Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 155 Canglan Ferry (25)

The atmosphere in the bamboo garden was tense, but Yan Zhen seemed to think the fire wasn't burning bright enough. She nestled in Pei Ji's arms, wiping away imaginary tears while adding fuel to the fire.

"Pei Lang, I'm so scared. If you hadn't been alert and discovered Mingyu's poisoning tonight, I can't imagine what would have happened if the First Madam and Aunt had brought the Jade Snow Hibiscus Cream into the palace tomorrow."

"I was born lowly and have a worthless life. If the Imperial Concubine were to punish me, I would simply die. But some people with ulterior motives are willing to stake the entire Duke's mansion on me. This clearly shows they hate you too!"

Hearing her say that, Madam Xu's face also turned ugly.

Her son was her life, and she would never allow these sordid things to involve him.

"Who else but Yan Jinhe could be so furious with you and me!" Yan Zhen said hatefully, not forgetting to glare at Yan Jinhe. "She keeps saying she's innocent, but since I entered the manor, hasn't she done a lot of things to target me?"

First, she deliberately sent me bright red clothes that concubines couldn't wear, causing me to be scolded by my aunt. Then she pushed me by the river, causing me to have a miscarriage. Now that she sees that I'm earning money for the household, is she worried that I'll take the position of the mistress of the house, and that's why she's so eager to poison me and destroy me...

Anyone with eyes and ears could guess who in this household hates me the most and who wants me dead!

These words elicited subtle expressions from everyone in the bamboo garden.

Yes, Yan Jinhe has had so many disagreements with Jiang Shi these days. The other day, Jiang Shi even bullied her to Jinxiu Garden, crying and making a scene, and managed to take away the young master who was staying there.

The matter was eventually dropped, but Yan Jinhe, consumed by jealousy and resentment, couldn't swallow her anger. She instigated her maid to poison the Jiang family, hoping to completely destroy the Jiang clan and even implicate the heir and the Duke's mansion, teaching them a lesson...

The motive, the purpose, and the opportunity are all there; it's all reasonable.

For a moment, everyone's glances at Yan Jinhe, whether intentional or not, became meaningful.

Although it cannot be said outright without evidence, the meaning is clear: it is obviously believed that Yan Jinhe was responsible for this.

Yan Jinhe felt extremely uncomfortable under the various gazes, which was even more painful than being slapped in the face. She said coldly, "Stop spreading rumors here. According to your logic, can I do the reverse? What if you instigated the maid to poison the girl and then cried wolf to frame me?"

Yan Zhen frowned: "Why would I do this?"

Yan Jinhe gritted her teeth and said, "To sow discord and make everyone doubt me!!!"

"You...you're utterly slanderous!" Having achieved her goal, Yan Zhen pretended to be unable to argue with her, and weakly and helplessly tugged at Pei Ji's collar, saying, "Pei Lang, let's report this to the authorities. The truth will be known once the authorities investigate."

Before Yan Jinhe could speak, Pei Yuanhong sternly stopped her, saying, "Enough! This matter must not be publicized!"

As long as it's not publicized, no matter how fierce or ugly the commotion becomes, it's still a "family matter" of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.

If the matter is reported to the authorities and escalates to a criminal offense, it will not only damage the reputation of the Duke's mansion, but also ruin the business of the Jade Snow Hibiscus Cream—who would dare to use a beauty cream that could potentially be poisoned?

"Since no major disaster has occurred and the person behind it cannot be traced, let's just let this matter go. We're all family, living under the same roof, there's no need to take everything so seriously." Pei Yuanhong summed up the matter in one sentence.

Although he said that, his gaze inadvertently swept over Yan Jinhe, and then said to Pei Ji, "Wangzhou, keep your woman in check. If this happens again, I will not let you off lightly!"

Pei Ji replied, "Yes, Father."

Pei Yuanhong turned and left.

