"I've been at the Xishan barracks all this time and haven't seen Manager Qian at all. Everyone at the barracks can vouch for me!"
The third prince was practically swearing an oath to the heavens.
Seeing Jiang Jiaojiao and Yuan Bao'er's disbelieving expressions, she became so angry that she blurted out, "You—this old woman is your Jin Youfang's cook, don't you know that you're the one crying 'stop thief'!"
"Pfft—"
Jiang Jiaojiao scoffed, "You mean, I deliberately poisoned the children to frame myself?"
The Third Prince's face flushed red. "You... perhaps you didn't expect to be exposed, otherwise why would you take in those children? There are clearly official orphanages in the capital!"
"Why do you need to set up some kind of 'Golden Children's Hall' to gain fame!"
These words were spoken.
This immediately drew applause from those outside the hall.
Jiang Jiaojiao's gaze swept over the crowd inside and outside the hall, and she slowly spoke, "Hehe, I'm sure everyone wants to know why, right?"
Sure enough, voices of agreement came from outside the hall.
"That's right! There's a charity orphanage managed by the Ministry of Rites, so why did you set up this 'Golden Orphanage'?"
"What else could it be but seeking fame and fortune?"
The ones questioning were a few well-dressed young men who looked like scholars. They looked at Jiang Jiaojiao with ill intent, and their gazes toward Old Mr. Li were full of resentment.
If Jiang Liu were here, he would surely recognize it.
They were the young masters who wanted to use connections to become disciples of Mr. Li, but were rejected.
"Because the Salesian Garden is a true den of wolves and tigers!"
Jin Jiaojiao's words were resounding, like a thunderclap exploding in everyone's ears.
Everyone was shocked by this sudden news. Their eyes widened, their mouths gaped, and their faces showed expressions of astonishment and disbelief.
What evidence do you have?
The group of young masters' expressions changed drastically, and some even jumped out to demand answers.
Just then.
The boy standing to the side suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, and blurted out, "I am the evidence!"
As he spoke.
He rolled up his sleeves, revealing a pair of arms covered in scars. "They adopted us just to make us do hard labor. The good-looking ones were sent to brothels to earn money when they grew up! The ugly ones had their arms and legs broken and were forced to beg!"
"But it wasn't Kim Eun-bong who did this, it was Tseung Kwan Ou-bong!"
At this moment.
Xiangling, nestled in Li Yunxuan's arms, trembled slightly and slowly opened her eyes.
The boy lowered his head in shame. "It was Jin Youfang who truly gave us a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and provided us with food and clothing. Sister Xiangling... even cooked delicious meat for us."
The crowd immediately stirred, a cacophony of voices and discussions erupting as people stared at the boy in astonishment.
Especially those young masters, who had been standing there confidently, were now somewhat flustered by the boy's words.
They stubbornly argued, "Nonsense!"
One of the young men angrily pointed at the boy: "You must have been bribed! Otherwise, why were they all poisoned, but you weren't?"
The boy's face flushed red with anger and shame. "That's because I gave the meat to my sister."
What evidence do you have?
"Without evidence, it's a lie!"
suddenly--
With a soft cough, the Seventh Prince Li Yan slowly walked in. "The evidence is here."
Everyone looked over.
A stunningly handsome man was holding a thin, frail little girl in his arms, with an angry old doctor beside him.
And the royal guards behind him.
Each person was holding a child in their arms, and although the children were pale, their eyes were bright and piercing.
"We...we're here to testify!"
"Jinyoufang is a wonderful place. They made sure we were well-fed and clothed, and even had people teach us to read and write. Sister Xiangling also made us delicious pastries!"
"We've never eaten anything so delicious before!"
"I love embroidery. My teacher said that once we know a thousand characters, someone will hire an embroiderer to teach us."
The sudden scene left everyone in and outside the hall wide-eyed in disbelief.
These... these are the poisoned children?
Isn't it said that the poison of the Gelsemium elegans is incurable by any medicine?
The old doctor bowed to the prefect and said, "Your Honor, it was Miss Jiang's benevolent medical skills that cured the children of the poisonous poison!"
The prefect stood there dumbfounded.
The Third Prince stood there dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning. Jiang Jiaojiao was a compassionate doctor.
Isn't Xue'er the one who knows medicine?
Even Mr. Li was astonished. This girl could even cure the poison of the Heartbreak Grass?
A bright light flashed in Xiangling's eyes.
The children are alright, that's great.
Seeing Xiangxiang shed her deathly aura and regain her vitality, Li Yunxuan's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Xiangxiang is alright, that's great.
When the little girl in Li Yan's arms saw Xiang Ling covered in blood, she quickly struggled to get down.
"Sister Xiangling, what's wrong?"
Seeing that Xiangling didn't answer, she anxiously asked the boy, "Brother, how did Sister Xiangling get hurt?"
The boy finally came to his senses.
Grabbing his sister's hand, filled with extreme guilt, he actually...believed that it was Xiangling who poisoned them.
The boy, filled with remorse, answered weakly.
"I can testify to my sister that the spices in that sachet were crushed by my sister and me together. My sister even gave me a sachet, and it's right here!"
The little girl hurriedly held up a purse that was exactly the same as Xiangling's.
Seeing this, the children slid off the guards' arms and surrounded Xiangling, excitedly shouting, "I can be a witness too!"
"Sister Xiangling, we believe in you!"
The children's voices were clear and loud, filled with innocence and sincerity, and their eyes were full of trust in Xiangling.
Xiangling was in tears, her body trembling uncontrollably, tears streaming down her cheeks as if she couldn't stop them.
The crowd was deeply moved by this scene, silently wiping away tears from the corners of their eyes.
"Since the orphanage is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, and the Seventh Prince is in charge of the Ministry of Rites, shouldn't he give everyone an explanation?"
Suddenly, a different voice rang out from the crowd.
The Seventh Prince, Li Yan, slowly raised his head, and everyone's eyes lit up as he revealed an unparalleled face, as bright as the brightest star in the sky, attracting everyone's attention. What was even more surprising was that his face, which used to always look sickly and pale, now exuded a noble aura, as if he had been completely transformed.
Even the Third Prince standing in front of him paled in comparison.
Before he could speak.
Jiang Jiaojiao sneered, "It was precisely because His Highness discovered that the orphanage was in such a state of disrepair that we devised a way to save the children from this dire situation."
Li Yan listened to Jiao Jiao's protective words, her eyes gentle and tender, and waved her hand lightly.
Dao Hong came out carrying an account book.
The ledger was handed to the prefect. After flipping through a few pages, the prefect's eyes widened instantly, as if he had seen something terrifying.
The clerk, who had been secretly watching from the side with his head down, was also pale-faced, with large beads of sweat constantly appearing on his forehead.
The third prince suddenly snatched the account book back, quickly glanced at a few lines, and then jumped up and cursed, "Second brother, you bastard!"
This is the secret ledger of the money transactions of the orphanage.
The money ultimately ended up in the Second Prince's residence! The Minister of Rites is one of the Second Prince's men!
Some of the transactions even included the name of the person in charge of the money.
so--
Manager Qian is also one of the Second Prince's men!
The truth is now obvious!
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