tallest building

Chapter 86 Refusing to Plead Guilty

Gong Xu sat down again, but was still indignant.

Madam Gong then asked Sang Er, "Are you telling the truth this time? Or are you afraid of physical pain, which is why you said that?"

"Madam, I dare not lie, it really is so," Sang Er said, sobbing. "The truth will eventually come out, and I am not made of iron, so I have no choice but to tell the truth honestly."

“Then tell me everything from the beginning, without omitting anything,” said Madam Gong. “None of us here are fools. If you’re making this up, there will definitely be flaws in your words.”

“To tell you the truth,” Sang Er said, kneeling up straight, “it’s because Concubine Song is pregnant and she calls the doctor every few days. Also, Master always goes to Concubine Song’s place and rarely comes to Madam’s.”

We, the servants of the lady, all felt that Concubine Song was too spoiled and pretentious, and that she was dominating the master. We felt very sorry for the lady.

That day, the old lady invited our wife over for soup, and our wife then told me she wanted to teach the young mistress a lesson. She asked me if I dared to do it.

To show my loyalty to the lady, I said that I would do whatever she asked me to do.

The lady said she would persuade the old lady to send a bowl of soup to Aunt Song as well, and asked me to find a way to stop the person who was supposed to deliver the soup.

Then they gave me a packet of medicine powder and told me to sprinkle it into the soup bowl when no one was looking.

I asked what kind of medicine it was. The lady said it was a mild laxative. Aunt Song would get diarrhea after taking it, so it would be a way to make things difficult for her.

The servant girl didn't think much of it and took the medicine powder.

Later, I stopped Sister Meizhi on the way and took the opportunity to sprinkle the medicine powder into the soup bowl..."

"This is called poisoning, do you understand?!" Gong Xu pointed at Sang Er and questioned, "What has the young mistress done to you that you would do this to harm her!"

"Master, I really...I really thought it was just a mild laxative. If...if I had known it would be this strong, I would never have dared to do it, even if you killed me!" Sang Er cried loudly in fear. "I deserve to die! I deserve to die! But I really didn't know..."

"Mother, things have come to this point, shouldn't we call Wen Mingqian over?" Gong Xu suppressed her anger, feeling as if her chest was about to burst with rage.

"Sigh, we have no choice but to call her." Old Madam Gong said helplessly, "Let's hear how she explains herself!"

Wen Mingqian had already gone to sleep but was woken up again; it was already very late at night.

The room of Old Madam Gong was brightly lit, and Meizhi and Sang Er were kneeling on the ground.

Gong Xu stared intently at him with bloodshot eyes, as if he were looking at an irreconcilable sworn enemy.

Wen Mingqian calmly met his gaze, and couldn't help but recall the scene from seven years ago.

Back then, I felt wronged and heartbroken, but now all that's left is indifference.

"What did the old lady call me here for?" Wen Mingqian stepped forward and asked slowly.

"Sang Er said that you instructed her to put medicinal powder in the tonic soup that Meizhi sent, but is that true?" Old Madam Gong rubbed her temples wearily.

Wen Mingqian remained unmoved upon hearing this, merely glancing at Sang Er and saying, "That's not true, Sang Er is talking nonsense."

"Wen Mingqian, Sang Er is your maid. How can you escape responsibility for her drugging you?" Gong Xu sneered angrily. "Master, if that's the case, then I am your wife. If I did something shameful, wouldn't you also be responsible?" Wen Mingqian countered with a question.

"In these seven years, your skin has grown thicker and thicker." The goodwill that Gong Xu had developed for Wen Mingqian over the past few days vanished because of this incident, and his hatred even deepened. "In this family, you are the only one who didn't want Xiulian's child to be born. If it wasn't you, who else could it be? Besides, you already have a criminal record!"

"Is that really what you think, sir?" Wen Mingqian sneered.

"Of course! It's all my fault for still having a sliver of hope for you. If I had known you were so hard to change, I shouldn't have let you come back!" Gong Xu spoke from the heart. He hated Wen Mingqian's ruthlessness and also hated his own indecisiveness.

"Does the master not listen to my explanation?" Wen Mingqian lowered his eyes, completely concealing his emotions. "Just like seven years ago, you don't believe anything I say."

"How dare you say such things?! You resented Xiulian for giving birth to my eldest son and were determined to get rid of her. Now that you hear Kang'an's spirit is restless and Xiulian wants him to be reincarnated, you naturally feel disgusted." Gong Xu's mind flashed back to the image of Song Shi suffering, scene after scene as vivid as if it were right before his eyes. "You killed Xiulian's two children, are you a venomous snake reincarnated?!"

"Master, have you ever considered that I might be innocent?" Wen Mingqian asked, but his tone revealed no grievance or sadness, only calmness.

"You've been framed? Who framed you?" Gong Xu laughed as if he'd heard a joke, but the laughter was short and filled with hatred.

"My lord, how much do you really know about me? Although we have been married for ten years, you have never truly trusted me."

"Wen Mingqian, could it be that I, Gong Xu, burned incense in my past life to be married to a jinx like you in this life!" Gong Xu was full of regret and frustration. "You always put on this aloof act, but you always use despicable methods! What has Xiulian ever done to wrong you? Why do you keep hurting her like this!"

"Madam, I'm tired, I don't want to argue anymore." Wen Mingqian sighed deeply. "Let's go to court and let the authorities investigate! Otherwise, I won't admit it!"

After saying that, Wen Mingqian turned and drifted away.

"She...she was so rude! You all saw it, how arrogant this bitch has become?!" Gong Xu was shocked that Wen Mingqian had actually left. Who gave her the audacity?!
“It’s late, and the old lady can’t hold on any longer. Why don’t we call it a day?” Gong Rang said. “I know you’re worried, but you also need to consider the old lady’s health.”

"Anyway, she's here, she can't run away." Old Madam Gong was truly exhausted. "Go check with Concubine Song again to see if she's been brought under control."

"Then we must find out the truth about this tomorrow." Although Gong Xu was unwilling, he had no choice but to comply with the old lady's wishes.

"I really can't hold on any longer. Let's leave it at that and talk about everything tomorrow." Old Madam Gong waved her hand, and Madam Wei and the maid quickly stepped forward to help her up.

"Please let the old lady rest!" Gong Rang said. "Second brother, let's go out first."

"Brother, we must not let that wicked woman get away with this time!" Gong Xu said to Gong Rang as they walked out the door.

“Then don’t act impulsively. The more serious the matter, the more cautious we must be,” Gong Rang said. “Right now, we only have one maid’s statement. Why don’t we question her properly tomorrow and make sure we don’t wrong your sister-in-law.”

Gong Xu didn't say anything, but in his heart he was already convinced that Wen Mingqian was the one who did it.

He returned to Song's room, where Song had taken her medicine and was fast asleep.

Looking at Song's bloodless face, he felt utterly pathetic.

He had promised Mrs. Song countless times that he would protect her for the rest of his life, but instead, he caused her to suffer the pain of losing her child time and time again.

A single lamp flickered on the table, obscuring most of Gong Xu's face in darkness. He knew he had to be ruthless.

(End of this chapter)