Chapter 53 Testimony

Madam Mo fixed her gaze on Chu Xi, staring at her intently for a moment.

Finally, she slowly opened her mouth and said, "The one who poisoned me is none other than..." At this point, she paused abruptly, her lips trembling slightly. A complex expression flashed across her eyes—a mixture of struggle and pain, as if she were wrestling with a difficult hesitation in her heart.

A moment later, as if having made up her mind, she slowly spat out a few names, "The eldest miss, Chu Xi."

Madam Mo's words were like a massive boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand ripples of waves. They caused everyone present to widen their eyes in shock and astonishment, their gazes filled with sheer disbelief.

Especially Zhao Cheng and Mother Wang, whose bodies shuddered violently as all the color drained from their faces. Neither of them had expected that the old mistress would pin the crime of poisoning squarely on Chu Xi.

Zhao Cheng's lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, yet not a single word came out; Mother Wang's eyes were as wide as bronze bells, the muscles on her face slightly distorted, filled with overwhelming bewilderment.

This sudden turn of events enveloped the entire room in a heavy and tense atmosphere.

Only Chu Xi, after a brief moment of shock, quickly regained her composure and looked calmly at Madam Mo.

Sure enough, exactly as she had anticipated, Madam Mo was completely determined this time to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to utterly and mercilessly eradicate her from Mo Zixiao's side.

At that moment, Lord Hu, the Junior Official of the Court of Judicial Review, cast a perceptive gaze, taking in every single person's expression in the room.

This Lord Hu had spent many years climbing the ranks in the imperial court and possessed exceptionally rich experience in handling cases. With just a single glance, he sensed that today's affair was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface, and that there must be hidden intricacies within it.

Therefore, he did not rush to order the arrest of Chu Xi. He knew deeply that under such a murky and confusing situation, any hasty action could lead to irreversible consequences.

Clearing his throat, he spoke in a measured and unhurried tone, "Madam, before coming to the General's Estate, I received the imperial edicts from both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. Both His Majesty and Her Ladyship explicitly stated that this matter is of utmost importance, concerning not only the reputation of the General's Estate and everyone here, but more importantly, the fair application of the imperial laws. Hence, I must act with extreme caution, and must neither wrongly accuse an innocent person out of haste, nor let the culprit who harmed you slip through the net. At present, there remains another crucial clue to this matter: the same bowl of medicine was also personally fed to you by Qian Mengyun, the adopted daughter of Marquis Chu. I believe this affair carries great weight and requires a special trip to the Marquis's Estate to further investigate the ins and outs of the whole thing. I must ask Madam to grant some more time, until I thoroughly investigate the matter to the end and bring justice to everyone."

His words, seemingly stating facts and acting in accordance with the Emperor's will, actually bought Chu Xi a brief moment of breathing room, preventing Madam Mo's carefully laid plans from succeeding so easily.

Having said that, Lord Hu rose to leave, but was stopped by the old mistress. "Lord Hu, please stay your steps."

Lord Hu looked back at her. "Does Madam have further instructions?"

Madam Mo turned her head to glance at Chu Xi before asking, "Are you simply going to leave this suspect at large without making an arrest, My Lord?"

Hearing this, Chu Xi felt her heart jolt involuntarily as her eyes grew red. The Madam Mo who had once cherished her the most now wanted the authorities to arrest her.

Lord Hu gave a faint smile. "Before coming to the General's Estate, I received imperial edicts from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, so I will handle this case according to the sacred will. I must ask Madam to understand."

Madam Mo was instantly startled. "Could it be that even knowing she poisoned me, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager still intend to let her go unpunished?" Before her words fully faded, the excess saliva, triggered by her agitation, went down the wrong pipe into her trachea, sending her into a violent fit of coughing.

Lord Hu shook his head, then instructed Zhao Cheng, "Starting from right now, guards will be stationed outside the General's Estate to prevent the suspect from escaping. Inside the estate, everything shall remain as usual for now, and no negligence will be tolerated." He placed a special emphasis on the final four words.

Though Zhao Cheng felt somewhat bewildered in his heart upon hearing this, he nodded nonetheless. "This humble servant understands. Safe journey, My Lord."

With that, he respectfully escorted Lord Hu out of the estate, while Mother Wang went to fetch a fresh handkerchief to replace the one soiled by the old mistress's coughing fit.

For a time, only Madam Mo and Chu Xi remained in the room.

"Does Madam want me dead?" Chu Xi's voice was like a cold blade, carrying an endless chill as it echoed through the room, every single word striking the old mistress like hailstones.

The unyielding resolve and fury in that voice caused the old mistress's heart to tighten involuntarily, as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand, while an unprecedented wave of icy dread surged straight from the soles of her feet up to her head.

"You brought this upon yourself." The old mistress panted heavily, her voice trembling and labored as though every single word drained the last of her strength. "Had you been sensible and left the General's Estate sooner, how could you have courted your own destruction today?" A trace of ferocity tainted her face, as if she were desperately searching for excuses to justify her ruthlessness.

Chu Xi's gaze was as cold and sharp as ice. The deep respect and gratitude she had always held for Madam Mo were crushed to dust by Madam Mo's own hands the very moment she pointed her finger at her—shattered completely into pieces beyond any possibility of returning to the past.

A resolute light gleamed in her eyes, as if declaring that from this day forward, she would no longer allow herself to be bound by this old affection.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Xi questioned, "Madam, aren't you afraid that today's actions will ultimately bring about your own retribution?"

Hearing this, Madam Mo averted her eyes from Chu Xi's piercing gaze. In truth, she had already caught a hint of meaning from Lord Hu's tone—for some unknown reason, both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager were determined to intervene in this case.

"Girl, what are you feeling so smug about? The Empress Dowager most likely only wants to wait until you finish embroidering that 'A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' scroll before dealing with you according to the law." In fact, she had anticipated this long ago.

Chu Xi shook her head. "You are blindly set on getting rid of me, even resorting to such despicable framing and scapegoating tactics, yet have you ever considered how you will face Zixiao in the future? Do not forget what he said before he left; he had long anticipated that you would never be able to tolerate me."

Using the last of her strength, Madam Mo let out a derisive snort and said, "So what? I am his mother." Right after these words, she fell into another bout of ragged, heavy panting.

Chu Xi gazed at her. Though a myriad of hatred and grievances churned within her heart, the mere thought of Mo Zixiao forced her to swallow them all down in silence. If they were to marry in the future, Madam Mo would be her mother-in-law, and she would still be bound by duty to fulfill her filial responsibilities as a daughter-in-law.

Even though the affection of the past was long gone, the future relationship of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law prevented Chu Xi from making a clean and absolute break with her.

Why must everything in this world stubbornly work against her? At this thought, Chu Xi heaved a sorrowful sigh.

Yet, just as she inadvertently lifted her gaze, she caught a glimpse of a figure flashing past the crack in the window in a swift blur.

"Who is there?"