nucmednet Chapter 222 He is 7 years older than her!
Chapter 222 He is 7 years older than her!
"You're talking nonsense! You're slandering me!"
Xiao Xiao was so excited that she tried to get up from her chair and glared fiercely at Lian Cheng, who remained calm and composed.
Su Mowan and Song Chuwen exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering slightly.
teapot……
Doesn't that imply something related to poison?
The eldest princess's gentle gaze sharpened, her brows furrowed, and her eyes turned cold as she looked at Xiaoxiao.
Faced with Xiao Xiao's agitation, Lian Cheng was not afraid. She curled her red lips and chuckled.
"I'm talking nonsense? I'm making false accusations? How am I making false accusations? All you did was bring me a pot of tea, how can you think I'm making false accusations?"
This is called admitting guilt without being asked.
Su Mowan and Song Chuwen have determined that Xiaoxiao is highly suspicious.
After Liancheng finished speaking, Xiaoxiao's face turned pale. She turned to look at Song Chuwen and Su Mowan, and shivered as she was stung by the coldness in their eyes.
But she still argued vehemently, "Lord Song, please listen to me! That day, Qingcheng and—"
"You don't need to say anything."
Su Mowan interrupted her, casually glancing at her before saying unhurriedly, "Your breathing is unsteady, your fingers are trembling, you're fidgeting with the hem of your clothes, and your pupils are constricted. You're nervous."
“Or rather, you’re feeling guilty,” the eldest princess, who had been silent until now, suddenly interjected.
Xiao Xiao's face turned pale, and fear and terror filled her eyes.
"No! No! That tea, that tea wasn't mine! I'm innocent! Lord Song—"
"Are you still going to try to deny it? I'll give you one more chance. Tell me all the details honestly."
As Song Chuwen spoke, he glanced at Liancheng across the street, indicating that she could leave.
Liancheng smiled, rolled her eyes at Xiaoxiao with a smirk, and then swaggered out.
Just then, the Seventh Princess's excited voice came from outside.
"Third brother, what brings you here?! I was just saying how wonderful it would be if you were here, you're amazing!"
The people in the room were all taken aback.
Has Murong Jing arrived?
What is he here to do?
It was the eldest princess who reacted first. She smiled gently and said to Xiaoxiao, whose face was pale, "Miss, if you don't seize this opportunity given by Lord Song, then His Highness Prince Qin will have to interrogate you personally. Think it over carefully."
Upon hearing the words "Your Highness Prince Qin," Xiao Xiao trembled and nearly slipped off her chair.
It seems that His Highness the King of Qin's name is quite prestigious.
In particular, the rumors about his violent and ruthless personality were known to almost everyone in the capital.
"I...I'll talk!"
Xiao Xiao was so frightened by the name of His Highness the King of Qin that she immediately recounted the whole story in detail.
“After nightfall, I knew Qingcheng would definitely go to Yuge to reconcile, and that would mean…”
She bit her lip, finding it difficult to speak.
"In this way, my previous plans were wasted. So I thought I would wait until Qingcheng came out before I would talk to Yuge about Qingcheng's bad points. But before Qingcheng came out, a masked person suddenly appeared behind me."
Su Mowan narrowed her eyes.
"That person told you to poison Yuge's tea and frame Qingcheng? That way you could kill two birds with one stone, right?"
"No, that's not the case!"
Xiao Xiao hurriedly waved her hand.
“There was indeed something wrong with the tea, but that person told me it would only make Yuge fall into a coma for a day! So… I put the medicine into the tea I gave Yuge.”
Su Mowan and Song Chuwen frowned, which explained why Xiaoxiao was so agitated when Liancheng mentioned the tea pot earlier, because she already knew there was something wrong with the tea.
Judging from Xiaoxiao's expression, she doesn't seem to be lying.
In other words, someone took advantage of Xiaoxiao, deceiving her by saying that the medicine would only make her fall into a deep sleep for one day, and the next day was the day when people from the palace would come to select dancers. Xiaoxiao agreed in order to stand out.
Su Mowan and Song Chuwen exchanged a glance.
Song Chuwen nodded slightly, and Su Mowan then asked, "Even so, why did you mention that Qingcheng had been to Yuge's room when the officials came the next day? Did you want to get rid of Qingcheng?"
Xiao Xiao's eyes flashed, and she stammered, "I... I'm afraid people will suspect me!"
She almost cried.
"How could anyone suspect you? You're just worried that Qingcheng will go to the palace for Prince Jin's sake, right? If that happens, your chances of getting into the palace will be slim, am I right?"
Xiao Xiao, feeling guilty and ashamed under her gaze, lowered her head, which was considered an admission.
She started to cry.
Su Mowan took a deep breath and sighed, "When I went to the Imperial Prison Temple to visit Qingcheng, she told me personally that you were her best sister in Qingchengfang. Now it seems that she misjudged people. You should take care of yourself."
After saying this, Su Mowan stood up.
She looked at Song Chuwen and the eldest princess, gave them a weary smile, and said, "I'll leave the rest to Lord Song. I believe that the trial has proven Qingcheng's innocence. I need to go to the Imperial Prison to pick her up now. I would appreciate it if Lord Song could write a verdict or give me a token."
Song Chuwen hesitated slightly, but finally said, "Very well, I will write one then—"
"No need for that. Why go through all that trouble? I'll go with you. With me as your witness, the prefect won't dare to stop you."
