At the mention of what she had eaten, Yin’er could not help glancing at Qian Lan.

Seeing Qian Lan’s expression remain calm — neither prompting her to speak nor signaling her to stay silent — Yin’er weighed it carefully in her mind before speaking. “There is indeed one thing the Old Madam has never had before.”

“What is it?” The Commander-in-Chief frowned.

Yin’er hesitated, her gaze passing repeatedly over Yan Qing’s face. In the end, the Commander-in-Chief’s patience ran out and he demanded sharply, “Why are you stuttering? The Old Madam is in this state — is there anything you cannot say? If you delay her treatment, can you take responsibility?”

Yin’er was so startled she gave a jump, and had no choice but to say, “The Old Madam has been eating preserved fruits sent by the Seventh Young Mistress these past few days.”

“Preserved fruits are just a snack — they couldn’t cause illness.” Luo Huaimeng, hearing Yin’er bring up Yan Qing, could not help speaking up in her defense. “I have never heard of anyone falling ill from eating preserved fruits.”

“That is true.” Qian Lan immediately took up the point. “The Old Madam has high blood sugar, but eating a modest amount would not cause any great problem.”

Hearing Qian Lan mention high blood sugar, the Commander-in-Chief’s expression darkened and he turned toward Yan Qing with some displeasure. “Yan Qing, you know the Old Madam’s blood sugar is high, and yet you sent her preserved fruits. You are yourself half a doctor — surely you know what is inadvisable?”

Yan Qing put on a grieved expression. “Commander-in-Chief, the preserved fruits I made used xylitol.”

“What is xylitol?” the Commander-in-Chief asked.

“Xylitol’s metabolism does not require insulin, and it does not raise blood sugar levels — it is most suitable for people with high blood sugar. Not only that, it can supplement nutrition and assist in treatment.” Yan Qing explained. “However, due to technical limitations, the amount of xylitol I am able to extract is extremely small. The xylitol I made for the Old Madam took nearly half a year.”

“And there is actually such a wonderful substance?” The Commander-in-Chief was genuinely taken aback. “With this xylitol, people with high blood sugar would also be able to eat sweet foods?”

“Exactly so.”

The Commander-in-Chief immediately showed traces of delight. “Can this be produced in large quantities?”

Yan Qing shook her head. “Without advanced equipment, it cannot be mass-produced — only small-scale extraction. Just this small amount of xylitol required several hundred catties of corncobs. I thought since the Old Madam cannot usually eat sweet things, I used this precious little to make preserved fruits for her. When I heard that a bitter medicinal ingredient had been added to the Old Madam’s tonic soup, I had Jing Zhi send them over right away.”

“This matter I know about.” Shi Ting spoke from one side. “Yan Qing spent nearly half a year extracting this small vial of xylitol. Eating these preserved fruits would not only not cause any illness — they also satisfy a craving for sweetness.”

The Commander-in-Chief nodded. “You also show a filial heart. It seems the problem is not the preserved fruits after all.”

Shi Ting said, “Since the problem is not in the preserved fruits, it must be in something else.”

Just then, a doctor came striding in — the household doctor who regularly served the Commander-in-Chief’s residence, very adept at diagnosing common ailments.

After examining the Old Madam, the doctor’s conclusion was the same as Yan Qing’s — a severe yin deficiency of the kidneys.

“How strange — at the Old Madam’s age, how could she have developed this condition?” The doctor said with puzzlement. “This is generally caused by consuming excessive amounts of kidney-tonifying, yang-strengthening medicine.”

“How could that possibly be?” The Commander-in-Chief was the first to express disbelief. “My mother routinely takes tonic medicine, but among it all, there is absolutely nothing that tonifies the kidneys or strengthens the yang. That is absurd.”

The Old Madam, too, shook her head. “Doctor, have you made an error in your diagnosis? I am an old woman — how would I be taking such things?”

“Commander-in-Chief, Old Madam — this type of condition is not any rare or complex ailment. I encounter it regularly, so I could not have made a wrong diagnosis.” The doctor spoke with firm composure. “I will first write a prescription for the Old Madam. Neither of you need worry. As long as the tonic medicine is stopped and the Old Madam takes the medicine I prescribe for one week to regulate her constitution, she will make a full recovery.”

The doctor took up paper and pen and began writing the prescription. When finished, he had someone go to collect the medicine.

“Lan’er, do you know what caused this?” The Commander-in-Chief looked toward Qian Lan, his gaze tender.

Qian Lan had dimly sensed something and was still calculating inwardly, when the Commander-in-Chief had been speaking for some time without her responding.

“Madam.” Magpie gave her a gentle nudge from behind.

Qian Lan then came back to herself. “What did the Commander-in-Chief say?”

The Commander-in-Chief said, “Mother’s tonic soup has been arranged by you all this while. Have you noticed anything amiss with it?”

Qian Lan shook her head. “Nothing amiss.”

“Could it be the new ingredient?” Yan Qing suddenly said. “Perhaps that ingredient was incompatible with the Old Madam’s other medicines and produced a reverse effect.”

“That is not impossible.” The Commander-in-Chief said. “What about the Old Madam’s soup for today?”

Yin’er hurried to the table. There sat a small earthenware crock, still warm. “This is today’s tonic soup. Since the Old Madam was feeling unwell, it has not yet been drunk.”

“Doctor, please have a look at this tonic soup — is there anything improper about it?”

