Chapter 213

Chapter 213: The Eight Characters Being possessed by evil spirits was one thing, but poisoning was another matter entirely. Song Shulan and Old Madame Song were both stunned. Cui Lingrong asked how they could verify it, and the abbot said that as a man of religion, he didn't understand such matters either. It was getting late, and the abbot prepared to take his leave. Before departing, he deliberately went up to the Taoist priest. "This benefactor, one who commits many unjust acts will surely bring about their own downfall. If your skills are not refined enough, what will you do if you harm someone? I advise you to cultivate yourself first before coming out to perform rituals." The Taoist priest was flushed with embarrassment, but with the situation working against him, he could only say indignantly, "Since you don't believe me, when the young master's condition worsens later, don't come looking for me again!" The Taoist priest tried to leave, but Cui Zeyu raised his hand to stop him. "What do you want?" The Taoist priest glared at him. "You say my skills are lacking—are you not even going to let me leave?" "You may not be aware, but I am the Vice Minister of Personnel. I want to ask you—how did you know that a baby had died in the womb in the marquis mansion, and how did you know a woman was pregnant?" Cui Zeyu gritted his teeth, thinking of the suffering Jin-ge had endured these past days. If not for so many people watching, he would have already resorted to torture on the Taoist priest. The Taoist priest repeated the same line—that heavenly secrets could not be revealed. "I told you I have real abilities, but you won't believe me!" "Whether it's real heavenly secrets or fake ones, please come with us. Since you are a Taoist priest, you must have a temple and a master. Explain it clearly to me, and I'll let you go." With a single look from Cui Zeyu, his subordinates grabbed the Taoist priest and escorted him out. Old Madame Song was still worried. "Hey, isn't it inappropriate to treat an immortal like this?" "Old Madame Song, if there truly are gods in this world, I would ask them why there is so much suffering among mortals." Without another word, Cui Zeyu pressed the Taoist priest forward and left. By the time news reached County Princess Rongjia, Cui Zeyu had already taken the Taoist priest far away. As Cui Zeyu exited the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, he saw his father standing there with a beaming smile. "So, what do you think? When it comes to critical moments, you still need your old man, don't you?" The Duke of Dingguo wore an expression of seeking credit. Cui Zeyu mounted his horse without turning his head to look. "Mm, thank you for this." If not for inviting the abbot of Fahua Temple, Old Madame Song would never have believed them, and County Princess Rongjia would have gotten her way. "So you see, relying only on yourself has its limits. I've been an official for many years—I won't say I've done favors for countless people, but at least I have connections in every walk of life. The way of officialdom is not as simple as you think." The Duke of Dingguo began his lecture on experience again. "I know you hold resentment toward me in your heart, but no matter how great the resentment, we are father and son. I would never harm you. You've already made a name for yourself among the young officials in the Emperor's court—you can no longer be as aggressive as before." If he kept making enemies, even the Duke of Dingguo couldn't clean up after Cui Zeyu forever. Cui Zeyu said nothing, because he knew the Duke of Dingguo was right. To go far in the official world, Cui Zeyu could not rely solely on himself. Meanwhile, when County Princess Rongjia learned that Cui Zeyu had brought a monk, she wondered what kind of monk it was. She sent people out to investigate, but they couldn't find out anything. Wang Hechun's Wife went personally, only to be thoroughly rebuffed by Nanny Qiu. "Jin-ge's matter is none of the County Mistress's concern. With the Eldest Young Madam and the Marquis here, the County Mistress should just live her own life in peace." Nanny Qiu blocked Wang Hechun's Wife, refusing to let her enter. "Look at what you're saying—the County Mistress is also Jin-ge's mother. Jin-ge has been ill for so long, and the County Mistress sent me to check on him. Isn't that only proper?" Wang Hechun's Wife asked. Nanny Qiu continued to block her. "Proper or not, the people in your Wutong Courtyard know the truth in their hearts. But let me give you a piece of advice—from your mother-in-law's death, to Chen De's entire family being beheaded, haven't you seen clearly yet?" "What do you mean?" Wang Hechun's Wife asked. Nanny Qiu looked at her with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Do you think you're more capable than your mother-in-law? Or do you think you have the schemes of Chen De's Wife? If you did, your mother-in-law wouldn't have been the one serving the County Mistress originally, and you wouldn't have been outshone by Chen De's Wife." Back when Chen De's Wife was around, Wang Hechun's Wife had gone a long time without even being able to interfere in matters within County Princess Rongjia's chambers. But the entire Chen family had died. That was how Wang Hechun's Wife rose to power. The matrons beside County Princess Rongjia had been replaced one after another, and now it was Wang Hechun's Wife's turn. She was pleased and proud. But Nanny Qiu poured cold water on her right to her face, and Wang Hechun's Wife momentarily lost control of her emotions. "Nanny Qiu, are you cursing me to die a bad death?" "I never said such a thing—I'm just stating facts. See, you said it yourself—they all died bad deaths." Thinking of Jin-ge lying in bed for so many days, Nanny Qiu's disgust for the people of Wutong Courtyard grew even stronger. "Mama Wang, when conducting oneself and handling matters, one must have a clear conscience before heaven and earth. Your County Mistress was forced in here to begin with, yet she wants to fight the Eldest Young Madam for control of the household and fight over the child. Do too many bad deeds, and you'll end up just like you said—dying a bad death in the end." "Nanny Qiu, how dare you curse the County Mistress!" "I did not!" "You certainly do!" Wang Hechun's Wife only then realized that Nanny Qiu had such a sharp tongue. "Don't think the Eldest Young Madam can protect you forever. Just you wait—what happened to Jin-ge might well be retribution!" Nanny Qiu took a big step forward. "If anything happens to Jin-ge, not a single one of you in Wutong Yuan will get away! Using a child as a pawn—what kind of skill is that? Let me tell you, our Qiushuang Zhai is not afraid of you. Bring on whatever tricks you have, and we'll see who laughs last!" With that, Nanny Qiu left. Wang Hechun's Wife stood frozen for a moment. When she came to her senses, she stormed back, fuming. She reported Nanny Qiu's words to County Princess Rongjia, embellishing them as she went. County Princess Rongjia grew even more furious upon hearing it. "Who does she think she is? Just a servant! If this were the Rong Prince Mansion, or the Du family, I would have long since..." County Princess Rongjia would have long since ordered Nanny Qiu beaten to death. But this was the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. County Princess Rongjia was not the first wife, but an Equal Wife who had married in later, and she was not the one managing the household. "Ah!" County Princess Rongjia screamed in frustration. This was nothing like the life she had imagined when she married into the family. She had thought she would quickly drive Cui Lingrong away, but instead her own position was growing worse and worse. And as for news of Song Mingjin, she knew nothing at all. It was not until the next day, when County Princess Rongjia went to Shouan Tang to pay her respects, that she managed to pry information out of Old Madame Song and learned that the Daoist priest had been driven away. The priest had been arranged by her second elder brother and sister-in-law, and since she had not appeared personally, the priest had not implicated her. Upon learning that the Duke of Dingguo had invited the abbot of Fahua Temple, County Princess Rongjia took a deep, silent breath. She suddenly wished Cui Lingrong were dead—that would save her a great deal of trouble. "Ah, tell me, what is all this?" Old Madame Song said, her peripheral gaze sizing up County Princess Rongjia. Earlier, her worry had clouded her judgment. Now, looking back, how many things seemed to point toward County Princess Rongjia? If the Daoist priest had been recklessly calculating birth charts, then why had he happened to calculate that County Princess Rongjia's chart was suitable for her to become Jin-ge's adoptive mother?