"What happened? Who gave Chuntao food?" Liu's voice, trembling and panicking, echoed in the night.
"It's me." I slowly shook the celadon bowl in my hand, a little soup still lingering at the bottom. "Aunt Liu sent me the lily and white fungus soup. I thought Sister Chuntao worked hard to serve you, so I gave her half a bowl."
Liu's face drained of color, her already frightened expression becoming even more horrified. Her pearl earrings swung ever more rapidly, as if they would fall off at any moment. "You're slandering me! I clearly... " She suddenly realized she'd said the wrong thing and quickly shut up. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes twitched violently with fear, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
"Really?" I winked at Mo Zhu, who understood and immediately stepped forward, shaking out the cloth bag. The jet-black silver needles and dried medicinal residue immediately tumbled to the ground, glaring in the moonlight. I leaned over and picked up a dried leaf, carefully holding it up to the palace lantern. My voice was steady and firm: "Doctor Liu says this is oleander leaves. Drinking it in a soup will cause vomiting and diarrhea at best, and vomiting and diarrhea at worst..."
Before I could finish my words, Chuntao suddenly rushed over like a madman, hugged Liu's legs tightly, dug her nails deep into the hem of her brocade skirt, and cried out in tears: "Madam, save me! It was you who asked me to sprinkle the powder into the soup! You said it would only give the young lady a few days of abdominal pain, and it wouldn't be fatal!"
"Nonsense!" Panicked, Liu kicked Chuntao away, her voice as sharp as the cry of a night owl, "Someone! Drag this crazy girl away and beat her to death!"
"Wait." Just then, Su Xiang's voice rang out from the moon-shaped gate. He was wearing his homely black brocade robe, his jade belt still untied, and the key to his study hanging from his waist. He had obviously rushed over after hearing the commotion. My father's gaze swept coldly across the medicinal residue on the ground, finally landing on the oleander leaf in my hand. His brows knitted tightly into a "川" shape, his eyes revealing anger and disappointment. "Liu, do you have anything else to say?"
Seeing the situation was bad, Liu fell to her knees with a plop. Her hair bun instantly came loose, and her golden hairpins clattered onto the bluestone slabs with a sharp, piercing clang. "Master, please understand! Chuntao was the one who acted on her own initiative! I had no idea!" She burst into tears and tried to argue.
"You're lying!" The young marquis suddenly rushed out from behind his father, pointing his wooden sword at Liu, his eyes burning with anger. "I saw you in the garden this afternoon slipping an oil-paper bag to her and saying, 'I'll give you a new coat when you succeed!' Don't even think about denying it!"
His father's face was grim. He untied the mutton-fat jade fish pendant from his waist and slammed it heavily on the stone table. The sound of the jade pendant hitting the table was particularly clear in the night, like a verdict on Liu's crimes. "From today on, Liu is confined to Lanxiang Courtyard. Without my order, you are not allowed to take a single step out! Chuntao..." He paused, his voice as cold as iron, "Send her to Shuntian Prefecture for trial."
As Liu was carried away by the maid, the golden hairpin from her bun fell to the ground and rolled to my feet. I bent down to pick it up, my fingertips touching the cold gem, and a mixture of emotions washed over me. Suddenly, I remembered that she had done the same in my past life, using a mask of hypocrisy to push me step by step into the abyss. Countless suffering and grievances flooded my heart. Turning around, I met my father's complex gaze, filled with guilt, heartache, and a hint of relieved pride I had never seen before.
"Jinli," his father's voice was unusually gentle, like a spring night breeze, gently caressing his heart. "Starting tomorrow, I'll add ten guards to your compound." He coughed softly twice, then pulled out a silver note from his sleeve and thrust it towards me. The edge of the note still carried his body temperature. "Buy more storybooks to read, and don't tire yourself out."
Watching my father's slightly hunched back as he turned, I unconsciously wrinkled the banknotes in my hand. Mo Zhu leaned over, his voice still tinged with fear, "Miss, did you know the soup was poisoned?"
"Why else would I let Che drink the sour plum soup first?" I gently shook the sugar painting box in my sleeve. The wings of the sugar phoenix fluttered softly in the moonlight, as if expressing the joy of victory. "Some people always treat others as fools, but they don't realize that they are the clowns. They think they are calculating, but they don't know that everything is under control."
The night watchman knocked on his clappers and walked slowly past the wall. The "dong-dong-dong" sound echoed in the silent night, as if it was the footsteps of time. I quietly looked at the full moon in the sky. The moonlight was like water, sprinkling in the courtyard. Suddenly, I remembered the words "relieving fatigue" on Jiang Yan's note, and a warm feeling welled up in my heart. The mist of the spring night was lingering in the courtyard, as if adding a touch of mystery to the storm. The poisonous juice of the oleander was gradually evaporated by the moonlight, as if foreshadowing that all conspiracies would be exposed. And I know that the difficulties of this life will eventually be dispelled one by one under the morning light, just like this mist. The snoring of the young marquis with his childish honesty came from a distance, as if playing a peaceful melody for this quiet night. The phoenix in the sugar painting box is flapping its wings, reflecting a sweet and warm light in the darkness before dawn. That light seems to be guiding me towards a bright future, telling me that all the suffering will become a thing of the past, and a better life is waiting for me ahead.
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