Lady Wu: “…” If this wretched girl were living under her authority, she would have been dealt with long ago!

Coldly watching her legitimate mother, rarely at a loss for words, Fifth Miss Li Shu’s eyes flashed with amusement before it vanished.

Third Sister is truly formidable – just a few words and she made her legitimate mother’s punches land on cotton.

“What else would Elder Aunt like to know? Zhao will certainly tell you everything without reservation.”

Looking at the composed young lady, Lady Wu suddenly found herself unable to continue questioning.

What else could she ask? As an aunt, and one from a different branch at that, she could hardly ask directly: Did you perhaps notice something wrong with the food, and that’s why you didn’t eat? Li Zhao wasn’t a fool – even if she had truly noticed, she wouldn’t admit it.

After Lady Wu’s brief silence, Qiao Zhao said: “It seems there was indeed a problem with the food we had at noon. Elder Aunt, haven’t you had someone examine it?”

She kindly reminded: “Elder Sister and Second Sister ate their food completely clean, but I didn’t touch mine at all – it would be perfect for examination.”

“Nanny Dong is examining it now. I was thinking that if Third Miss noticed anything unusual, you could remind me, so that we don’t have to wait indefinitely for Nanny Dong to find the cause, delaying Elder Sister and Second Sister’s treatment.”

Just as Lady Wu finished speaking, Nanny Dong entered and whispered a few words in her ear. Lady Wu’s expression changed dramatically.

Nanny Dong had detected laxative components in the food that had been dumped into the slop bucket!

“Elder Aunt, has the cause of Second Sister’s diarrhea been determined?” Qiao Zhao asked calmly.

Lady Wu felt extremely vexed.

Earlier, when Jiāojiāo and the eldest miss were suffering severely from diarrhea and couldn’t even speak, she had asked Fourth Miss and Sixth Miss. Learning that Third Miss hadn’t eaten, she instinctively suspected this girl was behind it. In her anxious concern, she hastily summoned her for questioning.

But unexpectedly, the food had been dosed with laxatives – that could only be the work of someone from the East Residence!

Could this girl have bribed servants from the East Residence?

Lady Wu immediately dismissed this speculation.

If East Residence servants could be easily bribed by a little girl from the West Residence, then she might as well stop being the household’s main wife.

Unless—

Thinking of a certain possibility, Lady Wu’s face darkened. She forced a smile as she explained to Qiao Zhao: “We’ve found the cause. The shrimp used in that crystal shrimp dish wasn’t fresh.”

“So it was spoiled shrimp. That’s negligence on the part of the small kitchen staff.”

A cook’s duty was to prepare food for people to eat and enjoy. Since they listened to Second Miss’s instructions to do such nonsensical things, they naturally should bear the consequences.

Qiao Zhao very much agreed with the saying “where there’s a cause, there’s an effect.”

Surely those who succeed in harming others shouldn’t get benefits, while those who fail at harming others can just dust themselves off and walk away unscathed?

The small kitchen’s negligence was also a reflection of the main wife’s incompetence. Lady Wu was infuriated by this veiled criticism and suppressed her anger: “Third Miss can rest assured, I will severely punish those blind fools!”

Qiao Zhao didn’t respond to this, smiling faintly: “Elder Aunt may not know, but at the time, Second Sister kept blaming me for not eating the dishes.”

Lady Wu’s heart tightened.

This girl was indeed sharp as a ghost – she was already starting to suspect Jiāojiāo and was even threatening her to her face!

Thinking of her daughter’s current reputation, which couldn’t withstand any new scandals, Lady Wu swallowed all her anger and put on an affectionate smile: “Zhaozhao, don’t hold it against your Second Sister. She just can’t stand to see food wasted.”

“No wonder Second Sister ate everything so cleanly.”

Lady Wu was ready to slap Qiao Zhao across the face.

This was mocking her daughter for being stupid, for lifting a rock only to drop it on her foot, wasn’t it? Don’t think she could tell.

