Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 906: Chapter 817: Unwilling to Be a Slave 37

As for investigating the families of those Imperial Physicians and all the palace maids and nannies serving Jing Jieyu’s Dragon Embryo, Nangong Shuangshuang had already made up her mind to seek help from Jing Jieyu’s father, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, Gao Yan.

Since it concerns his own daughter, Gao Yan would certainly spare no effort in verifying this matter. Palace maids find it difficult to leave the palace, but eunuchs find it relatively easier, especially when Jing Jieyu is a High-ranking Concubine pregnant with a Dragon Descendant. Her servants leaving the palace wouldn’t be troubled by others, making Chun Sheng the ideal messenger.

Of course, regarding Lan Ying and Chun Sheng, Jing Jieyu’s confidants, Nangong Shuangshuang did not hide the issues she had discovered. Although neither was foolish, upon hearing the news, both turned ashen and nearly collapsed from shock.

Luckily, Nangong Shuangshuang reacted swiftly, propping them up and ordering them directly on what needed to be done.

Chun Sheng was to find an excuse to leave the palace to meet Gao Yan, while Lan Ying, accompanied by a reliable little palace maid from Yingyue Palace, would cover for her. Nangong Shuangshuang intended to personally investigate the means used to harm Jing Jieyu.

With the responsibility given by Nangong Shuangshuang, Lan Ying and Chun Sheng barely managed to calm down after learning such startling news.

Even though their hearts were still in turmoil, they knew now wasn’t the time for panic. Seeing Nangong Shuangshuang coolly issuing commands and providing various countermeasures, they felt reassured to have her as their backbone.

Nangong Shuangshuang’s first target of investigation was Jing Jieyu’s various personal items, including clothing and such. As for the sachets and other items prone to hiding dirt, after confirming Jing Jieyu’s pregnancy, the Empress had already dispatched someone to search Yingyue Palace and take away such things.

The variety of foods consumed by Jing Jieyu was the top priority for daily inspection; not only did they require testing by silver needles for poison, but they also had to pass the scrutiny of the Imperial Physician and lastly be checked by the serving nanny. With several layers of inspection, the chance of error was exceedingly small.

Only the various utensils used by Jing Jieyu, after an initial single check, generally wouldn’t be reexamined and remained in use. If there was an issue, these items posed a greater risk than the rigorously tested food.

However, checking these items wasn’t easy. Every object used by Jing Jieyu was closely watched by her nanny and palace maids; nonetheless, not as carefully as Jing Jieyu herself, allowing Nangong Shuangshuang to find opportunities for covert checks.

After three consecutive days of painstaking efforts by Nangong Shuangshuang, Lan Ying, and several little palace maids, they finally managed to sift through Jing Jieyu’s personal items, but the result was disheartening as Nangong Shuangshuang found nothing.

By this time, Chun Sheng, who had already left the palace once, left again, obtaining the results of Gao Yan’s investigation. All the families that Nangong Shuangshuang asked Gao Yan to look into showed no discrepancies—there were no suspicious financial transactions, nor were there any signs of extravagant spending.

Gao Yan even secretly ordered people to surreptitiously search these households for fear that these individuals might conceal their greed, saving the money for gradual laundering and usage in the future.

Yet, the dispatched people turned these households upside down without finding any significant amount of silver, indicating no one was bribed with money, including the Imperial Physician’s family, which had no inexplicable wealth, confirming that this Imperial Physician was indeed an honest person.

With no leads from either side, Lan Ying and Chun Sheng were growing restless. If not for their current inability to be near Jing Jieyu, their unusual demeanor would have long been noticed by her.

Lan Ying, with a hint of hope, looked at Nangong Shuangshuang and said, ”Shuangshuang, could it be, could it be that you’re mistaken, and Her Ladyship’s child is fine, which is why our efforts to investigate have yielded nothing?”

Hearing this, Chun Sheng immediately looked at Nangong Shuangshuang with hope, unable to help but echo, ”Lan Ying is right; perhaps you really are mistaken. After all, if this were true, everyone serving Her Ladyship would be doomed, and these palace maids and nannies supervise one another, leaving little opportunity for foul play.”

Chun Sheng truly dreaded the consequences of their mistress giving birth to a deformed Dragon Descendant; in such a case, not only would Jing Jieyu certainly perish, but so would every single one of them.

Nangong Shuangshuang wasn’t surprised by their attitudes. People are like this—when events unfold contrary to their wishes, with no ability to alter the course, they cling to the hope that it’s a mistake or a lie to avoid facing potentially dire outcomes.

Nangong Shuangshuang needed both their cooperation to continue the investigation and couldn’t allow Lan Ying and Chun Sheng to harbor escapist thoughts, so her tone necessarily became stern.

”If you two continue thinking like this, you’ll merely indulge in a delusion that everything with Her Ladyship is normal, sinking into a false dream only to have your heads chopped once the blade is sharpened.”

Seeing Nangong Shuangshuang upset, Lan Ying and Chun Sheng grew dejected. They also realized their thinking was somewhat unrealistic; Nangong Shuangshuang’s medical skills were impeccable, even curing Her Ladyship’s long-term infertility, so how could she make such a mistake? They simply didn’t want to accept this harsh reality.

”Look at yourselves; we haven’t reached a dead end yet. As long as something has been done, there will be traces. The fact that we haven’t found anything just means we haven’t been observant enough. Instead of feeling dejected, think about what we’ve overlooked.”

Nangong Shuangshuang scolded Lan Ying and Chun Sheng before frowning and leaving. Since there was no progress, she needed to contemplate further on what she might have missed and what areas she hadn’t examined.

With these thoughts, Nangong Shuangshuang headed again to the main hall to see Jing Jieyu, who for the past two days kept complaining about feeling unwell, and her complexion was worsening. The Imperial Physician examined her pulse numerous times daily but couldn’t pinpoint anything wrong, explaining it as her constitution’s severe reaction to pregnancy.

Previously, the pulse-check sessions were too brief, barely allowing Nangong Shuangshuang to investigate Jing Jieyu’s child without assessing her overall health, leaving her uncertain about Jing Jieyu’s current physical condition.

Upon entering the main hall, Nangong Shuangshuang found Jing Jieyu sipping honey water while surrounded tightly by her nannies and palace maids. Nangong Shuangshuang’s gaze fell on the porcelain cup from which Jing Jieyu drank.

The cup was part of an exquisite white porcelain tea set, consisting of one pot and six cups. The milky white cups and teapot were beautiful, resembling Mutton Fat Jade. Every day, Jing Jieyu used this set for drinking water.

Because it was used daily, the tea set was strictly overseen by Nanny Yun, who was responsible for Jing Jieyu’s eating utensils. Previously, Nangong Shuangshuang had only taken a quick glance before dismissing it due to Nanny Yun’s stringent surveillance.