The clingy concubine ran away, and the sickly prince lost control.

"Aunt Luo, you've ruined me."

Although he didn't know how the medicine returned to his body, he was certain that it was related to Luo Qingyan.

I took a bite of the ginkgo.

"What evidence do you have? We came out because we heard the servant shouting, and that's when we saw this disgusting scene."

Luo Qingyan's gaze was sharp.

In the evening, when Yinxing brushed past her, his arm seemed to accidentally touch her waist, but in reality, he placed something on her waist.

Normally, she might not have noticed, but today Amber reminded her that Ginkgo and a servant were acting suspiciously.

That's why she paid more attention.

As expected, Cui Rou and her servant came for her.

Then she retaliated in kind, making Amber and the others put the things back on Ginkgo.

It's speculated that it's an aphrodisiac; if left on the body for a certain period, the person will experience the effects of the drug.

"Aunt Luo, do you leave any evidence of what you're doing? Everyone in the manor knows that you're jealous of my young lady, jealous that she's the young master's fiancée, so you want to harm her and replace her. Wasn't my young lady your original target?" Yinxing clutched her chest and cried.

Luo Qingyan's face turned cold. What a clever tongue to spout nonsense! She then curled her lips into a smile: "You went crazy at the entrance of Linfeng Residence just to frame me? If I had done it, I would never have let you go crazy at Linfeng Residence."

The old lady's lips moved slightly.

"Anyway, Ginkgo is the victim. Aunt, someone must dislike me and wanted to harm me, but Ginkgo took the blame for me."

Cui Rou tugged at the old lady's sleeve and pleaded.

Could it be that Luo Qingyan discovered something amiss and put the medicine back on Ginkgo?

"Then who do you think wants to harm you?" the old lady asked coldly.

She managed the household affairs and the inner quarters for twenty years, and there was never a scandalous incident of servants engaging in incestuous relationships.

Cui Rou's eyes darted around a couple of times before she pointed at the servant and asked, "Was it you?"

As she spoke, she gave the servant a meaningful look.

The servant understood immediately, lowered his eyes and rolled them around: "Miss Cui, it wasn't me, it was, it was Aunt Luo. She said that Ginkgo is your capable maid and needs to be eliminated, so she asked me to drug Ginkgo and embarrass her. As long as I cry for help, I won't be held responsible, and Aunt Luo will give me a hundred taels of silver as a reward. This will also get rid of Ginkgo."

He was genuinely frightened by Ginkgo's crazy behavior when he called for help.

It was supposed to be Aunt Luo opening the door and rushing towards him, but instead it turned into Ginkgo.

He was both confused and scared, and instinctively cried out.

Even though the plan didn't work out, Cui Rou will still pay off his gambling debts if he points out Aunt Luo.

He's not actually interested in women; he just has a penchant for gambling.

"Luo Qingyan, what else do you have to say?" Cui Rou said sternly.

"I didn't do it, and I certainly didn't harm the ginkgo trees." Luo Qingyan raised her head and sat down in the courtyard, wanting to listen to what was happening outside.

Amber had already told her that it was this servant boy, and that if he dared to come and was caught on the spot by Yuan Qing, he could be identified as Cui Rou.

Unexpectedly, this servant was so obedient to Cui Rou, and even turned around and bit her.

"Aunt Luo, please don't deny it." The servant knelt on the ground, then shifted his knees slightly. "Madam, Miss Cui, I was momentarily bewitched. Please forgive me. You can even sell me off. I really didn't touch Miss Yinxing. She's innocent."

As long as Cui Rou helps her pay off her gambling debts, she doesn't care about being sold off; it's just a matter of changing masters.

"Aunt Luo, what do you have to say?" The old lady's expression was serious. She didn't think it was Luo Qingyan; Luo Qingyan was favored by Yuan'er, and doing these things wouldn't do her any good. But Cui Rou and Yinxing were different. They treated the servants rudely in the mansion. Had one of the servants drugged Yinxing?

