Pei Zhiyan remained silent, and Lin Yun didn't dare to make a sound either. The air in the room seemed to freeze.
After a long while, Lin Yun tentatively asked, "Are you sure it's the maid from the Second Mistress's house? She has no connection with the Third Mistress's people?"
Pei Zhiyan raised his eyebrows, his eyes growing colder. Mo Qing just lowered his eyes and said in a deep voice, "She is indeed a maid in the Second Mistress's room. However, this woman is on good terms with Cui'er from the Third Mistress's house."
A glint flashed in Lin Yun's eyes. "Is it possible that Cui'er asked Xiaolian for the medicine?"
Her words were too pointed. Pei Zhiyan frowned tightly upon hearing this, and Mo Qing also paused for a moment, looking at Lin Yun. "Madam, Cui'er and Xiaolian are indeed in the same group."
Hearing this, Lin Yun quickly turned to look at Pei Zhiyan, feeling relieved. "My lord, you see, I told you..."
"It was Cui'er who let Xiaolian into the Third Mistress's room to hide the medicine without permission," Mo Qing coldly interrupted Lin Yun. "And it was also her who deliberately disrupted our search."
Lin Yun suddenly stopped. Pei Zhiyan took two steps towards her, his tone icy. "I'm really sorry. This result didn't satisfy you."
Hearing the sarcasm in his tone, Lin Yun bit her lower lip aggrievedly. "My lord, I was so angry that I wrongly accused my sister. Please don't be angry, okay?"
After saying that, she coughed a few times, pressing one hand on her abdomen. Her face was extremely pale, looking rather pitiful.
But Pei Zhiyan shook his head. "You shouldn't apologize to me."
Lin Yun's coughing stopped. Her gaze slowly shifted to Song Ruotang who was still on the ground. She looked rather disheveled at the moment, but because of her beauty, it seemed rather poignant.
This incident had caused quite a stir. She had deliberately called many servants over, aiming to make Pei Zhiyan and Song Ruotang unable to deny it. Who would have thought that the joke the servants finally witnessed was actually herself.
But Pei Zhiyan's words just now meant that she should apologize to Song Ruotang. At this moment, with everyone watching, she just felt extremely embarrassed and simply couldn't bring herself to admit in public that she had wrongly accused someone.
The two sides were at a stalemate, and no one said a word. It was Granny Sun who rolled her eyes and suddenly clapped her hands. "Oh, Third Mistress, if you didn't poison, why didn't you tell our mistress earlier? You were so vague that it made others wrongly accuse you. These tussles could have been avoided. Look at you..."
Granny Sun shifted the blame for this incident onto Song Ruotang. Song Ruotang just smiled. "Granny Sun, I've been telling elder sister that I didn't poison. Everyone was here listening. What do you mean by these words now?"
Granny Sun was at a loss for words. The servants around were whispering, and many of them nodded. "Yes, the Third Mistress always said it wasn't her who poisoned, but the First Mistress just wouldn't listen..."
"Yes, she just blindly assumed it was the Third Mistress who poisoned and even beat the Third Mistress..."
The servants' gazes swept over Lin Yun and her maids. In the past, if the servants dared to discuss their masters, she would have already had them taught a lesson.
But this time, she was in the wrong, and since these people dared to say such things in front of her and Pei Zhiyan didn't stop them, it meant he had tacitly approved.
Lin Yun clutched her skirt and took two steps towards Pei Zhiyan. "My lord, I've been suffering from the Qianji Yin poison every day. Sometimes I'm so muddled that I don't know what the servants are saying or doing. It was my fault to wrongly accuse my sister. But you must also uphold justice for me, find out the real culprit, and clear my sister's name..."
"Heh..." Pei Zhiyan sneered upon hearing her words, his eyes full of sarcasm. "Lin Yun, don't you feel hypocritical saying this?"
"What..." Lin Yun was stunned for a moment, and Pei Zhiyan continued, "It was you who framed her, and it's also you who's saying you want to clear her name..." He shook his head. "No, not only do you want to clear her name, but you also want me to clear yours. Lin Yun, you're asking for too much..."
Lin Yun's heart trembled. She knew that Pei Zhiyan's last words not only referred to what had happened today but also to her little schemes, such as wanting to be the mistress and seducing Pei Zhiyan...
"My lord, I know I was wrong." Tears welled up in Lin Yun's eyes. She endured the pain and knelt down. Pei Zhiyan looked down at her and shook his head. "You were originally innocent, but since you wrongly accused others without distinguishing right from wrong, you've also become a perpetrator."
Only then did Lin Yun realize how impulsive she had been. She thought that this time Song Ruotang couldn't bear it anymore and had attacked her. But now it seemed that Song Ruotang had always been calm and had placed herself in the position of the weak, winning completely.
It was she who had lost her composure.
Lin Yun lowered her eyes, looking at the water splashes on the ground caused by her tears. She turned slightly and walked towards Song Ruotang.
She helped Song Ruotang up and said with a sob, "I'm sorry, Sister Ruotang. I was too impulsive. The pain caused by this poison is so unbearable that I couldn't think properly..."
Lin Yun took out her handkerchief and wiped away her tears. "I'm so stupid. I just believe what I see. Sister, don't be angry with me..."
Song Ruotang shook her head with a smile. "Elder sister is still poisoned. Naturally, I won't be angry with you."
Seeing that Song Ruotang was so easy to talk to, Lin Yun had to swallow back all the words she had prepared. She had thought that Song Ruotang would demand an explanation from Pei Zhiyan, but unexpectedly, she forgave her so easily. This only helped to build Song Ruotang's reputation for being magnanimous.
Lin Yun was a bit unwilling, but still didn't dare to say anything more.
But Pei Zhiyan didn't intend to let her off so easily. "Ruotang is innocent after all. Although she's magnanimous, you hit her and insulted her like that. Can it just end like this?"
Lin Yun's face turned pale, and a look of reconciliation appeared on her face. She looked at Song Ruotang. At this moment, only if Song Ruotang spoke up could this matter be settled.
Sure enough, Song Ruotang knew how to read the situation well and stepped forward. She said to Pei Zhiyan, "My lord, elder sister is also a victim. The most urgent thing now is to find out who the real culprit is. It's just two slaps. This injury isn't serious..."
As she said this, she reached out and touched the injured area, then quickly withdrew her hand as if it had been burned. Qingxing timely stepped forward, looking extremely distressed as she took out a handkerchief to wipe Song Ruotang's face. She said with a sob, "Madam, you had a hard time outside before. Now this has happened again. It's my fault that I didn't take good care of you..."
At this moment, the servants began to feel sorry for Song Ruotang. She had always been kind to the servants. Now that they knew she had a hard time before and that Lin Yun had bullied her like this, their impression of Lin Yun had also worsened a lot.
Pei Zhiyan sighed, his eyes showing a look of distress. "You're always so kind. You forgive others no matter how they bully you. But now you're the Third Mistress of the Pei Mansion. Not just anyone can bully you. If you always forgive like this, they'll only take you less seriously."
Pei Zhiyan turned to look at Lin Yun, his tone a bit cold. "Regarding today's incident, there must be an explanation to uphold the proper atmosphere of the Pei Mansion."