Chapter 380: Interrogation in the Flower Hall
Aunt Shen turned pale and stared at Yuan Wanru in disbelief: "Impossible... This is absolutely impossible..."
Her voice trembled, her eyes full of doubt, "In all these years you have been in the Lu family, I have never seen..."
Yuan Wanru took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Yes or no, it doesn't really matter."
She put down the teacup, and the porcelain clinked against the table, making a crisp sound: "The important thing is that you are indeed a secret agent planted in the Marquis' Mansion by the Second Prince and the Liang family. Do you still want to quibble about this?"
Aunt Shen suddenly burst into tears: "Old Madam, please understand! The Crown Prince's wife is slandering me! I have been in the mansion for many years and have always been law-abiding. How could I be a spy?"
She turned to Lu Bai, crying, "Master, please make the decision for me! As for the old lady being poisoned, I really didn't know anything about it!"
Lu Bai was hesitant because of her crying, and his eyes moved back and forth between Yuan Wanru and Aunt Shen.
Although Madam Lu couldn't even finish her words, she still tried to resist Yuan Wanru: "Second brother... don't listen to this vicious woman's nonsense..."
She spoke every word with all her might, "She said Shen poisoned... Where's the evidence? Maybe... she was the one who poisoned..."
Yuan Wanru chuckled when she heard this, and the laughter sounded particularly harsh in the solemn flower hall: "Since the old lady doesn't believe it, then we should invite witnesses to come up. We must make you and Second Uncle convinced. Otherwise, won't our eldest house be wrongly accused?"
She waved her hand, and Xuanying immediately brought up seven or eight servants.
Yuan Wanru's eyes were like knives, and she pointed directly at the trembling Chef Li: "Chef Li, tell me, did Aunt Shen give you a packet of powder today and ask you to put it in the soup?"
Chef Li knelt down with his forehead on the ground, "No! Absolutely not! Madam, I dare not add anything to the soup even if I have the courage of heaven!"
Seeing this, Madam Lu sneered weakly: "I said...she directed and acted it all herself..."
Yuan Wanru walked slowly to Chef Li and said, "Do you know that the powder can kill people?"
She pointed at the pale Madam Lu and said, "The old lady is almost dead now. If it is confirmed that you poisoned her..." She deliberately dragged out her voice, "According to the laws of Dajing, murdering an official's family is punishable by death by slow slicing."
Upon hearing this, Chef Li collapsed to the ground: "Madam, spare me! Aunt Shen did give me a packet of powder, saying it was the old lady's favorite spice... I am confused, but I have no intention of harming anyone!"
Chef Li is certainly not confused.
But during this period, Aunt Shen was a favorite of the old lady, and she was very sweet-talking. Every time she asked him to do something, she was very generous in rewarding him.
That's why Chef Li followed Aunt Shen's instructions without hesitation.
Aunt Shen tried to remain calm and said, "I only gave you ordinary spices. I don't accept the Crown Prince's wife's framing of me like this!"
Yuan Wanru raised her lips slightly: "No hurry."
She turned to Liuyan and said, "Go serve a bowl of soup to the sixth girl. She left the table early, so she must not have eaten enough."
"The cherry meat is well cooked. Send a plate to the Sixth Miss and tell her that... the old lady specifically asked her to finish it."
Aunt Shen's face changed suddenly when she heard this, but she still bit her lips tightly and said nothing.
Yuan Wanru sipped her tea leisurely and said softly, "My second uncle has many children. Rather than causing any trouble in the future, it is better to..."
She paused meaningfully, "Cut the grass at its roots."
Liuyan had already packed the food box and was about to leave the hall when Aunt Shen finally broke down and shouted, "No!"
She rushed forward to stop him, but was kicked to the ground by Shi Ying. "Madam, you have such a cruel heart!"
Yuan Wanru raised her eyebrows: "I just felt sorry for Sixth Sister not having enough to eat, how can I be considered cruel?"