Luo Qingyan was speechless and bowed solemnly to the old lady: "Old Madam, I did not do it. This servant is talking nonsense."

"Aunt Luo, you can't abandon me. I'm not a lecherous man, I was forced into this by you." The servant kowtowed repeatedly, but the next moment Yuan Qing grabbed him by the hair and lifted him up, taking out a paper package from his bosom.

"What is this?" Pei Shiyuan's chilling voice came from behind Luo Qingyan.

"You were acting suspiciously this afternoon, following Aunt Luo to the lotus pond. We all saw it. Tell us the truth!" Yuan Qing shouted sternly.

Cui Rou's legs went weak, and she staggered backward. Pei Shiyuan knew what was happening.

Luo Qingyan pursed her lips. Had Pei Shiyuan discovered that she had asked Amber and the others to embroider ten purses?

The servant looked miserable. Pei Shiyuan had been staying indoors all day since he fell ill, so it was his bad luck that he knew he was following Consort Luo. "It was Miss Cui. Yinxing would drug Consort Luo. I just need to wait at the door, and when the drug takes effect, Consort Luo will open the door to find me."

"Your Highness, I didn't know that the final ingredient was ginkgo. I'm not a womanizer, and I really didn't touch the ginkgo. Please forgive me! I've told you everything I know. I'm a gambler, and Miss Cui promised to pay off my gambling debts after this is done."

Yinxing's face was ashen. Pei Shiyuan never cared about the affairs of the inner courtyard, yet now he even knew that Aunt Luo had gone to the lotus pond. All the true feelings Miss had for him had been wasted.

"Men, sell Ginkgo and this servant boy," Pei Shiyuan said coldly.

"Cousin, Ginkgo has been with me for many years, please don't sell her off." Cui Rou knelt directly in front of Pei Shiyuan.

"Cousin, you are the mastermind. What right do you have to plead for others? You tried to tarnish Aunt Luo's reputation. You should be sent to the Jingzhao Prefecture."

"Yuan'er, I'll handle the affairs of the inner quarters," the old lady replied.

Pei Shiyuan ignored the old lady: "Cousin, if you don't want to go to Jingzhao Prefecture, then go back to Qinghe!"

He preferred that Cui Rou return to Qinghe, go to Jingzhao Prefecture, be punished, and then return to the Duke's Mansion.

Cui Rou should go back and sober up.

In his final days, he wanted some peace and quiet, but Cui Rou continued to stay in the Duke's mansion, never finding a moment of peace.

If she dares to tarnish Luo Qingyan's reputation today, she will dare to take her life tomorrow.

"Cousin, I won't leave. I'll go to the ancestral hall and kneel down." Two streams of tears streamed down Cui Rou's face as she tightly gripped Pei Shiyuan's clothes, refusing to let go.

"Cousin, if you don't want today's events to reach Qinghe, set off tomorrow morning." Pei Shiyuan forcefully turned his wheelchair around, knocking Cui Rou to the ground.

"Miss, I don't want to be separated from you." Ginkgo was dragged away, her cries fading into the distance until they could no longer be heard.

The servant shook off the dragging servants and walked away on his own. Damn it, the gambling debts were still unpaid.

Cui Rou sat on the ground, lost in thought. Had Pei Shiyuan even disregarded their childhood friendship? If word of today's events reached Qinghe, wouldn't it ruin her life?

What will her clansmen think of her?

"Aunt, I'll be leaving tomorrow."

Cui Rou, distraught, headed towards Liuxing Residence.

She cared deeply for Pei Shiyuan, but this is the result she got in return.

The old lady stood there, watching Luo Qingyan push Pei Shiyuan back into the house: "Yuan'er is different from before. He loves to go out now, and he knows everything that happens in the mansion. It is Luo Qingyan who has changed him."

"May it be as Luo Qingyan said, that we can find Jing Bufan in three days." The old lady clasped her hands together, facing the inky night sky.

She has dispatched all the men from the Duke's mansion to guard the Nanshan area.

inside the house.

"Your Highness, I'm telling you the truth." Luo Qingyan lowered her head.