Chapter 353: Chapter 353: Guilty Conscience

Duke Mansion.

The carriage slowly came to a halt.

After Xingxing jumped down from the carriage, she helped Su Jin out.

As she stepped into the Duke Mansion, a servant said, “The Eldest Young Madam is back, the Commandery Princess wants you to go to Qihao Hall immediately upon your return.”

Su Jin’s brow almost imperceptibly furrowed.

Xie Jinyu has been poisoned.

The Princess Nanzhang should be most anxious to cure her, so why call her to Qihao Hall immediately?

Could it be that they want her to help find a physician?

But she is at the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, if she needed a physician, she could have easily sent someone directly to say so.

Xie Jinyu is her prized treasure, nothing is more important than treating her illness.

Su Jin glanced at Xingxing.

Xingxing was holding Little Black, looking at Su Jin.

They exchanged glances.

Xingxing looked utterly confused.

Su Jin’s mouth twitched.

This maid has nerves of steel.

Su Jin thought she would be worried about the matter being exposed, anxiously jumping and showing signs.

She overthought it.

Soon, Su Jin realized she was not just overthinking, but over overthinking it.

Xingxing was not worried at all, instead, she comforted Su Jin, “Miss, don’t be afraid.”

“They were the ones who harmed people first. If they dare to punish you, we’ll complain to the Emperor.”

“The Marquis said, there is no such thing as only allowing officials to set fires but not the commoners to light lamps,” Xingxing said.

“….”

Su Jin walked forward with a dark expression.

She was definitely worrying unnecessarily.

A maid who dared to push her into water would certainly dare to dig mud and throw it at people in the water, would she really be timid and afraid?

Su Jin walked calmly to Qihao Hall.

As soon as she entered the door, she was seized by two old women.

With a kick, Su Jin was made to kneel on the ground.

Her knees hitting the ground sent stars shooting before her eyes from the pain.

If they treated even Su Jin like this, imagine how they treated Xingxing.

When Xingxing was caught, Little Black fell to the ground from her arms.

Little Black charged towards the Commandery Princess Nanzhang and bit her ankle.

The Princess Nanzhang screamed in fright.

Su Jin, “….”

Xingxing, “….”

Little Black!

Well done!

The room was in chaos.

The old women were stunned, and Xingxing broke free, quickly scooping Little Black into her arms and kneeling next to Su Jin.

The Princess Nanzhang’s face turned green with anger, “Drag this dog out and beat it to death with sticks!”

When the two older women came to grab the dog, Su Jin’s face was icy, “I dare anyone to try touching it!”

The aura Su Jin emanated terrified the two older women, leaving them at a loss.

They quickly retreated, looking at the Princess Nanzhang, as it wasn’t their reluctance to grab the dog, it was the Eldest Young Madam threatening them.

The Old Madam banged the table, “Insolent!”

Su Jin was furious.

Having been forced to kneel upon entering, her knees that struck the floor hadn’t yet recovered from the pain, and now she was labeled as impudent.

Su Jin looked at the Old Madam and said, “Little Black was a bit out of line, but Little Black is a loyal servant. I just returned from the Marquis Mansion, what wrong have I done?”

Little Black…

The maids and old women looked at the snow-white dog in Xingxing’s arms, their lips twitching uncontrollably.

Let alone the people of Qingyun Mountain, even the dogs of Qingyun Mountain are especially ferocious.

Thinking about how when the Eldest Young Madam just entered the door, she gave the Commandery Princess a show of strength right on the wedding stage.

This dog is even more formidable—

It bit the Commandery Princess Nanzhang as soon as it entered the Duke Mansion.

The Third Madam looked at Su Jin and said, “What wrong have you done?”

“The Eldest Young Lady was poisoned at Prince Yu Mansion, they’ve already found that it was you, Eldest Young Madam, and your maid who poisoned her. After harming the Eldest Young Lady so, you still act so justifiably,” the Third Madam said.

Su Jin’s brows knitted into a tight knot.

The Commandery Princess Nanzhang was in so much pain her head was covered in cold sweat, “Drag her out and hit her!”

The two old women came to seize her.

