Poisoning?!
Hearing this, Honglu was suddenly jolted. Her pupils constricted and she rushed to Yun Xi's side in a hurry. Tears welled up in her eyes and her voice was filled with sobs.
"Miss! You're not going to die, are you?"
She had just watched the miss take the medicine from this porcelain bottle with her own eyes, and it was even she who had fed it to her!
After learning about what had happened at the birthday banquet of the old lady Yun, she had been careful enough about the maid Dingxiang on a daily basis. She couldn't figure out when Dingxiang had poisoned the medicine!
Honglu looked extremely sorrowful, but Yun Xi reached out and grabbed Honglu's arm. She quickly winked at her and said coldly,
"Fortunately, I discovered it in time and vomited out the medicine. Otherwise, I would have been dead by now!"
"Honglu, I really have to thank you for this! If you hadn't told me that Dingxiang had been lurking around the yard furtively these days and that you even saw her enter my room, I wouldn't have been able to detect anything strange in time!"
As the saying goes, a clear conscience fears no accusation.
Ever since Dingxiang came to this yard, she had always been on tenterhooks and fidgety. During her leisure time, she would walk around the yard. In fact, it was an unconscious act to relieve her anxiety. But now, Yun Xi was using this against her.
"Miss! I didn't poison it!"
Dingxiang didn't expect the retribution to come so quickly. However, she knew that she was being wronged!
"If it wasn't you, then who was it? There are both witnesses and physical evidence. Do you still want to quibble?"
"Do you want me to hand you over to the Jingzhao Prefecture and let you suffer the ten most torturous punishments in prison before you tell the truth?!"
Yun Xi's eyes were cold, which made Dingxiang tremble with fear. Thinking of the torturous methods in prison, she quickly crawled and knelt at Yun Xi's feet. Tears welled up in her eyes anxiously.
"Miss, I'm innocent! I don't know who wants to frame me, but I really didn't poison the medicine. Please believe me!"
"I'm still young. Please spare my life!"
If she had known that framing the eldest miss would end up like this, she would never have taken such a risk!
Now, her life and death were in the hands of the other person. Whether she was guilty or not, as long as the master said a word, she would only have a dead end!
At this moment, Honglu had received Yun Xi's message and quickly understood what was going on from her daze. Immediately, she stepped forward and slapped Dingxiang hard twice.
"You want the miss to spare your life? Did you ever think that the miss was also young when you poisoned her?"
"The miss has no grudges against you and has always treated you well. How could you be so vicious?!"
Honglu was indignant, but Yun Xi grabbed her hand. She changed the topic and said coldly,
"Honglu, she naturally has no grudges against me. But it doesn't mean that she won't be used by others."
"A few days ago, Concubine Jiang wanted to take this maid back from me, but I didn't agree. I didn't expect that she would be so eager to poison me so soon!"
Yun Xi stared sharply at Dingxiang's stunned expression and said in a chilling tone,
"Dingxiang, you should know what Concubine Jiang wanted you back for, right? I've saved you twice, but this is how you repay me?"
Dingxiang suddenly woke up and felt extremely uneasy. Her body began to tremble like a sieve.
A long time ago at the old lady's birthday banquet, she had been instructed by Concubine Jiang to secretly tear up the birthday gift that the eldest miss had given to the old lady, so that the eldest miss would be publicly criticized and punished by the old lady!
However, her plan had failed and she had been exposed by the miss. Not only did the miss turn the tables and be praised by everyone, but Concubine Jiang also bore a grudge against her because of this! Every time the miss avoided seeing Concubine Jiang, Concubine Jiang would beat her to vent her anger.
She never thought that even after she had moved out of the mansion with the miss, Concubine Jiang still wouldn't let it go. She actually wanted to get rid of her to silence her?!
How vicious she was!
"Miss, I know who poisoned you. It must be Concubine Jiang! She ordered someone to poison you and even wanted to frame me. She wanted to kill two birds with one stone!!"
Dingxiang crawled on the ground and hugged Yun Xi's leg tightly, pleading bitterly,
"Miss, I really didn't harm you. Please believe me!"
Honglu was stunned to hear this, but Yun Xi snorted,
"I can believe you, but it depends on whether you can seize this opportunity."
Hearing this, Dingxiang's eyes suddenly brightened and she said firmly,
"I'll follow all of the miss's instructions! I'll do anything, even if it means sacrificing my life!"
Looking at Dingxiang's expression of being ready to die, Yun Xi said after a long while,
"Okay, I'll believe you this time. If you dare to play any tricks again, not only Concubine Jiang, but even I won't let you go!"
So, with Dingxiang's earnest assurance, Yun Xi quickly gave a few instructions. Dingxiang was stunned at first, then nodded seriously,
"I'll definitely accomplish what the miss has told me!"
After saying that, she resolutely left the yard and headed straight for the Prime Minister's Mansion.
After Dingxiang left, Honglu bent down and picked up the unbroken porcelain bottle on the ground. She put it back into the box and looked at Yun Xi with a puzzled expression.
"Miss, shouldn't our top priority be to go to the Jingzhao Prefecture or ask Lady Zhen for help? What can you let Dingxiang do in the Prime Minister's Mansion?"
Honglu had thought about many things just now, but she really couldn't figure out the connection.
Yun Xi sighed and rubbed her forehead,
"Yuzhu and Zhen Bao were implicated because of me. Naturally, I'm extremely anxious. But the more this is the case, the more I have to remain calm and not act rashly! Otherwise, it won't only be of no help, but will also cause more complications!"
She had to sort out the context first before she could find the root cause and break through it in one fell swoop.
Letting Dingxiang go to the Prime Minister's Mansion as bait was to avoid arousing suspicion and was also the fastest way to make the fish take the bait for now!
Thinking of this, Yun Xi instructed Honglu,
"Honglu, you go and find Zhao Chunsheng in person right away. Ask him to bring a few trustworthy people here and disguise themselves as hooligans. They will be needed for the plan later."
Honglu was completely confused, but seeing Yun Xi's expression was beyond doubt, she quickly nodded and said,
"Yes, miss. I'll go and do it now!"
On this side, Honglu left the yard. On the other side, Dingxiang had already arrived at the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion. She clasped her hands together, turned around and took a deep breath. After stopping her body from trembling, she walked forward.
"What are you doing?"
A young servant guarding the gate suddenly blocked Dingxiang's way.
Although he recognized Dingxiang, because Concubine Jiang had given instructions in advance, he had stopped Honglu just now and now he was stopping Dingxiang. It was obvious that he didn't want anyone from Yun Xi's side to enter the mansion today.
Dingxiang frowned and there was no trace of fear on her face. She scolded the servant angrily,
"Before you stop someone, don't you even open your dog eyes to see who I am! I'm the lady's maid. If you delay me from reporting something important to the lady, be careful that your head will fall off!"
The servant was half - believing and half - doubting after being intimidated by Dingxiang. Seeing this, Dingxiang became anxious. Remembering what Yun Xi had told her before, she walked up to the servant and whispered,
"The lady's plan has worked. The eldest miss probably won't be able to escape now. It doesn't matter whether you stop me or not."
Seeing the servant looking hesitant, Dingxiang knew that he was almost convinced. She continued to press on,
"Or do you want me to tell you the lady's plan too?
"Don't blame me for not warning you. Knowing too much can be detrimental. If the lady pursues this matter, it has nothing to do with me."