Chapter 41

Chapter 41 Yueya'er struggled and shouted, "This isn't mine!" The Princess Consort raised a hand, and silence fell over the surroundings instantly. Countless pairs of eyes all landed on Yueya'er. The Princess Consort said, "The item was found in your trunk. How can you prove it isn't yours?" Though Yueya'er was young, she had always been quick-witted. When Hongxi suddenly pulled her into the room asking all sorts of questions, she had already guessed something major was happening. She had also secretly noted the questions Hongxi asked, and recalling the events of the past half month, her thoughts became clear in an instant. Facing the sudden frame-up, she spoke with clarity, "This must have been secretly placed in my trunk by Granny Ma!" "Granny Ma and I share a room. It wouldn't be hard for her to frame me at all!" Yueya'er continued, "Twenty days ago, Granny Ma said she had an upset stomach and went to the latrine five times in one night!" "I was woken up in the middle of the night and followed her to take a look. At that time, I vaguely saw a figure..." In truth, ever since Yueya'er had received her task from Xie Run, she had been diligently keeping watch over Granny Ma. That day, she had followed Granny Ma the first time she went to the latrine. She found nothing unusual the first four times, but she still followed on the fifth, and that was when she encountered the figure behind the latrine. Nanny Li sneered, "Since you saw a figure, why didn't you report the situation to Concubine Xie?!" Yueya'er also regretted it. "It was dark at the time, and the shadow flashed by in an instant. I was afraid I might have seen wrong and wrongly suspected Granny Ma, so I didn't think much of it. Now that I think about it, it seems suspicious..." She had planned to continue watching Granny Ma and wait for her to slip up. Who would have thought Granny Ma had already made her move against her mistress without anyone noticing! Granny Ma snorted coldly, "You're just recklessly dragging others down with you!" "Evidence? If you can't produce evidence, then it's just empty words. The thing found in your trunk has become mine instead?" Granny Ma spoke with great confidence and even cursed, "You sly little girl! You're always slacking off during work, and now you're trying to make me your scapegoat!" "You'll be struck by heaven's wrath!" Yueya'er grew anxious and shot Granny Ma a fierce glare. "I have evidence!" Granny Ma's body trembled, but she put up a brave front. "If you've got the guts, then show it!" Yueya'er said, "Granny Ma didn't have an upset stomach that day. She deliberately fed herself croton powder. After eating it, she buried the paper wrapper in the dirt!" Yueya'er pointed toward the osmanthus tree. "It's right there!" Fortunately, she had been extra cautious back then, or she would have been framed to death today! Hearing this, Granny Ma's expression changed. "Who knows if you buried it there secretly, just so you could frame me today?!" Xie Run, who had been watching as a bystander all along, finally spoke slowly, "Croton powder is not something the mansion physician would prescribe casually. It can be checked which courtyard's people went to obtain it." The Princess Consort was well aware of this as well and immediately sent people to investigate. She also had people dig beneath the osmanthus tree. Sure enough, they unearthed the paper wrapper of croton powder. Taking advantage of this moment, the Princess Consort said again, "Yueya'er, even if the croton powder is dug up, it only proves that Granny Ma might have gone out to meet someone that night. It doesn't prove she had anything to do with your mistress's poisoning." Yueya'er said, "I know. I have more evidence!" Granny Ma immediately burst into wailing, "What evidence? You just want to kill this old woman..." The Princess Consort waved her hand and said coldly, "Gag her." Someone immediately grabbed something and stuffed it into Granny Ma's mouth, filling it completely so she absolutely couldn't spit it out. Yueya'er said, "The evidence is on the water buckets." Water buckets? Granny Ma was stunned for a moment, then suddenly grew confident and straightened her back. Yueya'er glanced at her, as if sensing something, and laughed inwardly. "There are two water buckets for watering the flowers. I made a mark on the bottom of my own bucket—a crescent moon." Yueya'er said calmly, "If poison was put into the watering water every day, the bucket would definitely have residual poison on it!" Nanny Li immediately said, "That's right!" The Princess Consort glanced at the imperial physician. "We'll trouble Physician Jiang once more." Earlier, when Yueya'er and Granny Ma were brought out, all items that could potentially be evidence had been brought out as well. Physician Jiang first tested the water buckets with a silver needle. Once he confirmed which one was poisoned, he had people turn it over to check the bottom. "This one has no crescent moon mark." The unmarked bucket belonged to Granny Ma, and it had already been found to contain poison! An old servant checked the other one. "This one has a mark—it's Yueya'er's. No poison!" Granny Ma, whose mouth was gagged, stared in disbelief with wide eyes. "Mmph mmph mmph!..." She seemed to want to say something. Nanny Li stood beside the Princess Consort. "Granny Ma, what else do you have to say for yourself?!" The Princess Consort frowned and was about to have the gag removed from Granny Ma's mouth to let her speak. Xie Run suddenly bowed to the Princess Consort. "Princess Consort, Granny Ma has attempted to harm me—she cannot be kept!" She glanced at the Princess Consort. "However, I dare not make the decision on my own. I leave everything to the Princess Consort's judgment!" The Princess Consort exchanged a meaningful look with Xie Run. With one sentence, Xie Run had sealed Granny Ma's guilt. By letting the Princess Consort make the judgment, she was handing the person over to the Princess Consort to deal with, doing her a favor. The Princess Consort was also afraid that Granny Ma might let slip something about herself. She had already formed a plan in her mind. Princess Consort: "In that case, I'll take her back to Green Pine Courtyard, and we'll decide together once the Prince arrives." Nanny Li paused, glancing at Yueya'er. "Princess Consort, then this girl..." Although Yueya'er had proven her innocence, having been implicated in Xie Run's poisoning, she would likely need to be taken back for questioning as well. Xie Run spoke up to protect her: "Princess Consort, actually, it was I who had Yueya'er keep watch on Granny Ma all along." In other words, all of Yueya'er's actions were vouched for by Xie Run. The Princess Consort and Nanny Li understood instantly, and were now certain that Granny Ma had betrayed her mistress and administered the poison. Princess Consort: "In that case, you should rest well. When there's news, I'll send someone to inform you at once." The staff of Linxuan Pavilion bowed in unison: "Respectfully seeing off the Princess Consort." As the Princess Consort left, Xie Jiang followed along with her. Clearly, she didn't want to be involved in the sordid affairs of Prince Jing's household. Before leaving, Xie Run grabbed her hand and pressed a thousand taels of silver into it. "Elder Sister, this is a token of my gratitude." "Don't say such distant words between sisters. You're making a living alone in the capital, and you've been dragged into running around on my account. I can't bear to see you work so hard." Xie Jiang wasn't short on money. But Xie Run knew how to speak sweetly and act coy, each word landing right on Xie Jiang's heart, so she had no choice but to take the money and flee. Dantao teased from the side, "I never knew you could be so sweet-tongued, Mistress." "With this skill of yours, if you used it on the Prince, I daresay his heart would soften." Xie Run cast her a profound, inscrutable glance. "You wouldn't understand. How could the Prince compare to my elder sister?" Xie Jiang held the Female Lead Script in hand—being her only younger sister was far more promising than being Prince Jing's favored concubine. Dantao and Xiaoshu said nothing, but they agreed with Xie Run's words. A sister born from the same womb was naturally more reliable than the Prince.