"To ensure everything goes smoothly, I've arranged for an artist to paint portraits of the two young ladies later. Then, I'll send someone to their hometowns tonight to verify their identities with neighbors and relatives. It will be difficult for the two ladies during this time."
Once your identities are verified, you will be assigned to live in the Horn Palace and the Feather Palace respectively.
After explaining these matters, Gong Shangjiao nodded slightly, signaling Jin Fu to lead the two women away first. Once they were out of the room, Elder Xue turned to Gong Shangjiao and softly asked:
"Shang Jiao, I heard that you arrested the person who poisoned Miss Jiang yesterday?"
"Yes, she said she was an orphan of the Lonely Mountain Sect, yet she also bore the unique marks of the sect. Considering that the Palace Gate bore an undeniable responsibility for the annihilation of the Lonely Mountain Sect, and also considering whether the truth of the matter was as she described,..."
I placed the person in a courtyard near the dungeon and assigned guards and maids skilled in martial arts to watch over them.
Hearing Gong Shangjiao's arrangement, Elder Xue nodded in agreement. They had indeed wronged the Lonely Mountain Sect back then. Now that Huan Yu was dead, if what this girl said was true, then she truly was the last bloodline of the Lonely Mountain Sect.
The three elders couldn't help but sigh when they thought of this incident. Back then, their palace was also caught in a dilemma. They wanted to avoid Wu Feng, but they never expected that they would still be unable to avoid him in the end.
"If there's nothing else important, you should all go back now," Elder Yue said.
Elder Hua, who was sitting to the side, was about to get up and leave. He had to go back and see what his good-for-nothing son was up to this time. Not long ago, he was doing nothing, but lately he was like a man possessed, burying himself in the iron room all day and refusing to come out.
"Wait! Elder, I have something to report again!" Seeing everyone about to turn and leave, Gong Ziyu was extremely anxious and quickly stopped them. After speaking, he turned to Jin Fan and ordered, "Jin Fan, bring the person up!"
[What, is there more to the story? I don't think there is... right?] Gong Ruanruan recalled the plot and confirmed that there was nothing else going on.
Jin Fan swiftly escorted Steward Jia to the crowd. The two men and the cat watched as the man was brought before them. Steward Jia's hands were bound, and his mouth was tightly gagged with a strip of cloth. Yet, upon seeing Gong Yuanzheng, he remained unusually calm, seemingly indifferent to everything unfolding before him. This made Gong Ziyu, watching from the side, wonder if those below were truly Gong Yuanzheng's men.
In contrast, Gong Ruanruan appeared shocked and incredulous. She stared wide-eyed at Steward Jia kneeling on the ground, puzzled. [Steward Jia's accusation that my brother switched the Herbal Extract formula—wasn't that supposed to happen tomorrow night? Why is it happening so early?]
Upon learning the news, Gong Yuanzheng was seriously considering how to punish this traitor. Originally, he had researched an enhanced version of poison intended for Shangguan Qian, but at the crucial moment, she claimed to be a member of the Lonely Mountain Sect.
He didn't even know how strong the effect was. Now, it just so happens that Steward Jia has been by his side for a long time and understands pharmacology. What kind of effect will it have if he is used to test the medicine?
"Ziyu, what are you doing?" Steward Jia, who was kneeling on the ground, was naturally unfamiliar with the three elders sitting above him.
"Ziyu, what exactly is going on?" Seeing Steward Jia kneeling on the ground and the three elders sitting above looking completely bewildered, it was clear that they did not understand the matter.
"Elder, this is Manager Jia from the clinic. I saw him acting suspiciously, burning something, at the clinic today, so I had Jin Fan arrest him. Jin Fan removed the cloth from his mouth." Gong Ziyu briefly recounted what had happened at the clinic that day.
Jin Fan removed the cloth from his mouth.
“Repeat what you just said to the elders.”
“I…I…I…” The three elders stared at the person on the ground, who stammered for a long time without saying a word.
The three elders watched as the person on the ground stammered and stammered for a long time. Elder Hua, whose temper was about to flare up, roared, "What do you mean, 'what ...' and shouted, 'Speak up!'
"The Divine Feather Flower in the Herbal Essence was replaced with Spiritual Fragrant Grass. This was all done by Young Master Gong Yuanzheng at my behest. It really has nothing to do with me!" Steward Jia shouted his grievances, shaking his head like a rattle drum, not daring to even glance at Gong Yuanzheng.
Everyone present, except for Gong Shangjiao, looked at Gong Yuanzheng in astonishment. However, they did not see any sign of anger from Gong Yuanzheng. Instead, Gong Yuanzheng stood calmly to the side, neither saying a word nor moving. He simply stroked Gong Ruanruan's little head gently, as usual.
Seeing this, Elder Hua turned around abruptly, glared fiercely at Steward Jia, and suppressed his anger. He forcefully flicked his sleeve and said sternly, "Steward Jia, explain yourself!"
Upon hearing this, Steward Jia trembled with fear and hurriedly kowtowed, saying in a tearful voice, "When the young master gave the order, this old servant thought that the young master had developed an even more ingenious prescription. If I had known that doing this would endanger the young master's life, even if you gave me a hundred lives, I would never have dared to do it!"
"Yuanzheng, how do you explain this?" Elder Xue knew perfectly well that Gong Yuanzheng could not possibly have done this.
Gong Yuanzheng stopped stroking the fluffy little head in his arms, and let out a cold snort. His tone was so calm that it was as if the matter had nothing to do with him: "You keep saying that I asked you to switch the prescription for Baicao Cui, then why are the Baicao Cui and Zhiren in the pharmacy different from those of the former young master? Also, I was the one who saved Zhiren. Tell me, if I wanted to kill someone, why would I waste such precious medicinal materials to save someone?"
Besides, all the herbal extracts and weapons consumed by everyone within the palace, including the elders and young masters, were prepared by me. You think I possess such important information? If I simply added poison to these medicines, the entire palace would be under my control. Why would I do something so foolish?
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