As soon as this statement was made, everyone was shocked. Xiao Du quickly lifted the carriage curtain and followed Juan Bi inside without asking any further questions. Yuanxi didn’t know what had happened, but she hurriedly held Xiao Zhixuan’s hand and got out of the carriage. Just as she was about to pass by the carriage where Xiao Du was sitting, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She felt a pair of eyes staring at her, and a familiar shiver ran through her body. Turning her head, she indeed saw Yunniang sitting inside the carriage, tilting her head and staring straight ahead. And her eyes, her eyes…
“Sister-in-law?” Xiao Zhixuan saw Yuanxi standing in front of the carriage in a daze, so she curiously tugged at her sleeve. Yuanxi suddenly snapped out of her trance, bit her lip, and tried to make her expression look more natural. She nodded slightly at Yunniang in the carriage, but Yunniang seemed oblivious as if she had been sitting in that position for centuries.
Suppressing her inner panic, Yuanxi knew it wasn’t the best time to pursue this issue, so she straightened her clothes and followed the servants into the mansion. At this moment, the sunlight was bright, making the golden plaques under the eaves of the Marquis’ Mansion particularly dazzling.
Hurriedly entering the main hall, they saw Xiao Yunjing sitting at the top with a solemn expression. Upon seeing Xiao Du and the others return, he only gave a faint order for the servants to serve them. Sitting beside him was the princess, her hands clasped together, her face pale, her beautiful eyes devoid of their usual calmness, glaring at Wang Yinian who was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. Sitting beside Wang Yinian was a person with delicate features and a cold temperament, surprisingly the long-absent Second Young Master, Xiao Qing. The room was unusually quiet, with only the faint sounds of sobbing and breathing.
Yuanxi greeted and was led to sit down by the servants. She noticed that there was still someone kneeling in the center of the hall, her hands tied behind her back, her face covered in bloodstains. It was Yuma, who served on the princess’s side. As soon as she saw Xiao Du come in, she rushed over, crying and pleading, “Master, please save me! I’m innocent!”
Xiao Du swept a cold glance at everyone in the room, then bowed to Xiao Yunjing and said, “Father, can you tell me what happened?”
Xiao Yunjing glanced coldly down and said, “Why don’t you ask her? What did she do!”
Yuma wiped the blood and tears mixed on her face, knelt up straight, and tremblingly said, “I didn’t do anything! The incident in the Buddhist hall has nothing to do with me!”
Xiao Du’s heart sank. Everyone knew that Yuma was the person his mother trusted the most, who had been serving her since she entered the Marquis’ Mansion, and was even willing to give up the opportunity to marry out of the mansion, treating her as close as family. This time, questioning Yuma publicly was declaring to everyone that his mother was the culprit behind the incident in the Buddhist hall. He quickly looked at the princess, who was weakly leaning against the chair, her eyes full of resentment, reluctance, and the pride of not wanting to give up.
Xiao Du turned his body and said to Wang Yinian, who was wiping tears, “I don’t know if Wang Yinian can explain to me what Yuma has to do with the incident in the Buddhist hall?”
Wang Yinian raised her tearful eyes, but before she could speak, Xiao Qing stood up and said, “Brother, it sounds like Auntie is deliberately targeting her. If it weren’t for this old slave’s outrageous actions, daring to tamper with the foundation of the Marquis’ Mansion, why would we need to go to such lengths?” As he spoke, he picked up a doll full of needles from the table and threw it on the ground, shouting, “Speak! Is this what you found in her room? You wrote Auntie’s birth date on it, using these sinister tricks. What’s your intention!”
Xiao Du frowned and saw Yuma’s expression full of resentment but unable to say a word, he understood roughly what had happened. He asked, “What does this have to do with the Buddhist hall then?”
“Naturally, it does!” Xiao Qing’s voice raised slightly, “In her room, we also found this.”
Xiao Qing took out a whistle made of bronze and said, “I had someone check it. Yuma was originally born in the Miao territory. The Miao people are best at raising snakes, and this type of whistle is used by them to attract snakes. Why did so many snakes suddenly appear in the Buddhist hall that day? It must have been deliberately lured by someone. This vile slave, for her selfish gain, chose to defend the Buddhist hall, willing to let the Marquis’ Mansion bear the blame, how malicious!”
As he spoke of selfish gain, his eyes seemed to intentionally or unintentionally sweep towards the princess. The princess trembled with anger, but still held her head high, refusing to utter a word of defense.
Before Xiao Du could speak, Yuma on the ground was already crying out, “It’s not like that, Master, please don’t listen to their nonsense! Although my tribe is good at raising snakes, this whistle was left to me by my mother. I carried it with me because I missed my family, it has nothing to do with attracting snakes!”
Xiao Qing snorted, “Many strange things happened in the Buddhist hall for no reason. You’re the only one who knows those witchcraft techniques in this mansion, and you just happen to know how to attract snakes. How can there be such a coincidence in the world?
萧渡 turned to Xiao Yunjing and said, “Father, do you believe in witchcraft and snake-charming?”
Xiao Yunjing gently closed his eyes and said, “It has been several days since the incident in the Buddhist hall, but there’s still no resolution. Right now, she is the most likely person to manipulate this matter, and this is the only explanation for the strange events in the Buddhist hall. If not, the rumors of divine punishment in the Marquis’ Mansion will continue. You are now the master of this mansion. What do you think we should do?”
Yuma heard the implication in his words and despairingly knelt on the ground, covering her face and crying. The princess’s eyes also turned red, and she turned her head, digging her nails deep into her palms. Xiao Du felt a chill in his heart. Just as he was about to speak, a soft voice came from beside him, “Master, may I say something?”
