"Shut up!" Feng Jingye's veins on his forehead bulged as he roared hysterically.
Prime Minister Chu felt his legs go weak and his vision dimmed. Qin Mu rolled his eyes and fainted on the spot.
There was a flurry of activity in the Prefectural Magistrate's Office. Chairs were quickly brought over, and Prime Minister Chu and Qin Mu were helped to sit down.
Bai Zheng remained in a prostrate position, trembling as she said, "Your Highness, please forgive me! I, I know I shouldn't have spoken out recklessly. When Young Master Chu said those words, I was really scared... Young Master Chu tried every way to persuade me, but I just refused. Then he flew into a rage, picked up the poisoned wine, and insisted on forcing me to drink it..."
"Young Master Chu wanted to poison you?" Feng Jingxuan played his part well as a supportive listener.
Bai Zheng nodded her head like a pounding garlic. "Young Master Chu said that out of our years of affection, he would leave me a whole body. I had my hands and feet tied and couldn't move. He forced me to drink half a cup. Fortunately, fortunately, the Marquis of Dingyuan rushed over upon hearing the news and knocked over the remaining half - cup of poisoned wine, which saved my life."
"What! Zheng'er, you were poisoned?" As a father, Bai Yinan immediately grasped the key point in Bai Zheng's words.
Not long after being turned away from the General's Mansion the previous day, Bai Yinan received a message from Feng Linyuan's messenger, saying that Bai Zheng had been safely rescued and had gone to the Song Kiln to discuss important matters first and would return to the mansion later.
As for reporting the case to the authorities, they would wait until Bai Zheng returned to the mansion.
Unexpectedly, Bai Yinan waited until late at night but only received the news that Bai Zheng would not return to the mansion that day, saying that something had delayed her and it was inconvenient to come back as the city gates were already locked. She would only be able to return early the next morning.
Now it seemed that it was because she had been forced to drink poison!
Bai Yinan immediately felt heart - broken. No wonder his daughter had been crying non - stop when she saw him just now. She had suffered such great grievances!
"Zheng'er, how is your body? Is there an antidote for that poison? Did you ask Young Master Chu for it? Did Young Master Chu give it to you?" Bai Yinan bombarded her with questions one after another.
A wave of guilt welled up in Bai Zheng. She should have told her father about this plan earlier. Now she had only made the old man worry for nothing.
She looked up and forced a smile at Bai Yinan. "Father, don't worry. After the Marquis rescued me yesterday, seeing that the poison in me was still mild, he immediately sent me to the nearby Anguo Temple. Fortunately, the Great Master Jingyuan in the Anguo Temple is highly skilled in medicine and detoxified me. But later, the residual poison hadn't been completely cleared, and I fell into a coma. I had to stay in the Anguo Temple for a night, which is why I only came back early this morning."
Hearing this, Feng Jingxuan couldn't help sneering inwardly.
He had been wondering why Bai Zheng was willing to sacrifice her reputation of staying out all night just to bring down the Chu family this time.
But with her explanation, there was no problem with her reputation at all.
The reason she stayed out all night was that she had been poisoned, and she wasn't detoxified in the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion in the company of a single man and woman, but in the Anguo Temple.
Although the Anguo Temple was a Buddhist temple, because the Buddha statues enshrined there were said to be very effective, the royal relatives, high - ranking officials, and even the female relatives of high - ranking officials in Yongding often went there to burn incense and offer prayers. Some even stayed there for a few days to make a wish.
Therefore, the Anguo Temple had specially set aside a courtyard for the noble guests who came to worship Buddha.
For an unmarried young lady, it was nothing to stay in the Anguo Temple for a night even if she wasn't sick, let alone Bai Zheng who had been poisoned.
As for whether she had really gone to the Anguo Temple and whether the Great Master Jingyuan had saved her, Feng Jingxuan thought there was nothing to worry about.
Since Bai Zheng dared to say such things openly, she must have made sufficient preparations.
"I didn't expect Young Master Chu to be so desperate. Miss Bai is, after all, the future Marquis's wife appointed by the Emperor. Killing her without permission, I'm afraid even the Chu family won't be able to protect him this time."
Feng Jingxuan sighed regretfully.
"Flinging baseless accusations!" Although Prime Minister Chu was old and was deeply affected by the successive shocks because it concerned his beloved youngest son and the safety of the entire Chu family.
But after taking a short rest and regaining his senses, his years of experience in the officialdom allowed him to quickly sort out the current situation.
He could see that the person in front of him was clearly well - prepared. Her goal was not only Chu Feng but also the entire Chu family.
He sneered. "Now that you've tied up Feng'er and made us search everywhere in vain. Since Feng'er is not here, you can say whatever you want in this court. Even if you frame and slander us, we can do nothing about it.
Miss Bai really has a good mind and good means. I finally understand why Feng'er didn't take a fancy to you back then and insisted on breaking off the engagement. A woman who plays such tricks is really beyond what our Chu family can afford to offend!"
Bai Zheng looked determined. "I can understand that the Prime Minister can't accept this for a while. If I hadn't heard Young Master Chu say those words with my own ears, I wouldn't have believed that the elegant young man I had been longing for was actually a sinister, vicious, and paranoid villain."
"It seems that Miss Bai is determined to pour this dirty water on the Chu family?" Prime Minister Chu stared at Bai Zheng with a cold and menacing look.
Just as Bai Zheng was about to reply, Bai Yinan, who was already burning with anger seeing his daughter poisoned and still being slandered, interrupted.
"Prime Minister! The guards of the Bai Mansion were beaten by the Chu family and are still lying in bed unable to get up. Everyone in Yongding City knows how much strength our Bai Mansion has. Can we kidnap Young Master Chu?"
"Your Bai Mansion doesn't have the ability, but don't you have the General's Mansion behind you?" Feng Jingye narrowed his eyes slightly.
Hearing the words "General's Mansion", Bai Yinan felt a chill in his heart.
This elder brother of his had refused to see him after learning that he had come because of the matter of Chu Feng abducting Bai Zheng. He hadn't even let him meet.
He gave a bitter smile. "After the incident, I did go to the General's Mansion to look for my elder brother, but he was so busy with trivial matters that he didn't have time to see me. Your Highness can check this matter. Your Highness."
He looked directly at Feng Jingye and asked, "Without the support of the General's Mansion, can we, with just the people from our Bai Mansion, kidnap Young Master Chu?"
Feng Jingye was momentarily speechless and didn't know how to answer.
It was Prime Minister Chu who asked, "What about the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion? Didn't the Marquis of Dingyuan come to rescue Miss Bai?"
Bai Zheng lowered her eyes. "The Marquis came in a hurry, but there were traps everywhere in Young Master Chu's mansion, and there were plenty of people. The Marquis only managed to rescue me with difficulty. He was in a hurry to send me for medical treatment and really didn't have the energy or manpower to deal with Young Master Chu..."
Prime Minister Chu waved his sleeve and snorted. "How can we believe your one - sided words? You said that the Marquis didn't do anything to Feng'er. Do you have any evidence?"
Bai Zheng straightened her back and said neither overbearingly nor humbly, "I really can't produce any evidence. But I believe that the people sent by the Prefectural Magistrate's Office will surely find Young Master Chu. By then, my name will surely be cleared..."
"Young Master Chu has been found!"
As if to confirm Bai Zheng's words, a soldier rushed in from outside in a hurry, shouting excitedly as he ran, "My lord, Young Master Chu has been found!"