Chapter 4: You Say Your Piece, I'll Say Mine

"Either my aunt is an accomplice, or she is shielding the culprit!"

"An accomplice!"

"Shielding the culprit!"

Song Lan’s eerie voice, like a ghostly whisper from the depths of hell, wrapped in terror, slowly seeped into every fiber of Madam Lu’s being.

*Ah!*

Madam Lu let out a terrified shriek, her legs giving way as she collapsed to the ground. Her face turned deathly pale, as if she had seen a ghost.

Song Lan retracted the resentment she had blown into Madam Lu’s ear, a flicker of disdain in her heart.

So, those who have done too many wicked deeds are truly afraid of seeing ghosts.

The crowd did not know what Song Lan had done, nor could they see the resentment clinging to her. They only knew that after hearing Song Lan’s softly spoken analysis, Madam Lu had acted as if her darkest secrets had been laid bare, collapsing to the ground in a fit of fright.

"Look at how guilty she looks. Could that Song girl have actually hit the nail on the head?"

"That would be too vicious!"

"The Song girl’s mother was a legitimate daughter of the Xie family, a close relative."

"In the end, blood is only so thick. Human hearts... they are truly hard to fathom!"

*No, it’s not like that.*

Hearing the crowd’s whispers, Madam Lu wanted to explain.

She raised her eyes, only to meet Song Lan’s gaze—a look that was neither a smile nor a frown, filled with mockery.

Madam Lu’s heart bled with hatred; she longed to rush forward and tear Song Lan’s mouth apart.

Whether she was an accomplice or a protector, she would not end up well.

That wretched girl was trying to kill her by saying such things!

"Madam Lu, what is your explanation?"

The Princess’s majestic and suppressed angry voice came from above.

Madam Lu’s lips trembled, her voice quivering: "Your Highness... Your Highness, please investigate clearly!"

She looked at Xie Yuyao with a pang of heartache, then closed her eyes, steeling her resolve.

"I was just blinded by my love for my daughter, acting in a moment of confusion, and nearly caused a great disaster."

At this point, the only way to save herself was to abandon Xie Yuyao. Otherwise, the entire Xie family might be dragged down with her. That would be a loss that outweighed any gain.

It didn't matter if her daughter was ruined; as long as she remained the Madam of the Xie family, she could always arrange a marriage for her in a distant land. With a generous dowry, she could still live a stable and peaceful life.

But if she were implicated, Xie Shangqi would undoubtedly discard the pawn to save the chariot without hesitation, divorcing her to clear his name.

By then, without her protection, her daughter would surely suffer endlessly.

She could never rely on a man. Especially not a man who would soon marry a new love to take her place as the Madam of the Xie family.

Men in this world are mostly fickle.

With this realization, Madam Lu took a deep breath, her tone becoming much more composed.

"Your Highness is magnanimous! It is I who failed to teach my daughter well. I thought that in the past, the cousins were on the best of terms, and I never noticed she had grown jealous of Lan-jie’er. It is my fault; I was too focused on being good to Lan-jie’er, thinking that since she came from afar, she was a guest, and having lost her parents, I should be more attentive."

Madam Lu’s voice grew slightly hoarse. "But I neglected my own daughter’s feelings, causing her to be misled by some unknown person’s instigation, leading to her foolish actions today, which nearly resulted in a catastrophe."

She glanced at Zhang Chi, biting her tongue to suppress the urge to shift the blame onto him.

Zhang Chi was insignificant and not to be feared. But the head of the Zhang family behind him was Xie Shangqi’s direct superior.

Madam Lu turned her gaze back to Song Lan.

If only someone could come forward now and testify that the person who instigated this was Song Lan.

Unfortunately, none of the servants who attended to this girl were present.

Truly useless!

Song Lan, however, understood perfectly.

In just a few words, Madam Lu appeared to be admitting fault and apologizing for Xie Yuyao, but in reality, every word was meant to smear her as ungrateful and treacherous—claiming she had taken every advantage while living in the Xie household, yet remained unsatisfied.

She even hinted that she had bullied and oppressed Xie Yuyao, causing her such distress that she was driven to malice.

If she were to explain or refute this now, Madam Lu would only need to play the victim, showing a touch of tolerance and helpless indulgence, to splash dirty water onto her and make the uninformed crowd believe she was truly overbearing and tyrannical.

