Fang Mingzhu abruptly flung open the curtain: "Who's been gossiping behind my back? Get out here!"
Liu, who was beside her, and several maids immediately pulled two people out of the flower bushes behind the sedan chair.
The two maids were immediately terrified, their faces pale, and they knelt down in front of Fang Mingzhu.
Fang Mingzhu, dressed in a magnificent gray Taoist robe, narrowed her eyes and stared at the two men with a gloomy expression: "Who were you talking about just now?"
Someone actually checked into Mingxiuyuan in advance?
Su Xuerong hasn't been to the incense shop these past few days.
As the temperature gradually rose, she worried that Yuanjie and Sujian would suffer from heatstroke, so she simply stopped taking them to the incense shop every day and entrusted the incense shop to Li Shi's care. She then took the two children to rest in the shade of the pavilion in the backyard of the house.
Su Shirong has been preparing to go to Quanzhou these past few days to settle his wife and mother-in-law in.
These days, Zhang and her daughter have visited the Sinong Temple in Hangzhou and several gatehouses in the north of the city.
The Ministry of Agriculture thought that Zhang's qualifications were good enough to be an official matchmaker, but the commission was not high. After some calculation, Zhang decided it would be better to find a private matchmaker job through a gatekeeper.
So, these past few days, despite the sweltering heat, she has been taking her daughter, Chen, through the streets and alleys. With Zhang's smooth-talking skills, she has already managed to get her daughter on the fringes of the matchmaking industry in Hangzhou.
The arrival of the hot summer cannot stop the wedding industry.
Zhang was not afraid of hardship, and she managed to bring about three good things in just half a month.
This greatly surprised Su Xuerong.
She was thinking that when the time was right, she would have her elder brother take Zhang and her daughter to Quanzhou. Before Xiao Yuan set sail, she would use the opportunity of Zhang and her daughter acting as matchmakers to find out about the housing prices in Quanzhou and expand her matchmaking business into a brokerage business. Ideally, she would be able to get the latest information on all kinds of jobs in the city.
However, seeing how enthusiastic the Zhang mother and daughter were about matchmaking lately, Su Xuerong did not make this suggestion for the time being.
Su Shirong soon headed south with the thousand taels of silver that Su Xuerong had given him.
The day after he set off, something happened at the incense shop.
That day, Su Xuerong was applying Sanfu patches to Yuanjie and Su Jian when she suddenly saw Xiuchun running over in a panic: "Madam, something bad has happened, there's been an accident at the shop."
When Su Xuerong arrived at the incense shop, there were seven or eight constables surrounding the entrance, sealing the door with two sheets of paper.
Li, standing to the side, was smiling obsequiously at the head constable, explaining something.
The men were all kicked out, looking terrified.
A number of onlookers stood nearby, pointing and whispering.
Su Xuerong strode over: "What happened?"
When Li saw her, she hurriedly came over and said in a low voice, "The other day a woman came to buy incense. She said that after burning incense from our shop, her husband... he vomited blood and died!"
"Nonsense!" Su Xuerong retorted angrily. "The incense in our shop isn't medicinal; how could it possibly cause someone to vomit blood and die?"
At that moment, the head constable squinted at her and looked over, his eyes suddenly lighting up.
He never expected that the female owner of Su's Incense Shop would be so stunningly beautiful.
When Su Xuerong saw the officers looking at her, her expression turned cold: "May I ask, sirs, why are you shutting down Su's Incense Shop?"
Her voice was like an ice cube in spring, crisp and melodious, bringing a refreshing coolness to the hot summer day.
The leader stared blankly at Su Xuerong for a long time before saying, "Yesterday someone came to report to the authorities that the incense in your shop contains deadly poison. We have been ordered to seal off the shop, and we would like to ask you, owner, to come with us to the prefectural government office!"
The seat of Hangzhou Prefecture.
Su Xuerong said coldly, "Where is that woman?"
"The magistrate is currently conducting an interrogation in the prefectural government!"
Su Xuerong suddenly thought of someone.
Chen Siyi.
Two weeks ago, she refused to make the murderous incense for Chen Siyi. Given her methods, will she retaliate against herself?
If she really did this, then I'll be in a difficult position.
Chen Siyi was able to make Xu Wanjing wary in her previous life, and her shrewdness and cunning should not be underestimated.
At this time, she was living in the Prince of Fenyang's mansion, and her relationship with Xiao Yuan was extraordinary.
If she wanted to harm him, he would have no chance to fight back.
Thinking of this, Su Xuerong calmed herself down, turned around and whispered a few words to Xiuchun behind her, before saying to the constable, "Alright, I'll go with you to see the magistrate."
Seeing that the beautiful woman in front of him was very obedient, the constable whispered in a flattering tone, "Madam, please speak to me gently later. My master is very good at cherishing women."
Su Xuerong saw a clear warning on his face.
A beautiful woman like you with no power or influence would have to use your beauty to get away if you wanted to escape.
As Su Xuerong was being taken to the Hangzhou prefectural capital, Xiuchun hurriedly went to the Prince of Fenyang's residence.
The result was not as simple as she had imagined; she was not able to meet Ling Qingxue.
Fully armed guards stood in front of the palace gates, ignoring all her explanations and blocking her from entering.
"Young lady, not just anyone can go in here. Get out of here!" the head guard shouted.
Xiuchun's eyes widened: "I can't even see Lord Ling Qingxue? He's the Chief Secretary!"
The man didn't reply at all and coldly ignored her.
Xiuchun gritted her teeth, turned around and ran towards Mingxiu Garden.
When Su Xuerong was taken to the Hangzhou prefectural government by those officers, she was greeted by a magnificent building with five bays and a nine-ridged roof.
After entering through the side door, one sees a constant stream of officials dressed in various uniforms.
She was led through a maze of twists and turns to a courtyard.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard a woman crying: "...My lord, you must do justice for me! If it weren't for the poisonous incense from Su's incense shop, my husband wouldn't have died so soon! Waaah..."
On both sides of the courtyard were the typical furnishings of a government office. Inside, a man wearing an official hat sat upright, and a thin woman knelt before the desk.
"My lord, the Su family has arrived!"
The officer who brought her in said this after he went inside.
The woman kneeling on the ground immediately turned her head, her gaze fierce as she looked at Su Xuerong: "You poisonous woman!"
Su Xuerong glanced at the woman.
The woman was dressed plainly, with a sallow and thin face, and a vicious look emanated from her sunken eyes.
Su Xuerong frowned and knelt down facing forward: "This humble woman, Su, greets Your Excellency."
Seated at the head of the table was Lu Zheng'an, the chief registrar of all the officials in Hangzhou Prefecture.
After glancing at Su Xuerong a few times, a common male greed flashed in his eyes.
But he quickly remembered what someone had mentioned before, and immediately concealed his outward gaze, sitting up straight and asking, "Mrs. Su, do you recognize this?"
Immediately, someone handed something to Su Xuerong.
It was an incense box engraved with the words "Su Ji" and contained several incense balls that had already been burned.
"Is this a box from your incense shop?" Lu Zheng'an sneered. "It was just examined by the officials. Your incense ball contains 'qianji grass,' which produces a small amount of toxins when burned. Perhaps most people wouldn't notice it, but this woman's husband was already ill, and after smelling this poisonous incense, he coughed up blood and died!"
"Now that the evidence is conclusive, do you plead guilty?"
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