After hearing these words, Chen froze in place. Finally, she had to hold on to the back of a nearby chair to steady herself.
What did Shen Zhixiu know? Impossible, he couldn't possibly find out anything so quickly.
He has always been a deep-minded person. He might be deceiving Su Qingyu for her own sake.
The old lady was also shocked by Shen Zhixiu's words. This son always spoke and acted cautiously. He would never speak without evidence.
After Shen Zhixiu finished speaking, he bowed to the old lady and sat down next to Shen Zhiheng.
The maidservant beside the old lady came in to serve tea, moving very quietly and not daring to make any noise.
Shen Zhixiu picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said nothing.
When he looked up at Su Qingyu opposite him, his eyes, which had been as cold as ice before, instantly became warm again.
Su Qingyu stared at Shen Zhixiu in a daze. He only glanced at her, but she seemed to hear a voice from his eyes.
[Madam, rest assured. Leave the rest to your husband.]
Shen Zhixiu didn't say anything, but that's how she felt.
Su Qingyu had only appeared calm before, but in reality, her heart was in a state of anxiety. However, she calmed down at this moment because of a look from Shen Zhixiu.
Even though the matter hadn't been resolved, she felt more at ease than ever before. The moment that person sat there, she felt as if she had taken a tranquilizer.
The old lady glanced at Shen Zhixiu, then gave Chen a look, indicating that she should sit back first.
Chen didn't dare to say anything more and could only go back and sit down.
Shen Zhiheng glared at Chen, and Chen's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he knew too?
But after Xiangdong got into trouble, Su Qingyu had no time to inform her subordinates, let alone inform Shen Zhixiu.
After much deliberation, she still felt that Shen Zhixiu was deceiving her. With Shen Zhixiu's intelligence, it was not difficult for him to guess what was going on, but he didn't necessarily have any evidence.
They couldn't imagine who replaced the spices, and as long as they weren't caught on the spot, it would be difficult to find out.
Thinking of this, Chen calmed down.
"Uncle San, what do you mean by that? You may be the second-in-command of the cabinet, holding a high position of power. But I am also your eldest sister-in-law. Are you insulting your eldest sister-in-law like that?"
After saying that, he took out a cotton handkerchief and continued to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes, looking at the old lady.
"I beg mother to make the decision for my daughter-in-law. I have been married to the Shen family for many years. I can be said to be filial to my mother-in-law and kind to my brothers. Now my third uncle dares to humiliate me in front of so many people in the family. If this gets out, how can I live in shame?"
"I am also a mother-in-law. You humiliated me in front of my daughter-in-law. Uncle San is going too far."
Chen tearfully denounced Shen Zhixiu, almost saying that Shen Zhixiu was bullying others by taking advantage of his power.
Su Qingyu stared at the cotton handkerchief in Chen's hand and wanted to ask, "You've been wiping your tears all day, is the handkerchief wet?"
After Chen finished speaking, Shen Zhixiu spoke, "Sister-in-law, are you done? Then let me speak."
He knew that Chen would not cry until she saw the coffin. But if there was no solid evidence, why would he question his eldest sister-in-law in public?
"Someone, bring Wu Laoqi up here."
The words "Wu Laoqi" caused a flash of panic in Chen's eyes. Although she returned to normal in an instant, the old lady still saw it clearly.
Chen subconsciously glanced at Hongye behind her. Hongye was not as calm as she was. She glared at her warningly, signaling her not to panic.
Wu Laoqi was brought up quickly. He was in his twenties and dressed in straight blue cloth.
He is the servant who takes care of the flowers and gardens of the Shen family, and is also the elder brother of Qinglian, the storehouse manager.
Shen Zhixiu looked at Wu Laoqi and asked, "Did you replace the spices in the warehouse?"
Wu Laoqi knelt on the ground, very scared, and took two deep breaths to calm himself down.
"In reply to Third Master, I was the one who replaced the spices. But I didn't know they were poisonous. I beg Third Master to spare my life."
Shen Zhixiu added, "Tell me exactly what happened."
Wu Laoqi swallowed nervously and continued speaking.
"It's the red leaf next to the eldest lady. She asked me to change it."
Hongye excitedly said, "You are slandering me. Master and Madam, please don't listen to his nonsense. It is none of my business."
Su Qingyu's brows furrowed. "How dare you! Third Master is asking questions, and you have no right to interrupt. Take him away first and slap him thirty times."
After she finished speaking, Su Qingyu turned around and whispered to Feicui, "When she gets beaten, go out and scare her."
Feicui nodded and followed the maids out calmly.
Before they could even question her, the couple joined forces to beat Chen's personal maid. It was Hongye who was beaten, and Chen who was humiliated.
Chen opened her mouth to stop him, but she swallowed the words back out of guilt. She didn't know how much evidence Shen Zhixiu had, and while she hesitated, the sound of a slap in the face reached her.
The sound of crisp slaps resounded, like hitting Chen's face. His hatred for Su Qingyu and Shen Zhixiu also reached its peak at this moment.
Su Qingyu looked at the expression on Chen's face meaningfully and sneered in her heart. This was just the beginning.
She would repay a hundredfold and a thousandfold the pain that the eldest wife of the Shen family had inflicted on her in her previous life.
Hongye was being beaten outside, and Shen Zhixiu continued to ask Wu Laoqi.
"Tell us exactly what happened."
Wu Laoqi knelt on the ground and recounted what had happened.
"Shunzi, who works with me, is from the same hometown as Hongye, so we kind of know each other. The day after the eldest young master got married, I was arranging the flowers used in the wedding banquet when Hongye suddenly came to see me."
"No one said anything at the time. They just gave me some snacks. They said they were leftovers from the Madam's reception, and she saved some good ones for me."
"In the following days, Hongye often came to see me and said some confusing things. The way she looked at me was also different from before."
"The day before yesterday, she suddenly told me...she was willing to marry me. She also gave me the spices and told me to secretly exchange them when I went to visit my sister. She said these spices weren't as valuable as the ones in the storehouse, and that the silver we could get from selling the exchanged spices would be enough for us to get married."
At this point, Wu Laoqi's face suddenly showed anger.
"I just found out today that she's already been engaged to the eldest lady's steward. She told me this just to coax me into doing something bad."
"But I really didn't know there was poison in the spice. I beg Third Master to show some mercy."
After Wu Laoqi finished speaking, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times.
Hongye had just finished slapping people and was brought in by two maids. Both sides of her cheeks were red and swollen.
Hongye was completely dazed from the beating, and Feicui's words made her panic. Even though she had already entered the hall, the sound of slaps and Feicui's voice seemed to still linger in her ears.
Taking advantage of her confusion, Shen Zhixiu asked.
"Hongye, who told you to put those problematic spices in there?"
"It's the eldest lady."
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