"The North Courtyard is full of venomous snakes. Yuan Yuan suspects someone is deliberately framing us," Chu Yuanyuan said, emphasizing the word "framing" and fixing her gaze on Yan Zhao.
Chu Nian'an was, after all, a girl raised in the royal family. Although innocent, she was not stupid. Seeing Chu Yuanyuan constantly staring at Yan Zhao, it was obvious that she thought Yan Zhao was the culprit.
However, Chu Yuanyuan miscalculated one thing. The bond between her and Chu Nian'an as cousins was extremely shallow. Compared with Yan Zhao, who was also in the capital, Chu Nian'an naturally trusted Yan Zhao more. Especially Yan Zhao's wife, Ning Yuwang, was even more endearing to Chu Nian'an.
Moreover, this trip was entirely arranged by Chu Nian'an. A look of displeasure flashed in Chu Nian'an's eyes. "Fang Mountain was personally selected by this princess as a place for enjoyment. Before yesterday, I had it carefully inspected. How could there be venomous snakes?"
Chu Yuanyuan's claim that the courtyard was full of venomous snakes seemed to be an insult to her as the host.
Chu Yuanyuan was about to argue. "It's an absolute fact that there are many venomous snakes in the courtyard. Princess, look, Yuan Yuan was even bitten on the ankle."
Saying that, she took off her shoes and socks without any hesitation, revealing her fair ankle. She was always free - spirited in Huainan, and her actions were extremely natural, as if she didn't think there was anything inappropriate.
It was Chu Nian'an who frowned first. She stole a glance at Yan Zhao from the corner of her eye and saw that the latter was staring coldly into the distance. Obviously, he had no intention of looking at Chu Yuanyuan's wound.
"Chu Yuanyuan, you..." Chu Nian'an sighed and walked up to Chu Yuanyuan. Sure enough, there were two small wounds on Chu Yuanyuan's ankle, which indeed looked like snake - bites.
However... Chu Nian'an stared at Chu Yuanyuan suspiciously. "You said the courtyard was full of venomous snakes, but this princess sees that you're as lively as ever. It seems you weren't poisoned."
Chu Yuanyuan was stunned. She thought that once Chu Nian'an saw the wound, she would believe her. She never expected that Chu Nian'an, who was usually not very intelligent, would ask such a reasonable question.
"It's because there was a non - venomous green snake hidden in the quilt," Chu Yuanyuan told the whole thrilling story. But obviously, Chu Nian'an didn't fully believe her. She even suspected the reason why Chu Yuanyuan made such a fuss about the venomous snakes in the courtyard in the middle of the night.
"It's winter now. Snakes, insects, and poisonous ants have long been in hibernation. If there really were a large number of venomous snakes moving around, why didn't others report it? Why did they only go to your room? Moreover, this princess remembers that you, Yuanyuan, usually like to play with snakes and insects the most, and you even had one in your hand when you came."
Chu Nian'an almost said that Chu Yuanyuan was staging this herself.
How could Chu Yuanyuan not understand her meaning? "Princess, my snake was killed when I boarded the boat." Mentioning this, she glared at Yan Zhao angrily. If it weren't for him and Gu Xiao stopping her, she would have surely brought the murderer who harmed Xiao Hei to justice!
Chu Nian'an didn't see that Chu Yuanyuan's venomous snake had inexplicably turned into sewage. Even if she had seen it, she would only have thought that Chu Yuanyuan was being too overbearing and deserved to be punished.
Seeing that Chu Nian'an had no intention of seeking justice, there was a look of resentment in Chu Yuanyuan's eyes. She bit her lips pitifully. "If the princess doesn't want to believe Yuan Yuan's words, you can go to the courtyard with Yuan Yuan. There must still be venomous snakes in the house at this moment."
"Yuan Yuan has no other intention. It's just that if there really are venomous snakes in Fang Mountain, it's okay if only Yuan Yuan is injured. But if others are also injured, Yuan Yuan is worried that the princess won't be able to explain it to the important court officials."
All the young people who came to Fang Mountain today were the direct descendants of important court officials. Injuring any one of them might cause trouble in the future.
