Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. There, on her knees, with her head bowed low, was Nanny Jiang, who had always served Du Lingxuan. She looked like someone waiting to atone for her sins.
Lin Yun gave a cold snort. "Don't think that Du Lingxuan can get away with it just because you take the blame. You're her servant. Without her order, how would you dare?"
Nanny Jiang lowered her eyes and said slowly, "On the day the Third Lady entered the mansion, she made me lose face. After that, she repeatedly humiliated my mistress. I've long wanted to do this. If I could kill that vixen Song Ruotang, there might still be a chance for my mistress to redeem herself..."
As she spoke, she grew more and more hysterical. She turned her gaze to Lin Yun, hatred burning in her eyes. "If you hadn't gone to her courtyard and drunk the poisoned tea, how could you have been poisoned?"
There was no trace of kindness in Nanny Jiang's eyes. "If it weren't for you, Song Ruotang would have fallen into our trap long ago!"
Nanny Sun, who stood beside Lin Yun, couldn't bear to listen anymore. She stepped forward and slapped Nanny Jiang hard. "You old witch! How dare you talk to my mistress like that!"
Nanny Jiang covered her face and laughed, not caring that Nanny Sun had knocked her hairpin askew. "It's a pity. Why didn't it kill anyone? Even killing one would have been good..."
"You!" Nanny Sun raised her hand to strike again, but Pei Zhiyan stopped her with a cold voice. "Stop!"
Nanny Sun's hand froze in mid - air. She looked at Pei Zhiyan reluctantly. After receiving a glance from him, she could only grit her teeth and withdraw her hand, stepping aside.
"You claim that you planned this all by yourself. How can you prove it?" Pei Zhiyan smiled. "You're Du Lingxuan's servant. In any case, she can't escape blame."
Still on her knees, Nanny Jiang showed no sign of unease. She just turned her head to look at Xiaolian and Cuier beside her. "I was the one who communicated with them about everything. If the master doesn't believe me, he can check."
Feeling Pei Zhiyan's gaze, Xiaolian and Cuier nodded timidly. "It was really Nanny Jiang who told us all these things. She gave us the medicine packets and promised us the silver."
At this moment, Du Lingxuan saw a glimmer of hope. She quickly stepped forward two steps and looked at Pei Zhiyan eagerly. "My lord, look. I really don't know what's going on. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come here at this time today."
"Sister - in - law, this Nanny Jiang is your wet - nurse and has always served you closely. She must have received some secret instructions from you. How could these errand - running maids know?" Lin Yun said disdainfully.
Just because Nanny Jiang said she planned it doesn't mean it's true. As a personal maid, what Du Lingxuan said to her was unknown to others. So Nanny Jiang's words were hardly convincing.
But Du Lingxuan said at this time, "I've been praying in the small ancestral hall these days and only came out today. As soon as I came out, I heard the news that sister was poisoned. As for Nanny Jiang, I really haven't seen her for a few days."
Song Ruotang raised her eyebrows slightly. Du Lingxuan was getting better and better at telling lies with her eyes open.
But there were indeed people who could testify that she had indeed been in the Buddhist hall for the past few days and hadn't come out.
Just then, Nanny Jiang spoke again. "I got the recipe for Qianji Yin in my hometown, so I was the one who bought the ingredients and made the poison."
She felt in her bosom and took out a yellowed piece of paper, handing it to Pei Zhiyan. Pei Zhiyan took it and opened it. It was indeed the recipe for Qianji Yin.
He turned to look at Mo Qing, who immediately understood and turned around to send someone out.
The person Pei Zhiyan sent out checked and found that it was indeed Nanny Jiang who had gone out to buy the ingredients. Du Lingxuan had never been involved in this process.
By now, Du Lingxuan had straightened her back completely. A smug smile played on her lips, and her eyes were full of charm. She grabbed the corner of Pei Zhiyan's robe and shook it gently. "My lord, it really has nothing to do with me. All these were done by Nanny Jiang..."
Pei Zhiyan's face was cold. He reached out and pulled his robe corner back from her hand. Lin Yun walked over at this time. "I think sister - in - law must have learned her lesson from the last punishment. It seems that this old woman is really the one behind this."
Just now, Lin Yun had looked extremely disgusted with Du Lingxuan. But now, seeing that all the evidence pointed to Nanny Jiang, she suddenly stood up to speak for Du Lingxuan.
Pei Zhiyan raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Lin Yun from the corner of his eye. He saw a hint of coldness in her eyes.
He knew that Lin Yun wouldn't let Du Lingxuan off easily. But now that there was someone to take the blame on the surface, if he forced Du Lingxuan to take the blame, the Du family would surely make a fuss.
But things were different now. Lin Yun wasn't a fool. Although Nanny Jiang was taking the blame, she knew that Du Lingxuan must have given the order.
Speaking up for her now probably meant that she had already thought about how to punish Du Lingxuan later.
The purpose of Pei Zhiyan and Song Ruotang in this situation was to split the Lin and Du families and make them fight against each other. Now that the goal was achieved, Pei Zhiyan decided to stop in time.
He lowered his eyes to hide his emotions and put on a look of distress. "Although this matter has nothing to do with her, Nanny Jiang is after all her servant. She can't even manage her own servants well. Her servant had the intention to murder, but she hid in the Buddhist hall every day. Even if she chanted scriptures all day long, it would be useless."
Du Lingxuan bit her lower lip, fear in her eyes. She called out to him in a trembling voice, "My lord, I..."
"If you like chanting scriptures so much, go to the courtyard in the northeast corner and chant to your heart's content," Pei Zhiyan interrupted her coldly.
There was a small Buddhist hall in the northeast corner of the Pei Mansion, far from the main residences. It had been abandoned for a long time. It was said that Pei Zhiyan's grandmother had died inside. Her body had been left there for so long that it had started to stink before anyone noticed.
Strange things had happened there ever since, and gradually, it had been abandoned.
Sending Du Lingxuan there was like a concubine being sent to the cold palace. Her legs went weak, and she knelt down with a thud. "My lord, I know I was wrong. I will surely manage my servants well. Please don't drive me away..."
"Lin Yun suffered from the poisoning because of your servant. Since you're so devoted to chanting scriptures, pray for her," Pei Zhiyan said indifferently.
Lin Yun seemed not to care anymore. Mo Qing led some people to take Nanny Jiang to the Supreme Court of Judicature to be beheaded on a chosen day. Pei Zhiyan also sent letters about this matter to the Lin and Du families.
When the two families received the letters, their faces were extremely ugly. Du Yanting directly threw the letter on the table and punched the pear - wood table hard, as if he wanted to smash the thin piece of paper to pieces.
"This Du Lingxuan! She deserves to die in the Supreme Court of Judicature!" Du Yanting cursed. Wei Qing stood up beside him and looked at him in disbelief. "What are you saying? She's your sister!"
Du Yanting turned to look at Wei Qing, his eyes filled with a hint of killing intent. He grabbed the letter and threw it at Wei Qing's chest. He said word by word, "Look at what your precious daughter has done."
But Wei Qing didn't care. In her mind, what could Du Lingxuan possibly do...