Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Didn't He Say He Only Saw Her as a Good Friend? Both prison guards personally heard Fu Yuanzhou admit to instigating Xu Jingxuan to poison someone. Not only that, the entire meeting between Jiang Shixu and Fu Yuanzhou had been under police surveillance. Fu Yuanzhou was a criminal suspect in custody, and his verbal admission of instigating Xu Jingxuan to commit poisoning constituted a confession by a criminal suspect under criminal evidence law. With this piece of evidence, the police's investigation became much easier. Meanwhile, Jiang Shixu dispatched people to assist the police in their investigation, and they discovered that a servant at the old Jiang family estate had personally witnessed Xu Jingxuan putting something into Jiang Yi's health-preserving soup. Following the principle of "the less trouble, the better," that servant had kept her mouth shut. Now that the scandal had come to light, and Xu Jingxuan had long since severed ties with the Jiang family, when the police questioned her, she confessed everything in detail. When word reached Elder Mrs. Jiang, she was so furious she beat her chest and stamped her feet. "What a sin! This is truly a sin! I thought she was just momentarily confused and used by bad people. I thought she wasn't bad at heart. I never imagined she would dare to poison her own adoptive father!" Tears of grief streamed down Elder Mrs. Jiang's clouded eyes. "How could this happen? How could she be so vicious!" the old lady wailed. Lin Yueying sat by Elder Mrs. Jiang's hospital bed with a mocking expression. "Mother, I told you long ago that Xu Jingxuan had impure intentions, but you never took it seriously." Ever since Xu Jingxuan had targeted Ruan Chutang and constantly whispered bad things about her into Elder Mrs. Jiang's ear, Lin Yueying had warned the old lady that Xu Jingxuan's motives were impure, but Elder Mrs. Jiang wouldn't hear a word of it. Elder Mrs. Jiang had never really liked Lin Yueying as her daughter-in-law. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict had existed since ancient times, and wealthy families were no exception. In the early years, when Jiang Yi had an affair, the old lady despised the mistress, but that didn't stop her from blaming Lin Yueying as well. In her view, Fu Nian was morally corrupt for seducing a married man—she was no good. But her daughter-in-law Lin Yueying, who couldn't even keep her own husband in check, was equally useless. In truth, when Jiang Yi's affair happened, the old lady blamed Lin Yueying more than she blamed Jiang Yi. As the saying goes, there's no cat that doesn't steal fish—in Elder Mrs. Jiang's eyes, Jiang Yi had merely committed the mistake that all men make. When Fu Nian showed up pregnant and demanded her position, Lin Yueying had made a huge fuss, even threatening to jump off a building. She had none of the dignity befitting Mrs. Jiang, no skill or finesse whatsoever—all she knew was crying and threatening to die. She looked down on Lin Yueying, and she looked down on Fu Nian even more. Lin Yueying had long sensed her mother-in-law's dislike for her. For so many years, she and Elder Mrs. Jiang had merely maintained a surface-level peace. Now that the old lady had been so enraged that her heart condition flared up and she was hospitalized, Lin Yueying came to the hospital every few days to go through the motions. She put on a good show on the surface, but in her heart, she couldn't care less whether the old lady lived or died. If the old lady died, she could finally live an easy, carefree life sooner. It wasn't malicious—just human nature. So it was Lin Yueying who personally told Elder Mrs. Jiang about Xu Jingxuan poisoning Jiang Yi. The old lady vented her fury, cursing and wailing, and once she'd cried enough, she shifted the blame onto Lin Yueying. "Look at what a fine daughter you've raised!" Elder Mrs. Jiang's face twisted with spite as she demanded harshly, "What have you turned her into all these years?" "Ha." Lin Yueying laughed in disbelief. "You're really good at shifting the blame, aren't you? Didn't Xu Jingxuan spend more time by your side? Isn't she your precious granddaughter?" Since things had already come to this, Lin