37 False accusation
◎Don't be afraid, I'm coming◎
"What!" The old lady's eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and her hand holding the teacup was shaking.
She cried out "Ouch" and put the teacup on the table with trembling hands, her face full of fear. Then she looked at Shu Yao with gritted teeth, so angry that she couldn't utter a word.
To others, the old lady seemed to be extremely frightened. Her dark face turned pale and she looked frightened.
Upon hearing that the tea was poisoned, everyone pricked up their ears to listen to what was going on. Who was so bold? They probably wanted to go to the government office.
There was also a hint of weirdness in the way they looked at Shu Yao.
Shu Yao's heart skipped a beat. She suppressed the emotions surging in her heart and withdrew her gaze from the cup of tea. It turned out that someone was waiting for her there.
Ji Shijing, who was standing beside him, pursed his lips tightly, with a cold look around him. Perhaps the crow noticed something was wrong with him, and the crow on his shoulder flew up to the beam in fear.
His gaze remained fixed on Shu Yao, his eyes heavy.
The discussion in the crowd started again.
Ji Dayong stood up from his seat in a flash and walked up to Shu Yao with a fierce look on his face. "You bitch, you actually dared to poison my mother! Come on, send her to the authorities!"
Two strong men came up and wanted to catch the man, but Shu Yao gave them a cold look. Perhaps it was the first time they saw such a sharp look from her, and the two strong men didn't dare to move forward.
Seeing how cowardly they were, Ji Dayong swung his arm and pretended to hit Shu Yao.
Shu Yao dodged, and Ji Dayong was about to go forward when the crow on the beam suddenly flew down and pecked him hard on the face. He lost his balance and fell flat on his face, knocking out two of his front teeth. Blood was gushing out of his mouth, and he was so scared that his nose and tears were running.
Seeing her son fall like this, the old lady hurriedly came down from the main seat and went to Ji Dayong's side: "My son, how are you?"
Ji Dayong's speech tone is unclear, and he can only speak "wuwuwu".
The old lady was so distressed that she asked someone to help Ji Dayong downstairs and asked the housekeeper to call a doctor.
Only after Ji Dayong was sent away did she turn to look at Shu Yao, wiping her non-existent tears with the corner of her clothes. She was hunched over, thin and small, and instantly aroused everyone's sympathy.
Shu Yao frowned subconsciously.
The old lady sat back down in her seat and sighed heavily. She spoke slowly, "Shu girl, I know you have complaints about marrying me, but you can't do anything to an old woman like me."
After saying this, he lowered his head and wiped away his tears.
Shu Yao sneered and asked, "Old Madam, you convicted me based on just one sentence from this maid. Isn't that a bit too hasty?"
The little maid kneeling on the ground immediately raised her head and retorted: "Just now, when we were making tea in the kitchen, you secretly put something in the old lady's tea while Nanny Wang and I were not paying attention."
Shu Yao squatted down and looked directly into the little maid's eyes: "Did you see the whole process clearly?"
The little maid felt a little guilty when she looked at her, but she still said stubbornly: "Of course."
Shu Yao suddenly chuckled and continued, "When you came from the small kitchen just now, did you see the teapot I used to make tea?"
The little maid didn't know why she asked this, so she could only bite the bullet and say, "I see, the teapot is on the stove."
Shu Yao stood up and picked up the tray, on which was placed a delicate and small teapot.
She just brought the teapot over.
But this little maidservant did say that she saw with her own eyes the teapot still on the stove. Isn't this obviously a fabrication?
So are her words still credible?
The moment the little maid saw the teapot, her pupils suddenly dilated. She had clearly heard Nanny Wang ask Shu Yao to pour a cup of tea and bring it out, so why did she bring out the teapot...
Shu Yao anticipated her reaction and said, "Madame Wang told me that this tea is the old lady's favorite, Inoue Chun. I thought one cup was too little, so I brought the whole pot of tea over. I just hope the old lady can enjoy it."
Everyone had different expressions. This little maid was full of lies, and it seemed that what she said was not convincing enough. Maybe there was some hidden secret.
The little maid looked at the old lady tremblingly, and the old lady looked at her as if she were a dead object.
Her legs went limp and she collapsed to the ground.
The old lady held her cane tightly and said, "Maybe the maid made a mistake and remembered it wrongly. Maybe this cup of tea is not poisonous." She asked people around her to ask a doctor to come and test for poison. This sentence seemed to be an excuse for Shu Yao, but if the doctor found out that it was poisonous, Shu Yao would still be involved.
Shu Yao looked at the old lady coldly. She thought of the white powder in the teacup. This cup of tea... must be poisonous. "Old lady, if the test shows poison, then may I ask how you should find the murderer?"
She pushed the question aside and then glanced at the people present: "Someone poisoned the old lady's tea today. Everyone present is a suspect."
Seeing that suspicion was directed at them, the people under them were fed up. They came to a banquet happily, but how could they suddenly be suspected of being the poisoner? It was simply outrageous.
Seeing the crowd getting increasingly restless, the old lady coughed forcefully twice and said earnestly, "Shu girl, if it was really you who poisoned me, I, an old woman, would not embarrass you."
Shu Yao said calmly, "If I didn't poison you, please apologize to me, Madam."
The veins on the old lady's forehead twitched.
The doctor who arrived quickly used a silver needle to test for poison in the tea. He sniffed it closely and suddenly his face changed. He stepped back several meters and said, "There's a poison in this tea."
It turned out to be Crane's Beak Poison. Everyone gasped. Even a little bit of Crane's Beak Poison would kill someone. I couldn't imagine how much hatred and resentment the person who poisoned the old lady had for her.
