“This is… elder sister, what happened to your hand? Elder sister.”
The bizarre sight before them not only shocked Mu Zhenfeng greatly but also filled him with suspicion. Wan Jun, in particular, paled in horror, nervously supporting her hand and asking repeatedly.
“My hand… it’s all her fault, she framed me! Mu Wanqing, I never thought that even after I gave up on Young Master Sun, you still wouldn’t let me go. My hand, my hand… ah, it hurts so much, so much…”
Supported by her younger sister, she noticed that despite her father’s shock at her reaction, he showed none of the previous concern or urgency to inquire. Thinking of the tricks she had secretly played, she felt both furious and resentful. Amidst her pained cries, she trembled and pointed her grotesquely swollen hand at Wanqing in accusation.
“Sigh, you brought this upon yourself—how can you blame others? Everyone saw clearly just now: I applied powder on both Honglian and Lüxia’s hands. Why are they fine, while you alone suffer? If you hadn’t been guilty and tampered with something, how could you have poisoned yourself?”
Seeing her in such a state yet still unrepentant, shifting all blame onto her, Wanqing sighed helplessly and explained the situation to everyone.
“Powder?” Her words startled Honglian and Lüxia, who looked at her with even greater suspicion.
“Yes, powder. The bottle I touched was coated with the same poison as the one in her bottle, while what I applied to your hands was the antidote to that poison.” Wanqing spoke calmly in response to the maids’ astonishment and the reactions of Mu Zhenfeng and Mu Wanjun.
“Everyone surely knows that poison corrodes the skin. Though I only briefly handled the bottle, I recognized the poison inside. Normally, touching it would turn one’s palm red or even black. The substance I applied to you was the antidote, though it temporarily causes redness upon contact.”
Wanqing continued her explanation. As everyone turned their gaze to Mu Wanxia, who was now sitting on the ground in unbearable pain, whimpering and clutching her swollen hand, she stepped forward to clarify further.
“Those who didn’t tamper with anything would have hands as normal as ever. But those who deliberately meddled… well, it wouldn’t be so simple for them. Tsk tsk, with a hand like that, I fear it might be crippled.”
“You—Mu Wanqing, stop spouting nonsense! Everyone knows you’re a master of poison! Father, save me, save me! I truly didn’t poison you—she’s the one who framed me! It’s all them!”
Wanqing’s words exposed the tricks Wanxia had secretly played. Realizing that Wanqing had identified the poison on the bottle, while she herself couldn’t determine what was on her own hand, Wanxia panicked. If her tampering was exposed, she would be undeniably implicated.
Mu Wanxia had quickly applied some neutralizing powder to her palm when Wanqing handed her the bottle—using poison to counter poison. She never expected that what Wanqing had applied to their hands was the antidote to the bottle’s poison. Thus, she had poisoned herself with the substance she had hastily smeared on her palm.
Her own cleverness had led to this state. Though she desperately wanted to take the antidote to relieve the pain, doing so would prove her involvement in poisoning her father. So she gritted her teeth, biting her lips in agony, and continued to plead with her father while accusing Wanqing.
“Elder sister, what’s really going on? Sister, take the antidote now! If you don’t, your whole hand will be ruined! Look how swollen it is—your fingers are almost deformed!”
Mu Wanjun, knowing her elder sister’s expertise in poison, understood that if Wanxia had poisoned herself, she must have the antidote. Supporting her, she watched in horror as Wanxia’s hand continued to swell grotesquely, the fingers twisting unnaturally. She bent down, urgently pleading.
“Don’t touch me! It’s all your fault—yours! Father, you believe I poisoned you too, don’t you?”
Seeing Wanjun urging her to take the antidote—which would expose everything—Wanxia grew furious at her sister’s uselessness in this critical moment. Despite the agony, she struggled to her feet.
Overwhelmed by frustration and rage, she shoved Wanjun away, her face contorted in pain, eyes brimming with despair. Trembling, she pointed at Wanqing and the others, even tearfully questioning Mu Zhenfeng.
“Xia’er, when did you become like this? You’re so unfamiliar to me now. I want to believe none of this is true, but…” Faced with his daughter’s accusations and defiance, Mu Zhenfeng—who had always taken pride in her—could only look at her with profound disappointment, unable to speak further.
Though he didn’t understand why his daughter would poison him, the betrayal cut deep. His heart ached with sorrow, disappointment, and an indescribable despair. To have his wife and daughter both turn against him—what had he done to deserve this?
“Hah, I know, I know everything. Ever since this girl changed completely, your heart has been filled with only her—even Young Master Sun’s. But Father, do you realize? With her mastery of poison, it’s effortless for her to manipulate perceptions. You’ve cast aside not just me, but Mother too. Hah… I won’t beg for your help anymore. Let me die—after all, Mother and I are nothing but burdens!”
Though part of her longed to kneel and confess her momentary lapse in judgment, Wanxia, with Wanqing present, only laughed bitterly. Trembling from pain, she glared at Mu Zhenfeng and Wanqing before staggering toward the door, her laughter wild and broken.
“Elder sister, listen to Father! No matter what, he truly cares for us—elder sister!”
Mu Wanjun was stunned by her sister’s sudden transformation. Though she understood Wanxia’s obsession with Young Master Sun, she couldn’t bear her disrespect toward their father. Guilt gnawed at her for keeping silent about the earlier incident. Now, seeing Wanxia’s deep-seated resentment, she shook her head helplessly and rushed after her, grabbing her arm.
But Wanxia shoved her away violently, sending Wanjun tumbling to the ground before stumbling out alone.
“Jun’er, this has nothing to do with you. Are you all right? From now on, aside from Qing’er, you’re the only one I can trust and rely on… sigh.”
Faced with irrefutable evidence, his eldest daughter showed no remorse—only bitterness and accusations, even claiming Wanqing had drugged him. Though Wanqing remained silent, Mu Zhenfeng’s heart ached as he watched his once-favored child spiral into darkness.
Seeing Wanjun slumped by the threshold, weeping as she watched Wanxia leave, he sighed heavily. With unsteady steps, he went to her and helped her up, his own eyes filled with sorrow as he looked at her and then at Wanqing, who stood nearby with equal resignation.
To be continued.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage