Chapter 103: Chapter 103
Chapter 103
"Is that so? In that case, could you recount the suspicions that made you suspect that Mu Tian was poisoning the food?" Yueqian continued her questioning.
"Of course. It all started before the soldiers fell ill from the poison. At that time, we were preparing food to distribute, and Mu Tian suddenly came in acting all secretive. After that, many soldiers fell sick. So, I informed the food supply unit to be cautious. Who would have thought she would be so bold as to try poisoning the food again only shortly after the previous time?" One of the ladies said, as if she wanted to claim that this achievement was hers.
The others began to chime in as well. They certainly would not be willing to miss this opportunity to earn merit.
"Ever since Mu Tian walked in asking about this and that, I suspected she wasn’t normal, so I kept an eye on her from the start."
"She looked untrustworthy. Just seeing her shifty eyes, I could tell she was a spy for the bandits."
The more they spoke, the more they boasted about their own capability, which made Yueqian want to laugh.
"Really? So, you all knew from the beginning that she was untrustworthy, right?" Yueqian summarized once again.
"Yes, didn’t you see how suspicious she looked?" The woman asked confidently.
She assumed that Yueqian wanted to help them make Mu Tian responsible for the crime since Mu Tian had spoken like she was not get along with Yueqian the previous time, even hurling insults. Seeing Yueqian turn the tip of the sword against Mu Tian now, they naturally thought the same way.
"Yes, she was indeed untrustworthy. So, since Mu Tian was so suspicious... you didn’t let her meddle with the food at all, right?" When Yueqian said this, some of them began to hesitate because their actual intention was to use Mu Tian as a scapegoat.
"Uh, about this, even though she was suspicious, we were busy preparing the food, so we couldn’t watch her every move," some of them started to stammer.
It seemed they couldn’t backtrack now. They had just been boasting about their intelligence, but now it felt like the previous question was a grave dug for them.
Moreover... the ladies were confused. They were bewildered by the relationship between Yueqian and Mu Tian. Were they enemies or not? Why were such strange questions coming from her mouth?
Even though it seemed like she was subtly insulting Mu Tian of being untrustworthy, if they thought about it carefully, it sounded like she was defending Mu Tian, implying she didn’t poison the food.
Naturally, by the time they started to suspect this, Yueqian had already completed her plan. The beauty waved her hand lightly; it was time for her to summarize everything.
"From what I’ve heard, it seems you were all busy preparing the food yourselves. That is a very clear conclusion." Yueqian let out a wicked smile. She looked at the Third and Fifth Princes, ignoring the Young General who was glaring at her intensely.
"Clear? About what?" murmured a now-embarrassed lady, but Yueqian didn’t even glance at her.
"Your Highness, Third Prince, I think it’s quite clear now that Mu Tian wasn’t the one who poisoned the soldiers the first time. She didn’t poison the soldiers at all. And it is the truth that the young misses were in charge of the food. So, according to the suspicion I have mentioned, this matter should be thoroughly investigated," Yueqian looked at the Third Prince, knowing he had the most decision-making power among those present.
"Miss Qin, we must thank you for your opinion. This is a serious matter affecting many people, so it must be considered carefully. As for this matter, justice will certainly be served for the villagers, as we almost punished you all due to a misunderstanding."
The Third Prince spoke calmly, but Yueqian sensed he wanted her to take a step back.
Facing someone of such high status, Yueqian knew that despite her desire to push further, she was now alone without much bargaining power. Moreover, now she was no longer the Eldest Young Miss Qin engaged to the Young General, she couldn’t afford to be more aggressive.
Otherwise, if they saw no other way out, they might simply send people to become bandits the next day and massacre the entire village. Then, this issue would come to an end, and it would be the end that brought them even more prestige.
Bandits capable of slaughtering an entire village must be considered capable. However, if the soldiers, led by the two princes and supported by the Young General’s help in managing, managed to defeat them in the end, it would be seen as a great accomplishment when reported to the Emperor.
Therefore, Yueqian knew when to advance and when to retreat. She had already saved the villagers from the death and unintentionally saved Mu Tian from being executed. It was time to end the matter.
Additionally, her goal was to make the villagers aware that while they could trust the kingdom’s officials, nobles or even soldiers, they must also remain vigilant. Otherwise, they would surely face such an incident again.
"I must thank Your Highness, the Third Prince, for your mercy. After this, I hope you can reveal the truth, as the villagers are still terrified about it," Yueqian looked at the villagers who had come with her. They didn’t even dare to speak.
