Intriguing

The man carefully considered Su Zimo's words. If he responded incorrectly, it would be a crime of deceiving the ruler. If he answered correctly, it would be an admission of their deliberate plot against Mingyue Manor. In an instant, he found himself in a dilemma.

Suddenly raising his gaze, the man looked at Su Zimo's eyes, a gleam of insight crossing his own. What did she mean by her previous words?

The man tried to grasp Su Zimo's intention.

Mu Yunxuan took a few steps forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Su Zimo. There was a faint smile on the corner of his lips, barely discernible.

"Mo'er, since the matter has become clear, there's no need to waste words with them. The imperial prison in the Haoyue Palace will make them speak the truth."

Noticing the man's hesitation, Mu Yunxuan added fuel to the fire.

"The imperial prison?" The man looked at Mu Yunxuan in horror, then glanced at his sister, who had already fainted in his arms. The imperial prison was a place they could not enter. If they ended up there, it would be a death sentence for him and his sister. Ji Yu would never let them, siblings, off the hook.

Looking at his sister, the man couldn't help but curse her for being foolish. She had been deceived by Ji Yu's words, and he had foolishly joined her in causing trouble.

Jun Lintian's gaze turned cold as he looked at Mu Yunxuan. "Yunxuan, it's quite intriguing that you bring up the royal family. You seem to have a hidden meaning?"

Jun Lintian was right. This was originally a minor case of false accusation, solely related to Mingyue Manor. However, with Mu Yunxuan's remarks, it took on a more threatening tone. Those who understood the implications would naturally think more, as true inner strength doesn't necessarily withstand more; oftentimes, it leads to self-destruction.

"Third Prince, you're overthinking. Don't forget that this gentleman just asked our Emperor to arbitrate."

There was a noticeable coldness in Mu Yunxuan's voice, especially the occasional faint smile at the corner of his lips, making people feel suppressed and wanting to escape.

Last time, due to his negligence, Jun Lintian managed to escape. It gave him the opportunity to stand here and cause trouble for Mo'er. This time, if Jun Lintian dared to scheme in secret, he wouldn't mind extinguishing him in front of everyone.

The man naturally understood the intentions between Jun Lintian and Mu Yunxuan.

"Lord of Mingyue Manor is right. I have no knowledge of the compatibility between this pill and arsenic, nor do I know how the arsenic in my sister's mouth came about. My sister may be foolish, but she wouldn't put arsenic in her mouth."

With a single sentence, he completely shifted all responsibility, making it sound as though Su Zimo had aggravated the situation.

However, the man lacked confidence, and his words didn't carry much conviction.

Su Zimo glanced at him sideways. Although she disliked getting involved in trouble, she would never allow herself to be bullied.

Su Zimo had always repaid kindness and sought revenge for enmity. So this time, she would definitely expose the mastermind, even though she could already guess who it was. She wanted that person to reveal their true colors.

The Emperor's gaze suddenly darkened, and when he looked at the man, a hint of anger mixed with the gloom. As the lofty Emperor, how could he tolerate being deceived?

The man felt the Emperor's gaze and sensed a chilling intent within.

Ji Yu, too, accompanied the ruler like a tiger. He had been by the Emperor's side for several years and understood the danger in this situation. He knew that if he exposed himself this time, all the glory he had achieved over the years would be completely destroyed.

However, at this moment, he had to remain calm. Morning mist had likely already suspected his intentions, but she had no evidence in her hands. He couldn't ruin himself or the Ji family. So even though he knew it was wrong, he had to persist forcefully, washing away any connection to these matters.

Jun Lintian's eyes darkened, and he spoke harshly again, "Su Zimo, you're enticing others. Even if there's no arsenic in the wine, you cannot escape blame. Now that someone has died in your Mingyue Wine House, Su Qi's one-sided words alone can't prove anything, can it?" Jun Lintian refused to give up. He wanted Su Zimo to fall into his hands once more. He wanted to show her that he could drag her into trouble but also save her.

Just then, Qi Lei walked out from the inner room.

"My lord, we found this arsenic while searching in the backyard of Mingyue Wine House."

Qi Lei's words stunned everyone present, and a sly smile flickered in Jun Lintian's eyes.

The smile on He Yunting's face froze instantly. He had been too focused on watching the show and forgot about what was happening behind him. Damn it, he had given Jun Lintian an opportunity.

Mu Yunxuan frowned, and everyone's attention was drawn to this revelation. Naturally, they wouldn't think about what was happening in the wine house's backyard.

