"I heard Your Highness the Prince of Chu coughed up blood and fainted. Is he better now?" Xiao Man inquired.
"The doctor has seen him. There's no serious harm, just excessive grief. We were afraid Your Highness might injure himself, so we let him rest in his chambers for a while," explained Duke Chen.
"It's good that he's alright. I was terribly shocked to hear about the Princess of Chu's difficult labor. She was such a healthy person, yet she couldn't make it through this ordeal..." Seeing Duke Chen and his wife's eyes redden again, Xiao Man quickly added, "You two elders must also take care of yourselves. Otherwise, the Princess of Chu will not rest peacefully in the afterlife."
Madam Chen quickly wiped away her tears, while Duke Chen raised his head, preventing anyone from seeing the tears in his eyes. He claimed not to like his daughter, but he had poured countless efforts into her. Now that his daughter was gone, how could he not be heartbroken?
Upon hearing that the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Qi had arrived, Nangong Yan emerged from his room. Seeing Xiao Man present, he couldn't help but press his hand to his chest. Now, the sight of Xiao Man made him feel panicked and short of breath, with a dull ache in his chest.
"Your Highness, why have you come out?" Duke Chen, seeing the Prince of Chu emerge, quickly sent a servant to support him, fearing he might do something rash if emotionally agitated.
"Third Brother, Thirteenth Brother, Yongning, you have all come." Nangong Yan's face was pale, as if truly struck by a blow and utterly dejected. "Please forgive any lack of hospitality."
"Third Imperial Brother, you must take care of yourself," Xiao Man said softly. "We are all deeply saddened by the passing of Third Imperial Sister-in-law. You must bear your grief."
Xiao Man paused for a moment, then continued, "I heard Third Imperial Brother had prepared midwives and doctors well in advance, precisely to avoid danger during Third Imperial Sister-in-law's labor. But last night, I heard someone in the manor searching everywhere for a midwife? Did Third Imperial Sister-in-law give birth early? But even if she gave birth early, there shouldn't have been such panic in the manor in the middle of the night searching for a midwife."
Nangong Yan had only returned to the manor in the early morning and was unaware of this. He immediately turned his gaze to the steward.
The steward knelt down immediately, "The Princess accidentally fell in the garden and went into labor early. Coincidentally, the midwife prepared early by the manor had drunk a couple of sips of wine and was intoxicated. I feared for the Princess and the young prince's lives, so I ordered someone to find another midwife."
"At what time did the Princess fall?"
"She fell at the beginning of Hai Shi (9-11 PM)."
"At the beginning of Hai Shi, even dogs are fast asleep. It's so cold, why would the Princess go to the garden? Did she go alone?" Xiao Man asked in confusion. Duke Chen and his wife also sensed something amiss. Their daughter was about to give birth, and the midwife prepared by the manor was drunk. It was too absurd. Even more absurd was why the Princess would go to the garden in the middle of the night when it was so cold?
"This... this..." The steward was unable to answer immediately. He didn't know why the Princess had gone to the garden late at night.
Seeing the doubt on Duke Chen and his wife's faces, Nangong Yan immediately rebuked, "Go and bring everyone who served the Princess personally. I will question them myself on how they served the Princess!"
"I will go at once."
In less than the time it takes for a cup of tea to steep, the steward brought over the maids and wet nurses who personally served the Princess of Chu.
"I ask you, who personally served the Princess last night?" Nangong Yan asked excitedly, and before he could finish, he began to cough uncontrollably.
"Replying to Your Highness, it was this servant who personally served the Princess last night," said Cui Wei, the personal maid of the Princess of Chu, her voice choked with sobs, her eyes swollen like peaches.
"Why did the Princess go to the garden in the middle of the night?"
"The Princess ate too much at dinner and had indigestion, so she couldn't sleep. She wanted to go out for a walk, so I accompanied her to the garden. Who knew the pebbles on the small path in the garden were very slippery, and both the Princess and I fell. At that moment, the Princess cried out with stomach pain. I immediately had someone help her back to her room and then sent someone to fetch the doctor and midwife."
"Nonsense! After the Princess became pregnant, the paths in the manor were all paved with stone slabs to prevent her from falling. Where did these pebbles come from?" Nangong Yan rebuked. "You wretched servant, your mouth is full of lies. Confess truthfully."
"Your Highness, it is absolutely true. I was not the only one accompanying the Princess to the garden last night. There was also Yun Xia and two wet nurses. We all saw when the Princess fell. It was because the road was mixed with some mossy pebbles. I even picked up two at the time, originally intending to have someone investigate. Who knew the Princess would have such a difficult labor."
Duke Chen and his wife, who had initially believed their daughter's difficult labor was an accident, now saw that there were hidden secrets: "This matter must be thoroughly investigated. Bring that drunken midwife here!"
The guards brought the midwife. The woman trembled with fear and prostrated herself upon entering, begging for mercy.
"I invited you to my manor to carefully attend to the Princess who was about to give birth, yet you were drunk when the Princess was in labor. What crime do you deserve?"
"Your Highness, spare my life. This servant has not drunk any wine since entering the manor. Last night, I don't know who replaced the water in my teapot with wine. I drank a couple of sips out of greed, but the wine had a strong effect. After just two sips, I was drunk."
"Do you know that you caused the Princess's death!"
"It's a false accusation, Your Highness, a false accusation! The Princess was in a breech presentation, the baby's feet came out first. I was truly helpless, and the imperial physician was also at a loss. So, we invited Mr. Xiao. Mr. Xiao said at the time that the amniotic fluid had broken, and the delay was too long. The situation was dire, and only one could be saved. It was the Princess who insisted on saving the prince!"
"Are you implying that my Princess deserved to die?"
"It's a false accusation."
"You dare to claim it's a false accusation? If you hadn't been drunk, how could the Princess have had a difficult labor?"
"Your Highness, if you had been present at the time and said to save the Princess, she would still be alive now. It is you who killed the Princess!" The midwife blurted out, and immediately regretted it, kowtowing incessantly. "Your Highness, spare my life, Your Highness, spare my life."
A faint smile flickered in Xiao Man's eyes. Now, the Prince of Chu was in a difficult position. He wanted to pin the death of the Princess of Chu on the midwife, but this woman, out of fear for her life, had turned the tables on him.
"I was handling state affairs and did not return... This is my fault." Nangong Yan pressed his chest, his eyes red, tears falling. "If I hadn't been busy with politics and neglected her, she wouldn't have had a difficult labor while I was away, and I wouldn't have failed to save her life."
"Your Highness, it is not your fault." Duke Chen, seeing how heartbroken the Prince of Chu was, immediately felt ashamed of his suspicion. The Prince of Chu and his daughter were deeply in love; how could he suspect the Prince of Chu?
"Yes, Third Imperial Brother, this is not your fault. You were simply not by Third Imperial Sister-in-law's side during her difficult labor, you didn't kill her intentionally. Don't blame yourself," Xiao Man also chimed in to comfort him. However, her words were worse than saying nothing, reigniting Duke Chen's suppressed suspicion.