Chapter 102: Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Initially, if it weren’t for the presence of so many people, he would have already lunged forward and used his sword to behead her. All of this was because she provoked him too much!
"I apologize, Fifth Prince, but I can no longer trust the soldiers, especially when even the Young General did such a thing to Lady Liu..." Yueqian narrowed her eyes at the Young General, who still stood there with a stern face.
The Fifth Prince, upon getting the harsh fact as an answer, could not say anything. It was truly the fault of his own men, and this embarrassing incident had just happened.
Liu Sun had been sent back to the Liu family immediately because of the disgrace she caused. The Qin family couldn’t tolerate this matter either and had returned to the capital as soon as they heard the news. Only the people from major families and the young misses who had come with Liu Sun earlier insisted on staying until the bandits were dealt with.
Ah, no one believed that these ladies wanted to stay to help the soldiers. Even now, they were still staying in their place to maintain their complexion due to the increasing sunlight. If this matter ended well, they would gain a considerable good reputation, so they couldn’t retreat to the capital with the others.
The embarrassing actions of the Young General had certainly damaged his reputation and credibility quite a lot. If word of this reached the capital, even the Emperor might punish him. Therefore, the Young General needed to create an achievement quickly. Successfully dealing with the bandits in a short time would be a great, and returning with this accomplishment might turn a bad situation into a good one.
"Lady Qin, it is understandable that you might be suspicious of the Young General and the soldiers, but they were only performing their duties. You suddenly ordered the person to put an unknown medicine powder into the soldiers’ cooking pot, wouldn’t anyone suspect that? Especially after many soldiers have fallen ill and died, being cautious and suspicious is the right course of action,"
the Third Prince said seriously. Clearly, in terms of calmness and cleverness, the Third Prince surpassed the Fifth Prince. Even now, he acted as if he wanted to remain neutral, but in truth, every word he said defended the soldiers and the Young General.
"I understand the suspicion, Your Highness, but there are still strange things about this. If the soldiers were poisoned long ago, why haven’t they found the culprit yet?"
"Do the physicians not know what kind of poison affected the soldiers? Why haven’t they found the cause yet? I find their work somewhat disappointing. Therefore, my disappointment makes me reluctant to trust those responsible from the beginning."
"Furthermore, I also suspect that within the group of soldiers or the young misses from the capital, there might be a spy for the bandits. This is just an unserious thought. Considering the matter from a financial perspective, if the villagers were really with the bandits, they would at least be living better. They wouldn’t be impoverished and starving during the whole winter, would they?"
"And as for the soldiers or the young misses who rushed here as soon as they heard about the bandits, perhaps they are actually with the bandits. Otherwise... how could the food prepared by the soldiers and the young misses be so easily poisoned?"
"Just like this time when the head of food supply unit caught a villager acting suspiciously. Isn’t it strange that no one suspected or caught anyone if there had been poisoning before? Surely it must be someone who doesn’t arouse suspicion, someone familiar, right? Otherwise, who would easily allow them to meddle with the food?"
"Additionally, over 20 villagers were poisoned. If it weren’t for the same powder I had Mu Tian put in the cooking pot, those 20 villagers wouldn’t have survived. So, I can’t trust anyone. If I had informed the soldiers beforehand, wouldn’t they have dealt with me first?" Yueqian feigned great paranoia, making the Third Prince feel he should interject, but he didn’t know how, as Yueqian continued seamlessly!
"And what makes me suspect the young misses as spies for the bandits is that all 20 poisoned villagers and the sick soldiers ate food from the pot cooked by only those young misses. The pot cooked by the soldiers did not harm anyone who ate from it."
"I’ll ask directly: if it wasn’t the young misses, and if it were more cunning bandits, why would they poison just one pot? Why not poison every pot so that all the soldiers would be poisoned and die together?"
"This explains why those young misses might be in league with the bandits. They simply didn’t have the opportunity to poison. So, they could just poison one pot, the one they were responsible for."
"Afterward, the young misses accused Mu Tian of being the culprit. If she were the real culprit, wouldn’t the young misses who were cooking have noticed something wrong? No matter how you look at it... the behavior of those young misses is definitely unusual," Yueqian pressed on.
Unfortunately, the young misses from the capital weren’t present. If they were, they would surely argue back and not let Yueqian lead the situation to this point. By allowing Yueqian to speak to this point, their actions were no longer just seen as "careless" but suspicious of being "spies" working for the bandits.
Working negligently and intentionally harming soldiers because they were with the bandits, what crime came with the more severe punishment?! Even a five-year-old could tell how terrifying this was.