All eyes immediately turned to Yuanxi, who still had a somewhat pale complexion. Yuanxi suddenly felt the pressure of everyone’s gaze, and her nervousness caused the words she had prepared to suddenly become stuck in her throat.
Xiao Du slowly walked to her side, intentionally or unintentionally blocking her from the others’ view with his broad shoulder. Yuanxi looked up and saw the encouraging look in his eyes, which gave her some courage. She stood up and said, “The incident in the Buddhist hall was indeed man-made, but it has nothing to do with witchcraft or snake-charming.”
There was a murmuring among the people in the hall. Xiao Yunjing frowned and asked, “And how do you know?”
Yuanxi glanced at Xiao Du in front of her, took a deep breath, and continued, “That day, I touched the snakes that were caught and found that their bodies were very wet, as if they had just been pulled out of the water, and they carried a strange smell. I wonder if there were many water stains around the snakes that day.”
A servant who had rushed into the Buddhist hall that day came forward and bowed, saying, “Yes, indeed. When I arrived, I saw many water stains on the ground where the snakes were crawling.”
“Did you also smell a strange smell?” Yuanxi asked again.
The servant thought carefully and nodded, saying, “There was a strong smell, like sulfur!”
Yuanxi nodded and said, “According to this inference, the method is not complicated. It just takes advantage of the snakes’ hibernation habits, freezing them in the ice cellar first to make them think they are still hibernating. When the time is right, they are placed in the Buddhist hall in advance and hidden. The noise of the craftsmen that day, coupled with the stimulating sulfur smell, would gradually wake up the snakes, making them restless and aggressive when they see people.” She paused and added, “And such a trick doesn’t require any Miao snake-charming skills. Anyone present could do it.”
She had never spoken so much in front of so many people before. Now that she had finished speaking in one breath, she felt her heart pounding and her body hot as if she wanted to sweat. Xiao Du smiled at her, helped her sit down, and then turned to say, “If snakes were lured with a whistle, how could so many snakes be hidden in the Buddhist hall in advance without being discovered? And how could the person controlling the snakes not show up and control so many snakes to rush out? I know father is anxious to know the truth, but we cannot wrong an innocent person because of this.”
Xiao Yunjing’s expression changed several times, and he finally sighed lightly and agreed. Wang Yinian spoke up at this time, “Master, even if there is no evidence to confirm the incident in the Buddhist hall, using such sinister techniques to curse me cannot be excused. Shouldn’t there be consequences?”
At this moment, the princess slowly stood up and said, “Yuma did make a mistake this time, but she was also acting for me out of dissatisfaction, unable to tolerate some despicable people playing behind-the-scenes tricks. I see that Aunt Wang is not seriously harmed. This time, it was my failure in discipline. If Master wants to punish, then punish me.”
Wang Yinian lowered her head, squeezing the handkerchief in her hand resentfully, knowing that she had lost. As the sister of the late emperor and the stepmother of the master, even the old marquis couldn’t do anything to her. What she hated the most was not being able to catch evidence of her manipulation of the incident in the Buddhist hall. Otherwise, even if she wanted to protect Yuma, she wouldn’t be able to. Thinking of this, Wang Yinian couldn’t help but glance at Yuanxi with resentment.
Xiao Yunjing was already very tired at this time. He stood up and said, “That’s it then. Yuma has already been punished and admitted her mistake. Let’s punish her by docking her salary for another month as a deterrent, and let the lady handle the rest.” The princess smiled slightly and bowed, “Thank you, Master, for your leniency.” Wang Yinian saw that Xiao Yunjing had already spoken and knew that the situation was over. She could only reluctantly agree.
So, a grand drama that was supposed to be tumultuous ended quietly. Seeing that everyone in the room had left one after another, Yuanxi was about to stand up, but a hand had already reached out to her. She hesitated for a moment and then placed her hand in his, allowing him to help her up. Xiao Du held her hand but didn’t rush forward. He waited until everyone had left the room before saying softly to her, “Do you even understand snake-raising?”
Yuanxi was stunned for a moment and said, “I’ve read books about snake-related crimes before.”
Xiao Du casually asked, “Would the Prime Minister’s Mansion prepare many such books for unmarried young ladies to read?”
Yuanxi’s heart skipped a beat, feeling uneasy. She replied, “I asked Anhe to help me find them. She, she knows a few servants who can buy books from outside.”
Xiao Du glanced at her without saying anything, then slowly let go of her hand and instructed Anhe to come and take care of her. Yuanxi sighed lightly in her heart, took a step forward, and was about to walk out of the door when she ran into Yuma, who was waiting there. Yuma was about to kneel and thank her when the princess coldly said, “Don’t think that today’s limelight is a good thing. Do you think the master believes in such absurd and flawed nonsense? It’s just that the matter in the Buddhist hall hasn’t been resolved for a long time, and he needs someone to bear the blame to explain the outside world. It just so happens that Aunt Wang acted in this play, and he goes along with it. Who cares who ultimately gets implicated?”
Yuanxi was stunned. She had never been good at guessing people’s hearts. At this moment, as she carefully thought about it, she felt a chill creeping over her. At this time, the princess took a step forward and said coolly to the luxurious and prosperous courtyard in front of her, “Even married couples are just like this.”
The sorrow and loneliness contained in these words made Yuanxi’s heart inexplicably ache. When she looked up again, the princess was already being supported by Nanny Yu, walking away without even turning her head.
On the other side, Xiao Du quickly caught up with Xaio Zixuan, who was walking ahead. He pulled her aside to a secluded spot. Xaio Zixuan, puzzled, was about to ask a question when Xaio Du stared at her coldly and said, “Now, can you tell me where you went last night?”