ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 124

When Madam Song shouted that sentence the crowd immediately stirred, whispering among themselves, all casting curious glances at Li Zhizhi and the Grand Princess.

Madam Song clutched Li Zhizhi’s arm tightly, refusing to let go, crying her heart out, which was quite moving. Li Zhizhi showed a troubled expression and said softly, “Madam, I understand your pain in losing your beloved son, but this is a case involving a life; we must wait for the authorities to arrive to uphold the law and take responsibility for you.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Song began to wail again, still refusing to let the Su family members leave, grabbing Jiang Ziyu and scolding her without end: “It’s all your fault, you vile woman, that my son is dead! You owe me your son’s life! What wrong has he done to the Su family? Your Su family, using your powerful position to oppress others, it was one thing to break off the engagement back then, but now you still want to take his life…”

Su Tangyu’s face turned pale, and the eldest sister of the Su family could no longer hold her tongue. She scolded coldly, “You evil woman, you really speak nonsense! Breaking off the engagement was his fault; our Su family has not wronged him in any way. Now that he is dead, I empathize with your grief, but I won’t allow you to distort the truth and spout baseless claims here!”

Madam Song became even more agitated, pointing at Jiang Ziyu and shouting, “Is she not one of your Su family members?!”

The eldest sister of the Su family raised her voice to yell back at her, “Her surname is Jiang, not Su! If she really killed your son, you should report her to the authorities and have the magistrate execute her! If our Su family has any blame in this, I will kneel at the entrance of your Song family and bow three times!”

Her imposing manner was quite intimidating, even Madam Song was stunned into silence.

For a moment, the air was quiet. Jiang Ziyu was so frightened that she kept shrinking behind the eldest brother of the Su family, sobbing, “I didn’t harm Song Gege, I didn’t, woo woo woo…”

As she spoke, she suddenly looked at Li Zhizhi, tears streaming down her face, trembling as she said, “Clearly, Brother Song was supposed to meet you. I just happened to greet him as I pa.s.sed by. I liked him so much, how could I have harmed him?”

In an instant, all eyes gathered on Li Zhizhi once again. The Grand Princess frowned, looking displeased at Jiang Ziyu, and coldly said, “What does this have to do with Zhizhi? Even if Song Lingyun wanted to meet her, so what? Zhizhi has always been with me; she did not attend the meeting, so you cannot absolve yourself of suspicion. Don’t make unfounded accusations here.”

Her gaze was extremely stern, and Jiang Ziyu was startled, covering her face and bursting into tears, “I really didn’t! I didn’t… he suddenly coughed up blood on his own…”

The Grand Princess suddenly remembered something, her expression changing, while Li Zhizhi had already entered the elegant room, reaching for the wine pot on the table and pouring some into a cup. Then she pulled out a silver hairpin from her hair to test it.

This action caught the attention of the onlookers, who craned their necks to see. As the black substance gradually spread from the silver hairpin, someone exclaimed, “The wine is poisoned!”

“So that’s how it is.”

“I said, how could there be sudden wind causing him to cough up blood?”

Seeing this situation, Jiang Ziyu seemed to grasp at a lifeline, hurriedly explaining, “The wine was already there; it has nothing to do with me! I didn’t poison it, woo woo woo…”

The Grand Princess’s face turned grim. At this point, how could she not see? If it weren’t for Jiang Ziyu, this incident was directed at Li Zhizhi; someone wanted to harm her!

Li Zhizhi put away the silver hairpin and asked Madam Song, “Where are Cousin Song’s attendants?”

While wiping her tears, Madam Song, with red eyes, called over a boy who looked like a young servant. The boy looked terrified and seemed very scared. Li Zhizhi softened her voice and asked, “I usually have a normal relationship with Cousin Song. Do you know why he suddenly invited me to drink today?”

The young servant shook his head, his lips trembling from anxiety, “I-I don’t know, I’m just following the young master’s orders…”

Li Zhizhi patiently continued to ask, “Before this, did he meet anyone else or say anything?”