"Miss Qin, what you say is unfair to them. This is a very serious accusation. Poisoning soldiers and villagers to aid bandits... the penalty for this is certainly death."
The Third Prince could not silence Yueqian, or else he would be seen as being overly biased towards the ladies from the capital. As for the Young General, he never cared about the lives of others from the beginning, so expecting him to speak up was futile.
The way he had been in the military for long had shaped him into someone who, after making a battle plan, would charge straight ahead. However, when plans failed, he would accept his fate once being attacked by the enemy. This time was no different. Once he realized his plan was a mistake, he was ready to sacrifice his pawns to compensate.
It all depended on how much the victor demanded.
"In that case, why not summon them here, Your Highness?" Yueqian wouldn’t stop easily. Since she hadn’t succeeded in dragging them down to their death, this was not an end she satisfied.
"They are all quite distressed at the moment. I believe..." The Fifth Prince was against it. If they were brought here now, they could easily be dealt with in front of everyone. Besides, from what Yueqian said, it seemed very plausible.
He had known from the start that Mu Tian, the uneducated village woman, was merely a victim. But he just thought that she was a victim of the Young General. As for the ladies from the capital who accompanied them, they should have been involved, weren’t they?
"Your Highness, many villagers are distressed right now as well. If they feel unjustly treated and spread rumors..." Yueqian left her sentence unfinished, but she knew the princes would understand.
Bad rumors about the prince shouldn’t arise. Whether this matter was minor or significant to any extent, since it was a bad rumor, it could easily be used by enemies.
In terms of the prince’s sense of justice, this should not have happened. An unjust decision could easily cut off his path to becoming the next emperor. As a ruler, they must judge fairly. A bad reputation in this regard would make both nobles and the people lose trust.
In fact, Yueqian’s words seemed somewhat threatening. However, with many affected villagers around her, using his power to stop her would only make him appear desperate to hide something.
Yet, if he let it go and it turned out that the young misses had indeed done something wrong, what would follow?
That was quite frightening for the princes. Even if the young misses were children of concubines or unimportant people, behind their family names were terrifying people navigating the movement. Like smacking a dog, one must consider its owner. Letting this matter escalate would undoubtedly lead to chaos.
In their opinion, it would be better to have the authorities gradually investigate the matter. After negotiating with the ladies’ families, they could find a way out, perhaps by pinning the blame on a servant who accompanied them. Whatever they decided to do shouldn’t be too difficult.
However, if they ended this now, the outcome would likely not be favorable for them! What they needed to do was buy time, allow the people’s anger to subside, and then quietly handle the matter later. After all, these villagers weren’t educated; a few small lies and some monetary compensation, and they would soon forget.
But while the two princes were still hesitating on how to resolve the issue, the group of beautiful ladies from the capital arrived. Their faces were full of joy and relief.
Upon arrival, they quickly offered formal bows, their smiling faces a stark contrast to the fearful villagers. No one knew what had emboldened these women, making them so cheerful even in such situation.
Perhaps only Yueqian knew the reason...
"Greetings, Your Highnesses, Third Prince, Fifth Prince."
Each woman was trying to display their beauty as much as possible. If a concubine’s daughter like them could catch a prince’s favor, their status wouldn’t be so lowly like being a concubine of a noble. As a prince’s concubine, their lives wouldn’t be difficult, and they would have the honor to hold their heads high everywhere they went.
"Very well, no need for formalities." Though their cheerful faces, as if they had received a reward, made him want to smile along, he remained quite wary of Eldest Young Miss Qin ’s thoughts. Who would have thought that after having a husband, she would become so clever?
Could it be that she had always been intelligent, but she had only been focused on the Young General, so she never shows it? Whatever the truth..., the Third Prince had already decided to keep an eye on this young miss, as well as her husband, who seemed to have made this formerly foolish woman smarter.
"It’s good that you’re here. Earlier, the head of food supply unit mentioned he got the information from you, correct? The information that Mu Tian was the culprit, allowing them to catch her before she could finish poisoning?" Yueqian asked first.
She wouldn’t allow the princes to signal the young ladies to be cautious. Otherwise, the efforts of sending a person to deliver a lie to these young misses would be in vain.
"Yes, it was us," one of the women, eager to gain favor, quickly replied.
These ladies were not particularly remarkable, let alone having complex thoughts. When Liu Sun was present, she would take the lead and guide them to a better and safer path. Now, without Liu Sun, these women who had been raised as concubines’ daughters couldn’t think as quickly.
Upon hearing Yueqian’s inquiry, they responded with pride... like fools.
