Ling Xiao frowned and spoke with great force.
Everyone present was shocked, and the third wife could not even stand. She hurriedly pulled Ling Long up the stairs and knelt in front of Old Man Ling together.
"Eunuch, Master, you should know clearly what kind of person Long'er is. She would never poison Ling Qingwan." The third wife was terrified and asked the two men at the table with a sad face to seek justice for Ling Long.
"Yes! Grandfather, before Ling Qingwan came to the mansion, the sisters got along harmoniously and never had any major disputes. But after Ling Qingwan came back, she slapped me in the face and falsely accused me of poisoning her. I think Ling Qingwan has been wild since she was a child, and she couldn't help but feel jealous of us, the real princesses, when she returned to the mansion. Maybe she was just crying thief and deliberately making a fuss about the poisoning for others to see."
After saying this, Ling Long glared at Ling Qingwan fiercely.
"What do the Third Madam and the Fifth Miss mean by this? Could it be that Wanwan is willing to almost sacrifice her own life in order to frame you?" Ling Shen, who was always gentle in nature, became angry and questioned the two of them in a stern voice.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. You'll all be punished for upsetting your father." Ling Feng was impatient and urged them to stop talking. He turned to look at Ling Xiao.
"Xiao'er, now that you have the evidence, bring it out for us to see. If you can prove the Third House's crime, your grandfather and I will never cover it up."
Ling Xiao glanced at Qingfeng from the corner of his eye. Qingfeng understood and waved his hand. A maid dressed in cinnabar powder and coarse linen clothes lowered her head and timidly walked into the hall.
"Green floating?" Linglong's eyes widened in shock.
Lu Fu is Ling Long's personal maid.
"Miss... I'm sorry. It's my fault. I can't help it..." I don't know if she was afraid of Ling Long's blame or because she felt guilty towards her. Lu Fu said without thinking and apologized to Ling Long several times.
"What do you mean? Did you accept bribes from Ling Xiao and Ling Qingwan and help them frame me?" Ling Long frowned and pointed at Ling Qingwan.
Ling Qingwan had a faint smile on her lips, and she looked at the scene in front of her calmly, as if she was watching a play.
"Let Lu Fu speak." Ling Xiao's eyes were cold, and the invisible pressure made people feel breathless.
Ling Long was not convinced. When she saw that Old Man Ling and Ling Feng were also waiting for Lu Fu to speak, she had to shut up.
"Let her talk. Can she turn white into black?" The third wife raised her head slightly with a confident look. She was sure that her daughter would not do such a thing as poisoning.
Ling Qingwan remembered this Third Madam. In her previous life, as soon as the old man of the Marquisate passed away, he threw her into a pile of beggars, causing her to wander outside for half a month. Ling Xiao mobilized all the troops in Tokyo City to find her. Ling Qingwan still remembered it clearly. Now seeing the Third Madam protecting her daughter like this, she couldn't feel any sympathy.
It's all your own fault.
Linglong's whole body was shaking like a sieve.
"After dinner last night, the young lady handed me a silver needle for no reason, and told me to find the servant who prepared clothes for the second young lady every day, and hid the silver needle in her sleeve. I thought the young lady was still angry about the dispute with the second young lady that day, so she wanted to teach the second young lady a lesson. I never thought that the silver needle contained poison..." Lu Fu was timid and spoke in a lower and lower voice.
"I really didn't mean to harm the Second Miss. I didn't even know the silver needles were poisonous. If I knew, I would definitely persuade the Fifth Miss to stop."
"You're talking nonsense! I never harmed Ling Qingwan! It's obvious that you took Ling Xiao's money and framed me in front of Grandfather and Father! Tell me! How much money did they give you!"
Linglong's desperate look amused Ling Qingwan. Even now, she was still unwilling to admit the evil things she had done.
"I didn't!" Lu Fu hid in the corner and shook his head uncontrollably.
"Master! Long'er has been well-behaved and obedient since childhood, and he would never do such a thing. You have to seek justice for him." The third wife finally panicked.
Ling Qingwan looked at Old Man Ling calmly, only to see that he had no expression on his face, and he must have made up his mind. Ling Qingwan felt at ease, and the rest depended entirely on Ling Xiao.
"Just listening to the maid's one-sided statement is indeed not enough to prove that Long'er was the one who poisoned Wanwan. Do you have any other evidence?" Ling Feng asked Ling Xiao.
"As early as when Wanwan mentioned that she and Linglong had a feud, I sent people to investigate. They should be on their way back now." Ling Xiao was confident. He knew that as long as he did something, there would always be evidence left. Especially since it was Linglong's first time to poison someone, she was naturally unfamiliar with the method and it was easier for her to reveal her true colors.
Sure enough, the guard came back soon and brought something that was enough to convict Ling Long - Qian Jue Powder.
"Excuse me, why is there Qianjue Powder in the fifth lady's room?" Ling Xiao asked Ling Long with a burning gaze.
Ling Long couldn't hold on any longer and lost her breath. She sat down on the ground, looking forward with a pale face.
The Third Madam panicked when she saw this, and hurriedly pleaded with Old Man Ling and Ling Feng. People around were whispering, marveling at Ling Long's courage.
Mr. Ling hated the intrigues among the women in the backyard the most, and Ling Long had hit him on the edge of the knife with what happened today. After a thorough investigation, Ling Long was stripped of her status as the fifth lady of the Marquis' Mansion and was not allowed to set foot in the Marquis' Mansion again in her life.
"Ye Yun." Ling Feng stood up and helped Old Man Ling go back to rest. Before leaving, he waved to Ye Yun and asked him to take care of the matter.
Mrs. Ren San shouted until her throat was hoarse, but no one was willing to plead for her.
The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only two people in the hall. Ling Long collapsed to the ground, as if her soul had been drained out. The Third Madam continued to cry, which made Ling Qingwan upset.
"Wanwan, it's okay." Ling Xiao walked closer and gently rubbed Ling Qingwan's hair.
Ling Qingwan smiled at Ling Xiao.
It was getting late, Ling Xiao settled Ling Shenshi and Ling Chuchu, and told them to go back to their rooms to rest. He then personally sent Ling Qingwan back.
Although today's incident has been settled, it has also given Ling Xiao a great warning. He needs to be more careful in protecting Ling Qingwan in the future.
"Brother, are you feeling guilty about this?"
The two did not say a word until they returned to their room. Ling Qingwan sat on the bed, her face gentle, and she looked at Ling Xiao quietly.
A candlelight made the room dim. Ling Xiao had a handsome face, but a lost expression on his face, which made him look even more worried.
"I told you I would protect you." Ling Xiao frowned, feeling mixed emotions.
"You did a great job." Ling Qingwan smiled and didn't blame Ling Xiao for his negligence at all.
This made it seem like Ling Xiao was worrying too much.
"But if I had watched you more closely, you wouldn't have been framed and poisoned. What if the poison was serious, you would now..." Ling Xiao couldn't imagine it. If anything happened to Ling Qingwan, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.
"There are hundreds of people in the mansion, not counting the servants. If anyone wants to do something, it's impossible to guard against it. Tell me, how do you keep a close watch?"