She couldn’t precisely say why, but something felt wrong. Intuitively, she dared not let Pang Ya leave Nanny Qi’s side. The very thought of Nanny Qi being alone set her heart racing.
Once Lian Hua finished speaking, she picked up the rattan and headed in the direction where Xiao Jizi and the others were.
Nanny Qi watched as Lian Hua issued her orders one by one with unflappable precision, feeling a deep admiration. When Lian Hua charged off towards the direction of the snake search, Nanny Qi opened her mouth to stop her but then held her tongue, watching her with a complex look in her eyes.
Never mind, perhaps she had underestimated the young girl. While everyone else was panicking, the young girl remained calm and composed in the face of danger—she deserved to be trusted.
She was old and fearful, not nearly as brave as the young girl. It would be fine, nothing would happen.
Lian Hua and her people searched every room. There were none in the Side Hall or the rooms nearby, but several serpents lurking in the rooms close to the Main Hall were found, not just Silver-wrapped Iron, but other poisonous snakes as well, all with exceptionally fatal venoms.
Looking at the pile of battered serpents in the courtyard, everyone was both shocked and furious.
Gazing at the venomous snakes on the ground, Lian Hua’s normally lovely face was now stern as steel. The rooms close to the Main Hall had started to be used only after Nanny Qi and Pang Ya’s arrival and had been unused before. Realgar Wine had been scattered all around the entire court, but not inside those room.
She couldn’t piece everything together, but she instinctively felt that it was very likely targeted at Nanny Qi. Otherwise, why were the snakes only found near the rooms around her?
Silver-wrapped Iron preferred to hide by day and move at night, fearing to be exposed. They could attack people silently in the dark, and by the next day, it could be too late.
Perhaps the villains intended for the snakes to bite someone at night. They hadn’t expected the cool weather to bring one out early which, finding Nanny Qi’s bedding warm, had crawled onto the bed. Thankfully, she had discovered it on time—if she had arrived any later, Nanny Qi would have...
At the thought, Lian Hua’s expression turned incredibly cold, a chill emanating from her entire being, and her anger reached its peak. She didn’t dare to think what would happen if something befell Nanny Qi, how she could ever face His Majesty or find peace within herself again.
Xiao Qing was witnessing her mistress’s cold expression for the second time—the first had been when Beauty Li fell down the stairs. Xiao Qing looked at the serpents on the ground, waiting for her mistress’s instructions about what to do next.
Xiao Jizi’s eyes were ferociously lethal. Someone had sneaked into Canglan Court to commit evil acts unnoticed. He would risk his life to ferret them out.
He stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Mistress, what are the next steps?" Wherever his mistress pointed, he would strike; the perpetrator must be brought to light.
Xiao Linzi too understood the gravity of the situation. Following up, he asked, "Mistress, should your servant go and inform His Majesty now?" Such an incident should be reported to His Majesty for a thorough investigation.
Lian Hua felt a rush of blood to her head, her eyes fierce as she said viciously, "Yes, but I can’t wait any longer. Someone has dared to cross me, to target my people—I can’t tolerate it!"
Having said this, she turned to Xiao Linzi and ordered, "Go quickly and call the people Steward Zhang has outside. Don’t make a fuss. When they come, follow me!"
Xiao Linzi crisply responded with an "Understood," and ran out of the courtyard.
At that moment, he was completely convinced by Lian Hua and wasn’t the slightest bit surprised that she knew Steward Zhang had left people outside. He thought, if the mistress wasn’t afraid of the serpents and knew there were more than one, then knowing this was not surprising either.
After Xiao Linzi had left, Xiao Jizi asked, "Mistress, what’s the plan now?"
Lian Hua looked at Xiao Jizi and uttered one word, "Wait," and then gazed towards the Main Hall.
Xiao Jizi understood. The mistress wanted to wait for Steward Zhang’s people, then head to the Main Hall to capture everyone involved—a plan he very much agreed with.
Someone was guarding the entrance to Canglan Court, and Steward Zhang’s people were also secretly protecting the surrounding area. Don’t ask him how he knew—Xiao Linzi, that fool, had been glancing outside from time to time since this morning when he called for people to help tidy up the storeroom, sneakily asking the helpers if it was okay not to stand guard.
With one look at this fool’s pouting bottom, he knew exactly what was afoot—it’d be a surprise if he couldn’t guess. So, he secretly relayed this suspicion to his master.
Now, the only people who could enter and exit Canglan Court were from Star Palace and Canglan Court itself, leaving only the workers repairing the Main Hall.
It definitely wasn’t someone from Star Palace or Canglan Court. And since all the servants of the concubines who had come bearing gifts in the morning were kept outside, that left only one possibility: there was a problem with the people working on the Main Hall.
Near the Main Hall, during non-resting hours, very few people would pass by. This morning, before the midday break, Nanny Qi and Pang Ya were both around the Side Hall. It seemed someone had taken the opportunity to sneak in during the interval, unnoticed, and spread the serpent.
The fact that only rooms near the Main Hall had serpents was further proof that it was the people from that direction.
Lian Hua paced back and forth in frustration, occasionally swinging the rattan in her hand. A fire was burning in her heart right now, and she couldn’t suppress it without venting—she felt like she would explode!
After a long wait, Xiao Linzi finally arrived with seven or eight people. Not waiting for them to come closer, she motioned to lift the serpent off the ground and take it away, shouting at them, "Go, don’t let a single one escape!"
Once she found that brat, she was determined to make him eat all the snakes, just to see if the brat would be afraid.
As she spoke, Lian Hua, seething with killing intent, led the way toward the Main Hall.
Xiao Qing hurriedly went over and said, "Master, they’ve been blocked over there, we’ll have to go around the back."
Lian Hua kept walking without breaking stride or looking back, "No matter!" If it’s blocked, we’ll just smash through. By the time we go around to the back, who knows when we’ll get there?
Since the supervisors at the Main Hall couldn’t even keep track of people enough to prevent them from placing snakes here, if there is one there could be two. We need to be fast and catch them off guard. Give them a moment to react, and who knows, they might just slip away.
Lian Hua, with a group in tow, strode vehemently toward the Main Hall. They were still dozens of steps from the barricade around the Main Hall when she heard someone calling her from behind.
She looked back and saw Pang Ya supporting Nanny Qi as they quickly approached her.
She stopped, somewhat conflicted, thinking that Nanny Qi wouldn’t be trying to stop her, but what could she say to minimize any hurt to Nanny Qi’s feelings?
No matter what, she was determined to go through with it today. She wouldn’t deserve the name Lian if she didn’t root out the culprit. Nanny Qi could punish or fine her as she saw fit. They would deal with that when she returned.
As Nanny Qi drew closer, Lian Hua opened her mouth to say something.
Nanny Qi, slightly out of breath, waved her hand to silence her and said, "My girl, go ahead. Be bold and do what you must. If there’s any trouble, I’ll be here to cover for you. If I can’t, His Majesty will. Go on."
Eventually, the eaglet must grow up. Rather than keeping her under their wings, it was better to let go and let her act while her old bones were still of some use.
"Ah?" She’s not there to stop me?
Seeing Lian Hua stunned, Nanny Qi glared and said sharply, "Don’t you understand? Go quickly!"