"Isn't that simple? She's worried you'll say she was the one who instigated it, so she's terrified. Her first reaction is naturally to beg for her life!" Leng Ruolan saw that Xue Mama was a smart woman; she shouldn't give up until the very last step!
Ji Wushang laughed, "Wrong. The first reaction is fear! Being pointed out, of course one is afraid and begs for mercy! The second reason for saying you're innocent is that Granny Xue is a very clever person. She immediately came up with a plan and naturally decided to stick to it to the very end!"
Granny Xue was struck on the spot, and cold sweat poured down her forehead. "Fourth Imperial Consort... I beg the Fourth Imperial Consort to investigate the truth!"
"Hehe, you've already been pointed out, what are you thinking of how to refute it?" Ji Wushang laughed. "Was it Princess Leng who instructed you? Or was it your own idea?"
“I’ve been wronged! Anyone can do the makeup! That’s enough to prove I ordered it. I don’t accept this!” Granny Xue said.
"Not bad, not bad at all! Granny Xue is quite the sharp-tongued one!" Ji Wushang exclaimed. "It's truly rare to find someone with such skill!" She bent down slightly and looked at Granny Xue. "Granny Xue, can you explain why your face is so pale? And, someone, show her the evidence!" Ji Wushang turned around at this moment, and Hong Fei approached from the crowd outside. "Fourth Imperial Consort, in Granny Xue's room, we found aconite with the same effects as the one who poisoned Yanu!"
Upon hearing this, Granny Xue went limp and looked at Leng Ruolan with a slightly vacant gaze. Leng Ruolan's face also turned pale, but she quickly turned the tables!
"Someone must have put poison in Granny Xue's room to frame her!" Leng Ruolan shouted loudly, then looked at Ji Wushang, her eyes saying, "It was you, Ji Wushang, you sent Hongfei to put poison in Granny Xue's room, and then Hongfei searched for it!"
Ji Wushang was filled with admiration. This person's imagination was truly remarkable. Therefore, he decided to set a trap for her, just as she had suggested! He would make her die by her own hand this time!
☆、252 Watch the show! Two female dogs fighting!
“What the Princess says makes a lot of sense, but Hongfei, when you went in to search, who was there at the time?” Ji Wushang smiled brightly. “Was there any deliberate fabrication?”
"This servant would never dare to lie!" Hongfei knelt down and said, "Many of those present at the time were servants from Lanruo Garden, and they can all testify that this servant did not mention Granny Xue!"
"Oh, I see." Ji Wushang walked up to Princess Leng. "I wonder if Princess Leng has anything else to say? Or perhaps we could let Granny Xue have her say?" As he spoke, he looked at Granny Xue.
At this moment, Granny Xue was sweating profusely, her mouth trembling, not knowing what to say.
"It was her! She slipped the medicine to me and then instructed me to say that it was Princess Leng's order to poison Consort Jin!" Yanu cried out. "Please, Fourth Princess, spare my life! Please, Your Highness, spare my life!"
Princess Leng stood up abruptly, "If you continue to make such slanderous remarks, I will kick you to death right now!"
Ji Wushang laughed, "Your Highness has quite the skill; you can even kick someone to death!"
"You, Fourth Imperial Consort, you!" She wanted to curse Ji Wushang, but dared not, because what she saw now was the deity behind Ji Wushang! Nan Xuzong stood not far from Ji Wushang with a dark face. He was playing with fire as if he were a fire, and the power in his hands was terrifying!
Ji Wushang laughed, "What's wrong with me?"
"No, nothing!" Princess Leng sat on the chaise longue, feeling a cold sweat run down her back. Just now, it looked like Nan Xuzong was about to kill her.
What exactly happened?
Ji Wushang turned around and coldly faced Xue Mama, "Xue Mama, speak! Who ordered you to do this?" As Ji Wushang spoke, she looked at Leng Ruolan, who immediately retorted when she was met with Ji Wushang's gaze, "Why are you looking at me, the Princess Consort?"
