Chapter 3: Debut, Confrontation in Court

“Nanny Zhu, Xiao Qing, Xiao Hong,” Xia Yulin looked at the three witnesses beside her, “You said that before Eighth Sister died, I was the last and only person staying in the room with her. Therefore, only I had the opportunity to poison and kill her. Now I ask you, how much time passed between when you left Eighth Sister's room and when you returned?”

Xiao Qing said that after she brought the medicinal soup into Eighth Sister's room, she was worried the soup was too hot and bitter, so she took a half-spoonful to taste it. Since she was fine after drinking it, she was certain that the poison must have been added to the soup after she left.

Xiao Hong testified that she saw Xiao Qing tasting the soup with her own eyes, which could prove that Xiao Qing was telling the truth.

Because of the testimony from these two bastard maids, Xia Luokui had become the sole suspect with the opportunity to administer the poison.

In reality, at that time, Xia Luokui was sitting by the bedside talking to Xia Laixiang, her eyes fixed entirely on Xia Laixiang. How could she have seen what those two maids were doing by the table behind her? Perhaps Xiao Qing hadn't tasted the soup at all, or perhaps she had even administered the poison at that very moment.

Xia Yulin knew clearly in her heart that those two maids were clearly working together to frame Xia Luokui. Generally speaking, killers like to frame others, so the possibility of Xiao Qing being the poisoner was very high.

Of course, she currently had no evidence to prove Xiao Qing had poisoned her, and even if Xiao Qing had done it, she was certainly acting under someone's orders.

Nanny Zhu was old and experienced in harming people. She answered Xia Luokui's question first: “About the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.”

At this moment, she didn't take this foolish Eleventh Young Lady seriously at all, thinking only that the Eleventh Young Lady was experiencing a final surge of energy before death—a desperate, futile struggle.

Xia Yulin continued, “During that half-incense stick of time, where were the three of you?”

Nanny Zhu said, “In the rear garden hall, selecting floral hairpins for the young ladies.”

*Does the Eleventh Young Lady want to imply that we are also suspects?*

*Hmph, none of us were at the scene when the incident occurred. Who could find any suspicion against us?*

Xia Yulin said, “During that half-incense stick of time, did any of you leave the rear garden hall midway?”

The three witnesses replied decisively, “No! We absolutely did not leave for a single step! We only returned together after the hairpins were chosen.”

Xia Yulin sneered, “You three were gone for such a long time and stayed in the rear garden hall without leaving, yet the rear garden hall is quite far from Eighth Sister's room. How do you know that during that long period, no one else entered Eighth Sister's room while I remained inside?”

The three witnesses had not expected her to ask this question and were instantly speechless.

They had been emphasizing that they were not at the crime scene and had been gone for a significant amount of time, intending to completely clear themselves of suspicion. They hadn't expected to be outmaneuvered by this ignorant and incompetent Eleventh Young Lady.

Immediately, they looked at one another, wondering how to explain this.

“You were the one who said no one else entered Eighth Sister's room!” Nanny Zhu said, somewhat exasperated, “When we questioned you last night, you admitted yourself that you were the only one in the room!”

“At the time of the incident, I was indeed the only one in the room, but who saw me administer the poison?” Xia Yulin said aggressively. “Did you see it? Xiao Hong, Xiao Qing, did you see it?”

The three: “...”

Nanny Zhu reacted quickly: “We didn't say we saw you poison her; we only said you were the only person with the opportunity to do so.”

“You really are an old fool!” Xia Yulin shouted. “Who can prove that there was definitely poison in that bowl of medicinal soup? And who can prove that the poison Eighth Sister ingested was definitely in that soup?”

Nanny Zhu said, “You said that after Eighth Sister drank that medicine, she cried out in pain and vomited blood. If the poison wasn't in the soup, where else could it have been?”

Xia Yulin sneered and did not answer her, instead looking toward the Prefect. “Lord Prefect, have you identified what kind of poison Eighth Sister ingested? And do you know how she was poisoned?”

“This,” the Prefect thought for a moment, “it cannot be determined what poison Xia Laixiang ingested, only that it was extremely potent. As for how the victim was poisoned, it can be confirmed that she was poisoned after drinking the medicinal soup...”

The victim had succumbed to the poison after only a few sips of the soup. Xia Luokui had been so frightened that the soup bowl fell from her hands; the bowl was shattered and repeatedly stepped upon, causing the physical evidence to be severely damaged, making it impossible to detect what poison had been placed in the soup.

In truth, there are countless poisons in this world. Some lose their toxicity after a certain amount of time. Even if some soup remained, it wouldn't necessarily be possible to detect what kind of poison it was.

Xia Yulin interrupted him: “How can you be certain that the poison was in the soup bowl?”

The Prefect said as a matter of course, “Because the victim drank this medicine...”

As soon as he said this, he realized immediately—this girl had caught a major loophole!

Sure enough, Xia Yulin sneered repeatedly and said loudly, “After Eighth Sister fell ill, her appetite declined and she ate very little, so food was always prepared in her room—pastries, sugar cakes, preserved fruits, red dates, peaches, plums, watermelon, and so on. Xiao Qing, Nanny Zhu, is that right or not?”

This could not be denied. Nanny Zhu and Xiao Qing could only say, “It is...”

Xia Yulin said quickly, “Yesterday evening, I went to visit Eighth Sister only after I had eaten my fill. My appetite has always been very small; once I am full, I don't want to eat anything else. Therefore, after arriving at Eighth Sister's room, I ate nothing and only accompanied her in conversation, whereas Eighth Sister was chatting with me while eating snacks. Xiao Hong, you were also present at the time. Is that right or not?”

After a moment of stunned silence, Xiao Hong could not deny it: “It is...”