Lady You, the eldest sister-in-law, suddenly changed her expression: “Princess Consort, what do you mean by this?”
“Eldest Aunt, there’s no need to overthink or be nervous. I’m not just examining your hands; I’ll be checking Uncle Su and Second Uncle’s hands as well.”
Uncle Su frowned in displeasure: “Princess Consort, we are your elders after all…”
Jiang Si sneered, speaking bluntly: “Yet among the elders, someone has harmed Grandmother and my mother. If you two uncles and Eldest Aunt have clear consciences, what’s wrong with checking your fingers?”
With such a grave crime as matricide, did they expect her to remain gentle and humble?
As Uncle Su was about to speak again, Lady You extended her hand, saying coolly: “If the Princess Consort wishes to look, then look.”
“The left hand.”
Lady You switched to her left hand, palm up, exposing her fingertips.
Due to good care, the middle-aged woman’s hands still appeared fair and soft, her fingertips smooth and unmarked.
Jiang Si stared at the clean third finger without speaking.
“Have you finished looking, Princess Consort? There’s no cut on the third finger of my left hand, is there?” Lady You asked with a half-smile.
Uncle Su inexplicably felt relieved.
If someone had indeed poisoned his mother, he and his brother had almost no reason to do so. But his wife wasn’t blood-related to his mother, so who could say for sure?
Jiang Si looked up, her lips tightening: “Eldest Aunt, please be patient.”
She walked towards Uncle Su: “Uncle, please show me your hand.”
Uncle Su extended his hand with a stern face.
He was truly a bit frightened of this niece.
The last time she came for the old Madam’s birthday celebration, his young son drowned. This time, she uncovered the old Madam’s poisoning.
Of course, being able to cure the old Madam was a good thing, but it seemed that whenever this girl came, something unpleasant happened…
Uncle Su practiced martial arts, so his fingertips had thin calluses but no visible cuts.
Jiang Si turned to Second Uncle Su.
Second Uncle Su extended his left hand, and there was indeed a scar on the third finger.
“Second Brother!” Uncle Su’s expression changed dramatically.
Lady You was momentarily stunned, then her lips curled into a smile.
“My lord’s scar is from when he was practicing martial arts and got grazed by a blade. I was the one who bandaged it!” Second Lady Xu hastily explained.
Second Uncle Su glared at Xu: “Shut up!”
Was getting injured during martial arts practice something to be proud of?
Moreover, that time it was because his nephew Su Qingyi suddenly jumped out, and to avoid hurting him, he quickly withdrew his hand and accidentally injured his finger.
Now that Yi’er was gone, why bring up such things?
Jiang Si glanced at it and said calmly: “The scar on Second Uncle’s hand is an old wound.”
The old Madam had fallen ill not long ago, which meant the parasite had only recently entered her body. Before that, it needed to feed on its host’s blood to survive, so the host’s middle finger would show both old and new scars.
The old Marquis Yining spoke up: “Si’er, perhaps you’ve made a mistake. It seems the poisoner is not among them.”
Jiang Si smiled: “Let’s go to another room to discuss this. Grandmother no longer has the parasite feeding on her heart blood. As long as she eats blood-nourishing foods and rests well, her health will improve quickly. We shouldn’t disturb her rest.”
Everyone moved to another room, with Aman ensuring no servants were present.
Jiang Si’s gaze swept across everyone’s faces, finally settling on Lady You.
“Eldest Aunt, please extend your left hand again.”
Lady You pressed her lips together, her face showing anger at being insulted: “Princess Consort, even if your status has changed, you can’t arbitrarily demean people! Forget that I’m your elder, even if I were just an ordinary person with no connection to you, I shouldn’t be treated like this—”
Jiang Si suddenly grabbed Lady You’s hand, saying coldly: “Who says you have no connection to me? You’re the murderer who killed my mother. We have a blood feud!”
She had learned a few moves from Yu Jin in her previous life, and with her great strength, she pressed certain acupoints on Lady You’s wrist, making it impossible for her to break free.
“Si’er, what are you doing?” Uncle Su angrily forgot to address her as Princess Consort again.
Jiang Si ignored him and called out: “Second Brother, help me.”
Jiang Zhan rushed forward and delivered a chop to the back of Lady You’s neck.
Lady You’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
The world suddenly became quiet.
Jiang Si’s lips twitched slightly.
Her Second Brother was indeed efficient.
Uncle Su became furious.
“Enough!” The old Marquis Yining slammed his pipe heavily on the table. “Since Si’er has said this, why are you shouting? Just wait for her to explain clearly.”
Uncle Su suppressed his anger and looked at Jiang Si.
Jiang Si instructed Aman: “Wet a handkerchief and give it to me.”
Aman quickly presented a damp handkerchief.
Jiang Si grasped Lady You’s left third finger and began wiping it carefully with the wet cloth.
Soon, a series of fine cuts appeared on what was previously a smooth, fair fingertip.
The cuts were very fine, with both old and new marks visible.
“What’s going on?” Uncle Su’s face was extremely unpleasant.
Jiang Si looked at him and explained: “It’s simple. Lady You applied a layer of oil to her fingertip to conceal the recurring cuts.”
For a lady of a noble household, an accidental cut on the finger wouldn’t be unusual, but repeatedly appearing wounds would be very strange.
Such an anomaly couldn’t be hidden from the maids around her.
Lady You was clever and cautious enough to use oil to cover her fingertip and hide the abnormality.
“Fourth Sister, how did you discover this?” Jiang Zhan couldn’t help but ask.
Earlier, Fourth Sister had only glanced at it, and the oil matched the skin color perfectly. The cuts were so fine and easily concealed that it would be extremely difficult to notice.
Jiang Si lightly touched her nose.
Jiang Zhan understood.
So Fourth Sister had smelled it.
The others were completely puzzled.
“Second Brother, wake her up.”
Jiang Zhan nodded and pinched Lady You’s philtrum hard.
Lady You woke up in pain, opening her eyes to see several faces with varying expressions.
She suddenly raised her hand.
The scars on her left middle finger instantly made her face pale, with terror and despair flooding her eyes.
“Now can you explain why you harmed Grandmother?” Jiang Si asked coldly.
To the person who killed her mother, she no longer wanted to use the term “aunt.”
“I, I didn’t…” Lady You frantically denied.
Uncle Su looked utterly disappointed: “Why?”
Lady You pressed her lips tightly, not saying a word.
Uncle Su raised his hand to strike her.
Jiang Zhan instinctively wanted to intervene, but hearing Jiang Si cough lightly, he immediately stopped.
As the loud slap landed on Lady You’s face, Jiang Si curved her lips in a smile.
The second Brother was just too kind-hearted.
Why interfere? For the crime of killing her mother, a slap didn’t even count as interest on the debt.
“Speak! Why did you harm my mother?” Uncle Su asked sternly.
“I didn’t.” Lady You adamantly refused to admit it.
Some things, even if everyone suspects, must never be admitted to.
Once admitted, it would be over.
Jiang Si stared at Lady You, her gaze icy: “You can refuse to admit it, but you’d better think about Su Qingxun.”
Su Qingxun was Lady You’s eldest son and the eldest grandson of the Marquis’s family.
At Jiang Si’s words, even the old Marquis Yining looked over.
“You, you’re threatening me with Xun’er?” Lady You looked incredulous.
In her memory, Xun’er had always treated Jiang Si well. This heartless wretch!
Jiang Si smiled: “Yes, I am.”