Jun Lintian looked at each person with different thoughts in their eyes, then glanced at the broken bottle in the man's hand. "Father Emperor, it's evident that the arsenic was hidden on the bottle stopper. There are traces of arsenic at the mouth of the bottle."

Jun Lintian seemed to have caught the main thread, and his seemingly gentle face now had a hint of confidence.

Su Qi's eyes flashed with a chilling light. How did that guard enter the backyard, or perhaps Jun Lintian had prepared the arsenic beforehand?

The man abruptly looked at Jun Lintian, understanding already dawning on him. Jun Lintian wanted to use this incident to make it bigger. If he had no other choice, he would speak the truth, at least to save his and his sister's lives.

"Hehe..." Su Zimo suddenly laughed lightly, her slender and snowy-white fingers gently playing with a few strands of green hair on her chest.

She didn't intend to be too ruthless or excessive, but since others refused to back down and insisted on provoking her, she, Su Zimo, had no choice but to accompany them.

However, with this strike, the truth would be revealed, and perhaps many people would never have the chance to turn the tide.

She had given them an opportunity, and now, they could only blame themselves if things escalated.

Hearing Su Zimo's melodious laughter, everyone was once again stunned. They didn't understand why, in the face of Jun Lintian's furious questioning, she could still laugh so lightly and freely.

With Emperor Haoyue present and the evidence presented by Jun Lintian, no one could be as at ease as Su Zimo.

"Why are you laughing, Su Zimo?" Jun Lintian glared at her with a dark expression, her laughter inexplicably unsettling him.

"Jun Lintian, are you trying to establish a connection between this incident and the Mingyue Villa? Could it be that you are the mastermind behind all this?" Her soft voice rang out again, leaving many people shocked.

Emperor Haoyue looked at Su Zimo with a gloomy expression. This woman dared to speak like this. Didn't she know that her words could instantly destroy the heavens?

"Su Zimo, are you talking nonsense?" Jun Lintian angrily questioned. This woman must be doing it on purpose. How did he not know that Su Zimo was so cunning? A single word from her could ruin him, especially when Father Emperor was present.

"Nonsense?" Su Zimo coldly glanced at him, then suddenly changed the topic, "Since Third Prince thinks I'm talking nonsense, does that mean his words are also nonsense?"

Su Zimo's lips curled into a more enchanting smile. Didn't he know that once words were spoken, they couldn't be taken back?

Did Qi Lei really find the arsenic in the backyard of Mingyue Wine House? Was the woman who collapsed really poisoned by the arsenic he held in his hand?

She had made all the necessary preparations. Did Jun Lintian really think he could destroy her with that bag of arsenic in Qi Lei's hand?

He was being overly delusional.

"Are you so sure, Third Prince, that the woman who collapsed consumed the arsenic from your hands?"

Su Zimo's casual tone caught Jun Lintian off guard.

Qi Lei suddenly had a bad premonition. The prince had instructed him to search for evidence in the wine house's backyard. If someone wanted to frame Su Zimo, it meant that someone would tamper with the evidence. He went there and found the arsenic, but he never considered if it was the same arsenic the woman consumed.

After hearing Su Zimo's words, He Yunting's face suddenly revealed a subtle smile. How could he have forgotten about this? Momo had mentioned that food was the easiest target for manipulation. That's why Momo had made arrangements beforehand with fewer people involved. It seemed that Shaoyu deliberately let Qi Lei enter the backyard because Shaoyu was already there. If Shaoyu wanted to stop Qi Lei, he wouldn't have been a match for him.

"What do you mean, Su Zimo?" Jun Lintian suddenly felt like he was being played.

Su Zimo glanced at Jun Lintian, looking at the package of arsenic wrapped in colored paper. She had originally prepared it for Ji Yu, but it was found by Jun Lintian's men.

"Don't you know, Prince, that there are different types of arsenic? The one you have in your hand is the royal-grade arsenic, something that only members of the royal family can access. Its purpose is self-explanatory. And the royal-grade arsenic can easily be distinguished from ordinary arsenic. The arsenic the woman consumed is ordinary arsenic, something that anyone can identify. By randomly obtaining a bag of arsenic, you want to tarnish the reputation of my Mingyue Villa. Prince, don't forget, it was you who abandoned me six years ago. Now, with your actions, I'm a little confused. Are you trying to eradicate me completely?"

Su Zimo didn't intend to bring up what happened six years ago, but in order to make her point, she didn't mind mentioning it.

However, the audience didn't interpret it that way. They believed that Jun Lintian was simply unwilling to accept the fact that he had cruelly broken off the engagement with Su Zimo six years ago, and now that Su Zimo had returned and achieved success, his current actions were simply due to his dissatisfaction.

