Prime Minister Xia suddenly changed the subject, "You were the one who set the fire in the bridal chamber, wasn't you?"
Zi'an laughed, "Your Majesty, you have a good imagination. Perhaps you will know who put it there."
She neither admitted nor denied it.
Ximen Xiaoyue said coldly: "Is it really you? What hatred do I have against you? Do you want to burn me to death?"
Zi'an's smile deepened, looking at Ximen Xiaoyue's angry but innocent face, "Madam Xiaoyue's words are really... I don't know how to answer. Although I know that Guiyuan's injury and the fire in the side room today were planned by you, but I have no evidence, so I can't be too sure about this. Therefore, I can't admit the crime that you accused me of."
Ximen Xiaoyue's eyes widened with indescribable indignation. She finally understood why her grandfather told her not to deal with Yuan mother and daughter first. She had indeed underestimated them.
There was nothing more to say here. Even though Prime Minister Xia was full of doubts and even certainty, he had no way to accuse her.
Even if there is evidence, can he withstand the investigation? No, the current Xiangfu cannot be impacted by any right or wrong.
As for the old lady, she took Yuan into the inner room. Lan Yu helped her to an old, dilapidated chair and asked her to sit down.
Yuan reached out and touched the back of the chair, then stood there and said, "Madam, please speak if you have anything to say. I'll just stand there."
The inner room was dimly lit by a bean-sized tung oil lamp, and the windows were closed, so it was difficult for light from the corridor lights to penetrate. There were a few visible tiles on the glazed roof, but it was a pitch-black night, the moon was not clear, and the stars were dim, so the room looked particularly eerie and dark.
To Yuan, there was nothing strange about the atmosphere; she couldn't see it anyway.
The old lady looked at Yuan and recalled the time when she had just entered the family. At that time, she really did not like Yuan because she was too famous and would cause a lot of trouble and disputes for the Prime Minister's Mansion.
In the end, it was proved that she did not do so. After she entered the house, she really cultivated her mind and character. She didn't even talk about poetry, but only took care of household chores.
But this is the fate between people. When you don’t like someone, everything she does is wrong, even breathing is a sin.
The old lady said to Lan Yu, "Help Madam come to my side."
Lan Yu curled her lips, but still went forward and helped Yuan walk over as she was told.
After Yuan sat down, she turned to the old lady with a plain face, "Madam, please get down to business. It's very late, so as not to disturb your rest."
The old lady looked at her and said, "You must hate me in your heart, don't you?"
Yuan nodded, "Yes!"
Yuan didn't give her any face at all, and didn't even try to hide her hatred, which made the old lady's eyes show a hint of anger.
"What is the reason why you hate me?" the old lady asked patiently.
Yuan said quietly, "Because you have never cared about Zi'an, and it has been the same for so many years. When the Xiangfu forced her to marry, you, as a grandmother, ignored the blood relationship and only cared about the so-called benefits of marriage. You only wanted to help Xia Wan'er climb to the position of Crown Princess, and ignored Zi'an's lifelong happiness."
The old lady shook her head. "No, you hate me not because of this, but because when Chen Linglong came into the mansion, I did not help you drive her away. Instead, I kept her in the mansion and even took away your power as mistress."
Yuan smiled lightly, a little ironically, "What does it have to do with Chen Linglong? If she hadn't forced Zi'an to marry her in the end, she wouldn't have caused my hatred. As for why I need the old lady to help me if I want to drive Chen Linglong out of the house? I can drive her away by myself. As for the so-called mistress's power, it's like a cloud to me. I never care about it at all."
"If you could really drive Chen Linglong away, you wouldn't have been ignored these years. Don't be too arrogant. Now that you've been named the county lord, you've become more arrogant. But we all know how powerless you were back then."
"I knew from the beginning that the child Chen Linglong was carrying was not from the Xiangfu, and I have enough evidence to prove this. Do you think I can't drive her away based on this?"
The old lady's eyes turned cold, "Don't talk nonsense. Chen Linglong was indeed pregnant that day, but it has been confirmed by Doctor Li that she took medicine to have an abortion. Therefore, Xia Wan'er and Xia Lin are both the flesh and blood of the Xiangfu."
Yuan smiled faintly, "Madam, there is no need for us to sugarcoat everything. I thought you asked me to come here to say something from your heart, but if you want to deceive yourself and others with a high-sounding excuse, then I think we should not waste everyone's time. I think that the relationship between us as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is not enough for us to have a peaceful dialogue."
Lan Yu heard this and scolded him, "How can you be so rude? Even if you are named the county lady, you still have to be respectful to the old lady. She is still your mother-in-law."
Lan Yu is the aunt who has served the old lady for a long time. In the mansion, she and Cui Yu are almost half masters. The old lady also values them very much. Even Madam Linglong has to be respectful and polite to them on weekdays. Needless to say, Yuan Shi never dared to offend them. Unexpectedly, she was named a county lady. Not only did she lose face for her, but she also acted presumptuously in front of the old lady.
What a villain succeeding!
Yuan's lips formed a cold smile, "Lan Yu, remember your identity first before you talk to me. If you think that the slap Zi'an gave you just now is not enough to wake you up, then your death is not far away."
Lan Yu was furious. "Madam, you are so arrogant. It seems that in your eyes, killing someone is as easy as crushing an ant. I want to see how Madam can make my death imminent."
Yuan said to the old lady, "Old lady, do you think we can continue this conversation?"
The old lady waved her hand and asked Lan Yu to step aside. Although Lan Yu was angry, he did not dare to disobey the old lady. He could only stand aside angrily, but the anger in his eyes did not diminish at all.
The old lady looked at Yuan with a complicated expression. She had never known that Yuan had such a tough side. She thought she was weak and could be bullied. In addition, for so many years, she had never left the house and did not fight or compete, so she thought she did not have the confidence and courage.
But now it seems that we may have misjudged Yuan.
"Okay, I won't beat around the bush. Go tell Zi'an to speak a few words for Ximen Xiaoqing in front of Murong Jie. Imprisonment is inevitable. The lighter the sentence, the better. This way, our Xiangfu can give an explanation to the Duke's Mansion."
"What are the terms of the exchange?" Yuan asked straightforwardly.
The old lady sneered, "Don't worry, I won't let you suffer in vain. I have Guiyuan's indenture contract with me. If she is willing to speak up and can reduce Ximen Xiaoqing's sentence, I will give her the indenture contract."
Yuan said, "Okay, it's a deal!"
The old lady didn't expect her to agree so easily. She felt that there was some trick going on. "Are you sure she can get the Regent to show leniency to Ximen Xiaoqing?"
Yuan said: "The prince will not be partial, but I have a way."
(End of this chapter)