Xiaocao didn't even blink, and didn't even use anesthetic on the little poisonous snake. When the little snake wanted to attack her, she just swept it with her sleeve, knocking the snake's head a little bit off the side. Then she pinched the snake's head and lifted it up. With her other hand, she picked up the handkerchief on the ground. Xiaocao sniffed it gently and found that it was indeed snake-attracting grass.
The snakes on the ground were a little agitated. Xiaocao took a look and saw a flowerpot on the shelf next to him with a few pebbles in it. Xiaocao picked up one, wrapped it in a handkerchief, tied a knot with his own pebbles, and threw it casually. With a thud, the pebbles sank to the bottom of the water and disappeared. Then he sprayed some anesthetic on the original position of the handkerchief.
Because the "snake-attracting grass" was thrown into the water, the snakes on the boat retreated like a tide, and soon only those that were paralyzed were left.
Xiaocao picked up a box that was supposed to hold snacks, threw the little poisonous snake in it and covered it. Holding the box, Xiaocao smiled at Zhen Muyao and said, "It's okay." She casually pushed the snake that was in the way on the ground aside. She didn't have to deal with it anymore.
Zhen Muyao had someone row the pleasure boat over. Seeing the snake still around the grass, he still couldn't help but feel a little scalp-tingling. Sister Xuan was really amazing. If it weren't for her, who knows what would have happened today.
Xiao Cao followed Zhen Muyao back to the corridor, but the crowd couldn't help but retreat. How could ordinary people keep calm in the midst of a swarm of snakes? This was much more terrifying than just beating up Zhen Muyao.
Wen Renying rushed over and said, "Fourth sister, are you okay? I was really scared just now." Just imagine that your own sister is about to be buried alive by a group of snakes. That feeling is really like suffocation.
"It's okay, don't worry." Xiaocao hurriedly comforted her.
"I should have given you the sachet. Why did I forget to give it to you?" Wen Renying was annoyed.
"It's really okay. Most snakes are not venomous. There are just too many of them. It's just a little scary to look at."
"Then there are still a few that are poisonous?" Wen Renying's eyes fell on the box in Xiaocao's hand, "Did Fourth Sister catch another one? It must be poisonous, right?"
Xiao Cao tucked the box behind him and said, "It can be used as medicine."
Wen Renying didn't know what to say. It was so dangerous, but she was still thinking about the medicine. Fourth sister was really... "If mother knew about this dangerous thing, she would definitely blame you."
"Then my good sister, keep it a secret for me and don't tell mother."
Wen Renying looked at her sister speechlessly. She had never seen her like this before. "I saw Fourth Sister throw something away before, and the snakes retreated. Was it that thing that attracted the snakes?"
"It's a plain light blue handkerchief, stained with the juice of the snake-attracting grass." Xiao Cao then explained the effect of the snake-attracting grass, which was a disguised way of telling everyone that what happened today was man-made.
Zhen Muyao's eyes fell on the playboy from before, "Zhang Junliang, did you incur some wrongdoing somewhere, which caused so many people to get into trouble with you?"
Zhang Junliang still hadn't recovered from his shock yet. His legs and feet were still weak, and his heart was pounding. Of course, it was because of the beating from Zhen Muyao. When he heard what Muyao said, he became furious. "Zhen Muyao, don't blame me for everything. Even if I like to play, I didn't bully any men or women. This is all my own will."
Zhen Muyao sneered, "Anyway, that thing must belong to someone on your pleasure boat. Everyone is here, so just check them one by one. Once the culprit is found, everything will be clear."
"Does anyone know if someone had put it on the pleasure boat before?"
"The juice of snake-attracting grass must be sealed in a porcelain bottle. The same applies to handkerchiefs soaked in it. Once it is taken out, the smell will spread in a very short time. Before that, the time to watch the show was quite long. It is impossible that someone put it there in advance. The person who did it must be among you. Moreover, there were so many snakes before, and the distribution range was not small. A little bit of snake-attracting grass juice could not achieve such an effect. After the snake-attracting grass juice meets water, the effect will be released faster. Similarly, the effect will dissipate quickly. Someone must have put the juice of snake-attracting grass in the surrounding water. Because it dissipated, the snakes eventually followed the smell and gathered on the pleasure boat."