Instantly, people's impression of Jun Lintian plummeted. Various discussions criticizing him could be heard in the crowd.

Everyone looked at him with strange gazes. Jun Lintian never imagined that things would develop like this.

Ji Yu, on the other hand, felt relieved when he saw this. He didn't expect Jun Lintian's actions to provide him with more time to destroy some evidence, but he overlooked one thing—the source of the arsenic package.

Emperor Haoyue's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness. Indeed, only the royal family possessed this arsenic, and without his and the empress's approval, nobody could bring it out of the imperial pharmacy. Since he hadn't given any orders, it must have been the empress. Emperor Haoyue narrowed his eyes. No wonder she claimed to be unwell today and didn't want to go out on the streets. There was a reason behind it.

"Your Majesty, this package of arsenic was indeed found by your subordinate in the backyard of the liquor store," Qilei immediately kneeled in front of Emperor Haoyue and explained the origin of the arsenic to prevent Junlintian from suffering an unjust accusation.

Emperor Haoyue gave Qilei a sharp glance. These two fools, Emperor Haoyue cursed them in his heart!

Su Zimo sneered, "You can easily enter the backyard of the liquor store, and you can easily put arsenic in my liquor store's backyard. With only your testimony, you can't convince anyone."

Su Zimo looked at Qilei coldly. Anyone with a brain, when faced with such a situation, would try to avoid suspicion. Yet, Junlintian, this fool, was rushing headlong into it. Junlintian, I, Su Zimo, can take away all your military power and confine you to the Sanwang Mansion again. In the end, Junlintian was blinded by his own desire to win.

Suddenly, Qilei felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He looked at Su Zimo, and her words made everyone think that they had orchestrated the whole thing.

The man kneeling on the ground furrowed his brow and glanced at Su Zimo. What a scheming woman. Unintentionally, she turned a trivial matter into something that involved a prince. Even a prince of his status, in front of everyone, Emperor Haoyue naturally wouldn't protect him.

"Speak, Tian'er, how did you obtain the arsenic?" Emperor Haoyue's words solidified Junlintian's guilt.

"Father Emperor...?" Junlintian exclaimed in disbelief.

How could Father Emperor ask such a question?

"Father Emperor, Tian'er doesn't know. Tian'er only saw this woman being poisoned, so I asked Qilei to search the liquor store."

Speaking of the search, Junlintian suddenly realized why no one had stopped Qilei when he went to the backyard. Thinking of this, Junlintian sharply looked at Su Zimo. This woman did it on purpose. She had set up a trap, and whoever fell into it would be in trouble. Junlintian knew, only now did he realize, it was too late.

With slightly hesitant eyes, he looked at Su Zimo. It wasn't that he wanted to eliminate her, but that Su Zimo wanted to eliminate him. This woman was constantly looking for opportunities to ruin him.

"Father Emperor, today's matter has nothing to do with Tian'er." In front of everyone, Junlintian quickly knelt before Emperor Haoyue.

"Qingfeng," at this moment, a slightly lazy voice suddenly sounded, and everyone turned to look at Muyun Xuan.

"Yes, Holy Lord." Qingfeng had been following Muyun Xuan for many years. He naturally understood Muyun Xuan's thoughts the first time.

Qingfeng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is a jade pendant found in the backyard."

Qingfeng handed the jade pendant to Emperor Haoyue.

Emperor Haoyue took a look and saw the character "Tian" engraved on it. He realized in an instant that it was Tian'er's jade pendant, which he had bestowed upon him.

"Tian'er, do you have anything else to say?" Emperor Haoyue threw the jade pendant in front of Junlintian.

When Junlintian saw the jade pendant, he immediately looked at Muyun Xuan. Last time, when he was thrown into the Bugui Mountain, it was Muyun Xuan who did it. This jade pendant was with him that day, but when he woke up, it was gone. He thought it had fallen into Bugui Mountain, but it turned out that Junlintian had taken it. Everyone looked at Junlintian in shock. Was it really Junlintian who did it?

"Return to the Sanwang Mansion and reflect until I issue an order for you to leave," Emperor Haoyue said.

"Yes, Father Emperor. Tian'er will reflect seriously," Junlintian replied.

Su Zimo's hands involuntarily clenched. Emperor Haoyue's punishment was lenient, which could be considered reasonable.

Emperor Haoyue was experienced in judging people and naturally understood that even if Junlintian was foolish, he wouldn't be foolish enough to use the arsenic reserved for the palace to frame her. Emperor Haoyue also had doubts, but he didn't have any evidence at the moment, and the QINGGUO Festival was approaching. Naturally, he wouldn't severely punish Junlintian.

