Qin Hao also realized this. His eyes fixed on Qin Wanshan, and he shouted angrily, "Qin Wanshan, how do you explain this?"
At this moment, Qin Wanshan was already in a complete panic. She couldn't help but turn her head to look at Concubine Qin, seeking help from her. Qin Hao followed Qin Wanshan's gaze, and his heart sank suddenly. He clenched his fists, shocked and angry.
"Qin Xuexuan, is it you?"
What a stupid girl, Shan'er! Concubine Qin cursed secretly in her heart.
When Qin Wanshan broke free from her and spoke out in rebuttal, she had already realized something was wrong. But it was too late for her to stop it. She could only watch helplessly as Qin Wanshan stepped into the trap set by Su Yuanyuan and the others, so easily revealing the biggest flaw.
But she had managed to hide her true self from Qin Hao in the Qin Mansion for so many years. She was still quite capable. Immediately, tears streamed down her face. She crawled on her knees towards Qin Hao, grabbed his sleeve, and cried,
"My husband, I know you're heart - broken over Rong'er's death. But am I any less sad? Although I'm not Rong'er's biological mother, I've always treated her as my own flesh and blood. I watched her grow up from such a tiny baby little by little. How much effort and energy have I put into her?"
"You've always been busy with official duties and often stayed in the Ministry of Justice. It was me who accompanied her through many sick days and nights. The first word she learned when she started to talk was 'Daddy', because I dared not teach her any other words except 'Daddy', for fear that you would think I neglected her and didn't take good care of her."
"And Shan'er has always respected her elder sister very much. How could she harm her own sister? You're the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and you've handled so many criminal cases. Don't you even have this basic judgment?"
Hearing Concubine Qin's words, Qin Hao did waver for a moment.
When Qin Wanrong was just born, on one hand, he had to deal with the blow of his first wife's death, and on the other hand, he had to establish himself in the Ministry of Justice. He couldn't take care of Qin Wanrong all the time, so the child had problems all the time.
It was really thanks to Concubine Qin that Qin Wanrong was able to grow up smoothly.
He had indeed seen her kindness towards Qin Wanrong. As she said, she had been so dedicated to Qin Wanrong. What reason did she have to harm her?
Just now, Su Yuanyuan said that the medicine Qin Wanrong drank every day had to pass through a maid's hands. Could the problem lie with that maid?
Qin Hao involuntarily looked at Su Yuanyuan. As if understanding what Qin Hao was thinking, before Qin Hao could speak, Su Yuanyuan clapped her hands. Then, Yu Zhu was brought up.
As soon as she saw Qin Hao, Yu Zhu knelt on both knees and immediately confessed.
"It was... it was this maid who delivered the poisoned medicine to the young lady."
Qin Hao was furious. "You're the head maid beside Rong'er. Rong'er has always treated you well. Why did you do this?"
Yu Zhu trembled all over and kowtowed hard. "My lord, please spare my life. This maid... this maid was all... all under the madam's orders."
"The madam's treatment of the young lady is not at all what my lord has seen. My lord, do you know why the young lady has been ill for so long and was even predicted by a Taoist priest that she wouldn't live past sixteen? Because the doctor and the Taoist priest were all arranged by the madam! All the medicine the young lady drank every day was poisoned by the madam! The madam has long wanted the young lady to die. She placed this maid beside the young lady just to monitor her!"
Concubine Qin didn't have time to think about why Yu Zhu appeared here so quickly and even revealed all the things she had done. She screamed,
"What are you talking nonsense about?! I've always loved Wanrong as my own daughter. How could I poison her!"
To protect Concubine Qin, Qin Wanshan also said, "Father, you've always seen how mother treats elder sister. Don't be deceived by this low - class maid!"
Yu Zhu said, "Second young lady is not innocent either! It was the second young lady who pushed the eldest young lady into the water in the Lin family in order to snatch the eldest young lady's marriage! Some time ago, the eldest young lady was conferred the title of County Lady by His Majesty. The second young lady was extremely jealous. She instigated the madam to increase the amount of poison in the eldest young lady's medicine, planning to poison the eldest young lady to death in advance and then seize the title of County Lady!"
Concubine Qin was anxious. She crawled towards Qin Hao. "My lord, my lord, believe me. I didn't do it, and Shan'er definitely didn't do it either! She's framing us mother and daughter!"
Avoiding Concubine Qin's outstretched hand, Qin Hao took a deep breath and said to Yu Zhu, "As the madam and the second young lady said, the madam really has no reason to kill the young lady. Lying and giving false testimony violates the laws of the Great Chu. The punishment is a hundred strokes of the cane. Do you have any evidence to prove your innocence?"
Concubine Qin was very good at pretending in front of Qin Hao on weekdays, so Qin Hao had never suspected her. But was Qin Hao, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the kind of person who would listen to one - sided words? No. He needed evidence, conclusive evidence that could convict someone.
Yu Zhu said, "My lord, this maid has evidence!"
After saying that, she took out the prescription and medicinal materials that Nanny Li had given her and placed them in front of Qin Hao.
"This is the evidence of the madam's attempt to murder the eldest young lady."
Seeing this, Concubine Qin went crazy and tried to rush up to grab the prescription and medicinal materials, but was stopped by the people sent by Su Yuanyuan.
Su Yuanyuan said curiously, "It's really strange, Madam Qin. If you're innocent, why do you want to grab the medicine?"
Concubine Qin's attempt to grab the medicine further confirmed what Yu Zhu had just said.
Su Yuanyuan said to Qin Hao, who had his back to her, "Uncle Qin, when Sister Wanrong stayed in my Mingzhu Courtyard for a while, she accidentally knocked over the medicine bowl once. The medicine juice spilled all over the place. A mouse thought it was something good and licked a few mouthfuls. It died soon after."
Then, Xia Lu appeared in the courtroom with an iron cage. In front of the prefect, the yamen runners, and the on - looking common people outside, she lifted the white cloth, and inside were all the corpses of dead mice.
Qin Wanshan stammered, "Who knows where these dead mice came from? And who can prove that there is really poison in this medicine?"
Su Yuanyuan said, "If Uncle Qin still doesn't believe it, just boil a bowl of medicine according to the prescription and feed it to rabbits, mice and other animals, and you'll know if there's poison. If all else fails, just ask Nanny Li, who gave the prescription to Yu Zhu, and the truth will come out."
From the crowd, a hoarse voice came immediately.
"My lord, this old servant has something to say."
The crowd parted, and Nanny Li walked out of the crowd. She knelt down in front of Qin Hao with a thud.
"My lord, this old servant can testify that all this is the madam's conspiracy!"
In front of everyone, Nanny Li told Qin Hao how Concubine Qin had planned to poison Qin Wanrong, how she had invited a Taoist priest to predict that Qin Wanrong wouldn't live past sixteen, and how she had increased the amount of poison in an attempt to make Qin Wanrong die of poisoning in the Prince Qingjun's Mansion. Everything was told to Qin Hao.