Deep in the night, near the woodshed.
"You're here, you're finally here," Xiang'er said, forcing open a crack in the tightly locked woodshed door and speaking to the dark figure standing outside.
"How is Mrs. Fang?" The dark figure ignored Xiang'er's words and asked about Mrs. Fang inside the woodshed.
"She just had a fit and finally fell asleep. I'm so scared, I want to get out," Xiang'er said.
"Idiot!" The dark figure coldly reprimanded, "You can't even keep your composure for this long and you want to follow me?"
Xiang'er showed a distressed expression. "You know I'm timid. I'm even more scared when I think there's a dead person here. Please, find a way to let me out tomorrow, alright?"
"Don't worry, Madam Zhen has taken responsibility for everything. If nothing unexpected happens tomorrow, you'll definitely be able to leave," the dark figure said. He looked through the crack at Mrs. Fang lying inside and added, "Remember, I don't want to see her awake tomorrow."
"Yes, yes!" Xiang'er nodded quickly.
The dark figure casually took something from his embrace and tossed it through the door crack into the woodshed. "This should be enough for you for the night."
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At the same time, in Lu Wuxie's room.
Zhong Li sat at the round table, looking at Xiang Jie opposite her.
"Madam is asleep now. You can speak. Why were you in the heir's room last night? Who exactly asked you to put the blister beetle poison in the heir's room?" Kuai Shu Ge
Xiang Jie suddenly knelt on the ground with a 'plop', looking at Zhong Li opposite her with tears streaming down her face.
Logically, Lu Wuxie should have been the one to ask. Because Xiang Jie was a woman and had served Madam Liang for many years, he had given Zhong Li enough face to handle this.
"It was Xiang'er," Xiang Jie said.
Upon hearing the name, Zhong Li pondered for a moment and asked, "Why did you do it?"
"It was I, sob sob... it was my greed that led to this great mistake today... sob sob... fortunately, fortunately, the heir discovered me early, so I didn't make another mistake."
Yesterday, Xiang Jie, under the guise of bringing snacks to Lu Wuxie, had prepared the blister beetle poison to frame him. Fortunately, Lu Wuxie was perceptive. A mere glance from him exposed her.
Afterwards, she found Zhong Li, threw away the blister beetle poison, and replaced it with a spring water, preparing to catch a turtle in a jar, which led to today's scene.
"What do you mean by 'great mistake'?" Zhong Li had a feeling she was getting close to the truth.
"Qie Te Cao," Xiang Jie said.
Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie exchanged a glance.
Lu Wuxie, who had been lazily resting his arm and looking at Xiang Jie, now straightened his body slightly, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Xiang'er gave Grandmother Qie Te Cao."
"No, no, no!" Xiang Jie waved her hands repeatedly. "It was I, I used Qie Te Cao."
"She gave you Qie Te Cao? What did she mean by that?" Lu Wuxie continued to ask.
Xiang Jie sobbed a few times, barely managing to stop crying. "A year ago, Xiang'er found me and said she had a rare tea for me to try, saying it was imported.
I wasn't wary and used it. At first, I didn't feel anything. But over time, I found that I couldn't do without it. So, I asked Xiang'er for it every day. At first, Xiang'er gave it to me, but later she started asking for money.
I had saved quite a bit of money over the years with Madam Liang in the Xie family, but money always runs out. Moreover, the money Xiang'er asked for increased day by day. So... she asked me to do things for her."
"Do things? Besides this incident with the heir, what else?" Zhong Li understood upon hearing this. So, Xiang'er was controlling Xiang Jie with Qie Te Cao.
Xiang Jie glanced fearfully at Lu Wuxie and stammered for a long time, saying, "Steal... steal Madam's dowry."
"So, if you hadn't stolen anything, Madam's dowry would have been enough to repay Qi Shui Shui, and you wouldn't have even needed to use that heirloom bracelet on her arm?" Zhong Li asked.
"Yes!" Xiang Jie said, her face full of self-reproach.
Lu Wuxie, who could tolerate much, turned cold when he heard this. His beautiful peach blossom eyes were covered with a layer of frost. "Lin Jin!"
"Heir!" Lin Jin cupped his fist.
"If Qi Shui Shui gets the money, she definitely won't be at Bai Yan Lou anymore. Go find her. Even if you have to turn Jinzhou upside down, find her."
"Yes!"
Lin Jin walked out of the room. Zhong Li looked at Xiang Jie opposite her and asked again, "Besides asking you to steal Madam's dowry, what else did Xiang'er have you do?"
Xiang Jie froze, lowering her head and not daring to speak.
"Xiang Jie," Zhong Li looked at the timid little maid opposite her and sighed. "If I'm not mistaken, Madam probably knows you stole her things."
Xiang Jie looked up at Zhong Li, a hint of shock in her eyes.
Zhong Li continued, "Although Madam is detached from worldly desires, it doesn't mean she knows nothing. The reason she didn't expose you is certainly out of consideration for your years of dedicated care for her.
Xiang Jie, Madam acting this way is no different than how she would treat her own daughter. Do you understand what an heirloom means?"
"I... I... sob sob..." Xiang Jie covered her face and cried, her tears wetting her collar.
After a while, Xiang Jie's emotions stabilized. She said, "Xiang'er gave me Qie Te Cao and asked me to put it in Madam's tea."
Just as I suspected, Zhong Li thought.
"However," Xiang Jie's tone shifted, "I didn't do it. Madam is weak and her mental state is already poor. If I did that, wouldn't I be killing Madam?"
"Then, where did you put that Qie Te Cao? Or did you use it all yourself?" Zhong Li asked.
Xiang Jie nodded. "I used it myself."
After she finished speaking, she slowly lowered her head, as if in repentance.
Zhong Li looked at her and, after some thought, decided to ask the question, "Xiang Jie, do you know that Master has also been taking Qie Te Cao?"
"What? Master..." Xiang Jie exclaimed upon hearing this, covering her mouth with an expression of disbelief. "I don't know, how could Master..."
"According to my examination of Xie Xu's corpse, Xie Xu suffered severe mental distress due to excessive consumption of Qie Te Cao. His body showed severe malnutrition, and I also suspect he might have had other hidden ailments," Zhong Li said.
Xiang Jie took a deep breath upon hearing this. "I only know that Qie Te Cao was given to me by Xiang'er. As for anything else, it seems someone else is controlling Xiang'er to do things. As for who that person is and what their purpose is, I really don't know.
Ever since Master moved back from Jincheng, the Xie mansion has been reclusive. The Xie family believes they haven't offended anyone. Who would want to do this?"
"Perhaps because of me," Lu Wuxie said after a long silence, as soon as Xiang Jie finished speaking.
Zhong Li turned to look at him.
She had a vague feeling that he knew many things, including that Xie Xu's death was within his expectations.