish she was, she understood that Nan Gong Mo's words were not meant to truly investigate whether her daughter had harmed others before, but rather to discard her daughter and, by extension, to frame the Gu family.
If the Crown Prince deliberately made things difficult today, and Nan Gong Mo deliberately added insult to injury, then the outcome for her daughter was predictable!
"What about Old Master Gu and my son, Gu Ye Feng?"
The First Madam grabbed the maid's hand, anxiously asking.
As long as Old Master Gu and her son Gu Ye Feng were there, her daughter would be fine.
"When this servant came to deliver the message, I heard that Old Master Gu fainted from anger on the spot, and our eldest young master, Gu, dissatisfied with the Ninth Prince's actions towards Eldest Miss, got into a fight with the Ninth Prince's men on the spot, even vowing to kill the Ninth Prince!"
"What! That scoundrel!"
Her hot-tempered son had committed such a rebellious act; was he out of his mind?
The First Madam was sweating profusely from anxiety.
"Oh, this servant also heard that Eldest Miss cried out her innocence and resisted but was severely beaten by the Crown Prince's men and was injured. That's not all; the maids serving outside with me also saw a piece of flesh fall from Eldest Miss's abdomen. Eldest Miss fainted from the pain on the spot."
As she said this, the maid deliberately amplified her voice, as if afraid that no one would hear.
"What?"
The First Madam felt dizzy and faint, her body went weak, and she collapsed on the spot.
"First Madam!" The maid behind her exclaimed in shock.
"Granny Wang, Granny Wang..."
Seeing this, the maid hurriedly ran to the kitchen to call Granny Wang, who was preparing to make some food for the First Madam.
Meanwhile, Cai Guo, who remained by the First Madam's side and had not yet left, was overjoyed to see the First Madam faint, as it did not seem like an act.
"Oh, the First Madam has fainted. You stay here, and I'll go find a doctor." The maid Cai Guo, who had come to report, pretended to be very anxious and ran out.
As she ran out, a calculating smile quickly flashed across her lips.
The Third Concubine was right; Gu Qian Ying was the First Madam's fatal weakness.
Once the First Madam was gone, the Gu mansion's backyard would be dominated by her mistress, the Third Concubine.
It would be easy to gain a title in the future.
And if she handled this matter well, the Third Concubine would arrange for her to serve the master.
At that time, if she were to be more successful, becoming a concubine would not be impossible.
At this moment, Madam Han's maid, under the guise of finding a doctor for the First Madam, first secretly reported to Madam Han and then, following Madam Han's instructions, brought a man disguised as a doctor into the mansion.
Currently, the Garden Pavilion was bustling with activity. In the First Madam's room, due to her fainting, there was no one in charge. All the maids and old women inside and outside the room were extremely busy.
Therefore, no one paid much attention to whether the doctor brought by the outside maid was proper or not.
When Granny Wang entered the room, she saw that the First Madam's hand was red, her clothes were soaked in a large area, the soaked area was steaming, and she was still unconscious.
Granny Wang was startled by the First Madam's appearance and hurried over.
"What happened to Madam?"
Granny Wang first pinched the First Madam's philtrum to wake her up.
When the First Madam awoke, she grabbed Granny Wang's hand and said with a trembling voice, "No, don't, how could they be so heartless! No, it's impossible!"
Her daughter was so sensible and kind; how could she be a murderer infected with those disgusting things? It was clear that someone had deliberately framed her daughter.
"What exactly happened, Madam?"
Granny Wang, who had just entered, did not know what had happened. However, as soon as she woke the First Madam, she found the medicine box in the room.
Just as she was preparing to clean the First Madam's wound, the First Madam stopped her and hurriedly took out a jade pendant from under the pillow on the bed, then quickly handed the jade pendant to Granny Wang, "Nanny, Qian Ying is in trouble. Please take this and go into the palace to seek an audience with His Majesty."
Granny Wang held the jade pendant in her hand. When she saw the inscription on the jade pendant, she was greatly shocked, and her hand trembled.
"Madam, this is..."
The First Madam knew what Granny Wang was about to ask, but now was not the time to explain.
Moreover, with so many people present, that secret could not be revealed. If it weren't for her daughter's life being at stake, she would have guarded that secret for a lifetime.
"Nanny, whether Qian Ying can be saved depends on you. Hurry!" The First Madam said earnestly.