Jiang Jinyue looked at Song Yinghuai with tearful eyes. "Cousin, it's all my fault for being too lenient with Zhui'er on weekdays. That's why she has become so lawless that she dared to lie in front of you!"
"Cousin... I will surely discipline her well when I get back!"
Although she knew that Song Yinghuai was not swayed by her tricks, she still clung to a glimmer of hope, praying that he would show mercy to Zhui'er.
Song Yinghuai casually twirled the Buddhist beads on his wrist as his cold voice rang out.
"Since you know yourself that you've been lenient with Zhui'er, if I entrust her discipline to you, won't it end up being a hasty affair?"
Jiang Jinyue's face changed. "No, this time I definitely..."
"I don't think it's necessary." Song Yinghuai interrupted her. "Among the eight precepts of Buddhism, there's one against false speech. Today she dared to tell falsehoods in my Lotus Sound Pavilion. Then she shall receive a hundred slaps in front of the Buddha as a warning to others."
"All of you servants should remember from now on. Although I don't force you to practice Buddhism with me, I will never allow you to bully your masters wantonly or slander others at will!"
Just sitting there, Song Yinghuai exuded an aura of noble oppression. His deep, magnetic voice carried a barely perceptible chill, and in the darkness, there was an air of domineering strength.
"Yes!"
Everyone trembled and replied in unison, greatly shocked inside.
What false speech precept?
It was obvious that the prince was annoyed because of the continuous turmoil in the mansion!
In the past, when had the prince ever gone to such great lengths just because someone had told a little lie?
Zhui'er's face turned completely pale. Han Fen ordered his men to drag her to one side and started slapping her face without hesitation.
The crisp sound of the slaps echoed clearly in the Zhaonan Studio, making everyone tremble with fear and hold their breaths.
Caiyu stood still, showing no reaction to Zhui'er being beaten.
No matter how painful the slaps were, could they compare to the pain she had endured when Jiang Jinyue tortured her from dawn till sunset with cruel punishments?
But it was different for Jiang Jinyue. The sound of the slaps seemed to be hitting her own face.
Even when beating a dog, one should consider its master.
The cousin girl who had been so domineering during the day now looked disheveled and humiliated.
These slaps were like a cruel torture to her heart, causing her great suffering.
But it wasn't over yet.
Song Yinghuai continued to dig deeper based on Jiang Jinyue's vivid description just now.
"Cousin just said that after Mother Consort ate the morel mushrooms brought by Caiyu, she vomited blood and fainted. How did you immediately conclude on the spot that Mother Consort was poisoned instead of suffering from some other sudden illness?"
Jiang Jinyue's face changed again. "I..."
"After Mother Consort was brought back and diagnosed as being poisoned and in critical condition, why didn't you immediately interrogate Caiyu to find out what the poison was and where the antidote was hidden?"
"This..."
"You procrastinated for a whole night. Didn't the doctor who examined Mother Consort tell you that her condition was critical?"
"He, he did..." Jiang Jinyue staggered on her feet and seemed about to faint.
How could Song Yinghuai let her faint so easily?
"Before you executed Caiyu without permission, did you manage to find out where the antidote was?"
"No..." Jiang Jinyue heard her own weak and feeble voice.
How could Caiyu have the antidote? Even she herself was too lazy to prepare an antidote.
She wished Princess Yao was dead!
Song Yinghuai stood up. His tall figure cast a shadow over Jiang Jinyue's head.
Jiang Jinyue felt dizzy. She only heard Song Yinghuai's deep and cold voice pressing on her.
"With so many loopholes unresolved and Mother Consort's life at stake, instead of rushing to save her, you were eager to kill someone in my mansion. Do you not respect your aunt and consider me, Song Yinghuai, as your master?"
"Thud!"
Jiang Jinyue slumped to the ground. Her legs were weak, and she cried out. "Cousin... Yue'er is just an ignorant girl. When something happened to Aunt, I panicked. I hated the suspect Caiyu so much, so I..."
"Moreover, I found evidence under Caiyu's pillow in the side hall where she lived!"
