"What has made you so angry, brother?" Qingying came out and stood gracefully by the door, looking at him from afar.
Liu Chengfeng's face was visibly furious. He strode up to her, his eyes filled with anger and incomprehension. "When did you become so vicious? She's your sister!"
"I don't understand what my brother is talking about."
"Don't play dumb. Granny Zhang has confessed that you instructed her to poison Shushu's teacup!"
Qingying, however, seemed completely unsurprised, and said calmly, "What evidence do you have to prove that I ordered this? I won't accept just the word of a servant."
"She is the head nanny who has been by your side since childhood."
"But she is now my second sister's confidante, and has nothing to do with me anymore."
Seeing her like this, Liu Chengfeng suddenly hesitated, his furrowed brows so deep they looked like they could trap a fly. "I asked the servants in the manor, and they said that Granny Zhang came to your place yesterday."
"That's true," Qingying said sarcastically. "So, based on this alone, you condemned me without even listening to my explanation?"
"I..." He seemed to gradually realize his mistake, took a step back, but still had doubts, "You really didn't instigate this?"
"It wasn't me."
Her certainty and composure made Liu Chengfeng begin to doubt himself.
He couldn't help but think that he might have really panicked. How could he so easily conclude that Qingying was guilty based on just a few words from others? But if it wasn't her, who else could have instructed Zhang Mama to poison her?
Just as he was wavering, a servant rushed over in a panic and said, "Doctor Qin examined the young lady and said she has been poisoned by two kinds of poison! She just vomited blood again, black blood! The madam was so frightened that she fainted!"
Liu Chengfeng panicked for a moment and couldn't care less about continuing to question Qingying. He hurriedly led his servant to Liu Shushu's courtyard.
Qingying looked at the courtyard, which had been noisy for a while but quickly returned to calm, and calmly ordered, "Go and close the courtyard gate."
Tongxia immediately did as instructed.
Qingying turned and went back into the house, asking Yuyue to help her change her clothes.
"Does the young lady want to go see her?" Yu Yue asked with some concern.
"If I don't go, I'm afraid this crime will be confirmed. Besides, my elder sister is poisoned, and if I don't care, I'll be criticized."
Sometimes, saliva can drown a person...
As Yu Yue combed her hair, she suddenly recalled the way Granny Zhang had looked before she left last night. Belatedly, she asked, "Could it be that you really were behind this, Miss?"
Qingying shook her head, not intending to continue hiding it: "I only know about it, but what Zhang Mama did was not at my behest. On the contrary, it was Liu Shushu who told her to do it."
"You mean... Liu Shushu poisoned herself?"
"yes."
She only gradually understood this last night after regaining her senses. When she saw the wounds on Granny Zhang's body and learned that she was about to die, Qingying's heart seemed to be consumed by grief and indignation.
At the time, she only wanted to seek justice for Granny Zhang and genuinely wanted to kill Liu Qingying. However, later, lying in bed tossing and turning, constantly replaying the incident in her mind, her thoughts gradually cleared. What she saw as a flaw was: if Granny Zhang was determined to sacrifice her own life for Liu Shushu's, why did she give her the antidote?
She pondered for a long time, barely sleeping all night, before finally finding the most reasonable explanation—Zhang Mama had betrayed her!
Just as she had expected, Liu Shushu was poisoned, and Zhang Mama took the initiative to confess her guilt.
Heaven knows that while she appeared calm and composed on the surface, her fingernails were actually digging into the flesh of her palms.
She never imagined that Zhang Mama, whom she had always regarded as family, would betray her!
How could she possibly tolerate this?
She arrived at Liu Shushu's courtyard, which was indeed bustling with activity. Apart from the maids coming and going, the entire Liu family was gathered there.
After Pan fainted, she was carried into the adjacent side room, where Qin Tian, the apprentice of Doctor Qin, was in charge of the treatment. Meanwhile, in the main room, Doctor Qin was busy pulling Liu Shushu back from the brink of death, with Liu Chenglin by her bedside assisting her.
Liu Yu and Wang Shi were interrogating Zhang Mama in the courtyard, while Liu Hui and his wife stood by, waiting.
She thought to herself that she had been sick so many times and had even walked through the gates of death a few times, but she had never experienced such a family outing. If Ah Yan were here, she should show her what true good fortune really meant.
She attracted the attention of several people as soon as she stepped into the courtyard.
Liu Yu looked at her with scrutiny, Wang Shi had mixed feelings, Liu Hui was as usual, and Luo Shi felt more sympathy.
Qingying remained calm and composed, slowly stepped forward, and gracefully bowed, saying, "Qingying greets Grandmother, Father, Uncle, and Aunt."
"Oh, Third Miss, there's no need for such formalities."
Just as Luo was about to come over to help her up, Liu Yu stopped her, "Wait!"
Luo was stunned for a moment, then Liu Hui pulled her back, signaling with his eyes that she shouldn't meddle in other people's business.
Qingying maintained her curtsy posture, raised her head, and looked at Liu Yu with a puzzled expression, "Father, what do you mean by this?"
He turned his gaze back to the old nanny who was lying on the ground, panting heavily and covered in bruises. His tone was stern and authoritative: "You just said that the Third Miss instructed you to poison the Second Miss. Now that the Third Miss is right in front of you, clarify your words and tell her everything in detail in front of her."
Zhang Mama didn't see Ying clearly. Whether it was out of guilt or because she was truly too weak to even lift her eyes, she didn't know. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "It was the Third Miss who instructed me to poison the Second Miss's teacup. She didn't originally intend to take the Second Miss's life; she was just jealous and wanted to take revenge and make the Second Miss suffer."
Whether intentional or coincidental, the poison she administered happened to be incompatible with another poison in Liu Shushu's body. The two poisons clashed within her body but did not mix, which is why Liu Shushu became the way she is now.
Qingying suppressed the surging emotions in her heart and maintained a "the innocent are innocent" appearance on the surface. "I have never asked Zhang Mama to do such a thing. I beg Father to investigate."
"Really?" Liu Yu stared at her intently, as if trying to bore a hole through her.
Qingying met his gaze fearlessly, displaying an attitude of neither servility nor arrogance.
At this point, Madam Wang spoke up: "We don't have conclusive evidence yet. We can't just accuse Ying'er based on this servant's one-sided story, lest we hurt the child's feelings."
Liu Yu listened to her words and then told Qingying to get up.
Having maintained a half-squatting position for too long, Qingying felt her legs were a little sore and numb when she suddenly stood up. She had to endure it to avoid being impolite.
At this critical juncture, she absolutely cannot afford to make the slightest mistake.
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