Song Lan sneered silently.

She had already experienced this tactic countless times in her past life.

"Clearly, Yao’er is the legitimate daughter of the Xie family."

Madam Lu whispered as if unconsciously, her voice very faint, yet loud enough for those nearby to hear clearly. Then, as if realizing she had spoken out of turn, she looked slightly panicked and hurriedly pressed her lips together, leaving room for endless speculation.

She put on a look of deep sorrow, her eyes quickly reddening. "My daughter is young and ignorant. I implore Your Highness, for the sake of a mother’s heart, to allow me to take her back, lock her in the ancestral hall, and apply family discipline. That would be, in a way, preserving a shred of her dignity."

Handling it herself was far better than handing her over to the authorities, where she might truly be charged with the crime of harming royalty.

"I will strictly discipline her so she will never again commit such acts of disharmony among kin," Madam Lu said with apparent sincerity.

With a few words, she had downgraded the grave crime of poisoning a royal relative to a minor offense of family discord.

The Princess raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping playfully over someone behind the crowd before landing on Song Lan. "What does Miss Song say?"

"The country has its laws, and the family has its rules."

Song Lan’s expression was calm. "My aunt is right; my cousin is indeed a child of only two hundred and seven months."

"The sages have said, a person’s life spans a hundred years, and education begins in childhood. Education should start from the cradle."

"Since she is a child, it is not too late to teach her now."

"Otherwise, if my cousin dares to poison someone at Your Highness’s Spring Banquet today, she will dare to enter the palace and assassinate the Emperor tomorrow."

"If she isn't punished now, she will have to endure much more in the future."

"It might even lead to the entire Xie family being implicated."

*Click, click...*

Song Lan made a throat-slitting gesture. Even though it was just a harsh, mimicked sound, it inexplicably made people feel a chill down their spines, as if their heads had truly been severed.

"My aunt is truly a reasonable and wise person."

"You are right!"

There was not a hint of mockery in Song Lan’s tone.

She bowed respectfully to the Princess. "Then I ask Your Highness, as my aunt has requested, to hand the matter over to the Jingzhao Prefecture for investigation."

"After all, my aunt herself said she couldn't teach her daughter well."

Song Lan tilted her head to look at her. "What an aunt cannot teach, naturally, there will be others to teach for you."

"Words are useless when teaching others."

"Experience is the best teacher; one lesson is enough."

Madam Lu:...

!!!

That was not what she meant at all!

What on earth was Song Lan babbling about!

The Princess chuckled, her gaze deepening as she looked at Song Lan.

This one was also a formidable and eloquent character.

She didn't mind being used as a blade. With a relaxed tone, as if a cat playing with a mouse, she said

"In that case, Guizhi, take the Xie young lady and the Zhang young master, along with the cup they used to poison the drink, and send them..."

The Princess paused slightly, her gaze falling on an inconspicuous person behind the crowd, hiding a playful smile. The words that came out were: "Send them to the palace, and ask the Emperor to issue a decree for the Jingzhao Prefecture to thoroughly investigate the matter of someone poisoning and attempting to harm a royal relative at my Spring Banquet."

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd was shocked, their breathing becoming shallow.

A thorough investigation by imperial decree—the nature of the matter had changed completely.

Xie Yuyao, hiding beside Madam Lu, rolled her eyes back and fainted on the spot.

Zhang Chi fared no better.

His face was as pale as paper, fainting only a few moments after Xie Yuyao.

"Your Highness!"

Madam Lu cried out, wanting to argue.

"What? Does Madam Xie wish to follow along to learn how to educate children and avoid such disasters?"

The Princess’s expression was cold, with a hint of suppressed anger.

Madam Lu’s face turned white as a sheet. She was left speechless by the question, yet she dared not remain silent. "This commoner would not dare, this commoner would not dare."

She held no official title; others might flatter her with the title, but she could not bear the Princess calling her "Madam Xie."

"Then are you questioning my handling of your daughter, saying she shouldn't be sent to the Jingzhao Prefecture?"

*Of course!*

Madam Lu nearly blurted it out, but her reason held firm.

She dug her nails into her palms, and with words that felt like blood dripping from her heart, she said against her will: "Your Highness is wise; your decision is absolutely correct!"

"It is my daughter who was wrong."