Chapter 289 is my Jiu'er
"What's wrong with you all? Why are you so determined to hold me back?" Song Zhuran asked, looking aggrieved. "Sister, don't even you believe in Ranran?"
"Just because Ranran knows martial arts, I didn't tell you?"
"Consort Song, the death of Granny Chang, the difficult childbirth of Lady Jiang, the destruction of the Nine-Leaf Resurrection Herb—which of these wasn't your doing?" Empress Song Zhuyi's voice was calm.
"I'd also like to know, how did my little sister, who was so well-behaved, cute, and innocent since childhood, turn into a wolf in sheep's clothing?"
"Sister, what are you talking about?" Song Zhuran clutched her chest, pretending to be in great pain.
Empress Song Zhuyi said to Pei Yanchuan, "Prince Langya, thank you for your hard work."
Prince Pei Yanchuan of Langya glanced at Mo Ran, who was standing at the door.
"Bring the person up." Mo Ran called out towards the door, and Mo Qing brought the person up, deliberately bumping into Mo Ran with her shoulder as she walked in.
Why should he stand outside in the cold? His face is all frozen and looks terrible. What if Peony finds him disgusting?
"Your Highness, the person has been brought," Mo Qing said.
Pei Yanchuan asked Song Zhuran, "Do you recognize this person?"
Song Zhuran recognized the person and frowned deeply. "Isn't this the manager of the teahouse?"
"Consort Song has a good memory. That's right, this is the manager of the teahouse that Young Master Xuan frequents. Of course he knows Young Master Xuan."
Song Zhuran tilted her head and looked at the shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, take a good look and see if I am Young Master Xuan?"
Song Zhuran spoke slowly, her voice low and heavy.
The shopkeeper dared not meet his gaze and quickly lowered his head, saying, "No...no."
“Young Master Xuan is a man, how could he be a woman?”
"You old fool!" Mo Qing cursed angrily, "Just now you were telling the Prince outside that this Young Master Xuan is Song Zhuran, the young lady of the Song family, how come you're saying he isn't now?"
"Have you thought this through? What will happen if you deceive the prince?"
The shopkeeper shrank his neck and said, "I was just scared, so you tortured me into confessing. I only felt relieved because Her Majesty the Empress was here."
"Her Majesty the Empress would never kill innocent people indiscriminately."
"How do you know she is the Empress?" Jiang Wan Ning asked.
"I saw her at the teahouse that day. Your Majesty the Empress is so virtuous that I naturally remembered her after just one meeting," the shopkeeper said. "This Miss Song is definitely not Young Master Xuan. Your Majesty, please investigate further."
"Your Highness, Sister, did you both hear that? Can I be cleared of suspicion now?"
"I've already said I'm not some young master Xuan, but you insist on making me admit it."
"If I really did something wrong, you could just tell me, sister. Why did you have to team up with outsiders to deal with me?" Song Zhuran said, looking aggrieved.
The Empress was also somewhat flustered. If she did not produce evidence today, she feared that the Song family would abandon her in the future and let Song Zhuran take her place.
The Song family has always prioritized who is more useful to them, rather than who is closer or more favorable.
Jiang Wan Ning seemed to sense what the Empress was thinking, and gently took Empress Song Zhu Yi's hand to reassure her.
He then said to the teahouse owner, "If I'm not mistaken, you've been poisoned, and you need to take the antidote for a long time, otherwise your internal organs will feel like they're being gnawed by ants until you finally die from the pain."
Jiang Wanning knew this because Jiang Wanru had also taken this kind of medicine given to her by the Grand Princess, and was eventually saved by Song Zhuran's antidote.
Song Zhuran hadn't expected that without the control of the poison, Jiang Wanru would escape so easily.
The Grand Princess used the same poison as Song Zhuran.
Jiang Wan Ning suddenly realized that the person behind Song Zhu Ran must also be connected with the Grand Princess, but the two should only be using their cooperative relationship, otherwise why would Song Zhu Ran do this?
The shopkeeper's eyes darted around. "I don't understand what you're saying. I'm just a teahouse owner, I don't know anything else."
"I only recruited Young Master Xuan for the sake of the teahouse business. I really don't know anything about him."
"What if I told you I could give you the antidote?" Jiang Wan Ning said calmly.
The shopkeeper suddenly looked up, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"If it really is poisoning, we should let Sister Jiang take a good look at it. Sister Jiang's medical skills are very impressive. You're really lucky to have met her," Song Zhuran said softly.
The shopkeeper immediately lowered his head again, "This humble one is not poisoned at all. Your Highness is mistaken. However, I still thank Your Highness for your kindness."
Jiang Wan Ning seemed to have expected this, and was not in a hurry. She simply said calmly, "The Prince has found your daughter and placed her in a safe place."
"I guarantee no one will find you. If you tell the truth, I guarantee you can be reunited with your daughter. In the future, the Prince's Palace will also escort you to a safe place, completely away from here."
“You must have heard of the Lingxiao Sect,” Jiang Wanning continued.
Upon hearing that it was her turn to go on stage, Shen Ruzhi immediately understood Jiang Wanning's meaning and replied, "The leader of the Lingxiao Sect is my mother."
"I will have her take you in from now on. In the Lingxiao Sect, no one will dare to do anything to you."
The shopkeeper was startled. "You...you are the princess that Western Xia just found?"
“That’s right, it’s me,” Shen Ruzhi said. “I’m also the daughter of Shen Zhao, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. My father only cares about reason. If you were really forced into this, he will naturally give you justice.”
Seeing that the shopkeeper was still hesitating, Pei Yanchuan had Mo Ran hand over his daughter's things, "There is also a letter here, written by your daughter. You can check if it is your daughter's handwriting."
The shopkeeper quickly opened the letter and glanced at it. When he saw the handwriting on the letter, his hands trembled uncontrollably. "Yes...yes...this is indeed Jiu'er's handwriting."
“Handwriting can be imitated too.” Song Zhuran interrupted anxiously, then quickly explained, “I mean I’ve heard that before, just in case.”
"Of course I didn't doubt the Prince and Sister Jiang's intentions. I just said it casually when I thought of it, and I didn't have any other thoughts."
"Handwriting can be imitated, but the tone of voice of someone you don't know well can't be imitated either. Even if the tone of voice can be imitated, there must be some other features that can distinguish it."
“You surely know your daughter well, shopkeeper. Take a good look before you make a decision,” Pei Yanchuan said.
The shopkeeper held the letter in his trembling hands, saying, "It's Jiu'er, there's no mistake, there's no mistake."
"Thank you, Jiu'er. You have a habit of writing in reverse and drawing a small blade of grass at the end."
"Only Jiu'er and I know about this. No one else knows. It's my Jiu'er." The shopkeeper held the letter to his chest and wept bitterly.
After a long pause, she looked up at Pei Yanchuan and Jiang Wanning, "Your Highness, Young Master Xuan is... uh."
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