Chapter 528: 528

“What is Queen Rui talking about? I don’t understand, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to explain.” Bai Family’s Madame Bai couldn’t bear to meet Wei Ruo’s gaze, her heart filled with guilt.

Wei Ruo continued, “It seems like you knew that the medicine was given to King Yu’s concubine. Was it you who administered it? You’ve harmed King Yu’s Concubine, what is your intention?”

“I…” Madame Bai was so intimidated by Wei Ruo’s gaze that her heart palpitated, “No… It wasn’t me… How could I harm King Yu’s Concubine?”

“If it wasn’t you, then how did you know King Yu’s Concubine had been given medicine? And how did you know about the man inside the Yifang Pavilion, that something would happen if he arrived late?” Wei Ruo asked.

Bai Family’s Madame Bai was left speechless by Wei Ruo’s questioning.

Madame Yun quickly stepped forward, seized Madame Bai by her clothes, and demanded, “Why did you harm my Wanwan? What are you trying to do?”

“I did not! I did not want to harm King Yu’s Concubine! I originally intended to…” Madame Bai looked at Wei Ruo, almost blurting out the truth.

“It’s a misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! The medicine was meant for me!” Madame Bai changed her statement immediately.

“For your own use?”

“My… My marital joy with my husband is a private matter and should not be discussed in public!” Madame Bai, in order to save herself, couldn’t care less about her dignity.

Better to lose face than to lose her life.

“How did the medicine end up in Wanwan’s hands then?” Madame Yun questioned.

“That… That’s because King Yu’s concubine wanted to use it… to use it on her and King Yu… You as a mother should know, the concubine is in a difficult position in the King Yu Residence and needs to find ways to win King Yu’s favor. How could I have known that an accident like this would happen out of the blue?”

Mrs. Bai’s mind was working quickly, before Madame Yun could ask again, she thought of an almost perfect explanation.

“You…you…you guys are so confused!” Madame Yun released her hold on Madame Bai’s clothes.

A sigh of relief escaped Madame Bai’s heart.

Just then, Wei Ruo spoke again: “I don’t believe that Aunt Bai is telling the truth. If that really were the case, how would you explain the man in the Yifang Pavilion? Was it a coincidence that King Yu’s concubine accidentally drank the aphrodisiac, just like the appearance of the man there was a coincidence?”

“This man was brought in to trim the plants in the Yifang Pavilion. If you do not believe, Queen Rui, you can ask the butler. He knows about these arrangements,” Madame Bai immediately retorted.

Having thought about this beforehand, Madame Bai had already prepared her excuse.

The man kneeling on the floor also quickly admitted, “Indeed, I am a gardener! I heard someone sighing in pain in the room. I thought there was danger, so I rushed in. My ladies, I have no ill intentions and I never dared to covet the noble lady’s beauty, I just wanted to save her!”

The man had been bought off early on, and even though the target in the Yifang Pavilion had changed, his excuse had been thought out well in advance.

If Wei Ruo were the one compromised today, she wouldn’t dare to publicize it, and others wouldn’t delve deeper, thus allowing the situation to be easily muffled up.

Wei Ruo laughed: “I see. So this is the ruse Aunt Bai had arranged for me.”

“What is Queen Rui talking about? I don’t understand.” Madame Bai replied, her heart filled with apprehension.

“Aren’t you wondering why it was Wei Qingwan lying there instead of me?” Wei Ruo asked.

Madame Bai was immediately shocked, her eyes wide open.

“The cup of jasmine tea you intended for me was accidentally drunk by Wei Qingwan.” Wei Ruo stated.

Lin Fang was not just skilled in disguise, her hands were also extremely quick, she easily switched the tea in front of Wei Ruo when no one was looking.

Then, she went to a corner in the garden where nobody was around, changed into Wei Family’s maid’s clothing, blended into the crowd, and when the maid who was pouring tea for Wei Qingwan was not paying attention, she poured Wei Ruo’s tea into the teapot.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Madame Bai turned her head away, no longer daring to look into Wei Ruo’s eyes.

“You can deny it, but I will get to the bottom of this.”

Wei Ruo turned and ordered: “Madame Bai of the Wei family attempted to harm King Yu’s concubine and had ulterior motives. Take her to the government office for questioning!”

What? To the government office?

The color drained from Madame Bai’s face.

Immediately, Lin Fang and Xiumei stepped forward to apprehend her.

Xiumei held Madame Bai while Lin Fang helped Wei Qingwan up from the couch.

Wei Qingwan was still dazed and allowed Lin Fang to guide her outside.

“Stop!” Madame Yun commanded in a loud voice.

She strode over to Wei Ruo: “We can’t report this to the officials. If we do, your sister’s reputation will be ruined! Not only can we not report this incident, we cannot mention it to anyone outside!”

“Without reporting the incident, we can’t find out the truth.”

“You’re ruining your sister’s future by causing such a commotion! Even if you don’t get along with her, you can’t harm her like this! You’re going to be the death of her!”

“Aunt Bai didn’t tell the truth, and I want the truth.” Wei Ruo replied.

“Absolutely not!” Madame Yun replied, her gaze tense, her expression uncompromising.

Both mother and daughter stood firm, neither willing to back down, making the surrounding servants unable to breathe in the tense atmosphere.

Just then, the Old Lady Wei, who had been notified, hurried over with the assistance of her maid.

The two guards at the courtyard gate immediately swung the gate open.

As Old Lady Wei entered, she saw servants kneeling all around the courtyard. Madame Yun and Wei Ruo were glaring at each other, unyielding, at the main house entrance.

Old Lady Wei strode to the room’s entrance, noticing Wei Qingwan inside, unconscious on the couch, her face as red as rouge, and Madame Bai pale as a sheet.

“What happened?” Old Lady Wei asked anxiously.

Both Madame Yun and Wei Ruo remained silent, so the accompanying maid Cuiping had no choice but to report the events faithfully.

“Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!” Old Lady Wei was furious.

Old Lady Wei scolded Madame Bai, “Your rambunctious behavior at home is one thing, but this involves Queen Rui and King Yu’s Concubine and you still dare to act recklessly? You fool!”

Madame Bai shivered in fear, and quickly interjected, “Mother, I was wronged, I was just trying to help the Concubine!”

Wei Ruo turned to Old Lady Wei and said, “Grandmother, there are suspicions about the incident today. I suspect that Aunt Bai wanted to drug me and arranged a man here to ruin my reputation. I want to take her to the Government Office to let them investigate clearly.”

“Please calm down, Queen Rui! There is indeed suspicion in this matter, but if this gets out of hand, not only will Madame Bai and King Yu’s Concubine get hurt, but also the entire Wei Family’s reputation! Grandmother promises you that I will have this thoroughly investigated. If Madame Bai really intended to harm anyone, I won’t let her off!” Old Lady Wei tried to mediate.

“What if I insist on doing so? Can you stop me, Grandmother?” Wei Ruo retorted.

In the courtyard, the maids who had accompanied Wei Ruo stood ready to move at her command.

All of them weren’t ordinary maids, but highly skilled individuals. They weren’t afraid of the maids and guards from ordinary wealthy households.