As wonderful as the treasure was, there was still a major problem looming.
The Princess of Jingning softly asked, "Baozhu, do you have spiritual energy?"
Do you have spiritual energy?
These words struck Shen Baozhu right in the heart. It seemed she didn't...
In an instant, Shen Baozhu looked like a wilted cabbage beaten by frost. Her little face scrunched up, clearly showing her unhappiness.
[The spiritual water bead you took the other day was completely pure. After only one day, the spiritual energy from the bead should still remain in your body.]
Fortunately, the immortal gave another hint at this moment. However, the words were so complicated that Shen Baozhu couldn't understand them.
She looked puzzled and explained to the Princess of Jingning, "The spiritual water bead I took the other day was completely pure. It's only... been one day..."
Noticing that Shen Baozhu didn't understand, the subtitle changed to another sentence: [You have spiritual energy.]
Just four short words, simple and straightforward.
This time, Shen Baozhu understood. She exclaimed in surprise, "I have spiritual energy!"
The Princess of Jingning told Qingdai to simply clean up Cuiliu and then bring her to the study.
In less than half an incense stick's time, Qingdai had finished dealing with it. She asked Hongshen to help carry Cuiliu in and then lay the person on the ground.
After the Princess of Jingning told the others to leave, she pulled Shen Baozhu and walked up to Cuiliu.
Cuiliu was lying on the ground, her whole body aching. She stubbornly stared at the Princess of Jingning, biting her lips tightly.
[Stick the truth - revealing talisman on this person's back, close your eyes, and calm your mind.]
Shen Baozhu followed the instructions one by one. Soon, she felt a warm current surging from her chest.
The warm current flowed along her arm and into the truth - revealing talisman. When the warm current completely disappeared, a layer of red light appeared on the talisman.
Seeing this strange phenomenon, Shen Baozhu became even more excited.
The Princess of Jingning also held her breath involuntarily. "Who is the master behind you?"
She waited for a long time but didn't hear Cuiliu's answer. Just as Shen Baozhu was getting anxious, the Princess of Jingning kept repeating the words "truth - revealing talisman".
After repeating it three times, the Princess of Jingning had an idea. She reached out and pinched Cuiliu's wound. "Who is the master behind you? And what's your purpose!"
The pain from the pinched wound was excruciating. Cuiliu involuntarily opened her mouth. "My young lady is Bai Xinrou. The purpose is to drug Shen Baozhu stupid!"
These straightforward and malicious words made Shen Baozhu tightly hug her mother. "Mother, they are so bad. Why do they want to drug me stupid?"
"Why?" Cuiliu sneered. "Naturally, taking advantage of your drowning, they want to make the Princess of Jingning lose her mind and go after Concubine Yun. Once she gets the reputation of being jealous, it will surely clear the way for my young lady."
Shen Baozhu barely understood a bit of what Cuiliu said. She was very dissatisfied. "If my mother is in the way of your young lady, just say so. We'll step aside. Why do they have to harm me? Big bad guys!"
The Princess of Jingning was thinking rapidly. She noticed the difference in Cuiliu's two answers. "Bai Xinrou wants to drug Baozhu stupid. But using Baozhu's drowning to slander my reputation is someone else's idea?"
"But my marriage with Shen Yunfeng was bestowed by the emperor. Even if my reputation is damaged, there's absolutely no possibility of annulling the marriage."
Cuiliu never expected to betray her young lady. She was so shocked that she even forgot to close her mouth. The truth - revealing talisman continued to work, and Cuiliu sneered, "This is the method of the marquis. So what if it's a marriage bestowed by the emperor? As long as one of them makes a big mistake, the other can ask the emperor for a divorce, and the emperor surely won't force them to stay together."
The Princess of Jingning had a bold guess. At this time, Shen Baozhu was looking at her with a confused face. "Mother, what does she mean?"
"Not very important words." The Princess of Jingning simply perfunctorily replied, then covered Shen Baozhu's ears and asked Cuiliu, "The marquis you mentioned, is it Shen Yunfeng?"
Cuiliu tried to shut her mouth, but she just couldn't control it. She could only let her mouth speak the truth in her heart. "Of course. The marquis and my young lady are a perfect match. If it weren't for you, they would have been married long ago."