Qiao Zhao smiled sweetly.

She just loved watching people who desperately wanted to destroy her but were completely helpless to do so.

“Elder Aunt—”

Lady Wu was bleeding internally, but still had to humor this little ancestor. She forced a smile: “I heard from Fourth Miss that Zhaozhao had stomach pain. Are you feeling better now?”

“Thank you for Elder Aunt’s concern. I’m naturally much better.”

“That’s good.” Lady Wu nodded and called out loudly: “Nanny Wang, take my token to the storehouse and fetch some blood bird’s nest for Third Miss to take back.”

Under everyone’s astonished gazes, the main wife of the East Residence smiled with particular warmth: “This blood bird’s nest is precious. Zhaozhao should have one bowl daily to properly nourish your stomach.”

“When an elder bestows a gift, one dare not refuse. Zhaozhao will accept it gratefully.”

Lady Wu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Accepting the blood bird’s nest meant she wasn’t planning to make a fuss, right?

“It’s just that blood bird’s nest is so precious. Your niece fears developing a delicate stomach, and if I finish it all but can’t afford to buy more—”

Extortion! This was naked extortion!

Lady Wu nearly choked and inwardly bled as she said: “Zhaozhao needn’t worry about that. I have more here. When you finish it, just come get more.”

Miss Qiao returned home with complete satisfaction, carrying a large package of blood bird’s nest, leaving Lady Wu heartbroken for a long time.

“Madam—” Nanny Wang couldn’t help calling out.

Lady Wu glanced at Nanny Wang, suddenly stood up, and strode into the room where Li Jiāo was resting.

Li Jiāo had recovered some vitality after drinking the medicinal soup. Upon seeing Lady Wu enter, she immediately cried: “Mother, I was so humiliated at the academy today. I’ll never go learn the qin again. Wuu wuu wuu—”

“Shut up!” Lady Wu could no longer contain her fury and shouted sternly.

Li Jiāo was stunned.

Lady Wu was both angry and anxious: “Jiāojiāo, you must confess honestly to me – what’s this about laxatives in the food?”

“Laxatives… what laxatives?” Li Jiāo tried to cover up her panic.

Lady Wu sighed: “Jiāojiāo, you’re flesh of my flesh. Don’t I understand how your mind works? There’s no third person here – explain the whole story to me clearly!”

Under Lady Wu’s intense gaze, Li Jiāo, who had suffered from severe diarrhea, finally broke down crying: “Mother, I don’t know what happened either! I clearly instructed the kitchen staff to put medicine only in Li Zhao’s portion of food. Who knew all the food would have problems!”

She suddenly looked up, grabbing Lady Wu’s sleeve: “It must be those idiots in the kitchen who misheard, causing me to lose face! Mother, you must punish them severely!”

“Shut your mouth!” Lady Wu was so angry that her hands shook, directly pushed Li Jiāo’s hand away.

“Mother—” Li Jiāo was stunned.

“I’ll deal with those scoundrels myself. As for you, you’ve disappointed Mother greatly! Haven’t I repeatedly warned you that things are different now from before, and you can’t cause trouble anymore? You didn’t listen to a single word, actually instructing the small kitchen to drug Li Zhao!”

Li Jiāo remained defiant: “It’s those people who didn’t handle things properly. If only Li Zhao had suffered diarrhea, we could have said she had a bad stomach or had eaten something unclean somewhere. How would it be traced back to us?”

Li Jiāo became increasingly indignant, covering her face and crying: “Mother, Heaven is so unfair! Why did Li Zhao have such good luck to have stomach pain and be unable to eat at that exact moment?”

Lady Wu let Li Jiāo cry, and only after she gradually quieted down did she tap her forehead in frustration: “Jiāojiāo, even now you still think Li Zhao’s situation was just due to luck?”

Li Jiāo was stunned.

If it wasn’t due to luck, then what was it due to?