"Yes... yes... the young lady, she made me... make me poison the young master's clothes!"
"You vile wretch, you dog! How dare you slander your mistress and frame me! I will have you sold to a brothel!"
Ling Yan roared in agony. If it weren't for the old women holding her down from behind, she would have rushed forward and torn Caiyue to shreds.
"Hold her down!"
Feng Jin slammed the table forcefully. As her voice fell, the old women behind Ling Yan exerted sudden strength, pressing Ling Yan to the ground.
"Let me go, let me go!"
Feng Jin ignored Ling Yan's cries and directly ordered the old women to gag her.
"Caiyue, let me ask you, why did you agree to poison him? Tell me the whole story, from beginning to end."
"Madam... I... I..."
Caiyue stammered, unable to explain clearly, her face filled with difficulty and fear.
This made Ling Wan, who had been sitting there the whole time, extremely anxious. She suddenly stood up, "Caiyue, you've already made a grave mistake. Are you still going to be stubborn? No one can save you!"
"Miss... I'm sorry to you, sorry to Madam. This servant... this servant knows her mistake."
"Caiyue, quickly tell us everything you know."
Ling Wan anxiously advised Caiyue. She knew Caiyue's character and was sure there must be another reason, otherwise Caiyue would never have done such a thing.
"It... it's because of this servant. My... my cousin in the countryside was captured by the Zhao family. If I didn't do as the young lady instructed, the Zhao family would beat my cousin to death!"
Caiyue sobbed as she revealed the truth, her heart filled with remorse.
Ling Wan knew that Caiyue had been engaged to her cousin long ago and was waiting to come of age to leave the mansion and marry him.
"Sister-in-law..." Ling Wan was about to plead when Feng Jin stopped her.
"Your cousin was captured by the Zhao family. For what reason did the Zhao family capture your cousin? They wouldn't just seize someone for no reason."
Feng Jin said with a somber tone, believing there must be other hidden circumstances.
"My cousin owed their Zhao family money due to gambling and had no way to repay it. I took the money I had saved over the years to redeem him. The young lady happened to be there at the time and threatened me, saying that if I did something for her, she would release my cousin."
"I thought I'd save him first and then find a way to deal with it. I didn't want to do it, but my cousin was captured by them again due to gambling. If I didn't agree, they would kill him. I really had no choice but to agree. Madam, Second Miss, this servant truly knows her mistake."
Caiyue knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing, her heart full of regret.
Feng Jin did not immediately choose to believe Caiyue but asked Lu Shi to investigate discreetly.
"Caiyue, is everything you said true?"
"Madam, what this servant has said is not false."
Feng Jin's eyes flickered for a moment, then she looked at Ling Yan, "Take the cloth out of her mouth."
As soon as the old woman removed the gag from Ling Yan's mouth, she began to curse uncontrollably, "Feng Jin, you slut, I will not let you go! You wait!"
"Slap her!" Feng Jin said lightly.
Then came a series of crisp slaps. These old women were accustomed to such tasks, and each slap was delivered with full force. Soon, Ling Yan's entire face was red and swollen, with a trace of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.
Seeing that it was about enough, Feng Jin raised her hand and signaled them to stop, lest they injure the person too badly, which would make interrogation difficult.
"If you dare to speak profanely again, I don't mind dirtying my own hands to help you loosen your bones."
Feng Jin stood up, walked to Ling Yan's side, and warned her fiercely from above.
After being beaten, Ling Yan became much more subdued, lowering her head and remaining silent, but her malicious gaze never diminished.
"Ling Yan, you poisoned the clothes. There are witnesses and evidence. The evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to argue?"
Feng Jin took out the bottle containing the poison from her怀 and threw it directly at Ling Yan's feet.
"You should recognize this bottle. It was found in your room. Do I need to say more about what is inside?"
"Haha... haha..."
Ling Yan suddenly laughed wildly as if she had gone mad. "Yes, I did it! I made the Zhao family hold Caiyue, that slut's cousin, hostage and threatened her to poison the clothes you made for your child. I did all of this! I only regret that the poison was too little and didn't kill those two bastards. I even more regret not poisoning you directly. Feng Jin, you are the one who should die!"
The entire hall was filled with Ling Yan's heart-wrenching roars. Ling Yan's face was contorted, and the scar on her cheek twisted, like a centipede winding across her face.
"You've truly gone mad! How could you do something so malicious!"
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Ling Muzhu would never have believed that Ling Yan could be so insane and capable of such a wicked deed.
"Why are you acting so self-righteous here? You weren't any better than me before. Ling Muzhu, do you really think that after going to Yingzhong County, you can erase everything you've done? No... impossible... What you've done, Ling Muzhu, can never be offset in this lifetime."
Ling Muzhu looked at the deranged Ling Yan coldly and said in a deep voice, "I dare not forget the evil deeds I've done before for a moment, because I want to remind myself how much of a scoundrel I was. Everything I do now is to compensate for my past mistakes. As for you, you refuse to change, repeatedly committing evil deeds that are outrageous. No one can protect you!"
He had warned Ling Yan before, but she still went her own way, and what surprised him even more was that Ling Yan didn't even spare the child in the cradle.
Now, no one could protect Ling Yan.
"So what? What can you do to me? Feng Jin, if you have the guts, kill me! If you kill me, none of you will escape!"
"I will naturally not kill you, because killing you would only dirty my hands. What you have done will be judged by the laws of Dong Chu." Feng Jin said in a deep voice, "Have Ling Yan flogged with a large board and then sent to Dali Temple."
"You want to send me to prison? I... I won't go... I won't go!"
If she were sent to Dali Temple, even if she came out unharmed, her reputation would be completely ruined, and her life would be over.
"That is beyond your control!"
Feng Jin slammed the table abruptly, stood up, and said with imposing authority, "Guards, take her away, flog her, and throw her into Dali Temple!"
"Feng Jin, you slut, let me go! I am a young lady of the Ling family!"