“Whoever it is, come out if you know what’s good for you. Otherwise, it will be even more difficult when we find out about you.” Zhen Muyao’s eyes were like knives, sweeping over the crowd. Perhaps it was because his gaze was too terrifying, but many people shrank back.
"Who on earth is this bastard who dares to touch me? Come out here right now, or I will kill him (her) when I find him (her) out." Zhang Junliang also had a ferocious look on his face.
Zhen Muyao looked at the two girls who looked the most abnormal, and said, "Pull them out for me."
"It's none of my business, it has nothing to do with me, Fourth sister, Fourth sister, save me!" Wen Renxiang was trembling with fear, and stretched out her hands to ask Xiaocao for help. Her panic-stricken look made it hard to believe that the matter had nothing to do with her.
Wen Renying was furious. Just now, her fourth sister put herself in danger because of Wen Renxiang, a shameless person. She always kept her head down when she saw her. Now that she was in trouble, she shouted out?! She wanted to go up to her and slap her in the face.
Zhen Muyao was stunned and turned to look at Xiaocao, "Sister Xuan, is this the girl from your Wen family?"
Wen Renying curled her lips and said, "I didn't know that my cousin from the next room went out today."
For Xiao Cao's sake, Zhen Muyao's coldness faded a little, but she was not someone who would love everyone and everyone in it. Similarly, she would not assume that everyone had the same temperament just because they had the same surname. Being restrained did not mean that the matter would be taken lightly. "Otherwise, Sister Xuan, why don't you ask?"
"Let me do it." Wen Renying took the initiative to step forward and walked to Wen Renxiang. "Fifth sister, just tell me everything you know. If you are innocent, I will not wrongly accuse you. But you should also know that this matter is so serious. If you hide something or lie, you will definitely not end well. You are just a concubine of our family. You have no money and no connections. Fourth sister also said that snake attracting grass is rare. It is not something you can get, and it is not something you can use your own hands to put in the lake."
Wen Renying's words seemed to be belittling and looking down on Wen Renxiang, but they also pointed out that Wen Renxiang did not have the ability to become the culprit.
Wenren Xiang deeply hated Wenren Ying for exposing her embarrassing identity, but now was not the time to worry about it. If she was really implicated in this matter and so many noble ladies and gentlemen were frightened, she would be in great pain if she didn't die.
"That handkerchief, that handkerchief did come into my hands, but it was not mine, it really was not mine. I didn't know when it appeared on me. How could I dare to keep something of unknown origin? I just found a corner and threw it away. I didn't even know it was stained by the juice of snake-attracting grass. Believe me, I really don't know what happened." Wen Renxiang explained anxiously.
Putting aside the credibility of this statement, Zhen Muyao cast his gaze on another girl, also a stranger. She probably didn't come from a good background. That's right, if she came from a good background, how could she hang out with people like Zhang Junliang.
"It's none of my business. I really don't know anything. I'm just timid and too scared..."
At this moment, can I just say "I don't know" and be let off easily? Obviously, it's a fantasy. In fact, there are more than just these two suspects. After all, none of them seem to be able to get snake attracting grass.
"Lynching is not allowed, but he has harmed so many people and has such vicious intentions. Who is he from? Tell me the name. I will have to ask your elders to come out and deal with this matter."
The girl trembled like a sieve, but hesitated and refused to speak.
Zhen Muyao sneered, "If you don't tell me, then I won't know. As long as it didn't pop out of a crack in the rock, someone else will know."
Xiaocao stepped forward and pulled Zhen Muyao.
Zhen Muyao knew that she probably had something to say, so he immediately backed down. Given her strong personality, this was very rare.
"I can make a medicine. Anyone who has come into contact with the juice of snake attracting grass within three days will immediately change color when the medicine is applied to their hands, even if their towel is dry or they have washed their hands countless times. The medicine is not difficult to make and the herbs used are relatively common. Do you want me to make it for you all to try?" Xiao Cao glanced at the people present and looked at the girl who had fallen to the ground. "Confess now and you can get a lighter sentence."
