Chapter 76 A Forced Kiss to Seal the Lips

Chapter 76: A Kiss to Seal Her Mouth

Minister Zhang immediately laughed and said, "My dear nephew, surely you are joking? I myself have eaten several pieces of this pastry. If it were truly poisoned, wouldn't I be dead by now?"

Jiang Tianze pressed his lips together tightly, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the Zhang father and daughter. His dark eyes churned with suspicion, filled with wariness.

He'd grown up around poisons and knew the smell of various toxins like the back of his hand. How could he possibly be mistaken?

Seeing this, Jiang Shuning quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "My third brother has loved studying pharmacology since childhood. Perhaps he smelled something unusual, leading to this misunderstanding. I happen to be wearing a silver hairpin today. Why don't I test the pastry for poison to put everyone's mind at ease?"

With that, she pulled the silver hairpin from her hair, carefully wiped it clean with a handkerchief, and then poked it several times into Chancellor Jiang's pastry.

The tip of the pin remained silvery white, unchanged.

Seeing this, Minister Zhang boomed with laughter. "I told you so..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Tianze took the silver hairpin from Jiang Shuning's hand and directly inserted it into the peach pastry in his own bowl.

When he pulled it out, the tip was now shockingly pitch black!

His sharp gaze shot towards Zhang Yan, his tone icy. "So, it was me you wanted to poison!"

Zhang Yan's face instantly turned deathly pale. She waved her hands repeatedly in denial. "I didn't! Young Master Jiang, you've misunderstood..."

How could Jiang Tianze easily believe her?

He grabbed Zhang Yan's wrist, examining it closely, and finally discovered some white powder trapped under her fingernails.

"Still denying it? What is this?" He narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with coldness. "Dare you say this isn't poison?"

Seeing this, Chancellor Jiang's face darkened terribly. He looked directly at Minister Zhang and demanded, "Minister Zhang, what is the meaning of this?"

Beads of sweat broke out on Minister Zhang's forehead. "Chancellor Jiang, please calm your anger! This is all a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding! My daughter has been timid since childhood; she would never dream of poisoning your son! It must be that the lead powder from her cosmetics accidentally contaminated the pastry, causing this misunderstanding! I beg your forgiveness, Chancellor! I will apologize on my daughter's behalf to you and your son!"

Jiang Tianze snorted coldly. "The daughter of a Minister, using cheap cosmetics containing lead powder? Minister Zhang, your excuse is far too flimsy."

Minister Zhang's face was full of terror. "I'm wronged! Young Master Jiang, what grudge could I possibly hold against you to harm you?"

He turned to look at Chancellor Jiang, his eyes pleading. "Chancellor, please see reason. I swear to heaven, this is absolutely a misunderstanding!"

Just as Chancellor Jiang was about to speak, Jiang Shuning, standing beside him, tugged on his sleeve.

"Father, Minister Zhang is right. He bears no grudge against our Jiang family and had never met Tianze before today. He truly has no reason to intentionally have his daughter frame Tianze. I believe there is more to this matter. The one who wants to harm Tianze is likely someone else!"

Seeing her confident expression, Chancellor Jiang quickly asked, "Ning, do you know who wants to harm Tianze?"

"Yes," Jiang Shuning nodded firmly. "I suspect Minister Zhang was himself coerced, forced into this desperate measure. Father, let's let this matter rest. There's no need to press Minister Zhang further."

Chancellor Jiang pondered for a moment, then finally nodded.

He cast a cold glance at Minister Zhang, stood up, and led Madam Jiang, Jiang Shuning, and Jiang Tianze out of the teahouse.

After their party left, Minister Zhang collapsed to the floor, drenched in sweat.

Beside him, Zhang Yan was already crying her eyes out. "Father, didn't you say before that it was foolproof? Now Young Master Jiang has seen right through it! This is terrible. We've completely offended the Chancellor's residence. What are we going to do from now on?"

Minister Zhang let out a long sigh, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and lingering fear. "Who could have predicted that Young Master Jiang, despite his youth, would be so meticulous! Not to mention your father, I'm afraid even the mastermind behind this didn't anticipate it!"

Compared to offending Chancellor Jiang, what he feared more was failing to complete the task assigned by that person.

Now he was truly caught between a rock and a hard place!

