"Confess quickly, and you may be spared punishment." Wei Huaixu looked at him coldly, completely unmoved.
Looking at his expression, Qingying couldn't help but think of Ashu for a moment.
She had previously remarked that Ashu's features bore a resemblance to Wei Huaixu's. It was a pity she never saw Ashu's true appearance before he died.
Zhang Hong said in a trembling voice, "This servant accepted a bribe from someone and asked me to add something to the horse's feed. I don't know what it is, but it's highly likely that it's what caused the horse to go crazy."
Who is it?
"She didn't have a clear view of her face; she was wearing a veil, and even the servants couldn't see her features clearly."
"Do you remember what her characteristics were?"
"I remember, I remember." Zhang Hong recalled for a moment, then suddenly pointed to Feng Ruilan beside him and said, "Yes, that person was wearing a pale yellow dress just like that!"
Feng Ruilan's eyes widened in fright, and she shouted in a shrill voice, "Don't talk nonsense! I've never seen you before!"
Zhang Hong immediately dared not utter another word. He knew that these people were all important figures, and he could not afford to offend any of them.
Wei Huaixu ignored her and immediately ordered his men to search Zhang Hong's residence.
It would have been better if we hadn't searched, because the search revealed something incredible—a whole box of silver ingots!
It's astonishing that a small horse stable would have a chest of silver ingots. Although the chest wasn't large, it was still far from what one would expect from someone like him.
"Tell me, where did all these silver ingots come from?" Wei Huaixu picked one up and rubbed it between his fingers; it felt hard and slightly cool to the touch.
Zhang Hong closed his eyes in despair and said, "They were all gifts from the distinguished guests who came to the horse farm..."
"To be honest, I don't have that much patience."
“It was indeed given by a benefactor. They asked me to do something for them, and they would give me a silver ingot for each task I completed.”
Wei Huaixu had already guessed what those things were about, but he didn't rush to ask. Instead, he returned to the events of the day, placing the wooden box in front of Zhang Hong and asking, "Can you recognize which one of these was given to you by the people today?"
Zhang Hong leaned closer to examine it carefully, then took one out and said, "This is it."
The guard took the silver ingot and presented it to Wei Huaixu.
"Oh? You remember so clearly?" Wei Huaixu picked it up and examined it.
“I love money, but I’m afraid someone will covet and steal it, so I mark every silver ingot I receive. I haven’t had time to mark the ones I received today yet.”
"To harm people for money, this is treason."
Zhang Hong was already terrified and cried, "Yes, it was this servant who was bewitched and murdered for money. This servant deserves to die, but this servant also has his reasons."
“I did all this so that my family could have a better life. My father suffered his whole life. He chased after the thieves who stole his sweet potatoes and was pushed down. His head hit a rock and he died. I don’t want my wife and children to suffer like that anymore.”
Wei Huaixu said, "This is no excuse for you to harm others. If you can help me catch the real culprit who harmed Shushu, the disaster will not affect your family, and I will even leave you with a complete corpse. Otherwise..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Zhang Hong already understood.
He paused for a moment, then quickly said, "This servant remembers that the woman had a fragrance on her!"
Wei Huaixu then told him to go and smell it.
He walked past Qingying with his back bent. Qingying smiled gently at him, and he quickly lowered his head and continued forward. He paused only for a moment under Zhou Yao's slightly resistant gaze before moving forward. Then he stopped in front of Feng Ruilan and did not move again.
He sniffed closer, and Feng Ruilan wrinkled her nose in disgust and shrank back.
"Yes, that's the taste."
Feng Ruilan stared in astonishment, and saw a playful smile on Zhang Hong's blood-stained face. Her expression instantly turned to terror, and she cried out, "No, Your Highness, he's lying!"
Zhang Hong turned around and knelt down in front of Wei Huaixu, continuing, "This servant remembers this scent, it's a bit like peach blossoms, and the clothes this young lady is wearing are exactly the same as those of the person this servant saw today."
Wei Huaixu already had some suspicions about Feng Ruilan; her behavior was really abnormal. Now that someone had come forward to identify her, he was almost certain that she was the real culprit.
Qingying suddenly reminded him, "Didn't Fourth Brother say that the Soul-Losing Grass grows on the cliff? Aunt Feng only arrived in the capital yesterday. Among us, she seems to be the most likely to get the Soul-Losing Grass."
"Liu Qingying, you're talking nonsense! Why would I harm Shushu! You're the one most likely to harm her! You used to be the only girl in the General's Mansion, and even though you came from a humble background, you were still the most favored. Now that Shushu is back, she has easily taken your place. You must want to get rid of her as soon as possible."
Feng Ruilan grew anxious and her words became increasingly reckless: "And Your Highness the Crown Prince, you were supposed to be his chosen Crown Princess, but now Shushu has taken you away. How can you be willing to accept that?"
"Oh? Is that so?" Qingying looked at her and smiled mockingly.
If she were to look back at Wei Huaixu's expression now, she would probably be shocked.
Who is Wei Huaixu? No matter how gentle his temperament, he is still the crown prince of a country. It's one thing for the common people to gossip about him in private, but Feng Ruilan dared to say such things directly to his face. Even if she was not wrong in the first place, she has now become wrong.
Not everyone is Wei Dongchen, someone Wei Huaixu can tolerate.
"Men, gag her, drag her away and give her thirty strokes of the cane, then await her fate." Wei Huaixu gave the order without waiting for Feng Ruilan to say anything more.
Feng Ruilan was so frightened that she knelt on the ground with a thud, begging for mercy repeatedly: "Your Highness, spare my life! Your Highness, spare my life!"
However, Wei Huaixu ignored his sophistry and with a single glance, the guards dragged Feng Ruilan away.
The matter was temporarily put to rest, and Wei Huaixu finally relented and let them leave.
However, it was already late at night, and the road back to the General's Mansion was quite long, so they decided to stay there for the night. In any case, Liu Shushu couldn't go back now, and if she went back to the mansion alone, she would definitely have to face the questioning of that whole family again, which would be extremely annoying.
Wei Dongchen naturally stayed with her and moved into the room next to hers.
"If you need anything tonight, have Yu Yue come and wake me up," he instructed before entering the room.
Qingying nodded and said with a smile, "I understand. It's freezing cold, you should rest early too."
"good."
They each went inside.
She had been standing outside the courtyard, and although she appeared calm on the surface, her hands and feet were already freezing cold and she was shivering all over.
Yu Yue brought her hot water to wash her feet, and was really shocked when she took off her shoes and socks. "Your feet are almost frozen solid!"
She breathed on the hot water bottle while holding it, and said simply, "It's almost December, another year is about to pass."
"Yes, time really flies," Yu Yue said, gently massaging her feet to help her improve her circulation.
Will he live to see tomorrow?
"It's probably not possible."
Qingying smiled, her eyes crinkling, thinking: I should have a good dream tonight.
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