Chapter 27: Inhumanity
At this point, tears unconsciously welled up in Meng Lanxi's eyes. That look of sadness and regret made Qiandeng feel deeply uncomfortable.
"So, County Lady, you may not know this, but Baibai is more than just a rabbit to me... After burying it with you, I felt very upset. I was drowsy all night and didn't sleep much until almost dawn..."
Therefore, he was the last one to get up among everyone. At that time, Ling Tianshui and Cui Fufeng had already accompanied Qiandeng to the backyard, and the other gentlemen had also had breakfast and had left.
He didn't feel hungry, so he just stood for a while under the white gardenias he buried, worried that the hole he dug last night was too shallow and that a wild cat might dig up the soil.
At this point, Cui Fufeng suddenly spoke up and asked, "So the mud on your shoes was acquired at that time?"
Meng Lanxi looked down and saw dried and half-dried mud on the edges of his shoes. He nodded quickly, "Yes, from last night and this morning."
"Take off your shoes and socks and show them to me."
Cui Fufeng's strange request made Meng Lanxi inevitably a little nervous and embarrassed, but she still turned sideways, turned her back to Qiandeng, took off her shoes and socks, and handed them to Cui Fufeng.
But in fact, Cui Fufeng was not looking at his shoes, but his socks and bare feet.
The half-worn cloth socks were dry and soft, but very clean, and the soles of the feet were not stained with dust.
So there was no way he could have committed the crime. His shoes were stained with mud when he buried the rabbit, and walking along the corridor to the front door of the Jintang last night would have left traces. And since his soles and socks were so clean, he obviously hadn't taken his shoes off before going out. After all, there was only one pot of tea in each room, making it impossible to wash in time.
"County Lady, I do secretly hate Jin Tang. I hate him for killing an innocent rabbit, but... but no matter what, Bai Bai is just a rabbit. How could I kill someone for a rabbit? Especially not for someone who happens to be in your backyard every day?"
Qian Deng nodded silently, his voice stagnant: "I know."
Cui Fufeng asked, "Since you couldn't sleep last night, did you hear anything from the others?"
Meng Lanxi thought for a moment and hesitated before saying, "Around three o'clock in the morning, I seemed to hear the sound of a door opening nearby, but it was so vague that I couldn't be sure, let alone whose door it was."
Cui Fufeng recorded everything in detail and asked one last question: "So, after everyone went to bed last night, did you go to look for Jintang?"
Meng Lanxi smiled bitterly: "The county lady and Cui Shaoqing both know that I had an argument with Jin Tang last night. Even if I went there, I would definitely not be able to knock on Jin Tang's door."
That made sense. Everyone had seen the argument between the two of them yesterday, to the point where they'd even broken the teapot, so Daimao had brought over another pot of water.
With the situation getting so chaotic, Jin Tang would certainly not let him in quietly in the middle of the night, and Meng Lanxi definitely had no chance to touch the pot of tea later, so there was no possibility of poisoning him.
Furthermore, in order to mediate their conflict, Qiandeng deliberately arranged Meng Lanxi in the outermost room on the west side, while the Jintang was the innermost room on the west side, so their rooms were the farthest apart, and they had to pass through Xue Xiyang, Ji Linyou, and Ling Tianshui's rooms to reach the door of the Jintang.
How could he be sure to seize the opportunity when these three people were asleep and careless and trick Jin Tang into letting go of his grudge and opening the door?
Qiandeng nodded silently to Cui Fufeng.
Cui Fufeng concluded the interrogation and said, "In that case, we will ask others for details about what happened last night. If Mr. Meng truly did not leave his room, then he is definitely innocent."
"Innocent? Meng Lanxi can't be innocent!"
Xue Xiyang remained true to his nature. Without thinking twice, he directed his spearhead at other people and slandered Qian Deng.
"County Lady, in my opinion, Meng Lanxi is definitely a serious suspect! Not only did he have a fierce conflict with Jin Tang, but he was also the most knowledgeable about pharmacology among the gentlemen in the backyard. For him, making incense, mixing medicine, and killing someone is as easy as pie. Putting aside other things, how much role did his secret consort Meng Chenhan play in Princess Gao's death? What a huge incident she caused? Now that Jin Tang died of poison, it's most likely him! In your opinion, is it possible that he poisoned Jin Tang through the door, or gave him a slow-acting poison that only took effect in the middle of the night?"
Qian Deng frowned slightly, while Cui Fufeng said, "These are just assumptions. I'm afraid it will be difficult to implement. We need real evidence to prove it."
"I don't have any hard evidence. I just feel that Meng Lanxi appears to be kind and harmless in front of the county lady, but in reality... I think there's something seriously wrong with him." Xue Xiyang couldn't suppress his excitement once he started speaking ill of others. "Does the county lady know that Meng Lanxi and Jintang have always had a dispute?"
Speaking of the dispute between the two, Qiandeng naturally remembered that on the day of choosing a son-in-law last year, it was Meng Lanxi who drugged Jin Tang, causing him to suffer from diarrhea and collapse, and he almost lost his qualification as a candidate.
Later, when the two were together in the backyard of the palace, Jin Tang seemed to often cause trouble for him. Although Meng Lanxi remained calm, she did not think that he would suffer in secret without fighting back.
But there were too many storms and waves in front of her, and she never took the little fights of her husbands under her nose to heart.
Cui Fufeng asked, "I wonder what conflict there was between Jin Tang and Meng Lanxi before they entered the palace?"
"The Meng family started out as a tea plantation owner and a scholar. Over the years, several members have indeed entered officialdom, but Meng Lanxi's family is a small branch with few descendants. Previously, his family owned dozens of acres of mountain gardens, but a landslide wiped out both the family and the land. His mother had no choice but to take him to the capital to seek refuge with family members. They stayed at his uncle's house, but staying with such a poor relative for too long was bound to be looked down upon. Furthermore, Meng's mother was young and beautiful, so I heard... his uncle and aunt had planned to introduce her to a wealthy family, using her as a bargaining chip in the business world."
Qian Deng knew a little about what happened to Meng's mother in the Meng family, but he had no idea it had gotten so ugly. "But I saw that Meng Lanxi and her mother moved out of the Meng family and have been living in Huaizhenfang ever since?"
"Yes, but even though he lived out of town, after Meng Lanxi started school, he returned to the Meng clan to study. I heard he was quite intelligent, and later the clan school secured two spots for admission to the Imperial College. He was chosen based on his academic performance; the other spot went to his cousin Meng Yongshun, Uncle Meng's son, who was sponsored."
Qian Deng thought for a moment and asked, "If that's the case, then why is it that the person the Meng family sent as a candidate for my husband is Meng Lanxi?"
Cui Fufeng was the one who handled this matter, so he was naturally well aware. "The original choice of the Ministry of Rites was indeed Meng Yongshun. His family background was naturally much better than Meng Lanxi's. Unfortunately, he broke his leg a few days before the selection and was unable to go to the palace to run for the position. It was so sudden, the Ministry of Rites didn't have time to select another candidate. Fortunately, the Meng family nominated Meng Lanxi in time to replace him. They were from the same clan and had studied at the Imperial Academy together. Meng Lanxi's character and appearance were even better, so the Ministry of Rites accepted him and made him the candidate in place of Meng Yongshun."
He didn't mention anything else, and Xue Xiyang just smiled.
Qian Deng understood even more clearly that she had always been described in the eyes of the people of Chang'an as a disfigured she-devil, and therefore many children from prominent families had tried every possible means to decline the nomination.
It seems that Meng Yongshun was unable to escape, so he cruelly used some means to have Meng Lanxi pulled over to replace him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com