"How did the princess know I was watching you?" Ji Wushang asked in return.
"I, I..." "Enough, Lan'er, sit down." The Prince of Jinnan roughly knew the situation, but he had to protect Leng Ruolan. Otherwise, would he have to depose her as a princess and then give her a secluded place to neglect her?
Leng Ruolan reluctantly sat back down on the chaise longue, but her eyes remained fixed on Granny Xue. She hoped that Granny Xue wouldn't betray her! She would definitely take good care of Granny Xue's family!
"I did it all by myself! No one instructed me!" Granny Xue, as if understanding Leng Ruolan's meaning, gritted her teeth and said, "I harbored resentment and felt sorry for the Princess, because Consort Jin has bullied the Princess quite a bit since she married into the Prince's mansion! I couldn't stand it! So I took this opportunity to settle both old and new scores! That's why I ordered Yanu to poison her!" Granny Xue added coldly, "I was worried, so I put on makeup! I thought this servant wouldn't recognize me!"
"This servant is very suspicious of me, so I had no choice but to make up a story that it was Princess Leng's idea. In fact, it wasn't Princess Leng who instructed me!" At this moment, Granny Xue was extremely protective of her mistress and decided to take all the blame upon herself!
At this moment, everyone around Ji Wushang was looking at him. Was it really as Granny Xue had said? Was it really the Princess Leng who had instigated it?
Ji Wushang looked at Granny Xue and said, "Granny Xue has great courage, taking on everything here all by herself! It's not easy!"
"I did it all myself, so of course I have to take responsibility!" Granny Xue said stubbornly.
"You've got guts!" Ji Wushang laughed. "Then why didn't you admit it back then?"
"This servant, this servant..." Granny Xue couldn't speak, "This servant... this servant at that time..."
"I didn't hit your weak spot back then, so you didn't confess, right?" Ji Wushang walked in front of her. "Trying to escape punishment?"
"This servant...this servant wouldn't dare! Please, Fourth Imperial Consort, spare my life!"
"What else wouldn't you dare to do? You even dared to poison a concubine, what else wouldn't you dare to do?" Ji Wushang laughed. "But I'd like to ask you, how did you, Concubine Jin, bully Princess Leng? Explain yourself in front of everyone!"
Granny Xue looked around at the people with a hint of fear. Many of the servants were expectant, but Prince Jinnan's face was dark. This was his harem! A complete mess! Every woman was jealous! Every woman wanted to kill him, constantly vying for his affections! Every woman wanted to condemn the other to eternal damnation! They were all heartless bastards!
Ji Wushang's goal was to hurt Prince Jinnan while ensuring that these words reached Jin Ruirui's ears. Jin Ruirui would certainly not let the Cold Princess off the hook, and their conflict would intensify! They would then curse and resent each other until their deaths!
"This servant, this servant..."
"Can't say it again?" Ji Wushang approached step by step, looking at Granny Xue. "Granny Xue should know the rules of the manor. If you falsely accuse your master, it's a serious crime!" The so-called serious crime would at least result in the loss of hands and feet! The most severe punishment would be to secretly kill someone using extreme methods and then severely punish the corpse.
Granny Xue wiped away her sweat, determined to risk it all. Even if it meant death, she was determined to drag Consort Jin down with her. She figured the Princess Consort would take pity on her loyalty and help the Xue family. That way, her death wouldn't be so meaningless!
"Yes, back when the Princess was still a concubine, she was oppressed by Concubine Zhao and Concubine Jin at every turn. The Princess was delicate, soft-tempered, and gentle, how could she be a match for them! She was almost killed by them!" Granny Xue said at this time. "Concubine Zhao is ruthless and excludes the Princess at every turn. In order to protect herself, the Princess had no choice but to submit to Concubine Zhao's tyranny! As for Concubine Jin, she is a person who knows how to endure. Although she is not as vicious as Concubine Zhao, she knows how to use underhanded tactics! She has tormented the Princess a lot!" Granny Xue's face was full of accusation.