Her att.i.tude was very gentle, which made the servant feel a little more at ease. After thinking for a moment, he said, “The young master has met someone… it’s, um, the one from the Li family.”

“Li Suwan,” when Li Zhizhi spoke this name, there was no surprise on her face. She asked, “Do you know what they talked about?”

The servant shook his head. “They were speaking in a private room, and I couldn’t hear what they said, but…”

He paused, and Li Zhizhi urged, “But what?”

The servant hesitated and said, “But that cousin gave the young master a bottle, and the young master showed it to me, asking if I knew what it was.”

“What was it?”

The servant answered honestly, “He didn’t say, just that it was a good thing.”

Li Zhizhi asked again, “What about the bottle?”

“The young master kept it for himself.”

At this point, he suddenly swallowed hard, and his expression became increasingly uneasy. The Grand Princess suddenly spoke up, coldly saying, “Is there anything else you haven’t said?”

The servant immediately shivered, stammering without being able to say anything. Instead, Yang Jun boldly entered the private room, unreservedly searching through Song Lingyun’s robes. Seeing this situation, Madam Song almost fainted from anger and shouted, “What are you doing? Stop!”

Yang Jun smiled and said, “Don’t be nervous, Madam. We’re helping you find the truth and support you.”

While speaking, she picked out a small bottle from the sleeve pocket of the robe, weighed it in her hand, and asked the servant, “Is this it?”

The servant nodded, about to say something when a woman’s voice came from outside, “Auntie!”

This voice was very familiar. Li Zhizhi and the Grand Princess turned to look, seeing Xiao Man push through the crowd and walk closer. The Grand Princess showed a look of slight surprise: “Man’er.”

“Auntie,” Xiao Man’s expression was somewhat serious. “I just learned something I need to tell you and the Princess.”

As she spoke, she looked at Li Zhizhi, and their eyes met without either of them looking away first. The Grand Princess asked in confusion, “What is it?”

Xiao Man answered softly, “Someone just told me that Li Suwan colluded with others, intending to poison and harm the Princess.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd immediately buzzed with chatter. Xiao Man glanced at Song Lingyun’s corpse and said, “I suppose this person is the one she colluded with.”

Madam Song stared wide-eyed, then shouted, “Don’t slander people with baseless accusations!”

She was so agitated that she almost lunged at Xiao Man, but the Grand Princess gently raised her hand, and someone immediately stopped her. The Grand Princess then asked again, “How did you find out?”

Xiao Man slightly tilted her head, indicating that a girl dressed as a maid stepped forward, lowering her head and nervously saying, “I heard it myself. The young lady gave this medicine to this Young Master Song, asking him to find a way to make the Princess take it, also saying… that this medicine could help liven things up.”

Xiao Man added, “She must have deceived this Young Master Song; the medicine is not for excitement but is actually poisonous.”

As she spoke, she looked at Song Lingyun’s servant and said, “So, you saw Young Master Song pour the medicine into the wine himself, right?”

The servant swallowed again and dryly said, “Yes…”

At this point, the onlookers all felt that the truth had become clear: it turned out that the poison had been administered by Song Lingyun himself, no wonder this servant had been hesitant and unwilling to speak frankly.

Someone couldn’t help but spit out, “He couldn’t harm others but ended up harming himself; he truly deserves it!”

“Exactly!”

“Maybe even Heaven couldn’t stand it anymore.”

Madam Song never expected the truth to be this absurd; she stood frozen in place, unsure of how to react. The expression of the Grand Princess grew increasingly severe as she coldly asked Xiao Man, “Where is Li Suwan?”

Xiao Man showed hesitation, saying, “She has been missing since just now; perhaps upon learning that Song Lingyun is dead, she immediately fled.”

Li Zhizhi had remained silent throughout, coldly watching her. Xiao Man seemed to sense this and, looking up, softly said, “Fortunately, the Princess is safe and sound; that is indeed a great blessing.”

