Chapter Twenty: The Investigation

"How dare you dodge? Kneel!"

The Marchioness found Meng Zhenyue increasingly insufferable. Did she not understand the filial duty that a child must obey when rebuked by parents? She had just praised her this morning, yet here she was again, displaying such a lack of breeding! The Marchioness, overcome with fury, spoke without restraint:

"How on earth were you raised? You are so sinister and cunning that you even plotted against me! Once you realized I had trusted Xianzhi, you moved on to the next scheme! Truly, having grown up outside the manor, you are full of such wicked intentions!"

Zhao Zhizhi, ignorant of the underlying cause, was stunned into silence. Meng Zhenyue, however, kept her face taut and remained unmoved. Looking at the Marchioness, she asked with dissatisfaction, "Are you suspecting me simply because of those servants I do not trust?"

On the daybed behind the screen, Zhao Xianzhi had stopped convulsing and was listening to the conversation outside, analyzing Meng Zhenyue's intentions. Had she discovered his plan and used it to poison him, or was she plotting something else entirely? Meng Zhenyue’s actions were always precise and unexpected; he dared not act rashly.

Just then, the voice of the physician, who had stabilized the situation and returned to report to the Marchioness, reached his ears.

"The eldest young master has accidentally ingested oleander. Had it been any later, his life would have been in danger."

These words confirmed to him that Meng Zhenyue truly wanted him dead! This was her counterattack! He was fortunate that his plan included having someone guide the Marchioness to discover his poisoning. Otherwise, Meng Zhenyue might have actually succeeded!

"Oleander?"

Outside the screen, the Marchioness broke into a cold sweat upon hearing this. When she heard 'life in danger,' her gaze turned fierce, glaring at Meng Zhenyue as if she could devour her on the spot. She stared at Meng Zhenyue’s expression and said to the physician, "Check if it was this plate of jade dew cakes."

She would make her have nothing left to say!

The physician picked up a jade dew cake, smelled it, and took a bite to chew, then immediately spat it out. "Reporting to the Marchioness, it is indeed this item!"

"What else do you have to say for yourself!" The Marchioness, enraged, slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her red, henna-stained fingernails pointing accusingly at Meng Zhenyue.

Nearby, Zhao Zhizhi was filled with shock. Was it really these jade dew cakes that had poisoned her eldest brother?

***

But she had been the one to ask her sister to make them together, and she had brought all the utensils from her own courtyard. Why was the blame being placed solely on her sister?

"I was the one who asked my sister to make these jade dew cakes, and I brought the utensils from my courtyard. Mother, please do not wrongly accuse her!" Zhao Zhizhi cried out urgently.

From behind the screen came the weak, intermittent voice of Zhao Xianzhi.

"Mother... I am fine... *cough, cough*... do not blame my sister. I believe it was not her."

"Even... even if it were her, I do not blame her. It was I who hurt her first; it is only natural for her to want to retaliate and vent her anger. I can bear it."

"Everyone must pay the price for their own choices. I... I can bear it." The final words were as weak as a dying man's last will.

In truth, Zhao Xianzhi felt a trace of unease. If Meng Zhenyue had truly intended to poison him, how could it have been discovered so easily? At this moment, he only wanted his mother to convict Meng Zhenyue quickly, even if it meant she would only be cast out of the manor. He had plenty of ways to ensure she could never deal with him again, which would mean he had won this round.

The Marchioness reacted exactly as Zhao Xianzhi had anticipated. Hearing her son—usually so full of spirit—speaking as if he were on the brink of death pierced her heart, stripping away all her reason. She spoke with venom:

"The peaceful halls of the Buddha cannot tolerate such a devious heart. No, the Manor of the Marquis of Chengwu cannot harbor someone who harms their own kin! Throw her out onto the street and let everyone see what a vicious person exists in this world!"

She then clutched her handkerchief and ran, weeping, to the bedside of Zhao Xianzhi to comfort him.

Zhao Xianzhi felt relieved. While the Marchioness was busy weeping, he mouthed a signal to Bei Lie.

Meanwhile, hearing Zhao Xianzhi's words, Zhao Zhizhi finally realized that her brother and sister had long been at odds, which was why everyone was only suspecting her sister. She recalled how her sister could not even bear to hear her mention their eldest brother earlier that day. Just as she was searching her memory for any abnormal behavior from her sister, she suddenly remembered—her sister did not even know the jade dew cakes were meant for her brother!

"But I never told my sister that these cakes were for the eldest brother. How could she have poisoned them in advance?" she blurted out.

Only after saying this did Zhao Zhizhi realize that since she had asked her sister to make them, and now that things had gone wrong, her mother was blaming only her sister. Would her sister think she had framed her? She was about to explain when she saw the two burly, fierce-looking matrons from the day before approaching. Meng Zhenyue, who had been looking grim, finally decided it was time to strike back. She heard Zhao Zhizhi’s words and, with a faint smile, said to her, "Thank you for trusting me, sister."

Meng Zhenyue then looked toward the people behind the screen, her expression shifting, her tone cold and sharp with indignation:

"Setting aside whether I even knew who these cakes were for, where would I have obtained oleander in such a short time?"

"There is no oleander in the Yuehua Courtyard."

"My Lady, you may summon the servants who accompanied me outside the manor this morning to question them closely and see if I brought anything back with me."

***

Zhao Xianzhi, hearing this, felt his heart tighten. He looked toward the Marchioness, who had frozen in her tracks and was turning her head to look outside the screen. She was clearly contemplating these words; her resolve was already wavering.

Just as Zhao Xianzhi was thinking of adding more fuel to the fire to settle the matter quickly, his father, dressed in his grand and ornate official robes, arrived.

"That is enough."

The Marquis of Chengwu entered the room, sat in the main seat, and waved his hand to dismiss the courtesies. To everyone’s confusion, he signaled for his men to search the Buddha hall.

Seeing this, Zhao Xianzhi began to cough frantically as if out of panic. The Marquis turned to him with a somewhat soothing tone: "Your father is clearing this up for you."

The Marchioness also looked at her son with concern, only to notice the panic in his eyes. She froze, and all her suspicions began to take on a concrete form. Nevertheless, she restrained her emotions and allowed her own people to join the search under the guise of assisting.

"My Lord, what is this about?" the Marchioness asked, her face full of bewilderment.

The Marquis, seeing her inquiry, grew solemn. "Oleander is a poison not commonly planted in ordinary households. I have only ever seen it at the residence of the Junior Tutor Xiao."

He had learned the details of the situation upon arriving, and on his way home from work that day, he had passed by the Junior Tutor's residence, where he happened to see a turbid liquid flowing out from a canal passing through the grounds. Curious but unable to act too overtly, he had a servant pretend to fall from his horse to collect some of the liquid. Unexpectedly, the servant accidentally got some in his mouth and was poisoned—it was indeed oleander!

He had assumed it was merely a back-garden struggle within the Xiao household, but who would have thought that Xianzhi would be poisoned by oleander that very night?

While it might have been a coincidence, the eldest son of the Xiao family was also set to participate in the upcoming martial arts examinations. The Xiao family were scholars, and even their most skilled martial artist, the eldest son, was inferior to Xianzhi. The eldest son of the Xiao family was also known to be lawless. It was difficult not to suspect that he had poisoned Xianzhi to eliminate a strong rival.

It was lamentable that the House of the Marquis of Chengwu was in decline, and even those of the same imperial faction felt no hesitation in trampling upon them.

"Father, are you saying... that the eldest son of the Xiao family poisoned me because of the martial arts examination?" Zhao Xianzhi asked, his brow furrowed in thought.