Chapter 175

Chapter 175

Jing Wu frowned and pulled the house physician over.

The house physician wasn't really skilled in treating sword and knife wounds. Seeing Yuezhi's condition, he immediately said, "Her vital energy is surging upward. I'm afraid the wound has split open again. I fear..."

I fear she's beyond saving!

The knife wound on Yuezhi's neck wasn't actually deep, which is why she'd been saved at the critical moment.

But she didn't value her own life. The moment Sui Ci was mentioned, she completely lost it, and the wound split open again, completely out of control. Even the best medicine couldn't save her now.

As she cursed, Yuezhi suddenly started convulsing, the veins on her hands, which were gripping the blanket, bulged prominently.

After two seconds of convulsing, her body went limp and collapsed onto the bed.

Her eyes, wide open in death, were filled with nothing but hatred for Sui Ci.

Physician Zhao quickly checked her breath, and after a moment said, "Reporting to the Prince and the Consort, this girl has died from a fit of rage..."

Right up until her death, Yuezhi's mouth was full of foul curses against Sui Ci.

To her dying breath, she resented only Sui Ci, never once blaming her beloved Brother Wu.

Prince Jing wasn't surprised by Yuezhi's behavior.

In his youth, he had seen countless concubines and palace maids like Yuezhi in the emperor's inner court.

Some were even more deranged than her before they died.

They cursed this person and hated that one, but never dared to resent the one at the very top.

Afraid that Xie Run might be scared, Prince Jing simply said calmly, "Get rid of the body."

Then he led her away.

Xie Run couldn't get the image of Yuezhi's death out of her head, and she felt a heavy weight on her chest.

After walking for a while, she suddenly grabbed Prince Jing's sleeve and said, "Your Highness, something is not right here!"

Seeing Xie Run's pale face, Prince Jing knew she'd been scared.

His voice softened. "What's wrong?"

Xie Run said coldly, "What Yuezhi said isn't enough to explain why Ping'an would do this!"

Because her own son was sickly, which made the Prince dislike him, she drugged the other children in the courtyard to make them just as sick?

If Concubine An had that kind of ruthlessness, she wouldn't have been so timid back then, suffering multiple scares during her pregnancy that led to her child being born premature.

A person's actions are always closely tied to their character.

Yuezhi's death today was so brutal and dramatic that it made Xie Run suspect someone.

Wan Linlang!

In the entire household, only she was so skilled at manipulating people, killing silently without leaving a trace!

But where did Wan Linlang get two thousand taels of silver?

Even Concubine An couldn't possibly come up with that much!

Prince Jing patted her hand reassuringly: "I know what you mean."

"But we still need to question Ping'an."

Guilt or innocence is never determined by words alone, but by evidence.

Xie Run gave a bitter smile.

If it really was Wan Linlang's doing, this case would ultimately be pinned on Concubine An.

Xie Run wanted justice for her son, but she was afraid that if the real culprit wasn't found, innocent people would get dragged into it.

Now she could no longer control how things were unfolding...

Where exactly had things gone wrong?!

While Xie Run racked her brains, Jing Wu had already led his men to find the banknotes and the contract Yuezhi had mentioned.

The contract clearly documented the collusion between Yuezhi and Ping'an, with both their fingerprints on it.

Ping'an was also brought in, staring at Prince Jing and Xie Run with a bewildered expression.

The guards pressed her hand down, compared the fingerprints on the contract, and quickly found a match.

"Your Highness, the fingerprints match!"

Seeing Ping'an's panicked expression, Xie Run swallowed and asked softly, "Ping'an, did you leave the residence half a month ago?"

Ping'an's heart pounded with fear, and she answered cautiously, "Reporting to Consort Xie, I had a day off half a month ago and went home for a visit."

She was born into service, with her entire family serving in the Prince Jing's residence. Of course she'd go home when she had time off.

Not just her—most of the servants born into the household did the same.

"And seven days ago?"

Ping'an's lips trembled. "I went back then too."

Even if she was slow, she knew she was in deep trouble.

Hearing her reply, Xie Run's heart sank too, knowing Ping'an couldn't escape this charge.

Whoever did this had prepared far too meticulously!

Ping'an felt the atmosphere grow unusually heavy and said fearfully, "May I ask what important matter His Highness has summoned me for?"

"I've been staying in the courtyard taking care of the Fourth Young Master these past days and don't know what's happened."

Eunuch Shi'an stepped forward and said, "Today it was discovered that Yuezhi of Spring Mountain Courtyard added cassava flour to the water the Fifth Young Master drank. Before she died, Yuezhi said you told her to do it."

"Yuezhi also said that half a month ago and seven days ago, she met you separately at Cloud Corner Alley, with the two thousand taels of silver banknotes you gave her and the contract you both signed as evidence."

"Upon examination, the fingerprints on the contract match yours exactly."

"Ping'an, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Ping'an's mind went blank for a moment, her whole body frozen in shock.

"What are you talking about? Eunuch, I don't understand a word you're saying!"

Ping'an's heart was pounding out of her chest.

Even as dumb as she was, she knew she was in big trouble!

Someone had to be setting her up.

But she had no clue about any of it—she was totally in the dark.

"I did go home twice, and I did pass through Yunjiao Lane to buy food for the household, but I've never laid eyes on this Yuezhi!"

"I don't even know her, nor what she looks like!"

The more she talked, the more scared Ping'an got.

Whoever was out to get her must have been quietly keeping tabs on her to set her up this perfectly!

"Someone's got to be framing me!"

"I've got a lot of brothers and sisters, and my folks can't handle all of us. Every time I get time off, I head home to help out. In the morning, I always swing by Liu's Bun Shop to grab some buns. After I leave the shop, I have to cut through Yunjiao Lane..."

Ping'an was usually level-headed, but now she was shaking like a leaf!

"Where would I get two thousand taels? Forget me—even my mistress couldn't scrape together that kind of money!"

"If I had that kind of silver, my mistress and I would be living a hundred times better, so why would I ever go and hurt someone?"

"My mistress is such a scaredy-cat—His Highness and Consort Xie both know that. She wouldn't even dare to talk back, so how could she ever scheme against the Fifth Young Master?!"

Eunuch Shi'an: "Yuezhi said your mistress, since she gave birth to the Fourth Young Master who's sickly and out of favor, wanted to make the Fifth Young Master and the Third Miss sick too, so her own shortcomings wouldn't be so obvious!"

"That's bull!"

"That's completely insane!" Ping'an's eyes went red with rage. "How could my mistress ever come up with something so stupid?!"

"Even if the Fifth Young Master and the Third Miss got sick, there's still the Eldest Young Master, the Third Young Master, and the Second Miss. His Highness isn't going to stop being mad at my mistress just because something happened to the Fifth Young Master and the Third Miss?!"

"Even a three-year-old gets this, so how could my mistress not see it?!"

Eunuch Shi'an: "But the evidence is airtight. How do you explain that?"

Ping'an freaked out. "I... I truly haven't harmed anyone!"

"I've never even met this Yuezhi..."

But that explanation was way too weak.

Not everyone was like Fang Yuaner, who stayed so bold even with the proof right in her face.

Suddenly, a thought hit Ping'an, and she yelled out, "I want to see Yuezhi! I want to look her in the eye and call her out!"

Eunuch Shi'an looked at Ping'an with a touch of pity. "Yuezhi's wound just split open again, and in a fit of fury, she... died..."

Ping'an felt like a huge mountain had caved in on her, darkening the whole sky above her.

Now, there was no way she could ever clear her name, even if she jumped into the Yellow River!