Chapter 38 Sheng Huai'an's expression cracked.

Unexpectedly, upon seeing the pillow and spice packet presented by Yaqin, the three men from the West Mansion, including Sheng Huai'an, showed no unusual expression.

Sheng Huai'an frowned and asked, "Cousin, isn't this the soft pillow I gave you? Why have you taken it apart like this, and now you're acting like you're accusing me? Did I give you a gift and it made you my enemy?"

Jia said sarcastically, "You probably think this thing is worthless and came here to humiliate us! This pillow is a nice gift from your eldest uncle, who said it can calm the mind and soothe the spirit, which is good for you scholars. There are only two of them, and you insisted on giving him one. Now you know it wasn't worth it!"

Liu Rumei remained quiet, and the faint look of doubt in her eyes made it clear that she was unaware of the situation.

Ye Mingzhu observed the group of people, pondering to herself.

Sheng Huai'an did not deny that the pillow was a gift from him to Sheng Yunche, seemingly unafraid of being associated with the subject.

Jia's situation was even stranger; she even claimed that the pillow was a gift from her elder brother. She was either extremely foolish or genuinely unaware of the situation, showing no fear of causing trouble for her family.

Could it be...?

Is it Liu Rumei?

This conclusion surprised Ye Mingzhu, who was lost in thought as she recalled many things from her past life.

"It seems your Western Mansion is unwilling to admit it?!" Princess Ronghua sneered, gesturing for Yaqin to step forward and pour the contents of the spice packet onto a tray.

She used bamboo tongs to push aside the pile of spices, picked up a small black stone, and asked Sheng Huai'an, "Take out your pillow and see if you have this harmful thing in it! If you do, I'll go after the Jia family! If you don't, your West Mansion must give me an explanation today!"

Madam Jia jumped up in anger: "What kind of harmful thing is this? What right do you have to cause trouble for my family? It's just a small stone that accidentally got mixed in, and it's even wrapped in the pillow. Is it poking your son's precious head?"

Nobody paid any attention to her.

Sheng Huai'an had a strange feeling that something was wrong, and asked in confusion, "Auntie, what is this?"

Princess Ronghua glanced at him, sneered, and asked, "You don't know what this is? If you really have a clear conscience, take out the pillow and let everyone examine it!"

“Alright!” Sheng Huai’an said seriously, “The pillow is in the study, I’ll have Fu’an go and get it.”

Jia looked at him with suspicion and uncertainty, sensing that something was wrong, and finally shut her mouth.

“No need,” Princess Ronghua said calmly. “To prevent you from tampering with things or framing the servants who went to retrieve the items, we’ll go directly to your study! We’ll open the pillow and the spice packet right in front of you!”

"Auntie doesn't believe me?"

"Are you trustworthy?"

Sheng Huai'an's face flushed red and then paled, but he suppressed his anger and said, "Fine!"

Madam Jia wanted to say something more, but seeing the unpleasant expressions on Princess Ronghua's and the Old Madam's faces, she opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Just as she was leaving, she raised her hand and pinched the slender Liu Rumei, secretly venting her anger on her.

Ye Mingzhu witnessed this scene by chance and looked at it with disgust.

In her past life, Jia always pinched her, and she couldn't change her bad habit in this life either; she just took her anger out on someone else.

The group walked to the study in the front courtyard of the West Mansion, where the pillow was placed on the low couch in Sheng Huai'an's study.

Princess Ronghua wanted to take apart the pillow, but Ye Mingzhu, fearing the black stone would affect her health, refused to let her do it and prepared to do it herself. However, she was stopped by Sheng Yunche.

He took out a dagger, glanced at her indifferently, and asked, "Don't you mind the dirt?"

Ye Mingzhu: "...?"

She didn't think much of it before being reminded, but once reminded, and remembering how many times Sheng Huai'an had slept on this pillow, she immediately felt nauseous and turned her head away in disgust.