Yueying saw no point in pretending anymore. She confronted the old lady directly. "Are you saying I'm the one who made her this way?" The old lady was furious. "You're so good at raising children." Lin Yueying said with dripping sarcasm. "One Jiang Yi, one Xu Jingxuan—truly each one more outstanding than the last." "You, you, you..." Elder Mrs. Jiang nearly choked on her breath. Just then, a knock came at the door. It was mealtime, so it was probably the nanny bringing food. Lin Yueying composed herself and said, "Come in." The nanny came in carrying an insulated food container, set up the small table, and laid out the dishes. "Old Mrs. Jiang, I simmered this cordyceps and black chicken soup for five hours over low heat. Please have a taste..." "Take it away! I'm not eating!" Elder Mrs. Jiang snapped. The words were directed at the nanny, but her eyes were fixed on Lin Yueying, blazing with fury. Lin Yueying curled her lips, picked up her bag, and turned to leave. ... Lu Shuci brought Gu Tian to visit Ruan Chutang. When they pushed open the hospital room door, it was quite lively inside. Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan had come together and had only just arrived a few minutes earlier. Chen Yuanyuan was holding up an Hermès bag, grinning at Ruan Chutang. "Sweetheart, I flew all the way to France to buy this bag for you—you can't even get it domestically yet. A bag cures all ailments. Once you accept this bag, you'll recover in no time." Zhou Xueluo stood to the side, holding a Cartier box, and said with a smile, "Tangtang, this is a bracelet I got for you." Chu Tang smiled. "Why did you buy me gifts? It's not even a special occasion." "Hope you recover soon and get discharged so we can hang out together," Chen Yuanyuan said with a smile. "Without you here, I feel like the male models I order just aren't as appealing." Qin Yan's face darkened at that. He reached out and tapped Chen Yuanyuan on the back of her head twice. "You're still ordering male models?" "Ouch, ouch, that hurts." Chen Yuanyuan rubbed the back of her head and turned to glare at Qin Yan with a pout. "I was just joking around with Tangtang to lighten the mood. Why do you have to take everything so seriously?" "Who told you to say things that specifically get under my skin?" Chu Tang smiled. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Lu Shuci and Gu Tian at the doorway, and said in a gentle tone, "Lawyer Lu and Tian Tian are here." Lu Shuci walked over holding Gu Tian's hand. Gu Tian handed a bouquet of fresh flowers to Ruan Chutang. "Sister Chutang, I hope you recover soon." Chu Tang took the flowers with a smile and gently patted Gu Tian's head. "Thank you, Tian Tian." "This is for you." Lu Shuci extended his hand toward Chu Tang. In the center of his palm lay a bright yellow object. Triangular in shape. It looked like a folded Peace Amulet. Lu Shuci's expression was calm. "A Peace Amulet I obtained from Puji Temple." "Puji Temple?" Yu Jiaojiao looked at the amulet in Lu Shuci's hand, her expression surprised. "My mom went to get one last month too—it looks exactly like yours." Lu Shuci's lips pressed together slightly, but he said nothing. Yu Jiaojiao looked up at Lu Shuci, her expression somewhat strange. "This Peace Amulet is incredibly hard to obtain. My mom told me you have to start at midnight, climbing the three thousand steps outside Puji Temple—one step, one kowtow—all the way to the entrance of Qi'an Hall. Then you kneel there in silence until the sun rises at dawn, letting the Bodhisattva see your sincerity. Only then will the abbot give you the amulet." She never expected Lawyer Lu to go to Puji Temple for Sister Chutang's sake, climbing step by step with a kowtow at each one to pray for a Peace Amulet. Even Yu Jiaojiao, the staunchest captain of the Jiang-Ruan ship, felt a flicker of doubt at this moment. Hearing Yu Jiaojiao's words, Chu Tang looked up at Lu Shuci. The man still wore that gentle, refined expression. Beneath his gold-rimmed glasses, a pair of beautiful eyes held emotions she couldn't quite read. Didn't he say he only thought of her as a good friend? If she were just a good friend, why would he go this far? Lu Shuci said nothing, only quietly meeting Ruan Chutang's gaze.