Shen Zaiye paused briefly, suddenly remembering that the other half of the mandarin duck pendant was still with Qin Jieyu. When her crime was established, everyone had forgotten about this detail, and naturally, the jade pendant wasn’t retrieved.
Although Qin’s affair was a closed case, it couldn’t be allowed to reach Prince Yu’s ears, as that would likely cause more trouble. But now that Xu Yangui had been caught, how could he be saved?
“My Lord,” Just as he was pondering this, Jiang Taohua approached, smiling. “What’s happening? The mansion seems quite noisy.”
Shen Zaiye’s eyes brightened. He pulled her aside and, pointing to the paper in his hand, asked, “Did you do this?”
Blinking innocently, Taohua replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, my Lord.”
“Alright, let me ask differently,” Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together. “Now that Xu Yangui has been arrested and might implicate Lady Qin, how can we protect the mansion from being involved?”
“You can’t think of a solution, my Lord?” Taohua looked at him in surprise. “That doesn’t seem right.”
His face darkening, Shen Zaiye gritted his teeth. “If you have an idea, speak quickly!”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Taohua said. “Lady Qin’s affair is a fact; you can’t hide it. Tonight, the second Miss Qin enters the mansion. Our relationship with the Qin family will depend on her from now on, no longer connected to Qin Jieyu. Find a major offense she’s committed and divorce her immediately. As for Mr. Xu, drug him so he can’t speak for a few days. By the time you’ve handled things here, no matter how he tries to implicate Jieyu, it won’t affect our mansion.”
This solution was simple and direct, perfectly suited to the current situation.
However, Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes. “You still want to get rid of Lady Qin?”
“If you give her divorce papers, she might even thank you,” Taohua shrugged. “But this isn’t about me not tolerating her. My Lord, if you have time, you should check Zhengchun Pavilion.”
What had happened at Zhengchun Pavilion now? Shen Zaiye frowned, but the current situation didn’t allow him to dwell on it. The guards were about to take Xu Yangui away.
“How can we make him unable to speak for a few days?”
“That’s even simpler,” Taohua swiftly produced a bottle from her sleeve and handed it to Shen Zaiye, smiling brightly. “Make him drink this!”
Nearby, Zhanlu looked at her in shock, involuntarily shuddering.
Shen Zaiye chuckled, taking the bottle and sniffing it. “You came prepared?”
“Better safe than sorry,” Taohua grinned. “Don’t worry, it’s just a common muting drug. He’ll recover in a few days, and it won’t harm his health.”
“Good,” Shen Zaiye nodded, gripping the bottle as he walked to Xu Yangui. Without a word, he forced the liquid down Xu’s throat.
The nearby guards were startled and somewhat panicked. “Lord Shen?”
“Don’t worry,” Shen Zaiye said. “This man will be charged as he should be. He just talks too much, so we’re letting him rest for a few days.”
Xu Yangui’s eyes widened, and he almost kicked out. “Shen Zaiye!”
“See? He dares to call me by name now,” Shen Zaiye sighed, watching Xu swallow the drug before tossing away the bottle. “We’ve been master and servant after all. Don’t hate me too much.”
Who’s your servant? Xu Yangui’s eyes were daggers, but when he tried to curse again, no sound came out.
Shen Zaiye smiled, waving his hand as the guards carried Xu away from the mansion.
“Now we can sleep peacefully for a few days,” Taohua clapped her hands happily. “What a lovely day.”
Shen Zaiye looked back at her, his expression serious. “What’s happened at your Zhengchun Pavilion now?”
“Nothing major,” Taohua smiled. “Just someone poisoning the well, that’s all.”
Oh, poisoning the well.
Wait, what? Shen Zaiye’s face darkened as he processed her words. “Poisoning?”
“Yes,” Taohua nodded. “We couldn’t catch the culprit, but you could interrogate people from other courtyards. You might find something.”
Have these women gone mad? Even in their disputes, they shouldn’t resort to murder! Shen Zaiye frowned, leading her towards Zhengchun Pavilion.
Qingtai had already brought up several buckets of water, each tested with silver needles that turned black.
Lady Li, the physician, had also arrived. After examining the situation, she reported to Shen Zaiye, “It’s a large amount of arsenic. The water from this well shouldn’t be used for at least half a month.”
Steward Xu, standing nearby, observed Shen Zaiye’s expression before finally kneeling. “My Lord, my lady is innocent. Such things never happened before I came here. I brought this trouble. The person who wanted to kill was likely aiming only at me.”
Shen Zaiye frowned, looking at her silently.
Taohua spoke up, “My Lord is so wise, he surely understands the situation without explanation. Now it’s a matter of how to handle it. If attempted murder can go unpunished, then you might as well let them poison other courtyards for fun.”
“Taohua!” Shen Zaiye snapped. “Don’t speak nonsense.”
