Chapter 121 Nanny Xu Didn’t Save Luo Junhe

Chapter 121: It Was Not Nanny Xu Who Saved Luo Junhe

Ji Yuntang nodded, took a taste, and said, "Indeed, I also like spicy food."

"However, my taste might be a bit different from yours. I don't like oil-based dips; I prefer sesame sauce."

As she spoke, she stood up to get a bowl of sesame sauce.

Xie Liuzheng and Luo Qingge glanced at each other and both pouted. They still preferred oil-based dips.

The sesame sauce Ji Yuntang mentioned—they had both tried it before, but after tasting it, they found the flavor strange and didn't like it.

Admittedly, when it came to food, their preferences coincidentally aligned.

Xie Liuzheng was drenched in sweat from this hotpot meal, but at the same time, he thoroughly enjoyed the spiciness.

After finishing, he drank a glass of orange juice and then stood up, saying, "Princess Ye, it's getting late. I, the heir, must take my leave. Thank you for your warm hospitality today."

Meng Fan also bowed gratefully, though his eyes were still fixed on the hotpot, staring intently.

He truly hadn't wasted his trip to the Prince Ye's Mansion today; the hotpot was so delicious that he hadn't had his fill.

Unfortunately, the dish had soup and seemed impossible to take away.

"You flatter me, Heir Xie. It wasn't exactly hospitality, as you did pay tuition after all."

"If you ever want to eat it again, feel free to come to the Prince Ye's Mansion."

What Ji Yuntang didn't mention was that Meng Fan had also paid five thousand taels of silver as tuition out of his own pocket.

Therefore, she looked at the two of them as if they were gods of wealth. How could she not treat them politely?

Xie Liuzheng smiled. "With your words, Princess, I can rest assured. If Meng Fan and I come for free meals in the future, you can't kick the two of us out."

Ji Yuntang raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Am I that petty?"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xie Liuzheng offered to go inside to bid farewell to Luo Junhe, and Ji Yuntang agreed.

Seeing him leave, Luo Qingge quietly pulled Ji Yuntang aside and whispered, "Third Sister-in-Law, I've found leads on the pouch you asked me to investigate."

Ji Yuntang's heart leaped with joy. She took Luo Qingge's hand and led her to the side room. "Qingge, come in and tell me the details."

In the side room, the door was closed, and Linglan stood guard outside.

Luo Qingge then pulled out the exquisite blue pouch from her sleeve and placed it on the table.

"Third Sister-in-Law, after you came to the palace that day and told me about this, I immediately went to ask the Empress. The moment she saw it, she was certain the pouch was from the Phoenix Palace."

"The palace's embroidery department is the Embroidery Bureau. Every year, the embroiderers there make custom palace gowns and ready-made clothes for the consorts in each palace. The senior maids and nursemaids favored by the consorts can also receive some specially made clothing, including these pouches."

"After learning that you were the one investigating this, the Empress immediately called over the nursemaids and maids in her palace and questioned each of them."

"Guess what?"

Ji Yuntang urged, "Qingge, don't keep me in suspense. Tell me quickly!"

"This pouch belongs to Nanny Shen, the Empress's wet nurse."

"Nanny Shen?" Ji Yuntang frowned. "Qingge, are you sure?"

Luo Qingge insisted, "I'm sure. Nanny Shen is the Empress's most trusted person and her wet nurse. I've always regarded Nanny Shen as family too."

"To be honest with you, Third Sister-in-Law, Nanny Shen has long suffered from insomnia and heart palpitations. She could not sleep at night, or she would wake up after just two or three hours. The Empress felt sorry for her and had the imperial physician prescribe some calming and sleep-promoting medicine. Nanny Shen took some of each, put them into the pouch, and carried it with her all day."

"On the day the pouch was lost, Nanny Shen was supposed to go to the Imperial Pharmacy to pick up medicine for the Empress. When she passed through the back garden, she heard a child calling for help in the Dragon Pool. The snow that day was so heavy that no palace servants passed by in the back garden. Afraid that the child who had fallen into the water couldn't hold on, she jumped into the Dragon Pool herself and rescued the person."

"After rescuing him, she found out that the one who fell into the water was actually Third Imperial Brother. At that time, Third Imperial Brother had already fainted. Nanny Shen was frantic. She originally wanted to send Third Imperial Brother back, but she was worried that no one would pick up the Empress's medicine, so she couldn't get away. Just then, Nanny Xu from the Dowager Empress's side walked over."

"After learning the reason, Nanny Xu said that she was quick on her feet and offered to take Third Imperial Brother back, telling Nanny Shen to go change clothes and get the medicine for the Empress."

"Nanny Shen was very grateful at the time. She didn't think much of it and handed the unconscious Third Imperial Brother over to her. Before leaving, she repeatedly urged Nanny Xu that Third Imperial Brother had fainted after falling into the water and might be in danger of his life, so she needed to call for the imperial physician quickly. Nanny Xu agreed repeatedly."

"Fortunately, Third Imperial Brother had no serious injuries. The next day, the Empress and Nanny Shen personally went to check on him. But at that time, Third Imperial Brother was running a high fever due to being in the water for too long. When the Empress and Nanny Shen visited him, he hadn't woken up. Seeing that Consort Li was also taking care of him by his side, the Empress felt relieved and reassured, and took Nanny Shen back."

"Third Sister-in-Law, that's how it happened. Why did you suddenly investigate this matter? Is there some secret in this pouch?"

Ji Yuntang squinted her eyes, a cold smile curling at the corner of her lips. Her slender fingers unconsciously clenched.

"Heh, we've all been tricked by Nanny Xu."

If what Luo Qingge said was true and the pouch belonged to Nanny Shen, then the person who jumped into the water to save Luo Junhe eighteen years ago was never Nanny Xu in the first place.

But she shamelessly took credit for this merit.

She made Luo Junhe mistakenly believe that his savior was Nanny Xu and treat her like a benefactor. She also petitioned the Dowager Empress to bring Nanny Xu back to the Prince Ye's Mansion to manage the entire mansion.

This lie had been fabricated for eighteen years.

Luo Junhe had questioned her back then, but Nanny Xu insisted that the pouch was hers and that she was the one who saved him, so Luo Junhe believed her.

Now that she thought about it, either this was premeditated, or Nanny Xu was simply too greedy and had long wanted to exploit Luo Junhe's gratitude and guilt to pave the way for herself and Liu Linlang.

After all, by the Dowager Empress's side, she would only ever be a maid serving others for life.

But at the Prince Ye's Mansion, she could dominate and rule supreme.

At this moment, Luo Qingge finally reacted. She covered her mouth with one hand, her face full of disbelief.

"Third Sister-in-Law, you mean this pouch was lost by the person who actually saved Third Brother, and Nanny Xu..."

Too much time had gone by, and no one had pursued the matter.

But they all knew that Nanny Xu was Luo Junhe's lifesaver.

As for what kind of lifesaver, most people didn't know the details.

And Nanny Shen had always considered that saving the Third Prince's life by jumping into the water was no big deal.

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