Retort
What could be more entertaining than her using jealousy to harm others?
Seeing Jiang Yi's anger rising, He Yu earnestly advised, "Sister-in-law, what His Highness said is not without reason. Let's be clear first, we naturally believe in your character and that you would never do such a thing. But that doesn't stop others from judging you with their own petty minds! Your appearance at this time will inevitably lead to gossip."
Jiang Yi chuckled: "So you mean I was jealous that Shangguan Muya could dance and play music with He Lin at the banquet, so I set traps and set fires to harm her?"
“Hey, no, you misunderstood. I meant that some people might think that way. You should tell us the whole story from beginning to end so we can help you explain it clearly in front of everyone.”
Jiang Yi stood opposite the Crown Prince with her arms crossed, tapping her arm lightly with her index finger. She let out a soft snort, her face full of disdain, as if any further explanation would be a waste of her breath.
Sure enough, she turned to He Lin and asked directly, "Whether others believe me or not is irrelevant, but what about you? Do you think I would harm her?"
He Lin's eyes remained as dark and gleaming as he calmly said, "You don't have that kind of brain."
"you……"
Jiang Yi was speechless for a moment. He Lin was only behaving himself in front of his parents, pretending to be a gentle and refined gentleman.
“If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext. Anyway, I didn’t do it.” Jiang Yi turned to Qi Junyuan and said, word by word, “If Your Highness wants to find the mastermind behind this, it’s quite simple.”
Upon hearing this, Qi Junyuan and He Yu exchanged glances, while He Lin remained calm, leisurely pouring himself a cup of hot tea without even lifting his eyelids.
"Please speak, Miss Jiang."
"The Eastern Palace is now sealed off, so there's no need for much trouble. Your Highness only needs to find one person."
He Yu hurriedly asked, "Who are you looking for?"
...
In the main hall, seated at the very top was Qi Junyuan, and seated one head below him was Jiang Zhi, the Minister of Justice. Below them was a group of unlucky people who had come to attend the banquet.
What was supposed to be a pleasant banquet turned into a premeditated murder. These were just a bunch of pampered young men and women who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun. They had never seen anything like this before. It was as if they were being interrogated as criminals.
Upon seeing the gleaming sword in the hand of the guard beside him, a murmur of discontent immediately arose in the hall.
"..."
"What does Your Highness mean by this?"
"Yeah, they still haven't found the murderer after all this time? If they do, we can go home."
"It's a close call. Lord Jiang has already come here. It seems this case is probably not so simple."
"Who says otherwise? Maybe the murderer is hiding among us, trying to take advantage of the chaos. Didn't they say that the guy from He Lin's family sneaked in disguise as a servant? I think there's a good chance..."
"Shh, keep your voice down, the He brothers are right ahead."
"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid she'll do it but won't admit it?"
"He Lin is one thing, but the real problem is that He Yu isn't someone to be trifled with! The He family is notoriously protective of its own..."
"It's best not to make wild guesses before things are clear."
"..."
Qi Junyuan glanced around at the commotion below, but didn't say much. He simply said to Jiang Zhi, "Lord Jiang, let's begin."
Jiang Zhi stood up and bowed respectfully: "Yes."
He then said in a loud voice, "Gentlemen and ladies, please be patient."
The discussion below indeed quieted down considerably, and everyone looked up at the top of their heads.
Jiang Zhi's gaze fell upon the entrance to the main hall, and he loudly ordered, "Bring the person up."
Jiang Yi strode confidently forward, and the murmurs of discussion rose again:
"If I remember correctly, this person is He Lin's servant, right?"
"What servant? He's clearly his newlywed wife."
"Could she really be the murderer?"
"Who knows?"
"..."
Jiang Yi resisted the urge to roll her eyes and went straight to the group of young masters who were whispering among themselves.
With a fake smile, he said, "Gentlemen, can you tone it down a bit in front of the person in question? Aren't you worried about getting mouth ulcers from slandering innocent people like this?"
"Hmph, what are you pretending for? You're just a lowly merchant's illegitimate daughter, yet you dare to harm the Prime Minister's daughter. As expected of someone from a humble background, you only do things that are beneath your dignity."
"ha?"
If Jiang Yifang's smile was fake, then she was genuinely amused by this person's anger.
Although the ancient social hierarchy was strict, with scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants at the bottom, and Jiang Yi was indeed from a merchant family, there was no need to use such derogatory terms to insult people.
"Hey, I have a short temper, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Before Jiang Yi could even react, He Yu couldn't take it anymore and looked ready to roll up his sleeves and beat the young master who was cursing him to the ground.
He Lin intervened and stopped him, while He Yu turned to look at his younger brother in confusion.
"She'll handle it herself."
He Lin is right. Jiang Yi is not the kind of person who stands there and takes the blame, letting herself suffer a loss.