Su Jin looked at the Commandery Princess Nanzhang and said, “You say I poisoned her, do you have proof?!”

“Proof?” The Commandery Princess Nanzhang sneered.

“A maid from Prince Yu Mansion witnessed it with her own eyes, is that not proof enough?!”

Su Jin laughed.

That’s solid evidence.

With such solid evidence, could the Commandery Princess Nanzhang still restrain herself from directly sending someone to arrest her at Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, but instead wait for her return?

Her father had left the Capital to suppress bandits, leaving few people at Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, a perfect moment to act.

Even if her father were still in the Capital, the Commandery Princess Nanzhang is not one to shy away from trouble.

She should have done so but didn’t, that’s the problem!

Testing her bluff?

Or planning to beat her up to vent anger regardless.

Then have Prince Yu Mansion take the blame since it was their people who passed on the message, and the Duke Mansion believed it.

Later, if it were found that the maid wasn’t sent by Prince Yu Mansion, the Commandery Princess Nanzhang was merely manipulated.

Could this round of beatings be returned at that point?

This is indeed a cunning plan!

As the two old women held her shoulders tightly, Su Jin could not break free and said, “If you don’t let go, don’t blame me for costing you both an arm!”

The two older women’s faces turned pale.

The Commandery Princess Nanzhang’s face darkened deeply, “In front of me and the Old Madam, you dare blatantly threaten someone!”

Su Jin exerted more force and broke free.

Rubbing her shoulder, she looked at the Commandery Princess Nanzhang, “I truly don’t know what Prince Yu Mansion is up to!”

“On one side, they inform the Duke Mansion claiming a maid saw my maid and me poison the Eldest Lady, on the other, they send people to ask if something is wrong with me physically.”

“After the Eldest Lady was poisoned, the Imperial Physician checked everyone’s food, found poison in the tea I drank, and apart from a bit of an upset stomach, I have nothing wrong and didn’t intend to pursue it. Yet Prince Yu Mansion accuses me of poisoning the Eldest Lady, today I demand an explanation from Prince Yu Mansion!” Su Jin’s voice grew increasingly cold.

With such vigor, the Commandery Princess Nanzhang actually felt guilty.

Because they were bluffing Su Jin, trying to force her to lose her nerves and confess.

Yet she had no confession, instead blamed Prince Yu Mansion.

Ironically, Xie Jinyu had indeed poisoned Su Jin’s tea.

For a moment, the Commandery Princess Nanzhang found it hard to tell if Su Jin was telling the truth or not.

The Third Madam said, “Eldest Young Madam, talking tough is useless, if you’re not guilty, why did you and your maid leave under the pretense of something happening at Dongxiang Marquis Mansion in a hurry?”

“Dongxiang Marquis Mansion didn’t even send anyone to report an incident.”

Hearing this, Su Jin understood why the Commandery Princess Nanzhang suspected her.

The manner of her leaving was indeed suspicious.

But Su Jin wasn’t afraid, she laughed, “Dongxiang Marquis Mansion sent me a message, does it necessarily require someone to pass it on?”

“When the Emperor was ambushed at the Great Buddha Temple, if I had to send someone to relay the message to my father, the Emperor and I would have died at the Great Buddha Temple sooner!”

“Had I not sent for help, my parents would have quickly arrived. Would they have felt secure letting me marry off with only a maid?”

The Third Madam was speechless.

“Miss, should I summon Madam now?” Xingxing asked.

Su Jin’s gaze lightly swept towards the Commandery Princess Nanzhang, “Mother, what do you think?”

The Commandery Princess Nanzhang’s face darkened ominously.

The Old Madam fiddled with her Buddha beads, “What’s going on with Prince Yu Mansion?”

“We should send someone to find out, wronging the Eldest Young Madam wouldn’t be good,” the Second Madam said.

The Commandery Princess Nanzhang glared coldly at Su Jin, “I’ll have someone investigate this matter thoroughly, but this dog dared to bite me, it must die today!”

Su Jin’s face remained unemotional, “Slandering me hasn’t been clarified, yet you wish to execute my loyal dog first. Since Mother is in such a hurry, let’s take Little Black to Prince Yu Mansion!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep