As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked. Xiao Du quickly opened the curtain and followed Juanbi inside without asking any more questions. Yuan Xi didn't know what happened, so she quickly took Xiao Zhixuan's hand and walked down. Just as she hurriedly passed the car that Xiao Du was sitting in, she suddenly stopped in her tracks because she felt a pair of eyes staring at her. A familiar trembling feeling suddenly filled her body. She turned her head and saw Yunniang sitting in the car with her head tilted, staring straight ahead. Her eyes, her eyes...

"Sister-in-law?" Seeing Yuan Xi standing in front of the car in a daze, Xiao Zhixuan tugged at her sleeve curiously. Yuan Xi suddenly came to her senses, bit her lower lip, and tried to make her expression look more natural. She nodded to Yunniang in the car, but Yunniang seemed unaware, as if she had been in that pose for thousands of years.

Yuan Xi suppressed her panic, knowing that this was not the best time to pursue the issue, so she straightened her clothes and was led by the servants to the mansion. At this moment, the sun was shining brightly, making the gilded plaque under the eaves of the mansion particularly dazzling.

Several people hurried into the inner room of the main courtyard, only to see Xiao Yunjing, who was sitting at the top, with a solemn expression on his face. When he saw Xiao Du and the others coming back, he simply told the servants to wait for them to sit down. Madam Zhao, who was sitting on his left, clasped her hands, her face was pale, and her beautiful eyes had lost their usual calmness. She was staring at Aunt Wang, who was sitting below and wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. There was another person sitting next to Aunt Wang, with a pretty face but a cold and gloomy temperament. It was the second young master Xiao Qing who had not appeared for a long time. At this moment, the room was strangely quiet, with only faint sobs and gasps.

After paying her respects, Yuan Xi was led to sit down by the servant. She found a person kneeling in the middle of the hall. Her hands were tied behind her back and her face was covered in blood. It was Nanny Yu who served Madam Zhao. When she saw Xiao Du coming in, she rushed over and cried, "My Lord, please save me. I am innocent!"

Xiao Du glanced coldly at everyone in the room, bowed to Xiao Yunjing and said, "Father, can you tell me what happened?"

Xiao Yunjing glanced down coldly and said, "Why don't you ask her yourself? What good things have you done?"

Nanny Yu wiped the blood and tears from her face, knelt straight, and said in a trembling voice: "I really didn't do anything! The matter of the Buddhist temple really has nothing to do with me!"

Xiao Du's heart sank. Everyone knew that Nanny Yu was the person that his mother trusted the most. She had been serving his mother since she married into the Marquis's mansion. She was even willing to give up the opportunity to be exiled and married. She had long been close to his mother like a family member. This time, the interrogation of Nanny Yu was ostensibly to make it known to everyone that his mother was the real culprit of the Buddhist temple incident. He quickly raised his head to look at Madam Zhao, who was leaning weakly on the back of a chair. Her eyes, when she looked at Nanny Yu, were mixed with resentment, reluctance, and unwillingness to give up pride.

Xiao Du then turned around and said to Aunt Wang who was wiping away tears, "I wonder if Aunt Wang can explain to me what exactly is the relationship between Aunt Yu and the Buddhist temple?"

Aunt Wang raised her red eyes from crying. Before she could say anything, Xiao Qing, who was sitting beside her, stood up and said, "Brother, you said this as if Aunt Wang was targeting her. If this old servant hadn't gone too far and dared to shake the foundation of the Marquis's Mansion, why would we have to go to such great lengths?" As he spoke, he picked up a figurine with needles stuck in it from the table and threw it on the ground, shouting, "Tell me! Did you find this in your room? You wrote Aunt Wang's birth date on it. What is your intention in using these vicious tricks?"

Xiao Du frowned, and seeing the resentful yet speechless expression on Yu Ma's face, he understood what was going on, and asked again, "Then what does this have to do with the Buddhist temple?"

"Of course there is!" Xiao Qing's voice rose slightly, "I also found this in her room."

Xiao Qing took out a bronze whistle and said, "I asked someone to check. Nanny Yu was originally born in Miaojiang. The Miao people are best at raising snakes, and this type of whistle is used by their tribe to attract snakes. Why did so many snakes appear in the temple that day? Of course, someone deliberately attracted them. This slave, out of his own selfish interests, would rather let the Marquis's mansion bear the name of heaven's punishment in order to protect the temple. How evil his intentions are!"

When he talked about his own selfish interests, his eyes seemed to glance at Mrs. Zhao intentionally or unintentionally. Mrs. Zhao was so angry that she was shaking all over, but she still held her head high and never said a word of excuse.

Before Xiao Du opened his mouth, Nanny Yu on the ground started crying, "That's not true, Lord Hou, don't listen to their nonsense. My family is indeed good at raising snakes, but this whistle was left to me by my mother. I carry it with me because I miss my family. It has nothing to do with attracting snakes."

Xiao Qing snorted softly: "Many strange things happened in the Buddhist temple for no reason. You are the only one in this mansion who knows those voodoo techniques and happens to know how to lure snakes. How can such a coincidence happen in the world?"

Xiao Du turned to Xiao Yunjing and said, "Father really believes in nonsense like voodoo and snake-luring magic."

Xiao Yunjing closed his eyes gently and said, "It has been a few days since the incident in the Buddhist temple, but there is still no result. Now, she is the most likely person to manipulate this matter, and this is also the only truth that can explain the strange things in the Buddhist temple. Otherwise, the rumor that the gods are punishing the mansion will continue. You are the owner of this mansion now, you tell me what to do?"

Nanny Yu understood the meaning of these words and knelt on the ground in despair, covering her face and crying. Madam Zhao's eyes were also red, and she turned her head away, digging her nails deeply into her palms. Xiao Du felt a chill in his heart, and was about to speak, when he suddenly heard a soft voice from the side saying, "Master, can you let your daughter-in-law say something?"

Everyone immediately cast their eyes on Yuan Xi, whose face was still a little pale. Yuan Xi was suddenly stared at by everyone in the room, and her heart was nervously flustered. She suddenly couldn't say the words she had prepared before.

Xiao Du slowly walked to her side, intentionally or unintentionally using his broad shoulders to shield her from the gazes of the crowd. Yuan Xi raised her head and saw his encouraging eyes. She slowly regained some courage, stood up and said, "What happened in the Buddhist temple that day was indeed man-made, but it had nothing to do with voodoo or snake-luring techniques."

Everyone in the hall started whispering. Xiao Yunjing frowned and asked, "How did you know?" Yuan Xi glanced at Xiao Du in front of him, took a deep breath and continued, "I touched the captured snakes that day and found that they were very wet, as if they had just been pulled out of the water. They also had a strange smell. I wonder if there are any servants here who went in to catch snakes that day. I want to ask one thing clearly, whether there were still a lot of water stains around the snakes that day."

One of the servants who rushed into the temple first came out and bowed and said, "It is true. When I first arrived, I saw that the snakes left many stains on the ground as they crawled."

"Have you ever smelled any strange smells?" Yuan Xi asked again

The servant thought about it carefully and nodded, "There is a very pungent smell, it seems to be sulfur!"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "According to this speculation, this method is not complicated. It just takes advantage of the hibernation habit of snakes. First, put the snakes in the ice cellar to freeze them, so that they think they are still hibernating. When the time is right, hide them in the temple in advance. The noise of the craftsmen on that day, plus the sulfur smell that is most irritating to snakes, will make the snakes slowly wake up, and at the same time they will be restless and want to attack anyone they see." She paused and said, "And such a trick does not require any Miaojiang snake-luring technique. Anyone present can do it."

