Chapter 40: Creating So Much Fake Evidence Is No Easy Task

Xia Jiujiang rolled her eyes. “Who did you even hear that from? Are you really so gullible as to believe such slander?”

Lvluo, seething with anger, added, “Exactly! My lady would never harm anyone, least of all her own mother.”

Xia Jiujiang pressed, “You just said that I became the Princess Consort to Prince Jin because I was Xia Wentao’s pawn. Then tell me, what good would it do me to poison Jiang Ruan? Jiang Ruan was my mother. After her death, I could barely survive in Yiju. Why would I poison her?”

Baizhi retorted indignantly, “I’ve already heard that after the Jiang family was wiped out, the Prime Minister wanted to divorce his wife. You killed her before Xia Wentao could send her away, just so you could retain your position as the legitimate daughter of the Xia family!”

Xia Jiujiang shook her head in scornful pity. “It’s not easy to fabricate so much false evidence, I’ll give you that. But once is forgivable, again and again—it’s all lies. You really aren’t suited to investigation.”

She was certain someone knew Baizhi was looking into the Jiang family, and deliberately gave her misleading clues to confuse her. After investigating for over five years, Baizhi, desperate for a breakthrough, was easily deceived when she felt she’d finally uncovered the truth. A mixture of truth and lies only made her all the more confused.

Baizhi hadn’t expected Xia Jiujiang to react this way. Frustrated, she argued, “I found all this through my own investigation, and the evidence was hidden in a secret compartment in your room at Yiju!”

Xia Jiujiang burst out laughing. “You say the evidence was found in Yiju?”

Baizhi looked smug. “You didn’t expect I’d find such things in Yiju, did you?”

Xia Jiujiang tossed aside the so-called evidence carelessly. “I truly didn’t expect you to be this foolish. If these were really mine, why would I leave them in Yiju? Wouldn’t it be easier to destroy them entirely, leaving no trace?”

Baizhi explained, “That’s because you’re now Princess Consort to Prince Jin. No one lives in Yiju anymore, so you felt safe leaving it there.”

Xia Jiujiang shook her head. “If this evidence were truly so important, I’d keep it close—or hide it in the Prince’s mansion. Don’t you realize that finding it so easily in Yiju means someone wanted you to discover it, to frame me?”

Was it intentional? Baizhi had spent so many years tracking down the Jiang family’s tragedy. She’d followed a servant from the Xia household and discovered the evidence buried in Yiju. Thinking back, it all seemed surprisingly easy.

Xia Jiujiang’s calm gaze radiated a steady composure that soothed tempers in an instant. She said, “If I were really Xia Wentao’s pawn, why would I have destroyed Madam Wei’s household the very first time I returned home?”

Baizhi was shocked. “You mean you’ve been secretly dealing with Madam Wei? Why?”

Xia Jiujiang’s face darkened with anger. “After the Jiang family fell, Madam Wei repeatedly schemed against my mother, both openly and in secret. After my mother died, she tormented me endlessly. I will never spare Madam Wei—nor Lin Baixue. As for Xia Wentao, his current status is entirely thanks to the Jiang family. At the birthday banquet, I already found it strange that after the Jiang family was exterminated, the Xia family’s fortunes remained untouched.”

Since she now bore Xia Jiujiang’s identity, she was determined to avenge her blood feud.

Lvluo suddenly understood. “No wonder, at the old matron’s birthday banquet, you commented on how well the Xia family was doing. I didn’t understand then, but now I see you were already suspicious of them.”

Baizhi’s face turned ashen. Had she really been used as a pawn?

Xia Jiujiang prompted, “Think carefully. Hasn’t someone been deliberately guiding your suspicions toward me, making you doubt me, even trying to use your hand to kill me?”

“But I overheard Xia Mingxuan myself…” Baizhi’s confusion only deepened.

Xia Mingxuan had gone to Qinyin Pavilion to find a musician, but a servant had come looking for him, presenting a piece of cloth. Upon seeing it, Xia Mingxuan’s face had changed drastically. His furtive behavior had drawn Baizhi’s attention. She would never forget—the pattern on that cloth was identical to the poor-quality fabric implicated in the past tragedy!

Later, Baizhi had crept closer and overheard Xia Mingxuan instructing the servant to hide the evidence, saying it related to Xia Wentao’s plot against the Jiang family and must not be discovered. He also said that Xia Jiujiang was Xia Wentao’s pawn, who had poisoned Jiang Ruan for the sake of her status, and that the cloth should be hidden at Yiju.

As Baizhi recounted this, Xia Jiujiang realized that Xia Mingxuan was behind it all, attempting to engage her in a psychological battle.

Baizhi had likely been targeted by Xia Mingxuan, who knew she was investigating the Jiang family’s destruction. He had deliberately leaked “evidence” to her, trying to link her findings to Xia Jiujiang.

Xia Mingxuan wanted to use Baizhi to kill Xia Jiujiang. In Baizhi’s eyes, Xia Jiujiang had poisoned Jiang Ruan for her own advancement, even serving as Xia Wentao’s pawn to become a princess consort—deeds more detestable than Xia Mingxuan’s. Xia Jiujiang, being more accessible, was also easier to target.

Psychologically, this incited Baizhi’s hatred against Xia Jiujiang and made her side against Xia Wentao. Xia Mingxuan’s scheming was truly impressive. This young general had some wits about him, after all.

But Xia Mingxuan’s use of Baizhi to plot against Xia Jiujiang wasn’t without its advantages. To convince Baizhi, he had produced the real evidence from back then—the very items used to destroy the Jiang family and poison Jiang Ruan. What a stroke of luck that these had fallen into her hands with such ease.

Xia Jiujiang addressed Baizhi, “You don’t have to trust me, but you shouldn’t trust anyone else, either. If Xia Mingxuan’s words have shaken your resolve, why not cooperate with me and put on a show? Then you’ll see Xia Mingxuan’s true face.”

Suddenly, Lvlou burst out of the guest courtyard in a panic, her clothes stained with splattered blood. In her haste, she collided with someone.

The man she ran into had dark skin and a tall, commanding figure. Beneath a high-bridged nose, his thin lips curled in a faint, cold smile—chillingly ruthless. Clad in a deep purple brocade robe, with a sword of white jade at his waist, he radiated the aura of a battlefield commander.

Xia Mingxuan, noticing the blood on Lvlou’s clothes, eyed her with a smirk. “What’s got you in such a panic?”

“In the courtyard… my mistress…” Lvlou was so out of breath she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Elated, Xia Mingxuan strode into the guest room where Xia Jiujiang was staying. By the bed, Youhua held a knife to Baizhi’s throat. Both women bore bloody wounds, and on the bed, a figure lay shrouded by the bed curtains.

Seeing this scene, Xia Mingxuan believed his plan had succeeded. He flew into a rage at Baizhi: “How dare you poison the Princess Consort to Prince Jin in the guest courtyard! This is outrageous! Guards, arrest Baizhi at once!”