PDLP Chapter 39 She's so timid, she must feel so helpless right now.
Chapter 39 She's so timid, she must feel so helpless right now.
Inside the banquet hall, the maid who stepped forward to point the finger looked at Jia Rong and gave a disdainful snort: "You are Xu's maid, so naturally you'll side with her! Your words are just as untrustworthy as your mistress's!"
Xu Jiaojiao frowned slightly: "How can you be so sure that I was the one who poisoned you?"
The maidservant declared righteously, "I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be false?!"
"If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason!" Xu Jiaojiao looked at Marquis Ningde: "I did not poison anyone. If you don't believe me, you are welcome to investigate."
Xu Jiaojiao spoke with such certainty that it made Marquis Ningde hesitate.
Those around in the banquet hall chimed in, saying that the matter needed to be investigated thoroughly, lest the innocent be wronged and the guilty be let off the hook.
After a moment's thought, Marquis Ningde asked, "Madam Xu, do you have any leftover milk tea?"
Xu Jiaojiao shook her head: "They've all been distributed; there aren't any left."
Everyone was in an uproar.
Wouldn't this mean there's no way to prove anything if the person is dead?
Marquis Ningde rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.
Just as I was worrying, the maid shouted, "There's no more milk tea, but the bowl we used to drink it from is still here! There must be some milk tea left in the bowl. The Marquis can have the doctor examine it to find out!"
Xu Jiaojiao raised an eyebrow.
It seems the poison was put in the bowl.
The corners of her mouth curved almost imperceptibly.
Just when she was worried about how to prove herself, her opponent unexpectedly presented her with a solution.
Marquis Ningde hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Madam Xu, is the container of milk tea still there?"
Xu Jiaojiao nodded slightly, indicating that Lianye should present the food box.
The servant immediately stepped forward, took the food box, and handed it to the doctor, who then took out a silver needle to test for poison.
The doctor used a silver needle to stir the remaining soup in the jar, and the silver needle quickly turned black.
The doctor's pupils contracted: "It is indeed poisonous!"
The doctor's words caused another uproar in the hall.
"It really was her who poisoned it!"
"Has this woman gone mad?"
"Wan'er has no grudge against her, so why would she do this?"
"That damned woman deserves to pay with her life!"
"That doesn't make sense. If she poisoned it, why would she hand it over so readily?"
"..."
Amidst the whispers, Xu Jiaojiao frowned slightly, looking somewhat surprised.
The person kept holding the food box and lotus leaves in their hand. How did these people poison it?
But on second thought, it makes sense.
If Lady Yongkang and Lady Cheng could poison so many people at the same time, it's not surprising that they could poison her food box.
However, she and Jia Rong also ate the milk tea, but neither of them were sick, so the poison wasn't added at the beginning, but after they ate it!
The Marquis of Ningde, who had risen to power, glanced at the blackened silver needle and was filled with rage.
It turns out it really was the Xu family who poisoned them!
His face was flushed with anger, but he couldn't vent it because Princess Consort Chen was present: "Princess Consort Chen, what is your explanation for this matter?"
Princess Consort Chen, who had been observing from the sidelines, rose and bowed slightly: "Do as you see fit, the Marquis can decide for himself."
What a smooth-talking Princess Consort Chen is!
Marquis Ningde felt even more frustrated, but dared not do anything to Xu Jiaojiao. He could only order his servants in a deep voice: "Someone, go and invite Prince Chen! My Marquis Ningde's mansion has no grudge against Prince Chen's mansion! I would like to know why Prince Chen's mansion would do this!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Cheng smiled smugly, and Lady Yongkang's eyes also revealed undisguised delight.
With witnesses and physical evidence, Xu Jiaojiao has no way to refute the claim, and she is doomed to die!
Let her make things difficult for Tong'er, let her seduce Prince Chen, let her disrespect him—everyone who stands in Tong'er's way, everyone who poses a threat to the Yongkang Marquis's mansion, deserves to die!