Chu Nian'an understood this truth. She took a deep breath and hesitated.
"What if there are no venomous snakes in Fang Mountain, Princess Yong'an?" Yan Zhao, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up, but his eyes still didn't look at Chu Yuanyuan.
"This princess is willing to stake her head. There must be venomous snakes in the house!" Chu Yuanyuan couldn't stand being doubted by him. She even raised her hand and swore.
She had seen with her own eyes hundreds of snakes attacking and biting to death Chu Bei and Chu Xi. She had narrowly escaped death with Chu Nan and had even been bitten by a green snake. The hissing sound of the snakes still seemed to be ringing in her ears, and Chu Yuanyuan shivered all over.
"The head of Princess Yong'an?" Yan Zhao sneered. "There's a shortage of a candlestick for candles in this prince's mansion. I'm afraid the King of Huainan won't be willing to part with it!"
Yan Zhao's mind was really vicious! Chu Yuanyuan's eyes widened, and she was even more convinced that Yan Zhao wanted her dead.
"Then what will it take for Prince Yan to believe this princess?"
"If there really are venomous snakes in Princess Yong'an's house, this prince will publicly apologize to the princess and will never interfere in the princess's actions again."
The hidden meaning of Yan Zhao's words was that if she was telling the truth, he would no longer stop her from dealing with Pei Yunlu and Lu Jin.
Obviously, Chu Yuanyuan understood. She rolled her black eyes. "It's a deal!"
"Don't be in a hurry." Yan Zhao sneered. "If Princess Yong'an is full of lies, then she owes this prince a promise."
A promise? Chu Yuanyuan had as many of these as she wanted. Moreover, she didn't think she would lose!
"This princess will bet with Prince Yan." She was even more eager to lead Chu Nian'an to the North Courtyard to find the snakes. "Princess, come with Yuan Yuan and you'll know."
Chu Nian'an no longer refused and followed her to the North Courtyard.
The North Courtyard was eerily quiet. The holes in the wooden windows seemed to show the thrill of what had just happened.
Chu Yuanyuan was too scared to enter the house. She shivered and hid behind Chu Nan.
Chu Nian'an was startled by her action and simply hid behind Yan Zhao. "Cousin Zhao, are there really snakes in the house?"
Yan Zhao sneered. "If there really were snakes, would they not have crawled out after half a day?"
The courtyard was clean, without any traces of snakes crawling.
"Chu Nan, go and take a look." Chu Yuanyuan pushed Chu Nan, and the latter had no choice but to obey.
He tiptoed and leaped, just like when he had saved someone earlier. He first landed on the dressing table in the room.
However, inside the room, there was no surging tide of hundreds of snakes as he had imagined. The ground was clean, with only a little moisture and two skeletons left. The skeletons should be those of Chu Xi and Chu Bei.
Chu Nan sighed silently and walked to the door. "Princess, there are no snakes in the house!"
"Impossible!" Chu Yuanyuan looked behind him in disbelief. Sure enough, the candles in the room were brightly lit, illuminating every corner clearly.
"There were definitely snakes! This princess saw them clearly!" Her face was a bit distorted, a mixture of suspicion and shock. "They must be hiding under the bed."
Chu Nan moved the big bed as she commanded, but the space under the bed was also spotless.
"Chu Yuanyuan!" Chu Nian'an's face darkened. She regretted having been soft - hearted and believing Chu Yuanyuan just now. "Tell this princess, where are the snakes?"
Chu Yuanyuan's eyes darted around. Suddenly, she pointed at the skeletons on the ground. "If the princess doesn't believe it, you can call the accompanying imperial physician to examine them. These two people were bitten to death by venomous snakes!"
"This princess has been fooled by you!" Chu Nian'an was slightly angry, but still called the imperial physician.
However, after the imperial physician's examination, he shook his head. "Your servant is incompetent. I can only detect that there is a strange drug on the skeletons. I think it was because of this drug that they lost their flesh and blood."
Taking this opportunity, Yan Zhao mocked. "Chu Yuanyuan! If you're suffering from hysteria, go back to Huainan for treatment as soon as possible!"