Ji Wushang sneered. Such eloquence, very good! Aunt Zhao is already dead, and of course Prince Jinnan hates her! While Granny Xue doesn't have to pay the price for what she says, she's also portraying Consort Jin like this… describing the Cold Princess as a weak and delicate woman—who would believe that?
Upon hearing what Granny Xue said, Nan Xianxian immediately shouted, "You insolent servant, how dare you speak so carelessly! Consort Xue is kind to both people and things! In this entire inner courtyard, has she ever been harsh to anyone? Humph! Spouting such nonsense, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning!"
"Third Miss, I'm telling the truth!" said Granny Xue. At this moment, Princess Leng began to sob softly. "Granny Xue, please don't bring up the past anymore. I know you meant well, but I never imagined that you would make such a mistake for such a reason. Oh, sob, it's so unfortunate, so unfortunate!" She cried again as she spoke.
Ji Wushang chuckled inwardly. This person was quite the actor, and a good one at that! Playing the master-servant kinship card! But how could Ji Wushang let them continue this charade? Ji Wushang glanced inside. Jin Ruirui should be able to wake up by now, right? Ji Wushang gestured to Hong Fei, who was standing to the side, and Hong Fei immediately turned and went into Jin Ruirui's room.
Ji Wushang said, "Words alone are not enough. You said that Consort Jin treated Princess Leng badly, but you should at least give one or two examples, right?"
"There are too many things happening, and time flies by so quickly, how can I possibly give just one or two examples?" Granny Xue cried. "The Princess Consort has suffered greatly, but she has been very kind to me. I am grateful and took meticulous care of her after learning that she had a child. But I never expected that Consort Jin would try to harm the Princess Consort several times. All the servants have witnessed this, but none of them dare to tell the Prince! Because although the Princess Consort is the Princess Consort, it is Consort Jin who holds the real power in the Prince's mansion!" Granny Xue immediately knelt on the ground as she spoke. "I would gladly die, I only wanted to repay the Princess Consort's kindness, which is why I resorted to this method of poisoning Consort Jin!"
Leng Ruolan listened and looked at Granny Xue. "Granny, sob sob, why are you so foolish? Why?" She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a silk handkerchief, but her eyes drifted toward Prince Jinnan. If Prince Jinnan could soften his heart, he could definitely beg to spare Granny Xue's life. After all, Prince Jinnan was the master of the palace, and she, Ji Wushang, could not do anything to him!
"Are you saying I tried to harm Princess Consort several times?" Unexpectedly, a piercing voice rang out at that moment. Everyone immediately looked towards the source of the sound. Jin Ruirui, supported by her head maid Dingxiang, arrived, her face pale, but she braced herself. "Tell me then, how did I try to harm Princess Consort!" Jin Ruirui coughed violently as she spoke. Prince Jinnan looked on in surprise, "Why did you come out? It's good you're awake, it's good you're awake!" He quickly went to support her, saying, "You're not well, you shouldn't have come out!"
"Hmph, Your Highness, if I hadn't woken up, I'm afraid someone else would have killed me!" Jin Ruirui looked at Granny Xue and Princess Leng with hatred in her eyes. "I don't believe that they can frame me now that I'm here!"
Leng Ruolan looked at the person in front of her, surprised that she had woken up so quickly! She had wanted nothing more than to rush forward and beat her to death!
“The concubine has woken up, things will become much clearer!” Zhao Yirou said smugly.
Everyone looked at her and gave her a cold snort. Zhao Yirou felt she was being disliked, so she could only stand aside, sulking.
Prince Jinnan said, "Alright, alright, that's enough! Guards, drag Granny Xue away and beat her to death!"
"Your Highness!" Upon hearing this punishment, Leng Ruolan immediately tried to kneel before Prince Jinnan. However, considering the child in her womb, Prince Jinnan naturally refused to let her kneel. "What are you doing now?"
