Chapter 172 I Believe in Him
Dongqing recalled her previous fainting spell and guessed that Zheng Qingshan had no cooking experience and had put in the wrong ingredients, which caused her to be poisoned.
The young lady already had many grievances against Brother Zheng, and she was afraid that if she spoke out, the young lady would be even more reluctant to let her see Zheng Qingshan.
She could only grit her teeth and say, "I cooked it, and I don't know where I went wrong... Miss, I didn't mean to. I would never hurt you."
Meng Lingge frowned and went straight to the point: "I know even if you don't tell me. It was Zheng Qingshan who gave you the idea, right? Do you know that this soup contains a lot of achyranthes bidentata and blister beetle powder? If I had drunk it, I would have had an abortion by now. The small bowl you drank has already damaged your uterus, and it will be extremely difficult for you to get pregnant in the future. Are you still going to hide it for him?"
"What, abortion?" Dongqing turned pale with fright and shook her head vigorously, saying, "Is there a mistake? It can't be, it can't be..."
Meng Lingge's patience had run out.
She stood up, her back to Dongqing, and said, "Qiulan, pack Dongqing's things, put in the medicine I just prescribed, and give her a hundred-tael silver note. Then send her out of the Du residence. When we return to the capital, I will tear up her indenture, and she will have nothing to do with us anymore."
Even though Dongqing didn't hurt her intentionally, she was blinded by emotions and is still covering up and exonerating the perpetrator. If she is allowed to stay, she will eventually kill her.
Qiu Lan was still angry, and after hearing this, she immediately went to pack up Dong Qing's things.
Dongqing was terrified when she heard this.
She grew up in the Meng family mansion and had no experience living alone. If she were really kicked out by the young lady, she wouldn't know how to survive.
Dongqing crawled off the bed onto the floor, sobbing, "Miss, I'll tell you everything, please don't send me away. It was Brother Zheng who gave me the soup. He said you made me work too hard cleaning the yard, and he felt sorry for me, so he made me some soup to please you. He said if you were happy, you wouldn't be angry with me anymore. He meant well, but somehow things went wrong. He probably didn't know the soup was poisoned. Please don't blame him..."
How can she believe that?
Brother Zheng, who risked his life twice to save her, who spoke softly to the maid, and who praised her as cute as a little rabbit just an hour ago, how could he possibly give the young lady an abortion drug?
He is kind, refined, and upright. How could he possibly do something so despicable and vicious?
Qiu Lan was so angry she laughed: "Miss said long ago that Zheng is no good person. How dare you serve Miss the soup he made? Now that we have witnesses and evidence, you still say he meant well? Whether he meant well or not is another matter, but he is definitely good at stealing hearts. He has stolen your heart. At this time, you are not worried about Miss or yourself, but you are worried about your harmful Brother Zheng?"
Meng Lingge's gaze was cold as she pressed, "Did you tell him about my pregnancy? If so, besides the three of us, only he knew I was pregnant. Who else could it be but him? Besides, abalone and white fungus soup doesn't need ox knee or blister beetle for flavoring. If he didn't do it on purpose, why would he add two abortion powders to it?"
Dongqing explained weakly, "I accidentally let it slip. Maybe someone overheard me talking to Brother Zheng. And then, someone secretly put some medicine powder in Brother Zheng's soup without his knowledge..."
"Alright, stop talking..." Meng Lingge waved her hand. "Besides you, who else knows about this? Did anyone see him making the soup for you?"
Dongqing tried hard to recall, and sobbed, "A little maid named Xiaohuan led me there. We took a small path in the mansion, and no one else saw us except her. Miss, I beg you, please don't investigate anymore. Anyway, you're fine, and I'm fine too. Let's just let it go."
She was afraid that if the young lady made a scene, it would implicate Brother Zheng.
Brother Zheng got into all this trouble because of her. There might still be Xiao Jianyan's guards chasing him outside. Without the protection of the Du family, Brother Zheng's life would be in danger.
Meng Lingge didn't want to pay attention to her anymore and instructed Qiu Lan: "Find Xiao Huan here, and then go to the front yard to inform the eldest son of the Du family that I have invited him to play chess in the front yard in half an hour."
Qiu Lan agreed and withdrew.
Dongqing was still wiping away tears and pleading, "Miss, please don't pursue this matter any further, it's all my fault, please punish me, I'm willing to be a lowly maid, I'll go and do the work right now..."
She staggered as she tried to go out to work. Meng Lingge, seeing how stubborn she was, didn't want to bother with her, but remembering what Lu Shui had said earlier—that if Dong Qing didn't rest and recover, she might be infertile for life—she felt a pang of pity.
Despite Meng Lingge's extreme disappointment after more than a decade of living together as master and servant, she still couldn't bear to leave Dongqing with an irreparable regret.
Meng Lingge sternly shouted to stop her.
"Go back to bed right now. If you dare to say anything or move around again and worsen your condition, I will hold Zheng Qingshan accountable for this!"
Dongqing, fearing she would implicate Zheng Qingshan, returned to bed feeling wronged and dared not make any further moves.
A moment later, Xiao Huan was brought in by Qiu Lan, looking calm and composed.
When Meng Lingge asked her about her whereabouts that night, she said that she had stayed in the servants' quarters after doing her duties and had not done anything else.
Holly leaned out of bed and said, "No, you also took me to the guest room. You led me down a small path."
Xiao Huan calmly replied, "Sister Dongqing, you must be joking with me. I'm not on duty tonight, I haven't seen you tonight, and I didn't take you along any paths."
Before Dongqing could argue further, Meng Lingge spoke first: "Then Dongqing must have remembered it wrong. You may leave."
Xiao Huan breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief, nodded, and withdrew.
Dongqing said anxiously, "Miss, I'm not mistaken, it really was Xiaohuan who took me there. You have to believe me, I'm not lying to you."
“I believe you, now it’s you who don’t believe me,” Meng Lingge said. “Zheng Qingshan meticulously arranged for Xiao Huan to find you, and even specifically instructed you to take the back road, all to frame you for drugging me. So he bribed Xiao Huan long ago. If you hadn’t drunk that soup beforehand, I would have miscarried by now. And you, I just punished you today, you have enough motive. You personally served me the abortion soup, so you will become the undeniable person who drugged me.”
Dong Qing looked astonished, but still shook his head and said, "It couldn't have been Brother Zheng who instructed him. He's definitely not that kind of person. I believe him."
Disappointment flickered in Meng Lingge's eyes as she spoke softly.
"It's up to you. Considering you're still recovering, I'll have Chen Luo find a carriage to take you out of the manor. From now on, it's your freedom to trust whomever you want."
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