Combat strength unknown, but becomes stronger when facing stronger opponents.
After spending so many days together, He Lin had pretty much figured out her temperament; she held grudges! Confucius was right, for women and petty men are the hardest to deal with.
When a "woman" and a "petty person" meet, it's hard to say who will win or lose.
As expected, Jiang Yi scoffed and retorted directly, "Young master, who are you?"
"Hmph, just listen carefully, I am—"
“Who you are is not important,” the man said, interrupted by Jiang Yi calmly. “What is important is that He Lin and I are betrothed by His Majesty. If you have any objections, please turn left and go to the palace to argue with His Majesty, okay? Don’t talk nonsense here.”
"you……"
"What do you mean, 'I'? If you can't speak, then shut up. Nobody thinks you're mute!"
The man's face turned pale and then red, clearly indicating that he was extremely angry.
He Yu's eyes lit up, full of admiration: "Brother, your wife's mouth is really sharp! Look at how she's made Wu Wenpin so angry."
As he spoke, he crossed his arms, raised one hand to stroke his chin, and said narcissistically, "Although she's still a bit lacking compared to me, it's okay. I'll pass on some more experience to her later, and I guarantee she'll be invincible in arguing with anyone..."
He Lin: "..."
Jiang Zhi turned to look at Qi Junyuan. It seemed that His Highness the Crown Prince had no intention of stopping this farce. Instead, the corners of his lips turned up slightly, revealing an amused expression.
So he opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he swallowed his words back.
Jiang Yi, still dressed as a servant, glanced at Wu Ping's furious expression and continued as if no one else was there, "Get out of the way! Open your eyes and watch carefully. I'm not like some people who have no other skills but can only talk their way out of trouble and make false accusations."
The young master named Wu Wenpin, whom He Yu had mentioned, angrily flicked his sleeve, took two or three steps to the side, turned his back, and ignored Jiang Yi.
At that moment, all eyes in the hall instantly focused on Jiang Yi.
Of course, there were also those who whispered among themselves, but they immediately fell silent when her gaze swept over them, fearing that they would be targeted by this person.
Jiang Yi was very satisfied with this, and a bright smile appeared between her eyebrows and eyes. She raised her hand and clapped three times, leaving everyone puzzled and wondering what trick she was playing.
A short while later, two guards with swords at their waists escorted a young eunuch in.
The young eunuch knelt down below the high platform in the main hall, cautiously looked up at Qi Junyuan sitting on it, and then quickly lowered his head again.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Qi Junyuan toyed with a wine cup in one long, slender hand, asking the question casually, his tone full of nonchalance.
"You are from my palace, what is your name?"
The young eunuch stammered, "Your Highness, this servant is Xiao Ningzi."
"Oh, so it's Eunuch Ning."
Upon hearing Qi Junyuan's words, the young eunuch lowered his head further, and upon closer inspection, his entire body was trembling slightly.
"Second Lady He, I have finished asking my questions."
After saying that, Qi Junyuan turned his gaze to Jiang Yi, who understood and nodded to him, indicating that she knew.
Jiang Yi stepped forward and squatted down to the left of the little eunuch, tilting her head and smiling, "Eunuch Ning, right? Do you still recognize me? We met yesterday, and I even asked you for directions."
Xiao Ningzi cautiously looked up at Jiang Yi, her pupils contracted, her eyes flickered, and she immediately looked away.
No, I don't recognize him.
Jiang Yi had already guessed this situation. She squinted her eyes, chuckled a few times, nodded, and said, "Alright, since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite."
She stood up, stepped aside, turned to look at the entrance of the main hall, and shouted, "Someone, bring the things up."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a guard strode in carrying a bamboo basket in both hands.
Jiang Yi stood in front of her, using her left and right hands to block He Lin and He Yu respectively, and then took a few steps back.
He Yu was extremely curious and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, what's in here?"
Jiang Yi turned her head and smiled slyly, mouthing two words. He Yu repeated the same action, and after confirming, he couldn't help but blink and gasp.
Jiang Yi raised her chin, looking like she was about to watch a good show: "Okay, open it."
The guard did as instructed, placing the bamboo basket on the ground and slowly tilting it so that the opening faced directly forward. Everyone in the hall craned their necks to see what was going on.
A moment later, a black and yellow snake, about the thickness of a child's wrist, emerged, its tongue flicking. The young men and women in the hall instantly paled and retreated in unison, many shouting as they went. In an instant, the scene became chaotic.
Seeing this, the guard took out another black porcelain bottle from the bamboo basket, pulled off the red cloth that was blocking the bottle opening, and poured the contents of the black porcelain bottle into the area where the snake was moving, forming a circle around it.
Surprisingly, Xiao Ningzi was also among them, surrounded along with the snake.
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