Lady Miao was still in shock.
The next moment, Lan Xiang vomited a mouthful of black blood and died on the spot.
This completely confirmed Lady Miao’s suspicion.
This was Fusheng Powder!
How… how could this happen?
Although Lan Xiang had this poison, why would she use it on herself? Could it be Jiang Yu’s doing?
But Jiang Yu emerged from behind them with a panicked expression and rushed toward Lan Xiang.
“Lan Xiang, Lan Xiang, what’s wrong with you?”
Jiang Yu crouched down, shook Lan Xiang’s body, and tremblingly checked her breath. She was so frightened that she fell to the ground: “Dead? Lan Xiang is dead? Black… black blood?”
She looked at Lady Miao, her gaze frantic: “Aunt, is Lan Xiang… poisoned? She only drank my bird’s nest porridge after returning. Someone is trying to harm me!”
Hearing her words, Lady Miao’s hand trembled. Judging by Jiang Yu’s reaction, it didn’t seem like her doing.
Lady Miao soothed her: “How could that be? It must be that Lan Xiang was possessed by evil spirits. I’ll invite a Taoist priest to perform a ritual for her, and it’ll be fine.”
But Jiang Yu looked terrified.
“No, no, it’s poison. Aunt, look—her lips have turned purple. It must be poison. Nanny Gui, go report this to the authorities! Someone is trying to kill me!”
Nanny Gui responded repeatedly: “Yes, yes, I’ll go right away.”
Lady Miao was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events: “Nanny Gui, you mustn’t…”
But Nanny Gui had already scurried away.
Lady Miao frowned deeply and roared at the maids beside her: “Hurry and stop her! How can we report such a matter to the authorities? Do we still care about the family’s reputation?”
In her fury, she unconsciously tightened her grip, causing Jiang Wei to cry out in pain.
“Mother, mother, my hand hurts so much.”
After all, Jiang Wei was still a young girl at this time, lacking deep cunning. Having suddenly suffered such a severe injury, she was already panicked.
Hearing her cry of pain, Lady Miao quickly lowered her head and saw that the silk handkerchief in her hand was stained red. She immediately grew anxious: “Linglong, quickly help the young lady back to her room.”
They had come in haste and left just as quickly.
Jiang Yu brushed the dust off her sleeves and lowered her gaze.
On the ground, Lan Xiang’s body lay abandoned where it had fallen.
Jiang Yu looked at Lan Xiang’s lifeless, twisted face and faintly curled her lips.
She whispered softly: “You see, you helped them deal with me, but who among them cared about you?”
After saying this, she untied her cloak and draped it over Lan Xiang’s body: “Knowing they were using you to deal with me, how could I let you live?”
She used her hand to close Lan Xiang’s wide-open, unseeing eyes: “If I were you, I wouldn’t have come back. You go ahead first and wait for them. You’ll be reunited soon enough. Then, you can continue your master-servant bond.”
Jiang Yu stood up and slowly exhaled a heavy breath.
By the time the officials arrived, Jiang Huaiyi had only just received the news and hurried over with Lady Miao.
But by then, it was already too late.
The coroner was examining the body, and the constables were questioning the servants in the courtyard one by one.
The bowl of poisoned bird’s nest porridge had also been sealed as evidence.
Even Su Chang, the Magistrate of Jingzhaofu, had come.
Jiang Huaiyi quickly stepped forward: “Lord Su, it’s merely the sudden death of a servant. How could it have alarmed even you?”
Hearing Jiang Huaiyi’s words, Su Chang looked at him and replied stiffly: “Cases involving human life are major cases. Moreover, this Involves poisoning a Master—a subordinate assaulting a superior. Of course, I must come.”
Lady Miao hastily interjected: “It’s all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. It’s likely that girl was possessed by evil spirits. There’s no such thing as poisoning.”
Su Chang said coldly: “Whether there is or isn’t, we will determine after the investigation.”
Lady Miao was instantly left speechless. She immediately looked to Jiang Huaiyi—what should they do now?
Jiang Huaiyi shook his head helplessly.
If it were any other ordinary constable, a bribe might have smoothed things over, but this was Su Chang.
Not only was he from a prestigious family, but he had also been a renowned scholar in the capital years ago.
It was only because of his upright and unyielding nature, which made him unwilling to flatter others, that he had offended many and was demoted to a remote region for five years.
He had only recently been transferred back to the capital, making him difficult to bribe.
Jiang Huaiyi frowned and looked at Jiang Yu, who was being supported by Nanny Gui. "A'yu, quickly explain to the official."
Jiang Yu naturally knew what her dear uncle was thinking.
Unable to handle Su Chang, he now wanted to manipulate her, but how could she let him have his way?
Even if she couldn’t shake the foundations of the second branch this time, she would at least make all the servants in the courtyard see whether the second branch could protect them in a crisis.
Jiang Yu hid in Nanny Gui’s embrace. "Second Uncle, A'yu is afraid. It would be better to investigate thoroughly."
"You…"
Jiang Huaiyi took a step forward but was blocked by Su Chang.
Su Chang said coldly, "Halt!"
Jiang Huaiyi’s expression stiffened. Just as he was about to explain, he was interrupted by a constable’s call.
"Sir, we found this in the room."
A constable hurried over.
In his hand was a small pouch containing some white powder.
Jiang Huaiyi saw it at a glance, his pupils suddenly contracting. He couldn’t help but look at Lady Miao, and seeing the panic in her eyes, he knew it was her doing.
He cursed this fool inwardly!
Lady Miao had also been careless. With everyone in the household under her control, she hadn’t expected the authorities to investigate.
Su Chang took the pouch, pinched a bit of the powder between his fingers, and was about to bring it to his nose for a light sniff when the constable stopped him.
"Sir, you mustn’t. This was found in the room. The coroner has examined it and says…"
His gaze fell on Jiang Yu, who was being supported by a nanny not far away, his face filled with sympathy.
Su Chang frowned. "What is it?"
"It’s a hallucinogenic drug. In small doses, it only makes people emotionally unstable, prone to losing control and agitation."
"If the dose is large, it can cause the blood to flow backward throughout the body, leading to vomiting blood and death, just like this maid."
He lowered his voice. "This Young Lady’s bed, incense burner, and cosmetics all contain it…"
No wonder it was rumored outside that the Eldest Young Lady of the Jiang family had a violent temper, frequently beating and scolding servants, and even fighting with her sisters. The root cause was here.
This Young Lady was truly pitiful.
With such a dose of hallucinogenic drugs, it was a miracle she hadn’t gone mad by now.
Hearing the effects of the drug,
Su Chang’s brows furrowed tightly. "How utterly malicious!"
Coming from a prestigious family himself, he had witnessed many schemes in the inner courtyards.
But such a malicious method was still rare.
The constable in charge of questioning also came over, handing the recorded testimonies to Su Chang. "Sir, the servants in the courtyard gave contradictory testimonies, and their behavior is highly suspicious."
Su Chang skimmed through the records and addressed the crowd. "Based on the on-site investigation, this case is one of poisoning leading to death, and it is indeed a homicide."
He instructed the constables, "Take all the servants who attended to the Eldest Young Lady closely and those who handled the meals in the kitchen back to the yamen for further questioning."
As soon as he finished speaking, commotion erupted in the courtyard. The constables called out names one by one and escorted the servants away.
The maids and nannies who were named all turned pale with fear, looking pleadingly at Jiang Huaiyi and Lady Miao.
Once they entered the yamen, who could come out unscathed?
Immediately, pleas and cries filled the air.
"Master, Madam, save me."
"Save me, Madam."