As He Yunze spoke, he slowly raised his head again and stared at Song Xizhi's face.
He pointed at Song Xizhi: "It was you! You're the one who had the servants put on such a show? You've never been such a kind person! And you'd casually save a child?"
Do you really think I'd believe you?
He Yunze's clenched teeth made the servants present feel somewhat frightened, but they still gritted their teeth and continued speaking:
“What this old servant said is not untrue; everyone else is doing the same thing for the same reason…”
The young servant was now in tears, repeatedly kowtowing to Old Madam He, the sound of his kowtow echoing loudly.
"All the ideas came from me! After my brother died, the eldest young mistress gave me a sum of money, and I am very grateful to her."
"So this servant recalled that when the second young mistress was in charge of the household, she had sent inferior charcoal, low-grade cotton quilts, and all sorts of wilted vegetables to Guanmoxuan, trying to deliberately mistreat the eldest young mistress. So this servant retaliated in kind, and together with everyone else, sent these things to Guanyunxuan as well!"
Why did Ru'an treat Song Xizhi so harshly?
If An mistreated Song Xizhi when he was in charge of the household, then those servants would retaliate in kind?
Upon hearing this, He Yunze froze, his breathing became rapid, his eyes were glazed, his mind went blank, and he couldn't utter a single word for a moment.
That's impossible!
Madam He was also quite surprised: "Did Song Ruoan mistreat you when she was in charge of the household?"
Song Xizhi nodded: "However, at that time, the Marquis's mansion did not have any money in its accounts, so I asked for my normal monthly allowance and did not say anything more."
Song Xizhi was telling the truth; she hadn't expected the maids and servants of the Marquis's mansion to go to such lengths for her.
Previously, she didn't want to take on this mess because of Madam He's lingering ties with the outsiders, so she felt guilty towards the servants of the Marquis's mansion and helped them whenever she could.
Thinking of this, she spoke directly to Old Madam He:
“Those wilted vegetables and cheap charcoal were all sent by the manager outside to fool people. Even Song Ruoan put croton seeds in my bowl. Besides wanting to embarrass me, she also wanted you to deal with the shops outside.”
As Song Xizhi spoke, his voice was firm and resolute: "Grandmother, we must make a decision when necessary. Many things in the Marquis's mansion are caused by the managers outside."
"They failed to fulfill their duties, took advantage of the kindness shown to them, and left the Marquis's mansion's accounts empty. The two masters' courtyards were even mistreated in terms of food. They did such a thing, and the Marquis's mansion had supported them for decades, which was more than enough."
"Leaving aside how outsiders evaluate the Marquis's mansion now, if trouble arises from within, and chaos breaks out inside, I'm afraid the Marquis's mansion will never have a day of peace again."
As Song Xizhi spoke, he seemed to possess a powerful aura that calmed everyone present: "Why don't you take advantage of this servant's matter and swiftly deal with the manager outside? That would be a legitimate reason to take action."
"The reputation of the Marquis's mansion has already been ruined by my uncle and sister, how much worse can it get?"
Old Madam He, somewhat weakly supporting Song Xizhi's hand, listened silently to her words.
Her eyes were fixed on the servant of the Marquis's mansion kneeling before her, and finally she nodded:
"Yes, you are right, Xizhi, it is time to deal with those outsiders. I originally cherished our past relationship and thought they were my family, so I always held onto hope, but this has really harmed the Marquis's mansion."
"As people get older, they become more cautious and indecisive. You reminded me of this before, but I still hesitated. You can't teach someone by just talking to them; you can only teach someone by experiencing it."
Old Madam He rubbed her temples wearily, her dark eyes revealing the determination she had made.
Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The servants below became even more excited, and several of them burst into tears, saying, "Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Young Madam!"
"We servants have been suffering terribly these past few days, and it was only the young mistress's words that gave us hope!"
The servants' overflowing gratitude was evident; once they left, they would surely recount the events in detail, and everyone would know that it was Song Xizhi who had taken charge of dealing with those corrupt shopkeepers in the Hou family's store.
It is likely that Song Xizhi will become even more popular in the future!
Whether she is in charge of the household or not, the servants of the Marquis's mansion will obey her every command. After this incident, she will become the true mistress of the Marquis's mansion.
The thought of this made Huang feel like she was about to vomit blood.
He Yunze also came to his senses at this moment. He did not expect that his angry confrontation with Song Xizhi would help Song Xizhi win people's hearts.
He Yunze was panting heavily, his two clenched fists trembling. He immediately realized the suspicious points.
"Song Xizhi, you really know how to win people over! But isn't this all a staged performance by yourself?"
"Otherwise, how do you explain Ruo'an's poisoning? If she was mistreated while she was ill, and it was these servants who did it, then they were the ones who poisoned her too?"
He refused to believe any of it. Ruo'an could not possibly mistreat Song Xizhi, much less be so cold-blooded and ruthless towards her servants. Therefore, everything was a premeditated story by Song Xizhi!
That must be it!
Upon hearing this, Aunt Cao's smile froze on her face. She looked somewhat bewildered and hurriedly shook her head, explaining, "No! No!"
"I didn't poison her food at all! I didn't do it! I just wanted to get back at her by cutting back on her food!"
Song Xizhi met He Yunze's questioning gaze calmly: "She was poisoned? Then is she dead?"
Her blunt words made He Yunze choke: "Do you want her to die that badly? Ruo'an only ingested a tiny bit of arsenic and immediately vomited it up. She didn't die. You must be very disappointed, right?"
Song Xizhi simply shrugged: "Since she's not dead, then I didn't poison her. Everyone knows I'm skilled in medicine. If I wanted her to die, I would have used a deadly poison that kills instantly, not arsenic. She can't breathe anymore."
He Yunze was furious when he heard Song Xizhi's words. "You actually have such an indifferent attitude?"
Song Xizhi looked at him sincerely: "Of course, I should be angry to be wronged by you, but this is not the first or second time. I'm used to it."
“I haven’t had my health ruined or my reputation destroyed by Song Ruoan. Now, so many people hate Song Ruoan, including you and your mother-in-law, as well as the wives of officials outside. Aren’t they all more suspicious than me?”
“I have no reason to go to such lengths to harm her. If you want to get to the bottom of things, you should interrogate everyone in Guanyunxuan, including Song Ruoan. Even if it is the government that is making a judgment, it should be done in this way, not just by talking.”
As Song Xizhi spoke, he was already quite certain in his heart who the real culprit was who had poisoned him.
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