"Yes... yes... the cousin, she made me... make me poison the young master's clothes!"
"You vile creature, you dog slave, how dare you slander your mistress and frame me! I'll have you sold to a brothel!"
Ling Yan roared with all her might. If the old women behind her hadn't restrained her, she would have rushed forward and torn Cai Yue to shreds.
"Hold her down!"
Feng Jin slammed the table hard. As her voice landed, the old women pressing against Ling Yan suddenly exerted more force, pushing Ling Yan directly to the ground.
"Let me go, let me go!"
Feng Jin ignored Ling Yan's cries and directly ordered the old women to gag her.
"Cai Yue, let me ask you, why did you agree to Ling Yan's plot to poison? Tell me the entire incident from beginning to end."
"Madam... I... I..."
Cai Yue stammered, unable to articulate anything clearly. Her face was filled with a look of difficulty and fear.
This greatly distressed Ling Wan, who had been sitting there the whole time. She suddenly stood up, "Cai Yue, you've already made a grave mistake. Are you still going to be stubborn? No one can save you then!"
"Miss... I've wronged you, and I've wronged the Madam. This servant... this servant knows her mistake."
"Cai Yue, quickly tell us everything you know."
Ling Wan anxiously urged Cai Yue. She knew Cai Yue's character and believed there must be another reason, otherwise, Cai Yue would never have done such a thing.
"It's... it's because of this servant, this servant's... this servant's cousin in the countryside was captured by the Zhao family. If I didn't do as the cousin instructed, the Zhao family would beat my cousin to death!"
Cai Yue confessed the truth, sobbing uncontrollably, her heart filled with regret.
Ling Wan knew that Cai Yue had been betrothed to her cousin long ago and was waiting to come of age before leaving the manor to marry him.
"Eldest Sister-in-law..." Ling Wan was about to plead but was stopped by Feng Jin.
"Your cousin was captured by the Zhao family. For what reason did the Zhao family capture your cousin? They wouldn't just seize someone for no reason."
Feng Jin said with a somber tone, sensing there must be other hidden circumstances.
"This servant's cousin owed the Zhao family money through gambling and was unable to repay it. This servant used the money saved over the years to redeem him. At that time, the cousin happened to be there, and she threatened me, saying if I did something for her, they would release my cousin."
"I intended to rescue him first and then find a way to deal with it later. I didn't want to do it, but my cousin was captured again due to gambling. If I refused, they would kill him. I had no choice but to agree. Madam, Second Miss, this servant truly knows her mistake."
Cai Yue knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing, her heart filled with remorse.
However, Feng Jin did not immediately choose to believe Cai Yue but quietly ordered Lu Shi to investigate thoroughly.
"Cai Yue, is everything you've said true?"
"Madam, what this servant says is true."
Feng Jin's eyes flickered, then she turned to Ling Yan and said, "Remove the cloth from her mouth."
As soon as the old woman removed the cloth gagging Ling Yan, she began to curse incessantly, "Feng Jin, you bitch, I will not let you go, you just wait!"
"Slap her!" Feng Jin said indifferently.
Then came a series of crisp slaps. These old women were accustomed to such tasks, and each slap was delivered with full force. Soon, Ling Yan's entire face became red and swollen, and a trace of blood trickled from her lips.
Seeing that it was enough, Feng Jin raised her hand to signal them to stop, lest they injure the person too severely and make interrogation difficult.
"If you dare to speak ill again, I don't mind dirtying my hands and personally 'exercising' your bones."
Feng Jin stood up, walked to Ling Yan's side, and glared down at her with a fierce warning.
After being beaten, Ling Yan became much more subdued, lowering her head in silence, but her eyes remained as venomous as ever.
"Ling Yan, you poisoned the clothes. We have witnesses and evidence. With such conclusive proof, what else do you have to argue?"
Feng Jin took out a bottle containing poison from her怀 and directly threw it at Ling Yan's feet.
"You should recognize this bottle. It was found in your room. Do I need to elaborate on what's inside?"
"Haha... haha..."
Ling Yan suddenly burst into manic laughter, "That's right, I did it all. I had the Zhao family hold Cai Yue's cousin hostage and threatened her to poison the clothes for your child. I did all of this. I only regret that the poison wasn't strong enough to kill those two bastards. I regret even more that I didn't poison you directly. Feng Jin, it's you who deserves to die!"
The entire hall was filled with Ling Yan's heart-wrenching roars. Her face contorted, the scar on her cheek twisting like a centipede writhing across her face.
"You've truly gone mad! How could you do something so vicious!"
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Ling Muzhu would never have believed that Ling Yan could be so insane and capable of such a malicious act.
"Why are you pretending to be benevolent here? What you did before wasn't any better than me, Ling Muzhu. Do you really think you can wipe away your past misdeeds with a trip to Yingzhong Commandery? No... impossible... Ling Muzhu, what you've done can never be erased in this lifetime."
Ling Muzhu looked at the maddened Ling Yan with cold eyes and said in a deep voice, "I dare not forget the wrongdoings I committed in the past, because I want to remind myself of how much of a scoundrel I was. Everything I do now is to atone for my past mistakes. But you, you refuse to learn your lesson, repeatedly committing heinous deeds that are beyond all reason. No one can protect you!"
He had not warned Ling Yan before, but she persisted in her ways, and what surprised him even more was that Ling Yan did not spare children still in swaddling clothes.
Now, no one could save Ling Yan.
"So what? What can you do to me? Feng Jin, if you have the guts, kill me. If you kill me, all of you will not escape!"
"I will naturally not kill you, because killing you would only dirty my hands. The laws of Dong Chu will pass judgment on your actions." Feng Jin said with a somber tone, "Have Ling Yan beaten with the large board and then sent to Dali Temple."
"You want to send me to prison? I... I won't go... I won't go!"
If she were sent to Dali Temple, even if she came out unscathed, her reputation would be utterly ruined, and her life would be over.
"That is not for you to decide!"
Feng Jin slammed the table abruptly, stood up, and said with imposing authority, "Guards, take her away, beat her, and throw her into Dali Temple!"
"Feng Jin, you bitch, let me go, I am a young lady of the Ling family!"