“Tang Qingluo, get out here!” Song Shishi slammed the door so hard it shook the whole room. “Come out! Come out! If you have the guts to slander me, don’t you have the guts to face me directly?”
Bang, bang, bang—
The knocking on the door grew louder and more urgent. Tang Qingluo had no choice but to put down the ladle in her hand.
At this moment, she was in a rather bad mood.
She had originally thought Song Shishi was a clever person—but it seemed she was not.
Tang Qingluo had planned to warn Song Shishi through Qian Ge, letting her know that she already knew about her scheme.
If Song Shishi was sensible and stopped, Qian Ge’s lesson would end there—he wouldn’t target her further.
But clearly, Song Shishi hadn’t taken the warning seriously. Or perhaps she underestimated Tang Qingluo and wanted to continue with her plan.
Well, sorry. Tang Qingluo decided to strike first.
“Who slandered you?” Tang Qingluo suddenly opened the door and said boldly, “Song Shishi, everyone knows the saying: ‘If someone offers unsolicited favors, they’re either scheming or stealing.’ Ask yourself—were you truly just being kind to bring food to Qian Ge, or were you planning to use him for something?”
Being scolded like that, Song Shishi felt guilty and stammered: “W-Who… who wants to use him? I just… just wanted to kindly give him food, isn’t that okay?”
“You’re really that kind?” Tang Qingluo let out a cold laugh. “Look at you, all guilty and flustered. Stop pretending—you clearly wanted to use him.”
Song Shishi gritted her teeth and said firmly, “I didn’t! You’re slandering me. I’m just that kind, isn’t that enough?”
Tang Qingluo pressed on, shouting: “Kind? I don’t believe it. If you want me to believe you, then swear it! Swear that you have no intention of using Qian Ge, no malice toward the Xie family, or else, let Song Shishi’s face be destroyed, let her whole body rot and die—do you dare? Do you dare to swear?”
“Are you crazy? Why should I swear?” Song Shishi avoided Tang Qingluo’s piercing gaze.
“You won’t swear because you’re guilty! You have something to hide! And yet you dare say I slandered you. Then explain this—why did you bring food and drink to Qian Ge? Your family is so rich, you can’t even finish it yourselves? Why this sudden act of charity for him? Why not for the other exiled families, who have nothing? Why only for Qian Ge? And still claim you have no ulterior motives?”
Tang Qingluo’s relentless questioning hit Song Shishi like a barrage of cannon fire, forcing her to take step after step back. She was speechless, unable to refute Tang Qingluo.
Finally, she remembered the purpose of her visit and shouted angrily: “Tang Qingluo, don’t twist the facts! It was you who slandered me for poisoning! The sweet soup I gave Qian Ge is perfectly fine. Why accuse me of poisoning it?”
“When did I ever say you poisoned it? You’re the one slandering me!” Tang Qingluo pointed to Qian Ge nearby and called out: “Qian Ge, come over here for a moment.”
When Qian Ge arrived, Tang Qingluo asked: “Now that he’s here, you tell him—I said you poisoned the soup you gave him?”
“Miss Song, it’s you again! Why are you always causing trouble? What do you want this time, trouble with Madam Xie?” Qian Ge glared at Song Shishi fiercely.
“Qian Ge, I really don’t want to cause trouble. She slandered me first,” Song Shishi explained. “Qian Ge, listen to me—I really didn’t poison it. You saw it yourself, I drank that sweet soup in front of you. If anything were wrong, I would have been poisoned first. But I’m standing here perfectly fine. It’s clearly her slandering me.”
Song Shishi’s expression darkened as she continued: “Qian Ge, she’s clearly retaliating because I once gave Lan Yi a bowl of sweet soup. She holds a grudge and plans to use your methods to hurt me. Qian Ge, you have to believe me—I’m telling the truth. You have to believe me.”
Qian Ge didn’t believe Song Shishi at all. Although she had drunk the sweet soup, Tang Qingluo had warned that it was harmful only to men—not to Song Shishi.
So he said to Tang Qingluo: “Miss Song, you’re mistaken. Madam Xie never said you poisoned the soup. You misunderstood her.”
“I misunderstood her? Then why didn’t you say that earlier? You clearly said—” If that were the case, why did she come to settle scores with Tang Qingluo? She was practically walking into trouble herself.
Seeing Song Shishi act ungratefully, Qian Ge, who had initially wanted to spare her feelings, decided he had no patience left.
“Miss Song, I wasn’t going to say it so clearly, but since you insist, I will. Miss Song, your soup indeed had no poison, but your thoughts were poisonous. Wanting to get a man, you shouldn’t use such underhanded tactics.”
His words caused a stir among the onlookers, and they started pointing fingers at Song Shishi.
Unable to bear it, Song Shishi yelled at Qian Ge: “I didn’t! Why don’t you believe me? My soup was fine! Why trust her over me? I didn’t use any underhanded methods—I was just being kind and giving you a bowl of soup! I didn’t do anything wrong. Why slander me?”
Then she glared at the crowd with sharp eyes: “Why are you all looking at me like that? I was genuinely kind. Don’t believe this woman—she’s infamous for being vicious and tyrannical. Everyone in the capital knows it. Why would you trust her over me?”
After Song Shishi’s speech, the crowd fell silent.
They thought about Tang Qingluo’s past deeds and realized she indeed didn’t have a great reputation.
For a moment, they didn’t know who to believe.
Seeing this, Song Shishi was satisfied. She refused to believe Tang Qingluo’s character could convince anyone.
Just then, little Xie Wanxuan ran over, shouting: “I believe Sister-in-law!” She stood in front of Tang Qingluo, pointing at Song Shishi with her tiny finger, her voice sweet: “You’re the bad person! Don’t bully my sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, I will protect you!”
“Me too! I believe Sister-in-law! I’ll protect Sister-in-law too!” little Xie Wanning ran over to support her.
Meanwhile, Xie Lanyi was carried out by Xie Wenrui.
He spoke solemnly: “I believe my wife.”