"Y-Yue'er is referring to the person who framed her. Sister, you—you must not misunderstand..."
Facing Xu Junjun's chilling gaze, Chen Yue'er stuttered, turning to seek help from Old Madam Huo, who sat in the seat of honor.
Old Madam Huo gave a cold laugh, having no patience for further drivel from Chen Yue'er. "Bring them in. Let our dear cousin see for herself what kind of interrogation her loyal servants endured on her behalf."
Only moments ago, Chen Yue'er had been scrambling to find excuses, but Old Madam Huo’s words shattered any remaining hope, rendering her completely silent.
Mammy Li soon brought the three in. To say they were people was a stretch; they were three bloody wrecks, stripped of their features and reduced to mere human shapes. After several rounds of interrogation, Xiaocui and Xiaohong had all ten fingers broken, their eyes gouged out, and their faces so caked in blood they were unrecognizable. Yinshui, the one who had administered the poison, was now little more than a heap of mangled flesh. When the guards carelessly tossed her aside, she slumped like mud at Chen Yue'er’s feet, a pool of dark blood spreading across the floor.
Whether by design or accident, Xiaocui and Xiaohong were also tossed down at Chen Yue'er’s feet. Their blood pooled outward, staining Chen Yue'er’s white cloak. The stench of raw iron hit her like a physical blow, making her pupils tremble and her limbs go weak.
"No—it wasn't me. It wasn't me! Someone must be framing me! Someone is framing me!"
The veneer of composure was torn away completely. Chen Yue'er’s eyes widened, and she scrambled back from the three blood-soaked figures, shrieking in denial. "It’s Xu Junjun! It must be Xu Junjun! Old Madam, the one trying to poison you must be Xu Junjun, not me! Xiaocui, Xiaohong, and Yinshui—they are all Xu Junjun’s people! They’re deliberately framing me to clear her name! Old Madam, you must uncover the truth and clear my name!"
As soon as Chen Yue'er spoke, the three bloody figures on the floor began to struggle in a frenzy, as if stung. Xiaocui and Xiaohong, their faces a patchwork of dried blood, wore expressions of utter disbelief. Their gouged-out eye sockets, four gaping black voids, stared fixedly in Chen Yue'er’s direction as they strained every remaining ounce of strength to crawl toward her.
Enduring the palpitations in her chest, Chen Yue'er retreated until they could no longer touch even the hem of her skirt. Only then did she clench her fists, look up at Old Madam Huo and Xu Junjun, her eyes filled with resentment and defiance.
Seeing that Chen Yue'er was still biting back even at this point, Old Madam Huo lost all patience. She slammed her hand against the table and lashed out: "Both your personal maids have already confessed, detailing exactly when, where, and at which shop you bought the arsenic. Yinshui has also put her thumbprint to her confession, declaring that it was you who used heavy bribes and coercion to make her do your bidding. With both human and physical evidence before us, how dare you continue to lie! Do you really think we must wait for Ming'er to return and present the evidence to question you personally before you will tell the truth?"
The mention of Huo Qiming struck a nerve, hitting Chen Yue'er’s most sensitive point. She became even more agitated, shouting hysterically in rebuttal: "It wasn't me who poisoned you, it was Xu Junjun! She still has unused poison hidden in her room! She is the real culprit—why is everyone targeting me! Just because I am an orphan with no one to lean on, you think you can frame me? Old Madam, I know you dote on Xu Junjun, but such a grave matter as poisoning cannot be handled with blatant favoritism! What will you tell my aunt and uncle and Brother Ming when they return?"
"You insufferable wretch!"
Old Madam Huo was so incensed by these words that she suddenly went black in the face and collapsed backward. Xu Junjun, who was standing nearby, lunged forward to catch her. After checking her pulse and realizing the old woman had collapsed from extreme agitation and exhaustion, she ordered her to be taken to her room to rest, then stayed behind to confront Chen Yue'er.
Seeing Old Madam Huo faint, a flash of malicious satisfaction crossed Chen Yue'er’s eyes. Xu Junjun, seeing her gloating, walked over and slapped her across the face twice without a word.
With two sharp, cracking sounds, Chen Yue'er clutched her cheek, staring at Xu Junjun in disbelief. "You dare hit me! You actually dare to hit me!"
"I hit you because I wanted to. You got a problem with that?"
Xu Junjun flashed a brilliant smile at Chen Yue'er, then suddenly grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and dragged her toward Xiaocui and Xiaohong, forcing her face down into the blood-drenched faces of the two maids. The putrid stench of blood filled her nose. Catching sight of those mangled eye sockets, Chen Yue'er was struck with such horror that she began to retch.
Xu Junjun gave a cold laugh, patted her pale face twice, and sneered: "You dare attempt murder with such a pathetic stomach? Chen Yue'er, you need a few more years of training; you’re far too amateur."
Xu Junjun’s words were not physically lethal, but they were deeply insulting. Even though Chen Yue'er was terrified and revolted, a surge of angry adrenaline forced her to struggle violently. Unfortunately, in front of Xu Junjun, her strength was nothing. She was quickly suppressed again, and this time, Xu Junjun slammed her face directly into the pool of blood with a muffled thud.
As the warm blood choked her nasal passages, an unprecedented terror seized her heart. The courage she had just gathered vanished in an instant, and she stared at Xu Junjun as if she were a demon.
"You—you want to kill me?"
Seeing the murderous intent surging in Xu Junjun’s eyes, Chen Yue'er’s pupils dilated. She struggled desperately: "You—you can't touch me! I’ve been framed! No one can force a confession out of me! Besides, Brother Ming loves me most. If you kill me, Brother Ming will never forgive you!"
"Forgive me? Ha."
Xu Junjun acted as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world. She leaned in close to Chen Yue'er’s ear, whispering every word like a devil: "To me, Huo Qiming is nothing but a stray dog that can be kicked away at any time. If he were the one who had attempted to poison me, I would have slaughtered him along with you... Do you really think I care a damn about his forgiveness?"
The malice in Xu Junjun’s eyes felt tangible, leaving Chen Yue'er paralyzed and speechless, her scalp prickling with fear. Watching the terror on Chen Yue'er’s face with satisfaction, Xu Junjun released her grip on the girl’s neck and turned to Mammy Li at her side. "Mammy Li, please trouble yourself to have her bound and thrown into the woodshed. Tomorrow, Grandmother and I will personally escort her to the Crown Prince’s Mansion to make our apologies."
"As you command, Young Madam."
Mammy Li replied in a low voice, as respectful to Xu Junjun as she was to the Old Madam, as if she hadn't heard a word of the insults regarding Huo Qiming.
As Xu Junjun turned and walked away from the blood-stained courtyard, Mammy Li ordered the guards with a cold face to drag away the deathly pale Chen Yue'er and the three maids to be kept under strict guard.