As he walked out of the bamboo garden, he stopped and waited for Madam Xu to catch up before whispering, "You and Jinhe usually talk, so go and give her a word of advice. We must not let something like this happen again."

Madam Xu was also seething with anger, and the thought of her son almost being implicated filled her with lingering fear. Upon hearing this, she nodded and said, "Alright."

Inside the Bamboo Garden, after Pei Yuanhong and his wife and Madam Feng left, Yan Jinhe did not leave immediately. Instead, she looked at Mingyu, who was tied to a tree and on the verge of death, and asked Pei Ji, "What do you plan to do with this audacious maid?"

Yan Zhen retorted sarcastically, "What, you want me to hand her over to you so you can destroy the evidence?"

Yan Jinhe retorted, "Didn't the young master say that all the servants in the Duke's mansion were under my command? Now that such a big thing has happened, I can't even ask about it? Am I supposed to manage this family matter or not?"

"Alright, stop arguing!" Pei Ji spoke up at the right moment. "Father said that this matter will not be pursued any further. Let's kill this maid."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards next to him stepped forward, met Mingyu's terrified gaze, and plunged their knives into her abdomen.

Mingyu let out a sharp scream, startling a dark shadow in the tree, which rustled.

People under the tree looked up and saw a frightened black cat thrashing about in the tree before falling straight down and crashing into Yan Zhen.

Before Yan Zhen could react, a figure flashed past her. Pei Ji flew over and blocked her way, grabbing the cat's fur on its back with lightning speed and capturing it.

The cat was terrified and struggled in his hands, letting out sharp and terrifying hiss.

Pei Ji tossed it far away with a backhand motion. The cat fell to the ground, quickly got up, leaped over the wall, and disappeared into the night.

This scene left Yan Jinhe stunned.

But Mingyu was already dead, so Yan Jinhe didn't stay in the Bamboo Garden for long and left with her maids and servants.

As Yan Jinhe stepped out of the bamboo garden, she saw Madam Xu waiting outside, and her heart skipped a beat.

Madam Xu's face no longer held its usual gentle and loving expression; instead, she said quite seriously, "Jinhe, come here, Mother has something to say to you."

……

When Yan Jinhe returned to Jinxiu Garden, the sky was beginning to lighten.

Dawn will break in 25 minutes.

She sat on the daybed, lost in thought for a long time.

After leaving the bamboo garden, Madam Xu spoke to her at length, never mentioning poisoning, but every word she uttered was a reproach for poisoning her.

I wasn't mistaken; Jiang Li is indeed intelligent and not easy to deal with.

This tactic of fabricating charges was cleverly used. There was no evidence to convict her, but it indirectly made everyone in the Duke's mansion believe that she was the one who poisoned the woman, but they did not pursue the matter out of consideration for their relationship.

After this incident, she could imagine how the people in the Duke's mansion would view her in the future.

Her husband is estranged, her father-in-law is wary, and her mother-in-law no longer trusts her.

The servants in the mansion would treat her like a monstrous flood.

In this drama of wives and concubines vying for the emperor's favor, she lost completely.

But she was unwilling to do so.

She and Pei Wangzhou used to be a loving and harmonious couple, but how come everything changed after he disappeared for several months and returned?

Jiang Li's appearance not only overturned her life, but also shattered her pride and overturned her long-held belief that she was nothing special and couldn't even beat a country girl.

Disappointed to the extreme, Yan Jinhe had the idea of ​​getting a divorce for the first time.

She couldn't stay in the Duke's mansion any longer.

The thought popped into Yan Jinhe's head quite abruptly, and she recalled the scene she had witnessed in the Bamboo Garden: the Crown Prince had captured the black cat that had fallen from the sky in order to protect Jiang Li.

This shouldn't be the case—Pei Wangzhou was bitten by a cat when he was a child and is very afraid of cats.

Everyone in the mansion knows about this.

Unless, he is not Pei Wangzhou at all.