Song Zhiyu gave him a cold look, then reached out and grasped Chu Sangyue's cheeks, feeding her a black pill.

A moment later, Chu Sangyue slowly woke up, her clear eyes shining brightly. Looking at the dark mass of people around her, she subconsciously hid behind Song Zhiyu.

The woman in front of her gave Chu Sangyue a sense of security, and Chu Sangyue inexplicably trusted her.

"It's alright, no one can hurt you." Song Zhiyu took Chu Sangyue's hand and led her out from behind him, her tone extremely gentle.

Although Chu Sangyue in front of him had reached marriageable age, her mind was still that of a child of only a few years old, so Song Zhiyu couldn't help but soften her voice.

Chu Sangyue shook her head, her big, round eyes staring straight at Ye Ming. "Big brother, didn't you say that if I obediently ate what you gave me, you would take me to find my father? Where is my father?"

"I..." Ye Ming licked his lips, but the words of explanation stuck in his throat.

What's wrong? Why can't he make a sound?

Ye Ming clutched his throat in terror, his lips opening and closing but no word came out.

"Heh, you don't even know who she is, yet you can help her find her father. Young Master Ye, you're truly resourceful." Song Zhiyu sneered, his eyes revealing a chilling glint.

"Lu Bai, report to the authorities that someone is plotting against the Chu family's daughter." These calm and unhurried words resounded in Ye Ming's ears like a thunderclap.

With the title of Chu family's daughter now known, the government had no choice but to take it seriously, which suited Song Zhiyu's wishes perfectly.

"Yes." Lu Bai replied repeatedly, then ran towards the door at an astonishing speed.

By the time Ye Ming recovered from his shock, Lu Bai had already disappeared.

"I had no idea that this little fool was the daughter of Grand Tutor Chu, and I never had any ill intentions towards her." Ye Ming suddenly realized that he could speak again. He was overjoyed and hurriedly spoke up to refute, refusing to admit that he had any dirty thoughts about Chu Sangyue.

Who was the Grand Tutor of Chu?

He was a high-ranking official with countless students, and even the emperor respected him greatly.

He only had one daughter, Chu Sangyue, whom he doted on like a precious jewel since she was a child.

If Grand Tutor Chu found out that he planned to harm Chu Sangyue, he would be finished.

Therefore, he absolutely cannot admit to this.

Chu Sangyue is such a fool, she believes everything he says, and she has no way of identifying what he has done.

He is innocent, and even Grand Tutor Chu cannot do anything to him.

Having figured out the stakes, Ye Ming wasn't so afraid anymore, and even started to provoke Song Zhiyu, "Do you have any evidence to prove that I have ulterior motives towards Xiao Sha... Miss Chu?"

Without evidence, it's a false accusation. Obstructing government operations is punishable by caning.

He was certain that Song Zhiyu had no evidence that he had deceived the little fool, which was why he dared to be so fearless.

He bought that secret medicine at great expense and personally watched the little fool take it. No matter how capable Song Zhiyu is, he probably won't be able to find anything out.

Seeing Ye Ming's smug expression, Song Zhiyu chuckled. She smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes, turned to look at Chu Sangyue, and said with a smile, "Miss Chu, could I borrow the pills you have?"

"Sang Yue," Chu Sang Yue stubbornly corrected.

"?"

For once, Song Zhiyu was puzzled. Under Chu Sangyue's clear yet stubborn gaze, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and tentatively asked, "Sangyue, could I borrow the pills you have?"

Chu Sangyue nodded emphatically, a smile blooming on her delicate, fair face, and obediently handed Song Zhiyu the half-pill she had been holding in her hand.

This dumpling is sweet; she wants to save half of it to take back to her father.

When Ye Ming saw the white pill in Song Zhiyu's hand, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. Hadn't the little fool eaten all the pills? How come there was still half a pill left?

Song Zhiyu presented the remaining half of the pill to everyone and said in a gentle tone, "Sang Yue, tell everyone, who gave you this?"

"He gave it to me." Chu Sangyue pointed to Ye Ming across from her without hesitation, her cheeks puffed out, and she stopped calling him "big brother," showing that she was really angry.

Although she was a bit silly, she could clearly sense whether others liked or disliked her.

"It's just a sugar pill, what does that prove?" Ye Ming continued to be stubborn. The miracle doctor who sold him the pill said that it contained nearly a hundred kinds of herbs, and only those who make medicine can clearly identify the ingredients.

If he hadn't said anything, who would have known that this pill could make a person lose their mind, as if they were trapped in a hallucination, allowing others to do whatever they wanted to them?

Unfortunately, he ran into Song Zhiyu, someone who had been dealing with medicinal herbs since childhood.

And coincidentally, she had seen this drug on someone else before.

"Please, shopkeeper, find a few skilled doctors for me and ask them to help me identify the ingredients and efficacy of this pill." Song Zhiyu handed a bag of silver to the shopkeeper of Zuixianlou and whispered a few words of instruction.

"Please wait a moment, Miss Song, I'll arrange it right away." The shopkeeper nodded to indicate that he understood and immediately instructed his subordinates to do so.

"This pill contains nearly a hundred kinds of herbs, and people who are not familiar with pharmacology naturally cannot distinguish them..."

Before Song Zhiyu could finish speaking, Ye Ming couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Since you can't tell the difference, then it's not enough to serve as evidence."

"Noisy." Song Zhiyu frowned, silencing Ye Ming for the time being.

Now, she felt that the whole world had become much quieter.

“Identifying nearly a hundred kinds of herbs takes time and effort, but I am certain that there is one of them, the Illusionary Soul Herb, which is enough to bewitch people’s minds.”

As soon as Song Zhiyu finished speaking, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

The Illusionary Soul Grass is a forbidden medicine of the dynasty, and His Majesty has explicitly prohibited it. Violators will be severely punished. Who is so audacious as to challenge imperial authority? Are they not afraid of losing their head?

"Indeed, it is indeed the Illusionary Soul Grass." The doctors who had been invited examined it carefully, their expressions growing increasingly grave.

They never expected that the Illusionary Soul Grass, which had been banned for many years, would return to the public eye in this way.

"Waaaaah~"

Ye Ming sobbed twice, trying his best to deny it, but he couldn't make a sound. The fear of being controlled from before swept over him again.

"Young Master Ye, you dare to openly use a drug that His Majesty has explicitly banned on Miss Chu. What, does the Ye family now rely on Lord Shen's high regard in court to act so arrogantly and disregard His Majesty's decrees?"

Song Zhiyu's tone grew colder and colder as she spoke, as if it were ice piercing Ye Ming's heart, making him feel extremely uneasy.

Everyone knew perfectly well who the Lord Shen that Song Zhiyu was talking about was.

Many people felt sorry for Shen Rushan, lamenting that he was being dragged down by such ignorant relatives.

It can only be said that it's not the formidable opponents you should fear, but the incredibly foolish allies.