The girl was probably frightened. After struggling and hesitating, she spoke, "I did stuff the handkerchief on Miss Wenren Fifth when she wasn't paying attention. But the handkerchief wasn't originally mine. It was given to me by Miss Shi. It was originally sealed in a small porcelain bottle, which has been thrown into the water. It was stuffed on Miss Wenren Fifth at the behest of Miss Shi."
"Who is it? I guess you don't need to ask, right?" Zhen Muyao stared at the person standing behind Zhang Junliang.
Zhang Junliang turned around and stared at a girl with a murderous look in his eyes.
But when the girl stood up, she was quite calm and composed. "I am a girl from the Shi family, but I'm sorry, I don't know anything about porcelain bottles and handkerchiefs. I would rather ask, how did I offend this girl that you want to pick on me like this? Do you really think that I am a member of the Shi family and that they are easy to bully?"
Just the word "real" is worth pondering. From the sound of it, it seems that this is not the first time.
Xiao Cao looked at her and asked, "Miss Shi, do you think what I just said was just a bluff?"
"Whether the girl is bluffing or not, what does it have to do with me? I am upright and honest, and I am not afraid of investigation or verification."
"So, you actually haven't touched the handkerchief in three days." Xiao Cao nodded in understanding, and without waiting for the other party to say anything else, he turned around and looked at the girl before, "She refused to admit it and even bit you back. What do you want to say? Do you have any other evidence?"
The girl's face turned pale, and she looked at the girl from the Shi family with disbelief, "You, you..."
"It just involves our family, what's the point?" Xiaocao was not interested in other lawsuits.
Zhen Muyao beside him seemed to suddenly think of something, "Xia Bihe's stepmother's maiden name seems to be Shi. And this morning, Fourth Madam Xia seemed to have been sent back to the Shi family. After something like that happened, the girl from the Shi family actually had the leisure to go out for fun. Does she think that her presence is low, or is there some reason she has to go out?"
Xiao Cao was startled. "So, the reason why the Wen family was dragged in was because of me?"
"Heh," Zhen Muyao sneered, "I, Zhen Muyao, was also involved in what happened at Pingjin Marquis's Mansion yesterday. Why are you only targeting Sister Xuan? Do you look down on me, or what?"
Some people secretly twitched their lips. If this was the case, it was not contempt, but fear. Besides, there was no one related to the Zhen family on their side, so they had to find an opportunity.
"You think I did it?" The stone girl showed an annoyed look on her face, as if she was extremely humiliated and angry.
"Don't show such a weird look, who are you showing it to? - Sister Xuan, there's no need to waste time talking to her, just tell Kaiping Wei about it. After all, snake attracting grass is dangerous, who knows if there are any more? The purpose this time is unclear, and because of your relationship, it didn't cause a big mess, but what about next time? What if it happens on an important holiday, or even when the emperor is out of the palace, who knows what kind of turmoil it will cause. What if it disturbs the emperor, it will be an unforgivable crime."
This is really an exaggeration! However, you can't say she is talking nonsense.
The girl from the Shi family finally couldn't hold it anymore. The color on her face drained away and her hand holding the handkerchief couldn't stop shaking.
"It's revealed in one sentence, so it's you. The Shi family is indeed birds of a feather. Xia Bihe was treated so badly by her stepmother, and now the girl from the Shi family is so vicious. I'm really impressed."
"Miss Zhen, stop slandering me!"
"Whether it is slander or not, we won't know once Kaiping Wei investigates."
Therefore, Zhen Muyao was not joking when he said he would ask Kaiping Guard to investigate this matter.
"Sister Xuan, I'll take you back to Guanyin Temple. It's too boring to stay here any longer. It's just right for me to go and see Young Master Fan in person."
Others might be more intimidated by Overlord Fan Wuguo, but Zhen Muyao is no less inferior to him. You should know that the two of them had fought each other before. Maybe it was because "no fight, no acquaintance", and after the fight, their relationship actually became pretty good. If it weren't for the barrier between men and women, the two of them might have been able to drink and chat together, and cause trouble together.
Xiaocao nodded. She was indeed not in the mood to play anymore. She did not object to Zhen Muyao's suggestion. Regardless of whether it was an exaggeration or not, things like snake-attracting grass should not appear in a place like the imperial city.
The two left hand in hand, and Wen Renying grabbed Wen Renxiang and said, "Why don't you leave?"