Getting the answer she had expected, the Princess of Jingning felt complicated. Judging from Cuiliu's tone, Bai Xinrou should be someone she knew, but the Princess of Jingning had no impression of this name at all.
Suddenly, the Princess of Jingning had an idea. She cleverly asked, "What's your young lady's current identity?"
"My young lady is the cousin Miss Xie Xin'er who is staying in the princess mansion." Cuiliu wished she could cut off her own tongue, but no matter how hard she tried, it was all in vain.
Her mouth seemed out of control. As long as it opened, she would involuntarily tell the truth.
Using all her strength, Cuiliu finally managed to close her mouth, but she had already said all the things she shouldn't have.
Because her ears were covered, Shen Baozhu couldn't hear what Cuiliu said clearly. She only saw that the Princess of Jingning's face didn't look good. "Mother?"
The Princess of Jingning never expected it to be Miss Xie Xin'er who was staying in the princess mansion. Even her name was fake. Her original name was Bai Xinrou. Her husband and his lover were scheming, even willing to harm their own daughter just to ruin her reputation.
Remembering that it was Xie Xin'er who saved Shen Baozhu and that was why she hadn't suspected her, the Princess of Jingning asked again, "Then why did she save Baozhu?"
Cuiliu bit her lower lip and didn't want to speak. She had already noticed something strange. The Princess of Jingning had used some means. Once she opened her mouth, she would involuntarily tell the truth.
For the sake of her young lady, she mustn't open her mouth.
The Princess of Jingning saw what was on Cuiliu's mind. Her eyes turned cold, and she stepped on Cuiliu's hand.
The pain was unbearable as the fingers were connected to the heart. Cuiliu involuntarily wailed, "The young lady's original plan was to hold Shen Baozhu underwater until she fainted. But just as the young lady was holding Shen Baozhu underwater, a servant passed by. The young lady was afraid of exposing her identity, so she had to pretend that she just happened to pass by and called for someone to save Shen Baozhu."
The Princess of Jingning took a few steps back to protect her daughter. She looked at Cuiliu on the ground, her eyes getting colder. "I've been married to the marquis for many years. Everyone in the capital knows that we have a harmonious relationship. These words may not be true. In my opinion, it seems that you are deliberately fabricating lies to slander the marquis."
Cuiliu was originally scared. Hearing the Princess of Jingning doubt the truth of her words, she couldn't help but argue in her heart.
The truth - revealing talisman was still working. As she argued, the long - buried past also came to light.
It turned out that the cousin Miss wasn't a distant relative of the Old Madam Shen. She was the daughter of a convicted official. Before her family was convicted, she had an affair with Shen Yunfeng, and Cuiliu was her personal maid.
Later, something happened to the cousin Miss's family. Shen Yunfeng intervened and saved the cousin Miss who was originally going to be exiled. He also bought Cuiliu and let her continue to serve the cousin Miss.
The mistress and the maid changed their names and temporarily lived in a small alley.
Later, Shen Yunfeng found an excuse of a distant relative and let the cousin Miss enter the princess mansion. Cuiliu was arranged by him to work as a cleaning maid in the main courtyard.
The Princess of Jingning was puzzled. She wasn't a jealous person. If Shen Yunfeng had properly handled the cousin Miss's identity and then taken her into the mansion as a concubine, she surely wouldn't have stopped him, just like in the case of Concubine Yun.
The matter could have been easily solved, but Shen Yunfeng just had to take a roundabout way.
As for the divorce that Cuiliu mentioned, the Princess of Jingning thought it was even more absurd. Not to mention that it was a marriage bestowed by the emperor and difficult to change. Even if she divorced Shen Yunfeng, Shen Yunfeng couldn't possibly marry the cousin Miss as his main wife.
The Princess of Jingning's eyes darkened slightly. So what on earth was Shen Yunfeng trying to do by going to all this trouble?
As Cuiliu kept telling the truth, her face became paler and paler. Finally, she fainted. The truth - revealing talisman on her back also turned into ashes and scattered on the ground.
Thinking of the malicious love potion, the Princess of Jingning sighed in her heart. She pulled Shen Baozhu into her arms. She felt sorry for her daughter and also a bit regretful. She regretted not bringing enough poison yesterday. Now there was only enough for one person, not enough for the cousin Miss and Shen Yunfeng.