Aunt Qu immediately nodded: "Thank you, Second Miss. This servant would never dare to harm my mistress!"

Even if her son was an illegitimate son, he was still a master.

Greenie also pleaded, "Fifth Young Master is my master, I would never harm him."

Xie Zhaozhao watched calmly, thinking, "Shouldn't the person my brother arranged to break this deadlock be here by now?"

At this moment, Ying'er came in from the main gate and said to the old lady, "Han Qi, a guard in the mansion, requests an audience."

The old lady was annoyed and said, "Tell him to talk about it later."

Xie Anfeng: "Let him in."

Han Qi entered and bowed to Xie Anfeng, the old lady, and Xie Zhaozhao.

The group looked at each other, none of them having seen this guard before.

Xie Anfeng did not explain who he was, but only said to Han Qi, "Tell me everything you saw."

Han Qi said, "This morning, as you instructed, I secretly patrolled the manor to check on the safety of the residents. Outside Tinghe Garden, I overheard the young lady and the third young lady discussing the Grand Secretary's wife."

Then he recounted how the two of them, out of jealousy towards Xie Zhaozhao, had plotted to frame her.

"The medicine was brought by the Third Miss, who instructed Luyi to bring it."

The two sisters offered suggestions, and Greenery put them into practice.

"You're talking nonsense! When did I ever want to harm my older sister? Who do you think you are, stirring up trouble in front of your master?" Xie Tingting tried her best to clear her name.

Han Qi ignored her.

“He is a secret guard in the manor.” Xie Anfeng looked at Luyi. “The Xie family never sells its servants, and rarely kills them. Tell me, what exactly happened?”

Knowing she could not escape death, Lvyi stretched out her neck and took all the blame, saying, "This servant did not want to take care of Aunt Qu, so I wanted to kill the Fifth Young Master. It has nothing to do with anyone else. This servant deserves to die."

Xie Zhaozhao then interjected, "Luyi, your and your family's indentures are in your grandmother's hands. If you tell the truth, your grandmother might be able to save your family."

Green Willow paused for a moment, then asked anxiously, "Madam, do you have all the indentures of my family members?"

The old lady nodded: "At noon, all the indentures of the servants and maids in the manor were handed over to me by each household."

Greenie kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Madam, Master, please save my whole family."

She said that Xie Xiangxiang and Xie Tingting found her in the morning and told her that they had poisoned Xiao Wu and that they would take Xie Zhaozhao to Tinghe Garden, asking her to find a way to get the eldest young lady to hug the fifth young master.

"The second young lady forced me to insist that it was the eldest young lady who harmed the fifth young master," Greenie said regretfully. "The second and third young ladies told me that if I didn't do as they said, they would sell my younger brother and mother to a brothel."

Her mother and younger brother were both on the estate, serving as servants in the household.

The indenture was in Xu's hands, and she dared not disobey, so she had no choice but to give the fifth young master the medicine powder.

"I asked the second and third young ladies whether the powder was poisonous or not, and they said it was not poisonous, it would only cause diarrhea, and nothing serious would happen."

Greenery swore to the heavens, "If I ever tell a single lie, may my whole family suffer a terrible death."

Upon hearing this, Xie Anfeng's voice became sharp and authoritative, like a knife: "Xie Xiangxiang, is what Luyi said correct?"

Xie Xiangxiang naturally denied everything. She glared angrily at Luyi: "Why did you frame me? Who gave you the audacity to frame me? Who is your master?"

At this moment, Han Qi spoke again: "It was the Third Miss who gave the powder to the Second Miss, and the Second Miss personally handed it to Luyi. The medicine was taken from Madam Xu's room."

Did the Xu family hide poison?

Xie Anfeng: "Xu, you're hiding poison. Who are you trying to kill?"

Madam Xu collapsed to the ground long ago. When she heard at noon that the Fifth Young Master had been poisoned, she knew it was all over.

"This concubine..." She wanted to say that she had never hidden poison, but Han Qi then brought out a packet of medicine powder mixed with dirt.

"This is poison powder that Madam Xie ordered her maid, Duo'er, to secretly bury in the garden. After discovering that the Fifth Young Master had been poisoned this morning, Madam and the Second Miss threatened her with the entire Luyi family..."

This time, Madam Xu really fainted.

The truth behind the Fifth Young Master's poisoning case has come to light.

Xie Anfeng did not mention what would happen to Madam Xu or Xie Tingting. He only said to Xie Xiangxiang, "Madam, you are now married and no longer a member of the Xie family. You may not return to the Xie residence unless you receive an invitation from the Xie family."

Xie Xiangxiang shouted angrily, "Father, you can't treat me like this. My elder sister and I are both your daughters, but you have never treated us the same way. Just because she married well now, you suppress me at every turn."

"You should know that fortunes can change in thirty years, so don't regret it in the future."

Gu Chengyan has a very close relationship with the Crown Prince and will definitely become the Duke of Shang in the future. Gu Shaoyu, on the other hand, is favored by Emperor Hui. What if Emperor Hui dies?

Xie Anfeng couldn't help but laugh: "Madam Gu, you ask me why I treat you and Zhaozhao differently? That's a huge joke."

Your grandmother is here, your mother is here, so let me ask you: among you sisters, are you fed differently? Are you dressed differently? Are you taught different manners by different nannies? Or are you taught different books by different teachers?

Is he showing favoritism or deliberately targeting someone?

Xie Xiangxiang was speechless.

"Ask yourself honestly, Zhao Zhao lost her mother at birth. What was she doing all those years when you were being pampered in Xu Shi's arms? She was learning manners!"

"While you were showing off the new clothes and hats that Xu made for you, what was Zhaozhao doing? She was quietly helping her grandmother copy scriptures and helping the Xie family distribute porridge and food to the poor."

Xie Xiangxiang brought it up again: "You and your brother protect her in every way, even when you go to the palace, it's always her who goes, while Tingting and I have never been invited to stay by the Imperial Concubine."

"Ha, Xie Xiangxiang, I really didn't know you harbored such a deep resentment towards the Imperial Concubine." The old lady was extremely annoyed. "Why does the Imperial Concubine dote on Zhaozhao? Isn't it because you and your mother went to pay New Year's visits, but left Zhaozhao locked in the ancestral hall to pray for blessings? She's only three or four years old, and she's been kneeling all day long. You didn't even give her food. Did you want to freeze and starve her to death?"

If we don't bring up these old stories, it's fine, but the old lady gets extremely angry whenever they are.

"If you can harm Xiao Wu, would Zhao Zhao harm her own siblings?"

"Zhao Zhao has been going to the temple to pray for her mother's happiness every time she has a birthday. How much of her filial piety have you shown her?"

“When your aunt miscarried, who among you shed a tear? Only my Zhaozhao cried in the temple, chanting sutras for her deceased younger siblings, praying that they wouldn’t resent her…”

The old lady was too sad to continue speaking.

He waved his hand and said to Xie Anfeng, "Arrange for Madam Gu to leave. Don't let her return to the Xie residence."

Expel her? Xie Xiangxiang didn't care at all, she'd rather leave!

Anyway, the young master Gu will become a duke in the future, and the crown prince will also have to settle accounts with the Xie family.

Before leaving, she glanced at Xie Anfeng's study, where there was a letter that she needed to get her hands on as soon as possible.

Since these people treat her badly, then when the building collapses, don't blame her for not helping them.