"Please, Your Highness, don't punish Granny Xue so severely! She... she only did this foolish thing because of me!" Leng Ruolan cried. "Please, Your Highness, for the sake of her many years of service to me, expel her from the manor and don't beat her to death!" Expelling her from the manor would still allow her to be assigned to work on another estate and be of use to her. But if she were beaten to death, there would be no other way to deal with her!
"No!" Jin Ruirui immediately stood up. "You poisoned me, and you're only going to punish me lightly? Your Highness, you're so merciful! If someone poisoned you, would you punish them so leniently?"
"Your Highness, sob sob!" Ignoring Jin Ruirui's words, Leng Ruolan began to cry in front of Prince Jinnan.
Jin Ruirui, supporting her body which was just beginning to recover, raised her voice and said, "Having committed a capital crime, is there any way out?! I just remembered that Granny Xue said I framed the Princess, but she couldn't say it. Isn't that a frame-up? Do you think I, Jin Ruirui, am easy to bully? Is the Prince's Mansion going to defy the heavens with such lenient punishment?"
The people around listened with their heads down.
Ji Wushang then said, "Consort Jin is right. Both morally and logically, she should be punished. Father's punishment is actually quite lenient!"
"Hmph!" Jin Ruirui snorted coldly when she heard Ji Wushang speak up for her.
Ji Wushang said, "Now that Consort Jin has woken up, why don't you tell us about the poisoning you suffered at Lanruo Garden? It'll be easier to talk when everyone's here!"
"That's right, it was all Your Highness's doing that I was poisoned! I don't understand, I didn't do anything to Your Highness, yet Your Highness, you actually poisoned our desserts and made me eat them. What do you mean by this? Are you trying to kill me?" Jin Ruirui had already walked up to Leng Ruolan. Although her face was pale, she was much larger than Leng Ruolan, so standing in front of Leng Ruolan now created an invisible pressure on her!
Leng Ruolan composed herself. "You're saying I had someone poison you? I don't even know how there could be poison! I had no idea about such a thing! If you hadn't eaten your snacks so early, I might have been the one poisoned!"
"Do you have another reason?" Jin Ruirui said coldly. "You told me to eat it. Do you think I can disobey the Princess's wishes?"
She meant to tell others that Leng Ruolan, relying on her status as a princess, was actually forcing others to do things they didn't want to do!
"Then why wasn't the Fourth Princess Consort poisoned? Only you were poisoned. You didn't poison yourself, did you?" Leng Ruolan said coldly.
"Why wouldn't I be poisoned? Do you think I'm stupid enough not to know what you mean? You just want me dead! How dare you offend the Fourth Princess Consort? If something happens to her, do you think the Fourth Prince will let you off? You know this, so you dare not provoke the Fourth Princess Consort!" Jin Ruirui looked at Ji Wushang.
Ji Wushang sneered, finding their verbal sparring quite entertaining!
"Consort Jin, everything needs evidence. If there is evidence, a conviction can be made! Otherwise, arguing is useless!" Ji Wushang kindly reminded her. "Your health has improved a lot, hasn't it?"
"Thank you for the reminder, Fourth Princess!" Jin Ruirui said coldly. "I am the evidence, and that is enough to prove everything! Seeing that I was not poisoned to death, she still sent someone to poison my medicine. What a vicious person!"
The Prince of Jinnan felt a sudden ringing in his ears, a sound that was threatening to kill him! How could he possibly get these women to stop?
"If you insist that I sent someone to do it, I have nothing to say!" Leng Ruolan simply stopped talking to her. "Without evidence, it's a frame-up! You are the victim, you cannot testify against me as a witness!" Leng Ruolan snorted and sat down in her seat.
"Really? No evidence?" Jin Ruirui raised her voice. "Guards, search Lanruo Garden and see if there's any poison that tried to poison me!"
Ji Wushang sneered inwardly. Jin Ruirui had learned her lesson!
"You dare! You dare search my Lanruo Garden?" Leng Ruolan stood up immediately upon hearing that her courtyard was to be searched, feeling extremely indignant!
"Didn't you say you were innocent? Why don't you dare let someone search you?" Jin Ruirui said coldly.