"Mingyue Manor Master, since the woman's life is not in danger and she hasn't harmed the reputation of Mingyue Liquor Store, why don't we make a big issue small and settle the matter? What do you think?" Emperor Haoyue seemed to be asking, but in fact, he was informing Su Zimo. Even if Su Zimo had other ideas, she could only keep them to herself.

"Today was supposed to be the opening day of my establishment. Naturally, I don't want to escalate the matter. Your Majesty's decision is final."

"Today was supposed to be the opening day of my estate. Naturally, I don't want to escalate the matter. Your Majesty's decision is final," said Su Zimo. She wasn't someone who didn't understand the situation. At this moment, it was best to give Emperor Haoyue a way out, or else he would hold a grudge against her. In certain situations, regardless of one's willingness, whether they were emperors, generals, ordinary people, or business magnates, they had to grasp the basic principles of survival in order to secure their position.

"Hmm!" Emperor Haoyue nodded. Today's events allowed him to have a better understanding of Su Zimo.

"Tian'er, why haven't you returned yet? How long do you plan to embarrass yourself?" Emperor Haoyue angrily shouted.

"Yes, Father Emperor. I will reflect upon myself and return," Junlintian replied. No matter how much resentment he had in his heart at this moment, he couldn't express it.

As he got up, he coldly glanced at Su Zimo, turned around, and quickly left with Qilei.

"Qilei, did you detoxify her from the arsenic?" Su Zimo knew that the matter was not yet over, and finding out the mastermind behind it was crucial.

"Yes, Mother," Su Qi nodded. He didn't want to detoxify this wicked woman in his heart, but since Mother had given the order, he had to do it.

"The Manor Master is indeed magnanimous. Not only did you not blame them, but you also detoxified them. Today, I have truly gained some insight," Muyun Zeyu said sarcastically. He cursed Junlintian for being foolish but also cleared the siblings' names for him.

Su Zimo was shrewd and knew how to handle things from all angles. With her by the Crown Prince's side, he couldn't figure out how much advantage he had. Should he let Chu Yourou make an appearance? After all, it would be beneficial to divert Muyun Shaofeng's attention!

"Thank you, King Muyun," Su Zimo whispered with a light smile. Suddenly, a soft voice echoed in Muyun Zeyu's mind, "Your Highness, Zimo never lets those who bully her off the hook. Swallow your grievances and find the root cause for a better outcome."

Su Zimo's secret message carried a deep warning. Muyun Zeyu was momentarily stunned as he looked at Su Zimo's beautiful face. The smile on the corner of his lips widened. Yes, Su Zimo, you are truly remarkable. I am privileged to be your opponent. I'm really looking forward to it.

Soon, under Su Qi's treatment, the woman slowly opened her eyes and looked at everyone groggily.

"Brother! What happened to Xinger?" Li Xinger knew immediately what had happened when she saw the situation. The plan had failed.

"Xinger, everything is fine now," Li Chenxu gently reassured her.

"Thank you, Manor Master. Thank you, young master!" Li Chenxu sincerely expressed his gratitude. He had to go back now and find out what exactly had happened.

"Mo'er, are you just going to let them go like this?" Muyun Xuan leaned close to Su Zimo's ear and asked in a voice that only they could hear.

Su Zimo glanced at him but didn't say anything. Letting them go was just to make the mastermind lower their guard and find the person behind it through this brother-sister duo.

"If your sister is weak, you should take her back to rest for now," Su Zimo said calmly. Emperor Haoyue wanted to minimize the issue, so she wouldn't prolong it any further.

"Thank you, Manor Master!" Li Chenxu stood up with Li Xinger in his arms.

"Your Majesty, I will take my leave," Su Zimo said.

"Hmm!" Emperor Haoyue nodded. Finally, the matter was resolved. No matter where that packet of arsenic came from, as long as no one died, everything could be easily resolved.

When no one was paying attention, Su Zimo released the Golden Butterfly and quietly followed the siblings.

Nalan Lixi looked at Su Zimo with admiration. If only his sister were here in the Kingdom of Lixia. With her intelligence, she would have been able to take down those villains in one fell swoop.

"Your Majesty, should we visit other shops as well?" Su Zimo sought Emperor Haoyue's opinion.

"Why not? We have ignored the unique management style of the Manor Master of Mingyue Estate today. Let's visit other businesses while we're at it!" Emperor Haoyue's gaze flickered. He didn't expect Su Zimo to suggest it, but he was interested in seeing more.

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