She had never spoken so much in front of so many people. After she finished speaking in one breath, she felt her heartbeat quicken and her body was so hot that she felt like sweating. Xiao Du smiled at her, helped her sit down, and turned around and said, "If you use a whistle to lure the snakes, how can you guarantee that so many snakes are hidden in the temple in advance without being discovered? How can the person who lures the snakes control so many snakes to rush out without showing up? I know that my father is anxious to know the truth, but you can't just accuse innocent people for this reason."

Xiao Yunjing's face changed several times, and he finally sighed and stopped. Aunt Wang said at this time: "Master, even if there is no evidence to prove the matter in the Buddhist temple, she used a vicious method to curse me and I cannot argue. Are you going to just let it go?"

At this time, Madam Zhao slowly stood up and said, "Madame Yu did make a mistake this time, but she was also angry for me and couldn't stand some villains playing some insidious tricks behind my back. I don't think Aunt Wang has done anything serious. This time, it was my fault for not disciplining her well. If you want to punish someone, just punish me."

Aunt Wang lowered her head and rubbed the handkerchief in her hand angrily, knowing that she had already lost. She was the biological sister of the late emperor and the stepmother of the Marquis. Even the old Marquis could not do anything to her. What he hated most was that he could not find any evidence that she manipulated the affairs of the Buddhist temple, otherwise, even if Nanny Yu wanted to protect her, she would not be able to do so. Thinking of this, Aunt Wang could not help but secretly glare at Yuan Xi with resentment.

Xiao Yunjing was already very tired at this time. He stood up and said, "Let's do this. Nanny Yu has already been punished and admitted her mistake. She will be fined one month's salary as a warning. The rest will be handled by Madam." Madam Zhao smiled slightly and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your mercy, sir." Seeing that Xiao Yunjing had already spoken, Aunt Wang knew that the situation was hopeless, so she had to agree silently and reluctantly.

Thus, a drama that should have been full of excitement ended in such a bland way. Seeing that everyone in the room had left, Yuan Xi was about to stand up when a hand was extended in front of her. She hesitated for a moment, but still put her hand into his palm and let him lead her to stand up. Xiao Du held her but was not in a hurry to move forward. After everyone in the room slowly dispersed, he whispered to her, "Do you even know how to raise snakes?"

Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment, and said, "I've read books about crimes involving snakes before."

Xiao Du asked casually with a smile, "Why would the Prime Minister's Mansion prepare so many books like this for young ladies who have not yet married to read?"

Yuan Xi was startled and said uncomfortably, "I asked An He to help me find it. She knows a few servants and can ask them to go out and buy some books."

Xiao Du looked at her noncommittally, slowly let go of her hand, and told An He to come up and take care of her. Yuan Xi sighed in her heart, and just as she walked out of the door, she ran into Nanny Yu who was waiting there. Nanny Yu knelt down as soon as she saw her and said, "Thank you, madam. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have died unjustly today!"

Yuan Xi hurriedly supported her and was about to speak when he heard Madam Zhao coldly say, "Don't think that being in the spotlight today is a good thing. Do you think the old man really believes those nonsense that are full of mistakes? It's just that the matter of the Buddhist temple has not been resolved, and he needs to find someone to take the blame and give an explanation to the outsiders. It just so happened that Aunt Wang played this good drama, and he went with the flow, not caring who would be implicated?"

Yuan Xi was stunned. She was never good at guessing people's minds. Thinking about it carefully, she felt a little cold. At this time, Mrs. Zhao took a step forward and said coldly to the rich and prosperous courtyards in front of her: "Married couples, this is just like this."

The sadness and loneliness in these words made Yuan Xi feel inexplicably sad. When she looked up again, Madam Zhao was already being supported by Nanny Yu and had walked away without looking back.

On the other side, Xiao Du quickly caught up with Xiao Zhixuan who was walking in front of him and pulled her to a secluded place. Xiao Zhixuan was about to ask a question in confusion, but Xiao Du stared at her and said coldly: "Now you can tell me, where did you go last night?"