Xu Jiaojiao lowered her eyes without making a sound, concealing the slight upturn of her lips.
The show is about to begin...
……
Zhao Yunzheng arrived very quickly.
On his way here, he also inquired with the servants of the Marquis's residence.
Upon hearing that Xu Jiaojiao had poisoned someone, he rushed over as fast as he could.
Jiaojiao is kind and gentle by nature, and would never do anything to harm others. Besides, Jiarong is by her side, and Jiarong would never stand idly by and watch Xu Jiaojiao poison someone.
His beloved Jiaojiao must have been wronged!
She's so timid, she must feel so helpless right now!
He had to hurry and get her out of that predicament! He had to clear her name!
But as soon as Zhao Yunzheng entered the banquet hall in the backyard, he saw Xu Jiaojiao sitting calmly in a chair drinking tea.
Have tea?
After such a big thing happened, his little darling wasn't scared to tears?
Zhao Yunzheng was taken aback. The sense of disconnect he felt that night when he delivered the medicine swept over him, filling his mind and making him feel unreal.
When Xu Jiaojiao, who was drinking tea, saw him arrive, she immediately put down her teacup, and her eyes instantly reddened.
She stood up abruptly, like a wronged child, her voice trembling with heartbreaking sobs: "Your Highness..."
Yes!
That's right!
This is truly his beloved!
As his woman, Jiaojiao must have been trying to save face by pretending to be calm and waiting for him to come!
Zhao Yunzheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, he arrived in time!
Zhao Yunzheng strode forward to Xu Jiaojiao's side: "Don't be afraid, I'm here!"
With his arrival, everyone in the banquet hall fell silent.
Jia Rong, who was following behind Xu Jiaojiao, shuddered and looked at his second brother as if he had seen a ghost.
Who is this gentle man?
Is this still her aloof and arrogant second brother?
Even her second brother had never spoken to her in such a gentle tone. For a moment, Jia Rong admitted that she felt a pang of jealousy.
Before the Marquis of Ningde, seated in the main seat, could speak, Prince Chen's piercing gaze swept over him: "Marquis of Ningde, what brings you here?"
Their eyes met, and the Marquis of Ningde choked up. His arrogant demeanor vanished instantly, and he became cautious in his reply: "My servants have discovered that the milk tea brought by Madam Xu contained poisonous herbs. This involves many important people, and since Madam Xu is one of your people, that's why I invited you here."
Zhao Yunzheng parted his thin lips slightly, his icy tone carrying an unbearable pressure: "Judging from what Marquis Ningde said, it seems you've already decided that Jiaojiao is the one who poisoned her?"
Despite it being a seemingly harmless remark, Marquis Ningde felt a chill run down his spine.
The facts are clear, the evidence is irrefutable, who else could it be but Xu Jiaojiao?
Marquis Ningde wanted to ask a question in return, but he managed to hold back the words that were about to slip out.
He smiled ingratiatingly, "I wouldn't dare, but with witnesses and physical evidence, I'm just telling the truth."
The kneeling maidservant spoke up at the opportune moment: "This servant can also testify. This servant saw with her own eyes that it was Xu who administered the poison! The doctor just checked and found that there was indeed poison in the milk tea that Xu brought!"
Zhao Yunzheng narrowed his eyes slightly, his scrutinizing gaze sweeping over the silver needles the doctor had just examined, then over the maid kneeling on the ground answering, and finally settling on Xu Jiaojiao, asking in a routine, low voice, "Jiaojiao, did you poison her?"
Xu Jiaojiao shook her head, her eyes clear and open: "No."
Both witness testimony and physical evidence can be fabricated. Last time, when Jiaojiao was falsely accused of poisoning someone, there was both witness testimony and physical evidence, but in the end, the other party cried wolf.
Besides, Xu Jiaojiao had no reason to poison these people; it would do her no good at all, so why would she dig her own grave?
Therefore, Zhao Yunzheng unconditionally stands on Xu Jiaojiao's side...