As if sharing a mental connection, the young girl on the ground suddenly started coughing violently.
The old woman quickly squatted down and patted her on the chest. When she looked up again, the angry expression returned to her face.
"I'm just a country woman. I don't have as many twists and turns in my mind as you, a young lady from a wealthy family. You're asking so many detailed questions. Do you want to find some mistakes in my words so you can renege on your responsibility?
Humph! Now the evidence is right here. Besides your shop, where else could I have bought this strange-looking thing called the yellow egg yolk pastry?"
"Yeah." Bai Zheng nodded very seriously and looked at her with a sincere expression. "So, when exactly did your daughter come to my shop to buy the egg yolk pastry, and when did she take that half-bite?"
Seeing that Bai Zheng kept harping on this matter, the old woman didn't try to change the subject anymore and replied, "We're originally from Ningcheng. We heard that there was a new and delicious shop in Yongding. My daughter has a sweet tooth and kept insisting on having some. My daughter and I are just a mother and daughter living alone. We did laundry for others for ten straight days before we managed to save up enough silver.
Early this morning, she dragged me all the way to Yongding. After much selection, she bought this pastry.
Poor my daughter. She held this pastry like a treasure and didn't want to eat it for a long time. If it weren't for you guys saying that this thing should be eaten while it's fresh, she might not have even been willing to eat it when she got home.
Who would have thought that after just taking half a bite, she suddenly collapsed. She curled up on the ground, rolling back and forth, crying and screaming. It really scared me!
My poor daughter... She thought she finally got to eat the treasure she had been longing for day and night. Who would have thought that she would even lose her life!
The old woman wailed a few times over the young girl. Then she looked up again, pointed at Bai Zheng, and angrily said, "I know that a cruel businesswoman like you only wants to make more money and cut costs on the ingredients. Look at these fancy things they make. Who knows what kind of ingredients they use? They've harmed my daughter like this..."
Zhu Ling was stunned.
The old woman's expression switched seamlessly between anger, sadness, and despair. Her tearful and furious appearance made Bai Zheng can't help but want to cheer for her.
Although she didn't know who was behind this, just from the old woman's quick reaction and excellent acting skills, it could be seen that the person behind must have spent a lot of effort.
Bai Zheng couldn't help but smile bitterly. For a moment, she didn't know whether she should say she admired or thanked this enemy who regarded her so highly.
The old woman's performance was extremely effective. Almost everyone started to blame Bai Zheng.
"How pitiful this mother and daughter are... How could the Marquis choose such a venomous woman to be his wife? The century-old reputation of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion might be ruined by this poisonous woman!"
"This isn't the first time she's done such a thing. A few days ago, the second young lady of the General's Mansion, her own cousin, was forced to death by her!"
"Really?! Although the second Miss Bai didn't have a very good reputation, she's still her own cousin. How could she be so cruel to her own family?"
"This is nothing! When she returned to her natal home before, the old Lady Bai was pushed into the lake by her and almost drowned! She even dared to take the lives of her own grandmother and cousin. What do our lives mean to her?"
As soon as these words were said, the onlookers were in an uproar.
This time, not only was Zhu Ling, who was always impulsive, so angry that her face turned all colors, but even Qing Zhi and Qing Shao, who were usually calm and self-restrained, looked extremely gloomy.
But Bai Zheng still looked calm, with a faint smile on her lips. She slowly asked the old woman, "It takes at least three hours to walk from Ningcheng. I suppose your daughter should have arrived at our shop around noon and took a bite of the egg yolk pastry after buying it, right?"
The old woman frowned. She wasn't sure what Bai Zheng meant by asking this question that seemed irrelevant to saving the girl's life. She rolled her eyes and replied, "We're not as particular as you. When we're out, how would we know the exact time!"
"I see..." Bai Zheng nodded thoughtfully. "So did you enter the shop after having lunch or before?"
"Of course we had lunch. As you said, it takes at least three hours to walk from Ningcheng. We naturally had to eat something to fill our stomachs. We're not like you, with a luxurious carriage and soft cushions. You can just take a nap and arrive." The old woman replied without hesitation.
Bai Zheng slightly raised her eyes. She seemed not to hear the old woman's sarcasm at all. She just asked, "So what did you eat to fill your stomachs on the way?"
The old woman snorted. "What else could it be? We're not like you, who have earned so much ill-gotten silver and can eat delicious food every day. We just ate some steamed buns and pancakes."
"Oh—"
Bai Zheng deliberately dragged out the sound. She looked up at the sun and then sharply glanced at the young girl. "I suppose you ate that egg yolk pastry around noon at least. It's still the Weishi hour now. It hasn't been long. The food you ate should still be in your stomach."
The old woman hadn't understood the meaning behind Bai Zheng's words yet, but the young girl lying on the straw mat, who had been half-awake with her eyes half-closed, suddenly opened her eyes wide.
Bai Zheng couldn't help but smile.
If it were just a small accusation like having a stomachache, it wouldn't cause much of a stir.
The best way to bring down her shop in one fell swoop was to cause a death.
But if they said there was highly poisonous substance in the food, once a person ate the poisonous thing, if they didn't get sick immediately, there wouldn't be a sufficient reason to blame her.
This logic seemed flawless at first glance, but upon closer inspection, there was a crucial problem.
Thinking of this, the smile on Bai Zheng's lips deepened.
Although the so-called remaining half of the egg yolk pastry they brought might have been tampered with, there was still a way to prove her innocence.
Since they claimed that the girl was poisoned after taking half a bite of the egg yolk pastry, it would take at least four hours for the food in her stomach to be completely digested.
Bai Zheng smiled slightly and said to the young girl, "It's not a good thing to keep the poisonous thing in your stomach. Since you said your daughter got sick after eating the egg yolk pastry, maybe if we make her vomit out the half-bite of the egg yolk pastry in her stomach, the poison can be cured?"
As soon as these words were said, the old woman seemed to understand something. She suddenly froze.
"Qing Zhi, go and help her!" Bai Zheng had already given the order.
Before everyone could react, they saw Qing Zhi quickly rush in front of the young girl. She pressed her finger on the girl's acupoint and was about to apply force.
The old woman took a big step forward. Her eyes were full of scarlet.
"What are you doing!"