"I am innocent, so you are even less allowed to search me! What are you? You are just a concubine. I am the princess, get out of here!" Leng Ruolan put on the airs of a princess.
Ji Wushang said, "Your Highness, if it really helps prove your innocence, you can let her search it to dispel her doubts!"
"No!" Leng Ruolan's face was taut. Damn it, how could she know if she would find out some fabricated charges? If that were the case, she would be finished! Jin Ruirui must have some other kind of conspiracy!
"Search!" To resolve this matter quickly, the Prince of Jinnan immediately gave the order, then stepped forward and put his arm around Leng Ruolan, saying, "Lan'er, since you are innocent, there's no need to worry about finding anything! I will have people keep a close eye on things, and there will be absolutely no mistakes!"
"Your Highness, I'm afraid that some unfounded accusations will be made against me!" Leng Ruolan immediately burst into tears in front of him.
Jin Ruirui sneered inwardly. She had placed the poison she had given herself under the table; those people would definitely find it! Moreover, there was a potted plant next to the stool where she had been sitting, where she had hidden a packet of poison! Those people would definitely be able to find it, and with witnesses and evidence, Leng Ruolan would have no chance of escaping punishment this time!
"Your Highness, you must do justice for me!" Jin Ruirui refused to be outdone and immediately knelt before Prince Jinnan. "Your Highness, sob sob, I was almost poisoned to death! You must do justice for me!"
"I will, get up, get up quickly!" Prince Jinnan stepped forward, helped her up and made her sit beside him. "Just rest for a bit! Sigh, I will definitely find out the truth! I'll give you an answer then!"
"Yes." Jin Ruirui's eyes drifted to Leng Ruolan, whose eyes were full of resentment. If she couldn't kill her with poison today, she would find another way to kill her tomorrow!
Jin Ruirui looked at Leng Ruolan and thought, "If the prince favors her today, I'll make sure she and her unborn child die tomorrow!"
Ji Wushang watched them fight, waved his hand to make those kneeling people stand aside, and ordered Xiao Xing and Yanu to be taken aside. As for that Granny Xue, she was quite a character, so he left her to kneel!
At this moment, Tie Feng and Cui Wu emerged from Lanruo Garden with a group of people, followed by many servants. Tie Feng and Cui Wu stepped forward, "Your Highness, Your Highness's Consort, Fourth Prince, Fourth Imperial Consort!"
"Tell me the results quickly!" Ji Wushang said. "Father is a little tired, please tell me!"
"Yes, your subordinate found two packets of unused poison under the tea table and in the flowerpot in Lanruo Garden. This is the same poison that Consort Jin was poisoned with the first time!" Tie Feng said, immediately kneeling down and holding a tray high in front of Prince Jinnan. On the tray were two packets of used medicine powder!
"What? No way! I didn't try to poison Consort Jin! She did it herself, not me!" Leng Ruolan immediately shouted!
Jin Ruirui stood up. "Trying to frame me and then loudly proclaiming that you didn't do it? That's the biggest joke in the world!"
"It was this servant who did it! It was this servant who did it! It has nothing to do with the Princess!" Granny Xue shouted loudly. "The Princess knows nothing about any of this. It was this servant who did it!"
Everyone was drawn to Xue Mama's loud voice, "This servant hates Consort Jin, so I wanted Consort Jin dead! When Consort Jin and the Fourth Princess Consort entered Lanruo Garden to visit the Princess, this servant was in the courtyard. This servant had a thought, so I put poison that I had prepared beforehand on the fresh pastries! That's why Consort Jin was poisoned! All of this was done by this servant alone, and this servant did not receive any instructions from the Princess!"
Those around her exchanged glances, wondering what kind of person Xue Mama was! Had she really schemed against everyone? How could she be so ruthless! To plot against Consort Jin—how did she die?
Ji Wushang watched them, now that the show was over, but there was more to come. Consort Jin was probably going to suffer! If Leng Ruolan wouldn't take action, he would do it in her place!