Chapter 230 The confession is false.
“I’ve found out that Xiao Bao is being held in a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city,” Ye Wanning said. “I want to keep Cui’er calm and get her to give me the testimony she can remember. Send some guards to check the temple’s defenses. We’ll go rescue him tonight.”
Pei Zhi nodded: "Don't worry, my secret guards are capable enough to protect Xiao Bao. But you need to make it clear to Cui'er that the remnants of the Wei family cannot be trusted. Only by handing over their testimonies can she and her son truly break free from their constraints."
Looking into Ye Wanning's determined eyes, and then at Pei Zhi's imposing aura, Cui'er finally gritted her teeth and said, "Fine! I believe you! I'll tell you everything that happened back then!"
She wiped away her tears and slowly began to speak: "In the spring of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Prime Minister Wei sent someone to your house to beg your mother, offering to buy the most important part of the 'Qing Nang Mi Yao' with ten thousand taels of silver and present it to the palace. Your mother refused, saying that medical books are for saving lives, not for exchanging money for power and wealth."
"Not long after, your mother started feeling heavy and kept complaining of dizziness and weakness." Cui'er's voice trembled slightly. "I knew something was wrong, so I secretly left her a bowl of her leftover herbal soup. Later I found out it was laced with a slow-acting poison!"
“The Wei family even threatened me, saying they would sell me to the border region if I told anyone. After your mother was buried, I fled here with my newborn baby, but I never expected to fall into their hands.”
As Ye Wanning listened, her heart felt as if it were being clenched tightly, and her knuckles turned white from gripping her fists. Her mother was truly killed by the Wei family!
"Have her write down everything she can remember clearly," Ye Wanning said to Pei Zhi. "And carefully hide the packet of medicine residue that Cui'er secretly hid. Once Xiao Bao is rescued, all of this together will be the evidence we need."
Not long after nightfall, dark clouds loomed overhead, threatening a downpour. Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi, accompanied by two bodyguards, made their way in the dark towards the dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city.
They hadn't walked far when large raindrops began to fall, quickly turning into a downpour. Pei Zhi casually opened his oil-paper umbrella and pulled Ye Wanning behind him.
The umbrella wasn't very big, and the two of them were extremely close. Ye Wanning's skirt was quickly soaked by the muddy water beside her, and the cold touch spread wildly along her calves, making her shiver involuntarily.
Pei Zhi noticed her chill and, without waiting for her to say anything, took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. The coat still carried his body heat and a faint sandalwood scent, causing Ye Wanning's ears to twitch instantly.
As Pei Zhi wrapped his coat around her neck, his fingers accidentally brushed against the back of her neck. The smooth, slippery touch sent a jolt through him, and both of them instinctively held their breath. In the rain, the space under the umbrella was so quiet that they could hear each other's heartbeats. Ye Wanning turned her face away, not daring to look into Pei Zhi's eyes, and only whispered, "Thank you."
Pei Zhi didn't respond, but simply tilted the umbrella in his hand further towards her, and his own shoulder was quickly soaked.
Upon reaching the dilapidated temple, the guards had already dealt with the gatekeepers. Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi sneaked into the temple and saw Xiao Bao tied to a pillar with a gag in his mouth. He was terrified and burst into tears when he saw people coming.
"Don't be afraid, Xiaobao, Auntie is here to save you!" Ye Wanning quickly stepped forward and untied Xiaobao from the pillar. Just as she removed the strips of cloth, she heard footsteps coming from the inner room.
"Who sent you?" Several men in black rushed out with knives. The leader of the inner room was the most arrogant of the remaining forces of the Wei family.
Pei Zhi shielded Ye Wanning and Xiao Bao behind him, drew his sword, and quickly dispatched the two men in black in the hall. His guards then flanked them from both sides, quickly bringing the situation under control.
Seeing the situation was dire, the leader tried to launch a sneak attack on Pei Zhi with a hidden arrow. Ye Wanning reacted quickly, grabbing a wooden stick from the ground and throwing it at him. The arrow went astray, grazing Pei Zhi's arm.
"You're courting death!" Pei Zhi's eyes flashed with malice. He stepped forward, grabbed him, and pinned him to the ground, crippling his martial arts.
Startled, Xiao Bao threw himself into Cui'er's arms and cried uncontrollably. Pei Zhi knelt down, took out some medicine he carried, and gently bandaged the abrasion on Xiao Bao's forehead, his expression unusually tender.
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, his eyelids were lowered, and the lines of his profile softened considerably. Looking at him, Ye Wanning felt a deeper, more profound dependence on him, like vines spreading after rain.
Cui'er held Xiao Bao, pulled a silver hairpin from her hair, and handed it to Ye Wanning with trembling hands: "This is what your mother gave me before she died. She said that if anything happened to her, she would give you the contents of the hairpin."
Ye Wanning took the silver hairpin, unscrewed the head, and sure enough, there was a rolled-up farewell letter hidden inside. The letter was in her mother's handwriting, explaining how the Wei family forced her to hand over the medical book, and saying that if anything happened to her, it would definitely be the work of the Wei family, hoping that future generations would investigate the truth and protect the medical book.
Holding the letter, Ye Wanning, who had suppressed her grievances for so long, finally let her tears flow freely. After so many years of speculation, there was finally concrete evidence; her mother's injustice could finally be redressed.
"Don't worry, with me here, I'll definitely get justice for my mother-in-law!" Pei Zhi walked to her side, his voice deep and resolute.
Just as they received Cui'er's testimony and her mother's suicide note, news came from the palace that the Empress Dowager wanted to see Ye Wanning.
Ye Wanning knew in her heart that things were definitely not that simple. Sure enough, as soon as she entered Cining Palace, she saw a woman in gorgeous clothes sitting next to the Empress Dowager, scrutinizing her with a critical eye.
"Wanning, this is my cousin Murong Xue, who has just arrived in the capital from Jiangnan." The Empress Dowager's voice was indifferent, revealing no emotion.
Murong Xue stood up, smiled and bowed: "I've long heard that Miss Ye is skilled in medicine, and seeing her today, I can confirm that her reputation is well-deserved!"
Ye Wanning returned the greeting: "Did the Empress Dowager summon me here because of what happened to my mother back then?"
"The Empress Dowager summoned you, do you need to ask?" Murong Xue wanted to speak first, but was interrupted by the Empress Dowager.
"I summoned you here to ask you about your mother's matter from back then!" Murong Xue stepped forward, holding a piece of paper in her hand. "The Empress Dowager said this is the testimony of Cui'er, a maid in the palace. She said that the Empress Dowager knew that the Wei family was using medicine on your mother, but did not stop it for the sake of the overall situation. Now you are bringing up this matter from back then. Do you want to seize on the Empress Dowager's oversight and bring her down, causing chaos in the harem?"
Ye Wanning looked at the forged confession in her hand, a cold glint in her eyes: "Miss Murong, this confession is fake. Cui'er never said that!"
"You think it's fake just because you say so?" Murong Xue sneered. "Can handwriting on a confession be forged? Besides, how could the Wei family dare to tamper with things in the palace without the Empress Dowager's permission?"
Upon hearing Murong Xue's words, the Empress Dowager's expression darkened. She turned to Ye Wanning and said, "Wanning, I know your mother is very important to you, but if you truly believe that bringing up the past will make me stand up for her, you are being far too naive. If I am implicated because of you, don't blame me for disowning you as my junior!"
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