Provoked, Sheng Huai'an's face flushed red, and he couldn't hold back any longer: "Me, dirty? You two, one of you, publicly hijacked the wedding, and the other, you took someone else's wife—that's what's truly dirty, isn't it?!"

"Huai'an, watch your words!" The old lady, who hadn't spoken for a long time, stamped her cane, her aged voice filled with anger.

“Grandmother!” Sheng Huai’an looked at the old lady with a wronged expression, his eyes reddening, but the old lady did not look at him again.

He simply turned his head and stared at Sheng Yunche's movements.

Sheng Yunche acted swiftly and decisively, using a sharp dagger to cut open the pillow and pour out the spices from the spice bag. Sure enough, no small black stones were found inside.

The pillows at Su Xuetang are faulty, but the pillows at Sheng Huai'an's place are fine!

Princess Ronghua, enraged, laughed coldly, demanding with murderous intent, "The evidence is right before your eyes! What do you, the Western Manor, have to say?! You used lead and mercury poison to harm my Junzhao and pretended not to know! You are truly laughable!"

She softened her voice and said to Ye Mingzhu, "Tell the old lady what's going on here, so she can see what kind of people are in the West Mansion!"

Ye Mingzhu curtsied and said, "Yes."

She looked up and glanced at the crowd.

Sheng Huai'an looked on in disbelief, his eyes filled with doubt and uncertainty. He subconsciously glanced at Liu Rumei, who was standing at the very edge.

Liu Rumei seemed oblivious to his glance, standing obediently behind the ashen-faced Madam Jia, her expression one of worry.

With this scene etched in her mind, Ye Mingzhu looked at the old lady.

The old lady gripped her cane tightly, looked at her with weary eyes, nodded and said, "Go ahead and tell me, I can take it."

Ye Mingzhu curtsied again and slowly began to speak.

She began by recounting how she discovered Sheng Yunche's poisoning, continuing until she found the lead and mercury poison in the spice packet, and explaining how the spices affected the symptoms of cinnabar poisoning in a way that made it difficult for doctors to detect. Every word she spoke was clear and logical.

Madam Jia's face turned deathly pale, and she shook her head repeatedly: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could there be a problem with the things my brother from my maternal family sent? My elder brother would never harm me!"

"If it wasn't in the Huai'an pillow, how come there are these harmful things in the other pillow? One was given away, and the other was kept for myself. I clearly chose them randomly, so how did they end up being the perfect match?"

"No, that's not right! It's you, Ronghua, you despicable woman! You said you were afraid we'd turn the tables and frame our servants, but I think you're the one doing it on purpose! You're using your son's body as a raft to try and drive us away!"

As Jia Shi spoke, she became more and more agitated, but Sheng Huai'an suddenly stopped her loudly: "Mother! No matter how dissatisfied the East Mansion is with the West Mansion, they would never joke about my cousin's health!"

Jia suddenly stopped and stared at him blankly.

Sheng Huai'an walked up to Sheng Yunche, bowed deeply, and said sincerely, "Cousin, I'm so sorry! I don't know why there was something harmful in the pillow I gave you, but I will definitely find out and give you an explanation! Please believe me, I absolutely had no intention of harming you!"

There was no trace of anger left in him, only a deep and sincere apology.

Looking at him, Ye Mingzhu sneered inwardly.

What she didn't notice was that while she was looking at Sheng Huai'an, Sheng Yunche's gaze was fixed on her, observing the most subtle expressions on her face.

"Cousin?" After waiting for a long time without receiving a reply from Sheng Yunche, Sheng Huai'an straightened up and looked at him, his eyes reddening with grievance. He raised his hand and swore, "If you don't believe me and really think I'm the one who harmed you, I can die to prove my innocence!"

"Oh?" Sheng Yunche finally looked at him, casually tossing the dagger at him. "Use this."

“…?” Sheng Huai’an’s expression cracked.