Su Muxiao let out a soft sigh.
"Back then, I was impulsive and caused the mansion to lose 20,000 taels of silver. Father confined me to my room to reflect on my mistakes. I couldn't even step out of the door.
If it weren't for Bai Di's instigation and her telling me that the Fourth Prince and you, Zheng'er, were deeply in love and asking me to help make the match, how could I have... "
At this point, a very complex emotion welled up on Su Muxiao's face. There was hatred for Bai Di, embarrassment in front of Bai Zheng, and annoyance at her own youthful arrogance back then.
"So, the mastermind behind this was her, while you were the one who carried out the actual actions." Princess Yunxi put it simply, "It's a pity, then. In this way, it's hard to find any solid evidence against her."
"Evidence is not completely absent." Su Muxiao shook her head after a moment of thought. "That day, the cup of tea I poured for Zheng'er but she accidentally knocked over was laced with a sleeping potion."
After she finished speaking, she carefully glanced at Bai Zheng and saw that Bai Zheng's expression was calm and she didn't show any resentment because of the drugging. Only then did she continue with confidence, "She gave me that potion."
At that time, Su Muxiao was ordered by Su Zheng to be confined to her room to reflect. She could only eat plain porridge and cabbage every day, and her monthly allowance was reduced to one - third of the original amount.
The Su Mansion was different from the Bai Mansion. With so many concubines in Su Zheng's house, the servants each served their own masters. Without some silver, no one was willing to do things for Su Muxiao.
To ensure the smooth progress of the whole plan, Bai Di simply sent someone to buy the sleeping potion in person.
"Do you have any evidence that it was Bai Di who bought the potion?" Princess Yunxi asked.
Su Muxiao answered affirmatively, "Before drugging, I was afraid that I might accidentally spill the whole packet of the potion, so I divided it into two parts.
One part was put in the tea and was knocked over by Zheng'er. The other part, just in case, was left with my personal maid, Yunzhu.
Yunzhu has always been timid. Without my order, she would never dare to act on her own. That day, the incident happened suddenly. I only told her to keep the potion well and not to lose it. She must still have that half of the potion."
"Great! As long as the potion is still there, it'll be easy!" Princess Yunxi stepped forward excitedly and patted Su Muxiao on the shoulder.
"This kind of sleeping potion isn't sold casually. It'll be a piece of cake to trace it back to which pharmacy it came from. Then, if we ask the pharmacy owner to testify, we'll have both the witness and the evidence."
Seeing that she had successfully completed the first task that Princess Yunxi had set, Su Muxiao finally showed the first smile since she entered the room. She raised her voice and asked, "What about the second task?"
Hearing this, Princess Yunxi's expression turned solemn. Her gaze swept across Su Muxiao, who was looking forward to it, and Bai Zheng, who always had a calm face, and finally landed on a certain empty spot in front of her.
"The second task."
She said word by word.
"I want Bai Di not to become the Princess Consort of the Third Prince."
***
The small boat swayed gently as it carried Bai Zheng and Qing Shao, who had been waiting outside the room for a long time, away from the big ship.
Bai Zheng sat at the bow of the boat. In front of her eyes, the lake was sparkling. The sun was shining brightly, and it was like golden dots were scattered on the lake surface.
Qing Shao stood half a step behind Bai Zheng, taking over the role of the original boatman. She rowed the wooden oar from time to time.
After rowing for a while, Qing Shao felt a bit tired. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and watched as the golden light fell on the light - purple dress of the young girl in front of her, creating a faint halo.
The glaring light outlined her delicate and gentle facial features, but her delicate eyebrows and eyes were hidden in the shadow, making it hard to see her expression.
"Qing Shao."
Bai Zheng suddenly called out.
Qing Shao looked up at Bai Zheng upon hearing the sound.
"If you're free these evenings, do something for me."
"What is it?" Qing Shao put down the oar and blinked her eyes, waiting for Bai Zheng to continue.
Bai Zheng looked into the distance, and her expression was more solemn than ever.
It was the first time Qing Shao had seen her mistress look so serious before giving an order.
She wondered what extremely important thing she was going to be asked to do this time.
Qing Shao's heart tightened slightly.
Then she saw Bai Zheng remain silent for a long time. Finally, her cherry - like lips parted slightly, and she said slowly, "I've observed that there are quite a few mosquitoes in the grass by the lake. Go and catch a few. After Lan Xun falls asleep at night, release them into his room. Make sure those mosquitoes can bite Lan Xun."
Qing Shao: "..."
The spring wind, carrying the moisture from the lake, blew on her face. Qing Shao squinted her eyes. For the first time, she began to suspect if there was something wrong with her ears.
But Bai Zheng didn't give her much time to think. Seeing that the boat was gradually drifting to the shore with the lake waves, she got up neatly, straightened her clothes and said, "It's still early. I have something to do in Yongding City. I'll leave the mosquito - catching to you."
"Are you going alone, Miss?" Qing Shao was very worried.
Bai Zheng waved her hand indifferently and said, "Who says I'm going alone? You know that the Marquis left me a bunch of secret guards. In Yongding City, I won't be easily attacked."
Knowing that she couldn't persuade Bai Zheng, Qing Shao sighed, took off the cloak on her body, put it on Bai Zheng, and carefully put on the hat for her, burying Bai Zheng's whole face in the wide brim of the hat. Only then did she let her go.
"Then be careful, Miss."
Now that Feng Linyuan was not in Yongding, there were many people who were eager to attack Bai Zheng.
"Don't worry." Bai Zheng gave a gentle smile. As she turned around and stepped onto the shore, she didn't forget to say without looking back, "Catch as many mosquitoes as you can."
Qing Shao: "..."
As March gradually entered the second half, the days were getting longer.
This was the favorite spring evening of the people in Yongding.
The sky was still bright, but every household had cooking smoke rising, and the fragrance of the meals wafted out from time to time.
The streets were full of pedestrians walking in a hurry, rushing home.
The busier the street, the more crowded the people were.
Shouting, footsteps, and the sounds of children running and playing echoed through the streets.
"Clip - clop, clip - clop, clip - clop..."
Amidst these sounds that could be heard every spring evening in Yongding, there suddenly came an abrupt sound of a carriage rolling on the bluestone road.
Most of the people with sharp ears moved aside voluntarily, and some who didn't hear were also pulled out of the road by kind - hearted people.
Everyone looked back in unison.
There was a carriage coming from behind. The carriage was extremely large, and what was even rarer was that there were two horses harnessed in front. The two horses galloped, causing the carriage to ram left and right and move at an extremely high speed.
The coachman was completely oblivious to the surroundings, acting in an extremely arrogant and domineering manner.
Seeing the carriage, driven by the two horses, ramming around all the way and even knocking over many roadside stalls, an irascible man cursed loudly, "Are you in such a hurry to go to hell..."
"Shh!"
Before the scolding words were finished, someone kindly reminded, "Keep your voice down. Don't you even look at whose carriage it is? If he hears you, you might be the next one going to hell..."