Ling Xiang was summoned for questioning. Seeing the bowl, he briefly recalled and said in disbelief:
"Isn't this the bowl that Second Aunt gave me the beauty soup today?"
Yuan Zhengqing was not surprised and remained expressionless: "Ms. Ling, please tell me in detail."
Ling Xiang was terrified and recalled carefully:
"Second Aunt gives my second sister beauty soup every day. My second sister's skin is so smooth that it's almost as smooth as a baby's. I've always envied her, but Second Aunt never gave me any. I've been envious for a long time. However, today, Second Aunt suddenly changed her attitude. Not only did she prepare beauty soup for me, she also showed concern for me and even promised to return the housekeeper's power to me in three days.
"There's one more thing. The eldest princess originally invited me to study at the Prince of Qin's mansion, and I was supposed to go there tomorrow. My second aunt wanted me to bring my second sister with me today, but I felt it was inappropriate, so I didn't agree."
When Mrs. Ling was summoned for questioning, she looked confident and calm. Until Yuan Zhengqing pointed at the bowl and asked her whether she had prepared beauty soup for Ling Xiang today, the expression on her face suddenly changed and she stared at the bowl in disbelief.
She had clearly ordered the bowl to be destroyed! How could it have appeared in the kitchen intact and been discovered?
She looked at Ling Xiang, who stared at her blankly, her expression hurt. "Second Aunt, this soup is poisonous. It's the same poison I was poisoned with today. Did you know that?"
Mrs. Ling's eyes widened: "Yan'er and I drank this soup, it's not poisonous!"
Ling Xiang's eyes were filled with tears as she choked and said, "What you drank wasn't poisonous. Only my bowl had it. The doctor just said the poison was in the bowl."
Madam Ling Er was immediately furious: "Someone actually murdered my niece right under my nose! When I catch him, I will definitely skin him alive!"
Yuan Zhengqing summoned everyone who had come into contact with the beauty soup today and questioned them one by one.
Madam Ling Er was not worried at all because the act of smearing poison on the bowl took place in her room. No one knew about it except her and Nanny Zhang, not even Ling Yan.
Yuan Zhengqing was still trying to figure out his next move after the interrogation failed. Ling Xiang suggested, "Poison doesn't just appear out of thin air. It has to have a source and a destination. Especially with this kind of unusual poison, it's notoriously hard to buy. Furthermore, the container it's in needs careful handling."
Yuan Zhengqing nodded in agreement towards Ling Xiang and ordered his men to check all the major pharmacies in the capital and to go to the Marquis Zhenguo's Mansion to find a possible place where the medicine bottles could be destroyed.
Madam Ling Er had already received a tip from the person who gave the poison. She had processed the medicine bottle using a special method and thrown it outside, so it could not be found in the mansion at all.
After a whole night of trouble, Yuan Zhengqing did not find any clues in the Marquis of Zhenguo's Mansion. It would also take time to investigate the major pharmacies, so Yuan Zhengqing took away a group of suspects and locked them up in the prison cell of Shuntian Mansion before making further plans.
"Master Yuan, wait a minute." Ling Xiang suddenly spoke, startling everyone who had been busy all night and making them look at her intently.
"What's the matter, Miss Ling?" Yuan Zhengqing did not show any impatience after being busy all night and getting nothing.
"It seems that you have missed a place to search," Ling Xiang reminded.
Yuan Zhengqing thought about it carefully and didn't realize he had missed anything. "Miss Ling, please speak frankly."
"My yard."
Ling Xiang was the victim, and she couldn't afford the consequences of the poison, so no one would think that the poison would appear in her yard.
Yuan Zhengqing was puzzled. Ling Xiang sighed and said, "I remember a saying: the most dangerous place is the safest place. I'm not afraid of being laughed at by adults. I've never been able to make my own decisions in my yard."
"Search!" Yuan Zhengqing gave an order and everyone moved to Ling Xiang's yard.
Ling Xiang's courtyard was small and shabby, and it really didn't seem like a place for the legitimate daughter of a Zhenguo Marquis to live. The accompanying doctor first found a large amount of medicinal powder in Xiaoyu's room. Ling Xiang explained:
"Xiaoyu is the only maid in the mansion who is loyal to me. However, she was beaten severely a few days ago and nearly died. To protect her, I placed some poison that causes people to fall asleep around the room. It was just to protect Xiaoyu, nothing else."
After the doctor's examination, it was confirmed that what Ling Xiang said was true.
Yuan Zhengqing looked at Ling Xiang with sharp eyes: "Do you know poison?"
Ling Xiang didn't intend to hide his medical skills, and he even had to find a reasonable explanation for his medical skills: "My mother left me a medical book. When I miss her, I would flip through it. So I know a little about medicine, but I'm not proficient in it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been poisoned. I prepared this poison powder according to the medical book."
Yuan Zhengqing ordered people to collect the poison powder and take it away, and ordered to continue the search.
This time, they searched another room and found a medicine bottle. After the doctor's examination, the residual medicinal properties in it were found to be "Wu Yan".
"Whose room is this?" Yuan Zhengqing asked.
"It's a painting of plum blossoms." Ling Xiang sighed.
"However, Huamei was originally the head maid in Second Aunt's room. She came to serve in my room only half a month ago. Today, I punished her for attempting to murder Xiaoyu.
"Second Aunt handed me Huamei's indenture contract when she came to rescue her today. A maid like her would be a disaster if she stayed with me. I was originally going to sell her, but Second Aunt couldn't bear to part with her and bought her back for a thousand taels."
As Ling Xiang spoke, he took out the ten silver notes of one hundred taels each.
Yuan Zhengqing pointed at the banknote and asked Mrs. Ling Er, "Is this true?"
Each banknote has a unique bank account number. A quick check at the bank will reveal the banknote's origin. Madam Ling Er had no way to argue and nodded.
"That's true, but Huamei has been gone for several hours. Who knows who put the medicine bottle in there?"
Mrs. Ling looked directly at Ling Xiang when she spoke, and the implication was very clear, that is, she suspected Ling Xiang of framing her.
Without waiting for Yuan Zhengqing to ask, Ling Xiang explained, "Xiaoyu and I were the only ones in my courtyard. Xiaoyu was seriously injured and unable to get out of bed. Master Yuan sent a doctor to see what was happening. I was upset after dealing with Huamei today, so I went to the ancestral hall and stayed there until Second Aunt called me for dinner. I didn't return until Master Yuan came into my courtyard. There are witnesses to all this."
After some investigation, it was confirmed that neither Ling Xiang nor Xiaoyu had entered Huamei's room, and the seriously injured Huamei was carried in for questioning.
Huamei flatly denied it, "My Lord, I am just a maid. How dare I murder my own master? I have never seen this medicine bottle before!"
Although the suspect has been caught, the evidence is still insufficient. Yuan Zhengqing plans to start from the source of the poison. At the same time, he has taken away a group of people who may have committed the crime and plans to go back for further investigation.
Of course, Yuan Zhengqing did not take away people of status like Madam Ling Er and Ling Yan, but restricted them from leaving the house.
However, Nanny Zhang was just a servant and did not receive such treatment. Even though Madam Ling II pleaded for her, it was useless and Nanny Zhang was still taken away.
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