Chapter 26 It's Not Poison, It's an Aphrodisiac

Prince Wen is mentally challenged and may be unable to have sexual intercourse, so Meng Lingge is very likely still a virgin. But now, those lecherous men have broken into her house, and Meng Lingge has been drugged with the King of Aphrodisiacs, so she is destined to lose her virginity.

It's a pity that such a delicate and beautiful flower was given away to these thieves.

Such good fortune should have belonged to him.

But he couldn't be blamed for it. Meng Lingge was so unreasonable, taking advantage of his mistakes to act recklessly. If he didn't take a hard line this time and let Meng Lingge live a carefree life in the Prince of Anshun's mansion, he might never be able to get this woman again.

Such stunning beauty, even in her faded and withered state, can still captivate a man's heart.

At worst, after Meng Lingge is returned by the Prince of Anshun's mansion, he can treat her kindly and not look down on her because of her dowry and the fact that he harmed her. That would be enough to repay her.

As long as Meng Lingge doesn't know that he did it, she will definitely be grateful to him and obey his every whim. Thinking of this, the reluctance and humiliation at the moment are no longer so important.

He tried his best to act detached, but Meng Huanyan, that fool, kept buzzing around like a bee at the morning banquet, as if afraid others wouldn't know how happy and smug she was.

He finally arrived at the housekeeper's place after a long wait, his heart filled with mixed emotions. But what he saw was a failed plan and the capture of all the thieves he had hired.

Fortunately, he is always meticulous in his work and had already thought about how to deal with failure, so although he was annoyed and disappointed, he was not flustered.

Seeing Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge sitting hand in hand still made her feel heartbroken and hurt.

Du Shiyin glanced at everyone's expressions and chuckled, "You've arrived so quickly and in such great numbers. Even the top scholar has come in person. Come to think of it, this is the first time so many people have been in my room since I fell ill."

Guan Yi'an looked embarrassed upon hearing this and said respectfully, "It was my fault. Considering that my mother-in-law was not feeling well, I was afraid of disturbing your rest, so I did not have time to visit. May I ask what wrong these people have committed, and is there anything I can do to help?"

Speaking of which, Meng Huanyan is returning to her parents' home today, and she should have paid a visit to the mistress of the house with him first. However, the wedding three days ago left Du Shiyin with a lot of resentment towards the two of them, so the two of them naturally wouldn't go looking for trouble. Since Meng Xingyuan didn't mention it, the two of them pretended not to know about it.

Now that Du Shiyin has mentioned his name, he knows he is in the wrong and is worried that Du Shiyin will bring up his regretful marriage again, so he has no choice but to hurriedly change the subject.

Du Shiyin leaned against the headboard, but her imposing manner remained undiminished.

"What wrong they committed is a question for your newly acquired concubine. These men have already confessed that they were instructed by Meng Huanyan to teach the Crown Princess a lesson. They used the forbidden drug Chuan Chang San without authorization, and I was just about to have them tied up and taken to the Dali Temple to be treated as spies. Scholar, you may tie up your concubine and send her there as well."

"It wasn't me." Meng Huanyan's face was flushed as she pointed at the men on the ground and said calmly, "How can you frame me? I am the second young lady of this manor. Only a madwoman would harm the mistress and her elder sister. You have committed crimes, and framing others only adds to your sins. My husband is also an official of the imperial court. You had better think carefully before you speak!"

People in the underworld value rules and loyalty above all else, yet they sold her off before even starting to torture her.

What is this "Chuan Chang San"? What is this banned drug?

The Ganoderma lucidum is all dead. Could it be that these idiots took the wrong medicine?

Even if she causes a huge disaster at home, her father won't kill her. But if it involves banned drugs and she's sent to prison, then it's beyond her father's control.

"Father, Mother, don't listen to these people's nonsense. Your daughter is just a weak woman. How could she know these people? How could she possibly have any forbidden drugs?"

Meng Xingyuan frowned in thought, his gaze indifferent.