Firstly, because the fear. Since they had almost been executed on charges of being bandit accomplices. Secondly, they were not used to speaking with royalty. Raised to have a kind of belief that passed down through generations, the belief that they were far beneath nobles and royals, even uttering a word was difficult.
Seeing her demeanor, the Third Prince let out a long sigh, which was all an act. He sighed because he felt relieved that Yueqian still left him, the Third Prince, some face.
"Of course, I will help and seek the truth. Soldiers... distribute my personal funds to the villagers—one gold coin per family as my apology.” Upon hearing this, the villagers’ eyes widened. Those who had been bowing their heads now lifted them almost in unison.
"Is... Is it true?"
"Third Prince, sob, sob, thank you. Third Prince."
"Long live the Third Prince, may you live ten thousand years." Many villagers, knowing they would receive such a large amount of money, knelt and prostrated themselves.
For the prince, one piece of jewelry was worth tens of thousands of gold taels. For a few hundred villagers, and considering families, there were no more than 80 families. This wasn’t a significant amount for him, but for the villagers, this amount of money was immense.
Some families wouldn’t make this much even if they sold their children.
Yueqian watched their reactions and could only sigh. After receiving the money, would they still remember that they had nearly lost their lives? But it didn’t matter... If they couldn’t realize this, she had no intention of helping them again in the future. Everyone should... choose their own path in life.
As for her, she would only use people she could trust.
The beauty glanced at the group of over 30 people who had stood up for her earlier, remembering them. In the future, if she had any job, she would rely on them and pay them generously.
After receiving the money, the matter was considered resolved. Mu Tian was released and almost cried while praying to the heavens. Unfortunately, she didn’t even thank Yueqian for stepping in to help in this matter. But Yueqian didn’t care.
The women from the capital, after thinking their plan had succeeded, they spent their time relaxing away from the sunlight. Who would have thought that within just a few days after they got to relax, they would be confined to the soldiers’ tents as suspects?
It was said that the soldiers would report the matter to the capital, notifying their families to discuss how to resolve it. This was a significant event for the capital.
Yueqian was the only one happy with this situation. Although she felt a bit sorry for the story’s heroine, Liu Sun, whom she demoted the status of her reliable allies. Initially, they should have been famous as female benefactors, but now their reputations got tarnished and became the suspected of either being involved with the bandits or being so negligent that they allowed soldiers and villagers to be poisoned, resulting in hundreds of illnesses and even some deaths.
The young misses’ reputations had plummeted to the lowest point. Their families would likely not keep them, even if they managed to spin the story to eliminate the impact on the family’s reputation. The men they would find for these young misses to marry would certainly not be a good one.
Previously, they were informants supporting Liu Sun. In the future, even their food conditions won’t be as comfortable. Instead of having time to help their friend, they would have to focus on their own survival. This made Yueqian confident for one thing, Liu Sun’s diminished power would alter the storyline.
But then what?
Previously, she did everything to make people follow the original novel’s path, but the outcome turned out like this. While others were playing out of character, if she continued to cling to the script she had read, wouldn’t she ultimately be the one to fail?
As for this matter, after the Third Prince finished ordering the confinement of the people and the distribution of money to the villagers, Yueqian wanted to separate from the villagers and return to rest. She still owed thanks to the people from the Art Institute for their assistance this time. Even though the thank you was in the form of a "high-end wine" worth tens of thousands per bottle.
While it cost tens of thousands in a department store, its price couldn’t be estimated in this world because Yueqian never intended to sell it generally. Even if they offered millions of gold coins, they couldn’t buy it. Not even the Emperor could taste it.
This was all to elevate its psychological value. The harder it was to obtain, the more people would desire to possess it!
“A’Heng’s wife, I must thank you for this.” Grandfather Xian, who had just been able to breath comfortably, said earnestly as he approached Yueqian. Behind him were members of the Mu family and children waiting as well. Although Mu Tian didn’t want to thank Yueqian, she still stayed as her parents instructed.
Moreover, the gazes of her elder siblings and other sisters-in-laws were fixed on her, as if they were angry. At this moment, Mu Tian didn’t dare to say anything. She knew she was at fault, guilty of greed for accepting two silver taels despite knowing that the person who told her to poison the soldiers harbored ill-intention.“If it weren’t for Qian’er, our Mu family wouldn’t have survived.” Grandmother Zhu was the same. When someone has done her such a favor, her heart naturally valued Yueqian even more. Thus, the Mu family changed their perspective, now seeing Yueqian as their benefactor.