The doctor came over, took a spoonful, and tasted it. After the first mouthful, his brow furrowed deeply. Then he tasted several more spoonfuls.

Seeing the doctor’s unusual expression, the Commander-in-Chief anxiously asked, “Is there a problem with the tonic soup?”

“Not only is there a problem — it is a serious one.” The doctor spoke with grave solemnity. “If the Old Madam had continued drinking this for a few more days, her life would be in danger.”

Everyone present was greatly alarmed.

Qian Lan in particular — her face drained white in an instant.

The Old Madam’s tonic soup was under her management. Now that the soup had a problem, she could naturally not escape blame. Yet the matter concerned the Old Madam’s health, and Qian Lan had never dared to be careless — from selecting the ingredients to the simmering, she had always used her most trusted people. Those people could not be bought off.

If that was so, how had the Old Madam’s tonic soup still gone wrong? This left her deeply baffled.

She could not help directing her gaze toward Yan Qing, who stood there with an undisturbed expression, only looking at the doctor with apparent curiosity, as though genuinely eager to know the truth.

When Qian Lan drew back her gaze, it happened to meet Shi Guang’s eyes. The two of them immediately and without trace looked away from each other.

Qian Lan still could not confirm whether this matter had anything to do with Yan Qing. If it did, what was her purpose? Was she hoping to use this tonic soup to frame her?

But even if she did that, would the Commander-in-Chief believe it? Would the Old Madam believe it? What reason would she have to harm the Old Madam?

If that was not her purpose, then what on earth was she trying to do? For the moment, Qian Lan could not see through her thinking at all. And this made her all the more firm in her conviction: Yan Qing was a stone blocking her path, and she must kick her away.

The doctor said, “These are all yang-strengthening and kidney-tonifying substances for the young and vigorous — and potent ones at that. Even setting aside the elderly consuming them over a prolonged period, even a vigorous young person could not withstand such effects. Fortunately the Old Madam has only taken them for a few days and it will not affect the fundamentals. Stop the medicine and undergo treatment, and recovery will come quickly.”

Hearing that it was kidney-tonifying substances, the Commander-in-Chief was astonished. “My mother’s tonic soup has absolutely nothing to do with kidney tonics — how is this possible?”

The Old Madam, hearing she had been drinking several days’ worth of such tonic soup, felt both angry and alarmed, and could not help asking coldly, “What exactly is going on here? Is someone trying to harm me?”

“Old Madam.” At this point Qian Lan could no longer sit still. She had no choice but to step forward. “This matter falls to me to answer for. I will go at once and investigate it thoroughly.”

“Lan’er, do not be anxious.” The Commander-in-Chief hurried to comfort her. “Mother and I both believe you are innocent. You are always meticulous in everything, and you care more about Mother’s daily life than any of us. That Mother’s tonic soup has gone wrong must mean some link in the chain has broken down. Don’t be anxious — don’t let it harm your health.”

The Commander-in-Chief had not yet finished, and Yan Qing watched all of this with cold eyes, silently scoffing.

No one had even accused Qian Lan, and the Commander-in-Chief was already defending her. Even if this were Qian Lan’s doing, the Commander-in-Chief would insist she was innocent. So the idea of using the Commander-in-Chief to go after Qian Lan was clearly impossible.

Fortunately, while the Commander-in-Chief went along blindly with Qian Lan, the Old Madam had not been so clouded by sentiment. After all, it was she who lay there, she who was suffering, and she who most wanted to know the truth.

After the Commander-in-Chief had spoken, the Old Madam said, “No one is accusing her. But this matter must be thoroughly investigated. Whether it was a breakdown at some step in the process, or whether someone has deliberately come to harm this old woman — it all must be made clear.”

The Commander-in-Chief heard this and immediately looked to Shi Ting. “Xingzhi, go and investigate at once. What exactly is going on?”

“Yes.” Shi Ting had two kitchen maidservants summoned. One was called Xiao Yu, the other Qing Qing — both responsible for simmering the tonic soups in the kitchen.

This tonic soup required several hours of simmering at a stretch, so Qian Lan had arranged dedicated people to oversee it.

“Whose responsibility was it to simmer the Old Madam’s tonic soup?” the Commander-in-Chief asked in a stern voice.

Xiao Yu immediately dropped to her knees on hearing this, trembling. “It was me — I was the one who simmered it.”

“Over these past few days with the Old Madam’s tonic soup — was there anything unusual?”

Xiao Yu said, “Aside from one extra ingredient being added, there was nothing unusual. All the medicinal ingredients are premium items sent from the pharmacy outside. I carefully weighed the quantity of each ingredient and checked them against the prescription list — there could not have been any problem.”

“And you?” Shi Ting asked the other maidservant. “What are you responsible for?”

Qing Qing saw Xiao Yu had knelt and immediately knelt beside her. Faced with a whole room of superiors, she was so frightened she dared not raise her head. “I am the one who simmers the medicine for the Commander-in-Chief. My stove is right beside Xiao Yu’s — we watch out for each other in the usual way.”

Shi Ting asked, “What medicines does the Commander-in-Chief normally take?”

“That…” Qing Qing heard this and reflexively looked up at Qian Lan before immediately lowering her head again. “Just some ordinary tonics.”

“Where is the prescription list?”

“That…I…” Questioned twice by Shi Ting, Qing Qing had already become tongue-tied.

The Commander-in-Chief said, “What does this have to do with my tonic soup? Xingzhi — why are you not asking Xiao Yu and instead questioning Qing Qing?”