The old lady didn't get too excited, as if she had known this for a long time. She pointed at Shu Yao and said, "You made this cup of tea when you went to the backyard. Only you touched it. If it wasn't you, who else could have put it there?"
"When I went to the backyard, the tea had already been prepared by Nanny Wang. Maybe it was Nanny Wang who put it there." Shu Yao was tired of standing, so she simply found a chair and sat down.
The old lady asked someone to call Nanny Wang up.
Shu Yao glanced at the corner. Ji Shijing had left his seat at some point. There was only the curtain fluttering in the wind by the window, and there was silence.
She lowered her eyes, feeling a little sad. She was left alone to fight this battle.
Nanny Wang walked in quickly, as if she had been waiting at the door. As soon as she entered, she knelt on the ground and lay at the old lady's feet. "Old lady, are you okay? I heard on the way here that there was arsenic in your tea. Is that true?"
The old lady nodded.
Nanny Wang immediately covered her handkerchief and burst into tears: "Today, when Miss Shu was making tea, I saw her put a small packet of something in it. I thought it was a seasoning and didn't pay much attention to it. Who knew it was actually Crane's Beak Red."
"I almost didn't get to see the old lady. I'm really scared when I think about it now." Nanny Wang cried very hard.
The old lady helped her up and asked, "Did you see clearly that it was Shu girl who put it there?"
Nanny Wang nodded with certainty.
The old lady looked at Shu Yao again, her expression very unfriendly: "At this point, what else do you have to say?"
Shu Yao: "Madame Wang keeps saying that I made the tea. Making tea is a time-consuming process, but it only takes a moment for me to go out and come back with the teacup. How could I have the time to make tea myself?"
After hearing this, everyone realized that it only took Shu Yao a moment to go back and forth. If she really wanted to make tea, the time would not be enough. In this case, the tea was not made by her personally.
Everyone continues to wait and see.
Nanny Wang had already prepared a plan for this, and she said to the old lady, "Today's tea is the finest Jingshangchun, picked from Jiangnan, exposed to the scorching sun, and then refrigerated with ice water. It only needs to be poured with hot water before drinking."
The old lady quickly picked up her words: "That's indeed the case."
Shu Yao watched the two of them singing in unison and unconsciously clenched her fists.
Then the old lady continued to say to Shu Yao: "Shu girl, you did this just for the property of the mansion. You are afraid that it will fall into Dayong's hands, but you should never try to kill me for money."
Shu Yao sneered, "They are both your people, Old Madam. How can their words convince others?"
The old lady said: "Because they have served me for a long time, I know their character and personality. It is impossible that they were the ones who poisoned me."
Shu Yao leaned back, crossed her arms over her chest, and remained calm in the face of danger: "I have a way to find the real culprit. I wonder if the old lady would be willing to give it a try?"
The old lady was silent, not knowing what Shu Yao was up to. However, if she disagreed, it would seem that there was something fishy going on. So she asked, "What method?"
Shu Yao crossed her legs and tapped the ground with her toes: "When I went to the kitchenette today, there was a breeze blowing, and the stove for making tea was in the shed outside the kitchenette." She paused.
The old lady was a little anxious: "What's so strange about these?"
Shu Yao smiled faintly: "These are indeed nothing unusual, but it's windy today. The person who drugged me must have left some powder on my clothes. I'll ask the doctor to come and smell it and tell me."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone suddenly understood that this was indeed the truth.
Nanny Wang's face turned pale and she looked at the old lady as if asking for help.
The old lady closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were full of brilliance: "This method is inappropriate. The three of you are girls, how can you let a grown man smell you?"
Shu Yao remained calm: "Perhaps there is still some medicine powder left in the cracks of that person's fingernails. Dip your finger in water and take out the silver needle to test it and you will know."
The old lady swallowed her saliva and clenched her cane. "That's nonsense. The evidence is here today. Don't try to argue any further."
Shu Yao looked at her straight in the eye: "Am I talking nonsense or have I hit the nail on the head, old lady? You know who did it, but you are biased towards that person and push me out as the scapegoat, or maybe you wanted to frame me." She spoke very loudly, and everyone in the hall could hear it clearly.
The old lady was so angry that she poked the ground a few more times and said, "Nonsense, nonsense! Come, send her to the government office."
Two servants immediately arrived and held her on both sides. Shu Yao was unable to move. She looked up and said, "Old Madam, I'm helping you find the real culprit. Why did you arrest me instead? Are you feeling guilty?"
The old lady asked the two servants to drag Shu Yao away quickly.
This little girl is really powerful. We have to deal with her quickly. Once she is put in jail, she will have to give some silver to the officials, and she will never be able to get out again.
Shu Yao was dragged out. She struggled desperately, but her strength was of no use under the suppression of two adult men.
No one present stood up to speak for her. This was the Ji family's family affair and they could not interfere. But they felt sorry for Shu Yao, the girl, who was going to be sent to that prison where people were eaten without leaving any bones.
Everyone looked at her with a hint of pity.
In panic, Shu Yao held on to a pillar nearby and refused to let go. Two servants pulled out a piece of clothing from her back, exposing her smooth back naked in front of everyone.
Some women hurriedly covered their children's eyes.
Shu Yao struggled with all her might, and the scene became a little chaotic for a while.
At this moment, a cold yet majestic voice reached everyone's ears: "I heard that today is the old lady of the Ji Mansion's birthday, so this prince has come to visit. What's going on?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and were so shocked that they were speechless. It turned out to be the Prince of Changxiang.
A purple figure flashed past everyone. Chen Jing'an took off his purple cloak and draped it over Shu Yao, saying gently, "Don't be afraid, Xiaoyao'er. I'm here."
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