“Is this nonsense?” Jiang Taohua raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding. “I want to ask you, my Lord, if a would-be murderer doesn’t have to pay with their life, isn’t that unfair to the victim? If failing to kill means no crime, doesn’t that mean survival in this mansion depends on luck? Whoever falls victim to the murderer is just unlucky, while the murderer can keep trying. How wonderful.”
The atmosphere instantly became tense. Even Steward Xu was startled by Taohua’s words, glancing at her repeatedly.
She had thought Jiang Taohua was only interested in personal gain, helping only when given incentives. But now, to help her, Taohua dared to confront the Lord directly, risking his displeasure!
Could she offer enough to match that?
Shen Zaiye was annoyed, glaring at Taohua. “Since when did you become so willful? Are you a child, only seeing right and wrong, not considering pros and cons?”
“Is it me who doesn’t consider pros and cons, or is it you, my Lord?” Taohua said seriously. “You’re the Prime Minister, head of all officials, yet you cater to a mere Minister of Justice, allowing his daughter to attempt murder in your household without consequence. I don’t know what the Qin family offered in the past, but now Qin Jieyu has made repeated mistakes and is no longer irreplaceable. What are you still hesitating about?”
Shen Zaiye frowned. “It’s an old case, nothing new will come from reopening it. And this poisoning incident, no one has died from it. To use this to convict Lady Qin, I’m afraid…”
Before he could finish, Steward Xu suddenly turned and ran outside.
Everyone was stunned. Shen Zaiye reacted first, shouting, “Zhanlu, stop her!”
“Yes!”
Hearing this, Steward Xu ran faster, desperately rushing to the well in the back courtyard. She bent over a water bucket and gulped down several large mouthfuls.
“Madam Xu!”
Zhanlu was alarmed and pulled her away, but seeing the water on her face, he knew she had likely drunk a significant amount.
Taohua, holding up her skirts, ran over too. Shocked by the scene, she was left speechless.
Was this a death wish?
Turning to look at Shen Zaiye, who was slowly approaching, Steward Xu broke free from Zhanlu’s grip. She crawled on her knees towards him, pleading, “My Lord, if you need a life to convict, take mine. I only ask that you be fair and just, and give Yuyue the justice she deserves! I’ve been able to do little for her in this life and will have no more chances. Just this once, I beg you to grant this!”
She then kowtowed several times, her face pale and tear-stained when she looked up.
No one could remain unmoved by such a face—the face of a desperate mother. Taohua, who prided herself on never being overly sympathetic, found her nose reddening at the sight.
Shen Zaiye looked at her deeply and said, “You once saved my life, and I promised to let you live out your days in peace. I’ve wronged you regarding Yuyue’s matter, but even if you die from this poisoning today, it can’t be entirely blamed on Lady Qin.”
Taohua gasped, unable to hold back her curse, “Have you no humanity at all?”
Giving her a cool glance, Shen Zaiye continued, “Lady Qin will face her due punishment. As for you, quickly expel what you’ve swallowed and let the physician examine you.”
Steward Xu knelt there, stunned, tears flowing into the wrinkles on her face, her whole body trembling slightly. Taohua couldn’t bear to watch and quickly asked Lady Li to help Steward Xu induce vomiting and take some antidote.
“My Lord, you’re truly the most cold-blooded and heartless person I’ve ever met!” Taohua gritted her teeth as Steward Xu left. “If it were anyone else, it might be understandable, but Steward Xu is your lifesaver. Must you push her to this point? Let me guess when Yuyue died, you gained considerable benefits, didn’t you? So now you’re reluctant to reopen the case because you’re indebted to them!”
“Jiang Taohua,” Shen Zaiye said, “Have you forgotten the rules of this household again? How dare you speak like this?”
“With the courage of eight hundred!” Taohua’s eyes reddened as she glared at him. “Go ahead and bite me if you dare!”
Taking her at her word, Shen Zaiye grabbed her and bit her neck.
“Ah!” Tearing up from the pain, Taohua stomped on his foot and angrily ran away.
Shen Zaiye watched her coldly, finally snorting after a long while before leaving with Zhanlu.
There was still a joyous event in the mansion that evening, and he likely had no mind to deal with these matters. Locked in her room, Taohua frowned as she rolled on the soft couch.
From a practical standpoint, offending the Minister of Justice over a servant was indeed unwise. But great leaders shouldn’t only consider pros and cons; they must also win people’s hearts. If Shen Zaiye continued to be so ruthless, he would eventually lose everyone’s support!
As noon arrived, Taohua was too angry to eat. She called Qingtai to ask about Steward Xu’s condition.
“Lady Li says there’s no major concern,” Qingtai reported. “She vomited in time and took medicine. She’s resting now.”
That’s good, Taohua nodded, about to curse Shen Zaiye again when Qingtai added, “She said once she’s rested, she’ll come to thank you for your great kindness.”
(End of Chapter)