Upon hearing this, Li Zhizhi smiled slightly and said, “Thank you for your concern, I’m doing quite well.”

Xiao Man stared directly at her: “I hope the Princess’s luck remains this good and that she can turn every danger into safety.”

Li Zhizhi’s smile did not fade: “Then let’s borrow the county lord’s good fortune.”

Suddenly, hurried footsteps could be heard in the distance. Just as the farce was about to come to an end, the officials finally arrived, albeit late. The Grand Princess took Li Zhizhi and headed back to the Princess’s residence. All the way, her expression was serious and grave, tightly holding Li Zhizhi’s hand and refusing to let go, saying, “I truly cannot imagine what would have happened if you had gone there…”

Li Zhizhi hurriedly grasped her hand back, rea.s.suring her, “It’s alright, I’m fine now, aren’t I? Please don’t worry too much.”

Yet the Grand Princess remained troubled, saying, “I don’t know where Li Suwan has fled to; how could she harbor such malicious intentions? But don’t worry, I’ve ordered people to conduct a thorough investigation to capture her quickly. We also need to screen our household again to prevent anyone with ill intentions.”

“I think…”

The Grand Princess looked at her, “What is it?”

Li Zhizhi shook her head, “I think we may never find her again.”

…

At the Sheng w.a.n.g residence, several maids were quietly chatting in the corridor. Upon seeing a group approaching, they immediately fell silent, standing with hands at their sides and respectfully calling, “County Lord.”

Xiao Man did not look at them and walked straight into the study, instructing, “Call for Manager He.”

Before long, a manager dressed in green entered, cupping his hands in greeting, “County Lord, did you call for me?”

Xiao Man picked up a book from the desk and asked, “Where is he?”

The manager replied, “He has already been locked up in the back garden; he has been insisting on seeing you.”

Xiao Man did not raise her head, speaking in a calm voice, “Take care of it.”

“Yes.”

Xiao Man thought for a moment and then cautiously said, “Don’t do it in the mansion; take him outside.”

Her tone was so casual, as if she were talking about a cat or a dog, that even He, who had followed her for many years, felt a chill in his heart and became even more submissive. “I understand, my lady.”

He paused and quietly reported, “Mr. Liu Ling said the painting is finished. Would you like to see it?”

“Finished?” Xiao Man raised an eyebrow and put down the book. “Bring him over.”

The servant went out and returned shortly, bringing in a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar, who was holding a scroll in his arms. Upon entering, he bowed to Xiao Man. “Greetings, County Princess.”

Xiao Man had a smile on her face and said, “I heard that your painting is finished.”

“Yes, please take a look,” Liu Ling quickly stepped forward and placed the scroll on the desk, slowly unfolding it. A snowy landscape appeared before everyone. He explained, “I pondered for several days and, following the County Princess’s instructions, every stroke and line is derived from the picture you provided.”

Xiao Man gazed intently at the snowy landscape, gently stroking it, and after careful observation, she asked uneasily, “There won’t be any problems, will there?”

“Absolutely not,” Liu Ling said decisively. “Take a good look; these lines and this style are exactly the same as that picture. Even the original artist wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I’ve painted for many years, having copied hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures, and I’ve never been discovered.”

After examining it for a long time without finding any issues, Xiao Man finally nodded slowly and smiled, “You’ve worked hard these days, sir.”

Liu Ling, rubbing his hands together, chuckled, “I’m just fulfilling my duties; as long as the County Princess is satisfied, that’s enough.”

Xiao Man took out a gold ingot and personally placed it in his hand. “A meager reward, but it’s a token of respect.”

Liu Ling beamed, accepting the gold and happily said, “If there are any such good jobs in the future, please don’t hesitate to command me.”

Once he left, He, the steward, looked at Xiao Man and said, “My lady, should we also…”

“Let’s wait a bit longer,” Xiao Man’s gaze remained fixed on the snowy landscape, her eyes slightly shining. “If he behaves, we might have use for him later. You find someone to keep an eye on him.”

“Yes.”

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