Du Shiyin laughed and said, "Who would have known? I never knew you would stoop so low as to engage in illicit sexual relations and willingly become a concubine."

"I..." Meng Huanyan was touched on a sore spot and turned to throw herself into Guan Yin'an's arms: "Husband, I've been with you the whole time. You have to be my witness and prove that I'm innocent. Please help me prove it quickly."

All eyes turned to Guan Yi'an, who gently pushed Meng Huanyan away, saying, "You shouldn't overstep your bounds in front of your father-in-law and mother-in-law."

Meng Huanyan stared wide-eyed, finding it unbelievable.

Guan Yi'an neither said yes nor no. He simply wanted to maintain appropriate boundaries and observe proper etiquette.

He was able to have an affair with her on the day he married his elder sister, and now that she is his concubine, he's using the rules as an excuse?

What kind of crazy rule is this?

She suddenly remembered that although these people were found by Guan Yi'an, she was the one who communicated with them all along, and she even arranged for the person who drugged them.

Guan Yi'an has remained aloof from the matter, and he can indeed absolve himself of all responsibility.

So now that things have been exposed, Guan Yi'an immediately distanced himself from her and would not testify for her at all.

...Is Guan Yi'an sacrificing her to save the king?

Aren't you afraid that she'll go all out and reveal that he's the mastermind behind it all?

Yes, Guan Yi'an is not afraid.

Firstly, there was no evidence, and secondly, once it was confirmed that she was the one who did it, she would lose the Meng family's support and would only be able to rely on Guan Yi'an.

Guan Yi'an saw right through her, yet she was completely unguarded against Guan Yi'an.

So she foolishly became Guan Yi'an's pawn, and now she has to obey and follow orders to avoid becoming a discarded piece.

"Father, believe me. It really wasn't your daughter who did it..."

Guan Yi'an wanted to avoid suspicion and was unwilling to speak up for her, so she could only turn to Meng Xingyuan for help.

Meng Xingyuan nodded: "Although Huanyan is immature, she shouldn't be capable of such a vicious thing."

He watched all three daughters grow up, and even if they had some personality flaws, he didn't believe they would go astray to this extent.

"I knew Father believed me." Meng Huanyan shook Meng Xingyuan's hand, her eyes filled with gratitude and tears.

Meng Lingge smiled knowingly, "Father believes you, but unfortunately you have failed to live up to his trust. You don't believe what these people are saying, so what about the testimony of your personal maid, Qiaozhu? Someone, bring Qiaozhu up here."

A young maid, wearing a light blue dress and with her head down, was brought in by the guards. She was trembling uncontrollably before she could even speak.

As soon as the guard released his grip, he knelt before Meng Huanyan and cried, "Miss, they found it. This servant had no choice but to confess. Please, Lord and Madam, beg for mercy. This servant didn't know it was a forbidden drug. This servant was just following your orders..."

Qiaozhu was Meng Huanyan's former head maid in the Meng household. After Meng Huanyan got married, Du Shiyin had not yet assigned the maids of Ya Cui Ju, so Meng Huanyan was still served by her previous maids when she returned home for her wedding.

Qiaozhu was clever and eloquent, and had a good relationship with the other servants in the mansion, so she naturally became the person Meng Huanyan chose to poison.

Meng Huanyan did not tell Qiaozhu what kind of poison it was, but she guessed it was probably a laxative or something similar, nothing too harmful. Meng Huanyan had made her do similar things before.

When Zhou Sen found the unused poison under her bed and said it was a banned substance, she was terrified and dared not argue.

Listening to Qiaozhu's tearful complaints, Meng Huanyan felt as if her internal organs were about to faint with anger. This girl usually seemed clever, but she couldn't handle even the smallest things at crucial moments.

All they talked about were banned drugs. Did she even know what kind of monstrosities those were?

Filled with hatred, he slapped Qiaozhu hard across the face.

"What banned substance? When did I give you a banned substance? I clearly gave you Powdered Cry! It's not poison, it's an aphrodisiac!"