On the way back to the residence, Chancellor Jiang was both angry and regretful. "I originally thought our two families could form a marriage alliance. Who would have thought Minister Zhang would be so bold as to instruct his daughter to poison Tianze! Ning, you said earlier that someone else wants to harm Tianze. Who exactly is it?"

Jiang Shuning's gaze shifted evasively. "Father, I only said that earlier because I wanted to leave the teahouse quickly. Actually, I don't know who is behind Minister Zhang. From now on, we Jiang family members just need to be extra careful when we go out to avoid being harmed by villains."

Chancellor Jiang's face was full of grief and indignation. "What turbulent times! First Tian'en and Tianci passed away one after another, and now someone wants to harm Tianze. Whom has our Jiang family offended to be driven to have no heirs?"

Madam Jiang took his hand, choking back sobs as she comforted him. "Husband, don't be too heartbroken. Fortunately, Tianze escaped this calamity and is safe and sound."

Jiang Tianze also offered comfort. "Father, Mother, please rest assured. Your son will take good care of himself, fulfill his filial duties to you in your old age, and never let those petty villains succeed!"

At this moment, however, a furious rage surged in Jiang Shuning's eyes.

That's right. No one would be allowed to harm the Jiang family!

In this life, she had already lost her elder brother. She absolutely could not lose the younger brother who could care for their parents in their old age.

She would settle the score for today's incident!

Upon returning to the Chancellor's residence, Jiang Shuning quickly changed her clothes and then took a carriage straight to the imperial palace.

Arriving at Jinghe Palace, she saw Xiao Lingchuan and immediately launched into a barrage of accusations. "Was it you, Your Highness, who instructed Minister Zhang to poison my third brother? To control me, the Fourth Prince would resort to such unscrupulous means. It's truly contemptible!"

Actually, figuring out who was behind Minister Zhang wasn't difficult.

The Zhang family were distant relatives of the Seventh Prince's maternal clan, and the Seventh Prince was Xiao Lingchuan's right-hand man. Therefore, Jiang Shuning quickly deduced that today's poisoning scheme was orchestrated by Xiao Lingchuan himself.

Xiao Lingchuan had already received news of Minister Zhang's failed poisoning attempt. He was not surprised by Jiang Shuning's arrival, nor did he intend to hide his actions.

He said calmly, "Indeed, I instructed Minister Zhang to use the matchmaking opportunity to poison your cousin, Jiang Tianze. But the poison wasn't lethal, and I didn't do this to control you."

"Then for what reason?" Jiang Shuning pressed.

"I have nothing to say," Xiao Lingchuan replied coldly, unwilling to explain further.

Jiang Shuning couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, her tone filled with sarcasm and accusation. "Your Highness need not pretend anymore. In our past life, I was your wife for ten years. I understand you better than anyone! Anyone you cannot control, you will find a way to discover their weakness and use it as leverage. Anyone you exhaust all means to control but still cannot, you would rather destroy than leave for your opponents!"

"Jiang Shuning!" Xiao Lingchuan sharply cut her off, the depths of his peach-blossom eyes churning with complex emotions. "If you truly understood me, you wouldn't think I acted this way to control you!"

He admitted he had a history of misdeeds, that he was unscrupulous.

But he had never thought of using these ruthless and vicious methods on her.

Especially after tasting the agonizing pain of losing her in their past life, in this life, even when resorting to threats or inducements, he carefully measured his actions, fearing it would be too much for her.

Now, being misunderstood and accused by her like this, he felt both furious and wronged.

"You poisoned Tianze. Besides controlling me, who else could you possibly be trying to control?" The more Jiang Shuning thought about it, the angrier she became. Mist gathered in her eyes. "You know perfectly well that after losing my brother, what worries me most is my parents having no one to care for them in their old age. And now you poison the only male heir of our Jiang family! What is your game? Why don't you just poison me directly? Let me die like in our past life. Wouldn't that just fulfill your wish?!"

"Enough!" Xiao Lingchuan's handsome face twisted with fury as he rebuked her sharply. "I forbid you to say such things again!"

"Why wouldn't I dare? I've already died once. At worst..." Before Jiang Shuning could finish her sentence, Xiao Lingchuan, losing control, yanked her into a tight embrace.

His scorching lips forcefully covered hers, as if wanting to forever seal shut this little mouth that only spoke ominous words!