She looked around at everyone and said, "Since the food is not poisonous, why can't it be given to the Sixth Miss? Old Madam, don't you think this is the truth?"
At this moment, everyone present understood that the food was indeed poisoned by Aunt Shen!
Lu Bai's face was ashen, while Old Madam Lu slumped in her chair, fear finally showing in her eyes.
-
After all the idlers had left, the hall returned to silence, leaving only the occasional crackling sound of candlelight.
Yuan Wanru sat upright in the armchair, tapping the table with her fingertips, and each tap seemed to be hitting Aunt Shen's heart.
"Tell me about it," Yuan Wanru said softly, but with irresistible pressure, "What good things have you done in the Lu family over the years?"
Aunt Shen knelt on the ground, with her head lowered, not saying a word.
"You were the one behind Aunt Pan's incident, weren't you?"
Yuan Wanru continued to ask, her eyes as sharp as a knife.
Aunt Shen remained silent, but her slightly trembling fingers revealed her inner anxiety.
"It seems so." Yuan Wanru sneered, picked up the teacup and took a sip, "There is one thing I still don't understand. Last year, Second Aunt asked someone to take me to Wangzhu Lake. It was you who pushed me into the water, right?"
Seeing that Aunt Shen still didn't answer, Yuan Wanru winked at Shi Ying.
Shi Ying understood and stepped forward and gently touched Aunt Shen on the back of her neck.
"ah--!"
Aunt Shen suddenly let out a shrill scream, curled up into a ball and rolled on the ground, her ten fingers dug deep into the cracks of the blue bricks, her knuckles turned blue-white. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, wetting the broken hair on her temples.
"You still won't tell me?"
Yuan Wanru looked down at her condescendingly, "Aunt Shen, although Lu Sha is a child, she is your flesh and blood after all. If you want to save her life..."
She suddenly emphasized, "It's better to confess now."
"Poisonous...poisonous woman!" Aunt Shen squeezed out a few words from between her teeth, "She...she is the blood of the Lu family..."
Yuan Wanru sneered even more when she heard this: "If I hadn't noticed it in advance, everyone in the Lu family would have died tonight. You ruined Lu Sha's life with your own hands."
She raised her hand, and Quartz immediately patted Aunt Shen on the back, and the bone-gnawing pain instantly disappeared.
"Speak," Yuan Wanru's voice suddenly turned cold, "or I will send you and your daughter off together."
She stood up slowly, her skirt sweeping across the ground, "Liang Yusong's life is gone, so why would I care about a lowly concubine like you?"
These words were like a thunderclap, causing everyone present to change color.
Zhou Fang swallowed unconsciously, and looked at Yuan Wanru with fear in her eyes. What she meant was that she was the one who killed Liang Yusong? !
Everyone in the capital knew how embarrassing Liang Yusong's death was.
Lu Bai staggered back two steps and barely stood firm by holding onto the back of a chair. He looked at his niece-in-law, who used to be gentle and graceful, and now she seemed so strange and terribly unfamiliar to him.
"If you don't want to talk, forget it. I'll count to three."
Yuan Wanru's voice was particularly clear in the silent flower hall, "One..."
Aunt Shen trembled all over and looked up at Yuan Wanru.
Those eyes were very calm, so calm that there was not a trace of emotion in them. Aunt Shen understood that the woman in front of her would really do what she said.
"two……"
"I say!"
Aunt Shen finally broke down and screamed, "I'll tell you everything!"
Yuan Wanru raised her lips slightly and sat back in her chair: "If you had known better, why would you have suffered so much?"
She winked at Xuanying and said, "Bring a pen and paper, and ask her to write down everything she knows and sign it as proof."
Outside the window, a gust of night wind blew past, causing the candlelight to flicker and stretching the shadows of the people, swaying wildly on the wall, as if they were also frightened by tonight's interrogation.
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