Feng Yuan and Lian Ji were afraid that Li Ying would get the upper hand in the blood - swallow business again, so they acted very quickly.
When Li Ying got the news, she rushed over in a hurry to stop them.
"Boss Li, we really should thank you for your unremitting promotion of the nourishing effects of bird's nests in the town before. Otherwise, it would really not have been so easy to sell out all the blood swallows this time."
Lian Ji saw from afar that Li Ying looked extremely angry. She felt extremely gratified in her heart.
This little bitch always outshone her in everything. It was really suffocating. She always seemed to be one step behind.
Now, seeing that this little bitch had finally shot herself in the foot, running around like a headless chicken and working hard in vain, only to make wedding clothes for others in the end, Lian Ji finally felt proud and elated.
Li Ying and Lian Ji had been openly and secretly competing over the "bird's nest" business for days, which the villagers had all witnessed. Now, seeing that they were at odds again, everyone curiously gathered around to watch the show.
Li Ying didn't bother to pay attention to Lian Ji's overbearing attitude. She anxiously looked at the villagers around her and asked in a deep voice, "Folks, has anyone here bought these poisonous blood swallows? This stuff is inedible!"
Lian Ji was startled. Feng Yuan clearly said that the method of smoking the blood swallows was passed down in his family, and no one else knew about it. But how did this little bitch directly say that there was something wrong with the blood swallows?
She tried to remain calm and taunted bravely on the surface but timidly inside, "What poisonous blood swallows? Boss Li, I think you're just short - sighted and have never seen such a rare and wonderful thing. Don't scare people with baseless talk!"
Li Ying sneered, "Folks, the so - called blood swallows are just a type of swiftlet nests. But their formation is due to the red minerals in the rock walls seeping into the nests, not because the swallows shed blood.
"This kind of blood swallow is rare and hard to come by. Everyone, think calmly. Such a precious thing, yet Mrs. Lian Ji only sells it for just two taels of silver per bowl, which is even cheaper than an old ginseng. How could there be such a good thing that falls from the sky in the world?
"If I'm not wrong, Mrs. Lian Ji's blood swallows are just ordinary bird's nests smoked in wooden boxes smeared with swiftlet feces for ten days.
"Eating this kind of bird's nest full of bacteria and viruses will not only have no nourishing effect but may also bring a whole body of illness!"
Her words were so convincing that the villagers looked at each other. For a moment, they didn't know who to believe.
Lian Ji angrily said, "You're just spouting nonsense! Li Ying, you've repeatedly slandered me. It's really too much! Words are no proof. Do you have any evidence?"
Just as they were arguing fiercely, there came a noisy sound not far away. A maid, accompanied by several yamen runners, was crying and walking towards them.
"It's these two women!"
"My mistress was in good health and had always had a stable pregnancy. It was after eating the bird's nests from these two women to nourish her body that she suddenly suffered from unbearable abdominal pain and diarrhea, which led to premature birth!"
Li Ying recognized that this maid was the one who had bought the bird's nests a few days ago to nourish her pregnant mistress. She couldn't help but frown slightly.
She knew that pregnant women were sensitive in constitution and needed to be extremely careful about their diet. So, when she sold the bird's nests that day, she repeatedly told the maid that they must be carefully washed before eating and not over - consumed.
Bird's nests are actually very beneficial to the fetus. She had introduced them enthusiastically out of good intentions, but she never expected that the other party would fall into Lian Ji's "blood - swallow" scam!
After eating Lian Ji's filthy blood swallows, the pregnant woman, with a weak spleen and stomach, would inevitably vomit and have diarrhea. In severe cases, it could even induce uterine contractions and lead to a miscarriage.
She clearly knew Lian Ji's tricks earlier, but in order to give her a full - strength blow, she let her act secretly without stopping her in time.
If something really went wrong with the prematurely born fetus...
Wouldn't she be deeply sinful?
The two leading yamen runners were on good terms with Li Ying. They couldn't bear to see her so distraught and kindly reminded her, "Mrs. Li, nothing has been finalized yet. Please come with us? The imperial inspector is personally handling this case and will surely not let anyone be wrongly accused!"
Li Ying reluctantly nodded. As for Lian Ji, when she heard the words "imperial inspector", she immediately perked up, straightened her back, and said with a smile, "That's great! The imperial inspector will surely enforce the law impartially and give us justice!"
When they reached the court, Li Ying then learned that the parturient woman was still struggling to give birth to the baby.
She had tasted the canned fish sold in the town, thought it tasted delicious, and came here for a stroll out of admiration.
Now, her husband, wet - nurse, and servants were all waiting on her. Only an old granny with a straight face, accompanied by two little maids, was kneeling in front of Inspector Lin, asking for an explanation on behalf of her mistress.
Lian Ji was, of course, very articulate. She flatly denied everything, saying that her blood swallows were in no way defective and firmly shifted the blame onto Li Ying.
Since Li Ying had traveled through time, this was the first time she deeply felt what it meant by "I didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me". She secretly regretted that due to her little bit of competitiveness in the "business war", she had put an unborn child in danger. She was a bit dazed and absent - minded.
"Mrs. Li, do you have anything else to say?"
Inspector Lin frowned tightly and glared angrily at Li Ying.
"Wait a moment, Inspector!"
Suddenly, a sharp shout came from outside the door. Everyone looked up and saw Su Buchi, accompanied by a well - behaved young servant carrying a box, standing outside the court.
"Mrs. Lian Ji, you should recognize this, right?"
As a disciple of the great Confucian Yan Lianzhi, there was no one more convincing than Su Buchi to expose the blood - swallow scam.
Li Ying came back to her senses, and her eyes just met the young servant behind Su Buchi. He was dirty - faced, but his eyes were bright. Who else could it be but Lu Xunguang?
To prove that Lian Ji and Feng Yuan had tampered with the "blood swallows", they must obtain evidence.
Before she rushed to the town to confront Lian Ji, she had already arranged for Lu Xunguang to get the wooden box, which was the most crucial evidence for smoking the blood swallows.
Li Ying originally thought that in order to avoid Lian Ji, Lu Xunguang would only secretly protect her this time. But she never expected that he would really remember his promise. Even if he had to disguise himself as a servant and take risks, he would personally protect her!
"A Ying, don't worry. I inquired on my way here. The woman has given birth to the baby, and both mother and child are safe."
He only glanced at her and could read what she was nervous about. Standing calmly behind her, he whispered in a tone only they could hear, reassuring her.
Li Ying's anxious heart finally settled down, and the look in her eyes returned to its former brilliance.
Su Buchi bowed to Inspector Lin and then calmly opened the box.
The villagers who were watching curiously gathered around and couldn't help but cover their noses tightly.
The stench instantly spread among the crowd.
The box was smeared with white bird feces all around, and there were also many fallen bird feathers. The smell was so pungent that it made people unable to open their eyes and almost shed tears.
Even though Lian Ji had heard from Feng Yuan about the method of smoking the bird's nests with swiftlet feces in advance, when she saw it with her own eyes, she still couldn't help but feel a little nauseous.
She secretly cursed Feng Yuan in her heart. He was really useless. He had actually delivered the crucial evidence of smoking the bird's nests into Li Ying's hands. He was really more of a hindrance than a help!
"Mrs. Lian Ji, how exactly did you get those blood swallows? Do you confess it yourself, or shall I explain it for you?"