“That won’t do. Although this maid admitted to poisoning your sleeve, the poison still traveled from you into Father’s soup. If this isn’t clarified face-to-face, those who know the truth will understand you were framed, but what will those who don’t know say about you?”
Seeing Mu Wanxia effortlessly shift the responsibility of handling this matter onto her, Wanqing feigned concern and countered with a question.
Wanqing’s apparent concern was to give her a chance to clear her name in front of everyone. Though Mu Wanxia wanted to extricate herself, she was now caught in a dilemma. Her plan to poison someone while eliminating future troubles had backfired—she had overlooked that when it came to scheming, this woman before her was clearly far more cunning.
Left speechless and with alarm bells ringing in her heart, she wondered: if she was being asked to follow, could there be ulterior motives?
Mu Wanjun, naturally aware of the stakes, glanced at Honglian and the maidservant behind her before hesitantly asking her elder sister, “Eldest Sister…”
“Isn’t it just about seeing Father together and hearing how he decides to handle this? Second Sister is only thinking of my reputation, isn’t she? Fine, I’ll go with you. But Mu Wanqing, don’t mistake this for fear. I’m only doing this to clear my name. We’ll see how this plays out.”
Seeing the leaf-sweepers and even the kitchen staff staring at her, and with Wanqing’s earlier loud declaration, refusing now would only make her look guilty of avoiding confrontation.
Mu Wanxia burned with the desire to act immediately—to fling a handful of poison powder and ruin Wanqing’s now-clear, rosy, and delicate face, so different from before. But for now, she could only grit her teeth, suppress her fury, and cast a challenging glare at Wanqing before turning away with her maidservant and Mu Wanjun in tow.
“Hmph, let’s see how you handle this later.”
Watching her eldest sister’s brazen confidence despite the glaring holes in her story, Wanqing couldn’t help but see the resemblance to Lady Liu. With a mocking shake of her head and a light chuckle, she followed with Honglian and Lüxia.
“What exactly is going on here, Xia’er?”
When the group arrived before Mu Zhenfeng, he had expected Wanqing to report her findings. Instead, his eldest and third daughters had also come, and according to Lüxia’s testimony, the poison had been placed on the eldest’s sleeve. Stunned, Mu Zhenfeng looked at his eldest daughter and asked.
“Father, Xia’er doesn’t know either. This maid framed me—Second Sister questioned her, and that’s what she said.”
Seeing her father’s expression, Mu Wanxia panicked but feigned grievance as she replied.
“So, Eldest Sister, you’re certain the maid poisoned your sleeve?”
Wanqing raised an eyebrow, pressing further.
“Lüxia admitted it herself. I didn’t know, so it must be true.” Though unsure of Wanqing’s intent, Mu Wanxia stubbornly held her ground.
“Then may I ask, Eldest Sister, did you change your clothes after returning this morning?”
Wanqing didn’t press further but posed another question.
“I only found out later. Is there a problem?”
Mu Wanxia, puzzled but prideful, retorted.
“Father, do you believe this is what happened?”
Wanqing turned to Mu Zhenfeng instead of continuing with her sister.
“Qing’er, it seems Lüxia acted alone, and I—” Though he heard his eldest daughter claim innocence, Mu Zhenfeng couldn’t shake the feeling she was involved. Watching her bow her head meekly as usual, he felt an indescribable disappointment. With a weary sigh, he looked at Wanqing, clearly unwilling to pursue the matter further.
“Exactly, Father. It was all Lüxia’s doing—she nearly cost you your life. Guards, drag this wretched maid out and beat her to death! Let this serve as a warning to anyone in this household who dares disrespect their masters!”
Unaware of her father’s growing disillusionment with her behavior, Mu Wanxia seized the opportunity to condemn Lüxia, shouting for the servants outside.
“Miss! You—Master, I’m innocent! Master, spare me!”
Lüxia had expected loyalty to be repaid with at least a plea for leniency. Instead, Mu Wanxia turned on her instantly, treating her like an enemy. As a servant, her life was expendable—but faced with death, fear took over.
Dragged away, she struggled and turned to the exhausted Mu Zhenfeng, pleading for mercy.
“Take her away! This vile wretch nearly killed her master and still dares cry innocence!”
Panicked at the possibility of Lüxia revealing more, Mu Wanxia coldly ordered her removal.
“Second Miss, save me! Second Miss, please!”
When her pleas to Mu Zhenfeng fell on deaf ears, Lüxia turned desperately to Wanqing.
“Wait. If Lüxia claims innocence, why not hear her out? Eldest Sister is truly ruthless—to preserve Father’s honor and the family’s reputation, she’d execute a loyal maid without hesitation. I must admire such resolve.”
Wanqing, disheartened by her father’s reluctance to act, saw Lüxia’s plight and thought of Chunhong, her own loyal maid whose fate remained unknown. She stepped in, her words aimed at Mu Zhenfeng.
“Very well. Let her speak. How have I wronged her?”
At Mu Zhenfeng’s command, the servants released Lüxia. Kneeling, she cast a fearful glance at Mu Wanxia’s icy glare before confessing everything.
“I never poisoned the eldest miss’s sleeve—she gave me the poison! She feared Second Miss or the master would trace the morning’s ginseng soup back to her!”
“Lies! You failed to frame Lanju, were caught, and now you’re blaming Eldest Sister to save yourself—even trying to turn Father against her! You vile snake!”
Mu Wanjun, horrified at Lüxia’s reversal, lunged forward and slapped her.
“Third Sister, this is between Lüxia and Eldest Sister. Why are you so agitated? Unless you’re involved too?”
Wanqing, though exasperated by Mu Wanjun’s brutish interference—a remnant of past bullying—recognized her as more of a follower than a mastermind. With a pointed question, she silenced her.
“I—” Realizing her outburst, Mu Wanjun stepped back, chastened.
(To be continued.)
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