Jiang Wan shook her head: "I've never heard of that."
"Did you hear that?" Pei Xi chuckled. "Young Master Song, don't bring your servants to testify. They only act on your orders, so their testimonies are invalid."
"Besides, on the day you mentioned, Xiao Luzi was clearly collecting morning dew for the Emperor overnight. The next morning, he brewed tea with the morning dew and presented it to the Emperor. The Emperor praised him highly and even gave him a reward. Everyone in the court can witness this."
"Oh, by the way, Young Master Song was also present at the time, but you didn't say a word or plead for justice for the Emperor. How come you're now framing me? You clearly have ulterior motives!"
"If you insist that Xiao Luzi has a problem, aren't you implying that Father Emperor also protected him? Well, you have quite the nerve!"
Pei Xi, with an indignant expression, walked over to Pei Xuan and tugged at his sleeve.
"Look, Crown Prince, he's publicly humiliating members of the royal family and making irresponsible remarks about Father Emperor. I think he's planning a rebellion!"
Pei Xuan: "..."
Song Lin froze on the spot, his anger so intense that he almost fainted.
Who said the Third Prince Pei Xi is a fool!
He was so blind before. How could Pei Xi, with her eloquent manner, be considered stupid?
He Xingyun said, "Young Master Song, what you said is indeed illogical. The Third Prince has no grudge against you, so why would he send people to search your courtyard?"
"The Third Prince has no reason to search; the one with the real malicious intentions is the person behind him!"
Song Lin took a deep breath and pointed in a certain direction within the crowd.
"That's her, Jiang Wan!"
He Xingyun frowned: "You mean, it was Jiang who instructed Xiao Luzi to conduct the search?"
He looked in the direction Song Lin was pointing at the woman not far away.
Jiang Wan walked out of the crowd calmly, without showing any anger or panic; a faint smile remained on her lips.
"I don't understand what Lin'er is saying. The Third Prince has no reason to search the courtyard, but I do? Just now you clearly said that the matter of the imperial edict was given to you alone by your grandmother. How could I know about it?"
"Besides, the mechanism in that box is not something that can be easily cracked by a person."
Everyone nodded in agreement; they had all heard Song Lin say these things clearly.
Song Lin was quite pleased with himself just now, claiming that he had kept the items very safe and that others could not easily approach them.
Madam Shang couldn't help but say, "Young Master Song, you're framing the Third Prince one minute and dragging Madam Jiang into this the next. Are you out of your mind?"
The guests began to whisper among themselves.
Pei Xi glanced at Jiang Wan and snorted coldly, "That's right, how could I, a prince of such high status, be ordered around by a woman! Song Lin, you're talking nonsense!"
Jiang Wan was rather speechless.
She looked at Song Lin and said calmly.
"Even if Xiao Luzi stole the imperial edict or did something wrong, you should have discovered the loss of such an important sacred object long ago and reported it to His Majesty immediately. Why did you only say so today?"
Song Lin gritted his teeth.
He wasn't without suspicion when Xiao Luzi sneaked into the inner courtyard that day, but at the time he didn't know that Pei Xi and Jiang Wan were very close. Moreover, he was too confident in the trap he had set.
Xiao Luzi is just a palace eunuch, what skills could he possibly have?
How could he have imagined that someone in the general's mansion could successfully break through the mechanisms, enter the house, and find the hidden compartment?
As it turned out, the person was not only skilled in mechanisms but also extremely agile, managing to switch the exquisite eight-treasure box without making a sound.
They could even produce a similar Eight Treasures Box and another counterfeit Iron Certificate in a short period of time.
None of these steps are something an ordinary person could do.
Song Lin was both suspicious of Jiang Wan and unable to believe it.
How could Jiang Wan, a woman confined to the inner quarters, possibly possess such great abilities?
Song Lin was completely baffled and could only say...
"It's Jiang Wan! Who else would want to harm me but her? Who else could it be but her?"
Jiang Wan chuckled softly.
"So you had no evidence and were just making wild guesses."
Her tone was soft, as if she had no resentment whatsoever towards Song Lin's unjust accusations; her voice and demeanor were calm.
"But Lin'er, you're really mistaken. We've been mother and son for several years, what reason would I have to harm you?"
"And my grandmother and the general are also my family. How I wish they had never committed a capital crime, how I wish they could return safely!"
She looked at Song Lin, her voice tinged with emotion.
“If the Song family truly possesses an imperial edict, I will personally present it to His Majesty and plead for the safe return of my grandmother and the general. After all… we are family.”
"I never imagined that you and my grandmother would forge sacred objects together and then try to pin the blame on me, showing absolutely no regard for the kindness of raising me... It truly chills my heart!"
Her words were so sincere that Madam Shang, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but pat her on the shoulder.
“Young Master Song, this is a family matter of the General’s Mansion, and I am not in a position to say much. But people are all made of flesh and blood. Back then, Madam Jiang fell off a cliff to save you, disregarding her own life. Even your own parents might not have done that!”
"Even though she adopted Song Yu later, she still cared about you! You may not know, but before you went to take up your post in the crossbow battalion, she spoke well of you in front of Madam Sun, saying that you were an upright and down-to-earth child, all of which were for your future."
"Anyone else who had gone through all this would have treated her like their own mother, even without blood ties! But you, not only do you not remember her kindness, but now you even want to kill her. You are truly a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com