As the eldest princess spoke, she slowly stood up and glanced at Song Chuwen.
That glance was truly intriguing.
Su Mowan pretended not to see it.
She had foolishly asked Su Mobai if the eldest princess really liked him, but Su Mobai didn't answer her and told her to ask the eldest princess herself.
Given the current situation, there's no need to ask any questions.
She already had the answer in her heart.
Su Mowan looked at Song Chuwen and saw that he finally looked up at the eldest princess. Because he was facing away from her, Su Mowan could not see the expression in his eyes.
He said, "Then I'll have to trouble Your Highness."
He said just that one sentence, then looked away.
The eldest princess didn't mind, and with a faint, polite smile still on her lips, she replied, "It was nothing."
Su Mowan waited for the eldest princess, letting her go a few steps ahead, before following her out of the room.
After leaving the room, there were still five or six dancers in the corridor who hadn't been questioned. When they saw her and the eldest princess leave, they all bowed to the two of them.
Since none of them knew Su Mowan's identity, they simply greeted the eldest princess.
Before she could even descend the stairs, Su Mowan glanced to the side and saw Murong Jing downstairs.
Today, Murong Jing was dressed in a black brocade robe, looking extremely handsome, though cold and noble.
Before Su Mowan could look away, she met Murong Jing's gaze. Feeling guilty, she quickly pretended to speak seriously to the eldest princess beside her.
Actually, he just had a serious expression, but what he said was this: "Your Highness, isn't Minister Song about twenty-six or twenty-seven?"
The eldest princess paused slightly, tilting her head to the side with a smile in her eyes. "Not yet. Minister Song is only twenty-five. What's wrong?"
"nothing."
Su Mowan shook her head, but in her heart she was thinking, the eldest princess seems to be in her early twenties, and Song Chuwen is five years older than her, so does that mean he's an uncle?
As I was thinking this, I felt a burning gaze fixed on my face.
Su Mowan was startled, then realized: Murong Jing is the real uncle!
He was seven years older than her!
The Seventh Princess was wandering around her Third Brother when she saw Su Mowan and the Eldest Princess come down together. She excitedly called out "Sister-in-law" first.
After the two went down to the first floor, the Seventh Princess respectfully greeted the Eldest Princess, saying, "Greetings, Eldest Princess."
The eldest princess chuckled softly and agreed, then glanced at Murong Jing, who was about two zhang away, her smile widening.
"Why has Third Brother come here?"
Murong Jing withdrew his gaze from the person and said indifferently to the eldest princess, "Just passing by."
"...That's quite a coincidence, I was just passing by too." The eldest princess said, glancing at Su Mowan intentionally or unintentionally.
At first, Su Mowan thought that the children of the Yunmo royal family were ordered together by gender, but later she learned that they were ordered separately.
Crown Prince Murong Wei is the second son, Murong Jing is the third son, Prince Chu Murong Jin is the fourth son, Prince Jin Murong Xuan is the sixth son, and there are also the seventh and eighth princes.
As for the eldest prince, it is said that he died young. And the fifth prince is someone who cannot be mentioned.
The eldest princess, Murong Xuan, was already of marriageable age, but she refused to leave the palace. The sixth princess died at the age of eleven, and the four princesses in between were of similar age and had already married.
Instead of leaving the palace to establish her own residence and choose a husband, she was directly married off.
The second princess, in particular, married far away to Dongli and is now the esteemed Crown Princess of Dongli.
As for the Seventh Princess, she will soon be fifteen and of marriageable age, which is also the time for her to get married.
Before Su Mowan could speak, the Seventh Princess grabbed her arm and shook it, blinking her eyes as she said, "Sister-in-law, my Third Brother has been here for ages, why don't you go over and say a word?"
Just then, the eldest princess also cast a teasing glance her way.
Su Mowan immediately felt her face burning up.
Unfortunately, Murong Jing over there also heard the Seventh Princess's words and said naturally, "Seventh Princess, this is not the manor, don't act recklessly."
"..."
Does that mean you can act recklessly in the mansion?
Su Mowan didn't know how Murong Jing could say such a thing without changing his expression. Or was it that people with facial paralysis had this advantage by nature?
The headmistress came alone, without anyone by her side. After exchanging greetings, she learned that the group was about to leave, and quietly asked Su Mowan if there had been any progress on the case.
Seeing how worried she was, Su Mowan reassured her that the case would be closed soon.
Upon hearing that the case could be closed, the headmistress's face lit up with joy. Before she could ask any questions, Su Mowan said, "Qingcheng is alright. I'll go to the Imperial Prison Temple to bring her back right now."
"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Your Highness!"
The supervising nanny tried to lower her voice, but it still reached their ears clearly.
The Seventh Princess didn't see anything wrong with it. In her opinion, Su Mowan would definitely become the Third Prince's primary wife; it was just a matter of time.
Su Mowan felt a little guilty.
To put it bluntly, she is suspected of coveting the position of princess!
So she quietly turned her head to look at the eldest princess. Seeing that the eldest princess was calm and composed, as if she had not heard the words "princess" at all, Su Mowan breathed a sigh of relief and then shifted her gaze to Murong Jing in the distance.
Murong Jing was looking at her with a gloomy expression. When she finally looked at him, he blurted out, "Aren't you coming over? Do I have to come and invite you myself?"