Jiang Jinyue suddenly remembered this and was like a drowning person who had suddenly found a floating log in the sea. She was eager to prove her innocence. "There was poison under her pillow. This can't be fake, right?"
Caiyu replied. "Your Highness, as soon as something happened to the old princess, I was immediately detained in the dungeon. The side hall was empty. It would have been very easy for someone to plant some evidence under my pillow."
What Caiyu meant was that someone had framed her!
In fact, Jiang Jinyue had indeed taken advantage of the fact that the bedroom was empty that day. She had asked Zhui'er to plant the evidence first, and then she had led a large group of people to search, thus confirming Caiyu's crime of murder.
Jiang Jinyue's eyes trembled slightly. She snorted. "Are you saying that I framed you? Then what evidence do you have to prove that I framed you?"
This argument seemed to be going in circles.
Caiyu didn't want to have a pointless argument. She just lowered her eyes gently. "I didn't say that it was the cousin girl who framed me. Maybe it was someone else. Why does the cousin girl have to rush to identify herself?"
"You!"
"Enough!" Song Yinghuai interrupted their argument coldly.
His gaze slowly swept past Jiang Jinyue and finally fixed on Caiyu.
Caiyu stood there with a straight back, almost the same as the last time she was wronged in the Great Baoen Temple.
Song Yinghuai tightened his fingers on the Buddhist beads slightly.
He knew that this girl was stubborn. On weekdays, she used all kinds of tricks like acting coquettishly and throwing tantrums, but when it came to being wronged, she was as fierce as fire, rather breaking than bending. She would rather both sides suffer than bear even a bit of injustice.
Song Yinghuai sneered in his heart. Didn't this girl trust him to seek justice for her?
Since she didn't trust him, why did she pretend to seek help and justice from him in front of Jiang Jinyue before?
"Cousin." Jiang Jinyue felt uncomfortable under Song Yinghuai's gaze. She said timidly. "Yue'er was just provoked by Caiyu's words just now."
Song Yinghuai smiled faintly. His face was extremely gentle. "If a person has a clear conscience, how could they be provoked by just one word?"
Jiang Jinyue's face stiffened, and her heart was pounding like a drum.
What did cousin mean by this?
Did he think that she had a guilty conscience?
On what basis?
"Cousin, your words are a bit unfair!" Jiang Jinyue's heart was corroded by jealousy. "It was clearly me who found the evidence under Caiyu's pillow, but cousin insists that I have a guilty conscience. How is this different from cousin's questioning me just now about why I was so sure that Caiyu was the murderer?"
"Just because cousin likes Caiyu, you keep protecting her everywhere. Can't you even be fair?"
Jiang Jinyue became more and more angry. She looked as if she had really been wronged. By the end, her big eyes were filled with tears.
She was quite good-looking. This pitiful look made the uninformed people in the Yan Prince's Mansion feel sympathetic, and they started whispering to each other.
Seeing this, a look of pride flashed across Jiang Jinyue's eyes. She stared at Song Yinghuai defiantly.
But Song Yinghuai completely ignored her questioning and provocation. Instead, his face became even more gentle. He raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled faintly.
"Oh? It seems that cousin doesn't know much about how I do things... That bedroom is where I live. I've been away for many days. Are you sure there was no one secretly guarding it?"
These words shocked both Jiang Jinyue and Caiyu!
How could they forget that besides the famous 200,000 "Five Army Camps" under Song Yinghuai's command, there was also a mysterious "Three Thousand Duoyan Guards" rumored to be by his side!
This was an elite force of secret guards who only obeyed Song Yinghuai's orders. They were unpredictable, good at surprise attacks, assassinations, espionage, and surveillance...
But no one had ever actually seen the Three Thousand Duoyan Guards. Everyone thought it was just a rumor.
Jiang Jinyue's face turned as white as a sheet. She couldn't laugh or cry. "Cous, cousin..."
If there had been someone in the bedroom that day, then...
Caiyu was also extremely frightened. Her palms were full of sweat.
If there had been someone in the bedroom that day, would they have seen her tricking Liu Huashan and her disguising herself to enter the dungeon and forcing Granny Yu to death?