With a sharp cry from Mu Wanxia, the servants quickly gathered around her. Wanqing coldly observed the commotion as the maids nearby screamed in alarm, her gaze shifting to the icy expressions of Mu Wanxia and Mu Wanjun standing behind the servants.
Though their faces and even the corners of their eyes were streaked with tears, their eyes were not red. Yet their voices were hoarse and strained, as if they had been wailing uncontrollably. Normally, anyone crying that hard would have bloodshot eyes—but theirs were not.
This proved it was all an act. In fact, it was clear they had orchestrated this entire scene to frame her, to create a pretext they could use against her.
“What are you waiting for? Seize her and hand her over to the authorities!”
Seeing the servants hesitate before her, Wanqing remained guarded and cold. Mu Wanxia smirked triumphantly and stepped back with Mu Wanjun, issuing the order.
The servants exchanged uncertain glances but eventually raised their wooden sticks and advanced toward Wanqing. With a frosty glare, she reached into her robe and pulled out a porcelain vial, her voice laced with warning.
“Who dares take another step? If you value your lives, try laying a hand on me.”
Her words froze them in place.
“I—I’ll go find Miss Honglian!” Lian’er, watching from the doorway, turned to flee.
“Stop her! Anyone who lets her take a single step out will be beaten to death alongside her today. With Mother imprisoned, do you dare disobey my orders as the eldest young miss?”
Mu Wanxia’s sharp command halted Lian’er in her tracks, and two maids immediately blocked her path. Smugly, Mu Wanxia stepped forward, addressing Wanqing with a smirk before turning back to the servants.
Though intimidated by Wanqing’s chilling aura, the servants exchanged glances and, at Mu Wanxia’s urging, swung their sticks toward her.
“One last warning. You’re all servants of this household. Do you even know the full story? I’ve been in my courtyard all morning—Father was already unconscious when I woke. How could I have poisoned him? How could I be responsible for his condition?”
Dodging the incoming strikes, Wanqing flicked silver needles from her sleeve, felling two servants instantly. The others froze, eyeing her warily as she regarded them coolly.
Her words visibly shook them.
“Don’t listen to her lies!” Mu Wanxia snapped, her voice dripping with venom. “Who else in this household knows how to use drugs and poisons to manipulate minds? Who else but her? Do you think it was us? Our mother may have had misunderstandings with the marquis, but we are his flesh and blood! Would we harm him just to frame her? Only she, with her arrogance and recklessness—protected by the Crown Prince and Prince Ning—dares to defy everyone!”
The servants’ expressions darkened again, suspicion creeping back into their eyes.
“You’re wrong, Eldest Sister.” Wanqing’s voice was calm but cutting. “Despite your repeated schemes against me, I’ve always overlooked them out of familial duty. But I never imagined you’d go so far as to poison Father just to frame me. I’m not the only one in this house who knows poisons. The reason Mother and Father quarreled wasn’t just her temper—it was because she drugged him to silence him. That’s why he collapsed days ago. And now, you’ve followed in her footsteps, sacrificing kinship for your own ends.”
Mu Wanxia’s righteous indignation was almost laughable. Did she truly think everyone else was a fool?
But Wanqing hadn’t expected her to poison their father—and with such a heavy dose.
Their rivalry over Sun Fengyu was absurd. That worthless fool wasn’t even worth a glance—yet Mu Wanxia treated him like a treasure.
Still, Wanqing kept her tone measured, ensuring the servants heard every word.
“You—you’re lying!” Mu Wanjun cut in, her face flushed with anger. “Father collapsed last time because you poisoned him! Mother panicked and gave him medicine, but it was the wrong one!”
Her desperate excuse only made Wanqing sigh.
“So Father misunderstood your mother? But from what I know, that’s not the case. Given how close Father and your mother once were, if she had merely given him medicine out of concern, he wouldn’t have locked her in the Dark Garden. Yet there she is. Need I say more?”
Mu Wanjun’s face paled, her lips trembling with rage.
“Enough, Jun’er!” Mu Wanxia cut in sharply. “Mu Wanqing, if you’re so innocent, dare you come with me to the magistrate?”
Her challenge was laced with smug confidence.
“Why wouldn’t I dare? But look at Father’s condition. If we don’t act fast to detoxify him, he might not survive long enough for the magistrate to intervene. Are you really willing to let him die just to prove a point?”
Mu Wanxia faltered, her steps halting. Even Mu Wanjun froze, unease flickering across her face.
“Am I wrong? You’ve already called physicians, haven’t you? They must have told you how dire his state is. Can you truly stand by and let him perish while we fight?”
Wanqing’s words struck deep. The sisters exchanged uneasy glances.
Their resentment toward their father—for how he treated their mother, for his indifference toward Mu Wanjun’s marriage prospects—had driven them to this. But the thought of his death filled them with dread.
The poison had come from their mother. She had assured them it was harmless. Yet Wanqing’s words planted doubt.
If their father died, they would lose everything.
For the first time, they realized they had trapped themselves.
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