Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

"Miss, something terrible has happened! Concubine Zhang has miscarried, and Madam urgently summons you to the main courtyard!"

Luo Mei burst through the door, looking flustered.

Yuan Zhi sprang up from the couch. "Let's go take a look!"

Granny Li, her eyes bloodshot, led a group of servants forward, her voice dripping with blood as she cried, "The young mistress has plotted to harm a member of the Xiao family bloodline! Madam has ordered that she be bound and taken in for questioning. Do it!"

Luo Mei rushed forward to stop her, but was pushed aside by the servants. Granny Li, hating her so much that she kicked her twice in the stomach.

"Insolence! This matter is still unresolved, yet you dare to defy your superiors! Get out of my way!"

Yuan Zhi bent down to help, but was pulled back by the servants by the arms. Seeing that intimidation was ineffective, she shouted, "Luo Mei, go find Xiao Zong!"

Luo Mei got up and ran away, but the servants caught up with her, tied her hands and feet, and locked her in the woodshed.

Granny Li relayed the Madam's order, strictly forbidding anyone in Songfeng Courtyard from reporting any information to her, and then escorted Yuan Zhi away.

Chen Qing, whose injuries had not fully healed, heard the commotion outside and, despite the pain, climbed over the wall to seek help from Xiao Zong.

Main courtyard.

Yuan Zhi was forced to kneel on the ground by the servants, but even though he was in a lower position, the unyielding look in his eyes was enough to make him look down on everyone present.

"If Aunt Zhang miscarries, how can my mother-in-law be so sure I was the one who caused it?"

Madam Qin's eyes flashed fiercely. "Do you really think what you did was flawless? Li Mama, present the evidence!"

Granny Li placed the dregs of the medicine and two packets of medicine in front of Yuanzhi.

Zhang Hui's personal maid knelt down and shifted the blame: "The medicine was taken from Songfeng Courtyard. After the aunt drank it, she suffered unbearable abdominal pain. Before the doctor arrived, the baby was gone!"

Yuan Zhi's gaze was piercing. "When did you go to Songfeng Courtyard? Who gave you the medicine, and was the person who gave it to you knowledgeable in medicine?"

The maid was stumped by the question. After a long pause, she stammered, "This servant...did not go to Songfeng Courtyard. The medicine was given to me by Cui'er, the maidservant of the young mistress. She said it...could help with the pregnancy."

Yuan Zhi thought about it for a moment and understood what was going on.

She looked up and said, "Mother-in-law, Cui'er delivered medicine to Jianjia Courtyard without informing her daughter-in-law. I guess she wanted to curry favor with Aunt Zhang and acted on her own."

My daughter-in-law still has two doses of medicine left. To avoid me finding out, Cui'er might have bought inferior medicine to replace them. My mother-in-law summoned Cui'er and sent someone to the small kitchen to fetch the leftover dregs and the new medicine; a comparison would reveal the truth.

Madam Qin sneered, "You really won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, Granny Li..."

"and many more!"

Yuanzhi saw the maid wink at Granny Li and quickly interrupted Qin Shi's last sentence.

“Granny Li is Aunt Zhang’s mother. Sending her would inevitably be seen as favoritism. It would be better to send Granny Wang. She was her mother-in-law’s dowry maid, and her daughter-in-law can trust her.”

Madam Qin hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll do as you say."

A short while later, Granny Wang came over with Cui'er, placed the medicine together with the previous medicine, and returned to Qin Shi's side.

Yuan Zhi opened the new medicine and compared it with the dregs. "Mother-in-law, please look. The previous dregs were exactly the same as the medicine that Aunt Zhang took. This new medicine, however, has nothing in common with it. It has obviously been switched."

She looked at the trembling maid, "Cui'er, who gave you the audacity to take your master's belongings and give them away!"

Cui'er's head slammed heavily to the ground. "This servant was momentarily bewitched and wanted to get some reward money from Aunt Zhang. This servant was wrong, please forgive me, young mistress!"

Yuan Zhi held the medicine in her hand. "It's understandable to be greedy for a little money, but it's your fault for not understanding medicine and harming the Xiao family bloodline. Even if I don't pursue the matter, my mother-in-law will not forgive you!"

Cui'er asked blankly, "What kind of medicine did the young mistress drink?"

Qin had a guess in her heart, "Could it be that you..."

“That’s right!” Yuan Zhi brushed the dregs off his hands. “The medicine I’ve been taking is a contraceptive decoction!”

Cui'er refused to believe it. "You, the daughter of a minor official, are incredibly lucky to marry the young master! Why don't you want to have his child?"

Qin also wanted to know, "Tell me, what has Congyun done to wrong you? What has the Xiao family done to wrong you? You didn't want to have children for Congyun, and you indirectly caused the death of my grandson. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Yuan Zhi's long, jet-black hair was tied into a bun, adorned only with a green jade hairpin. Her simple dress and hairpins further accentuated her cool and aloof demeanor, giving her an ethereal air.

"I didn't intend to do anything! I took the contraceptive soup because the King of Wu had repeatedly attacked me. Getting pregnant at this critical juncture would be suicide!"

My mother-in-law thinks I'm responsible for Aunt Zhang's miscarriage. Why doesn't she consider why Aunt Zhang trusts Cui'er so much? Cui'er gave her a packet of medicine, and she took it without asking if it was the right medicine. Isn't that suspicious?

Guided by Yuan Zhi, Qin thought for a long time and could only come up with one possibility—

Cui'er was bribed by Zhang Hui to monitor Songfeng Courtyard's every move. Yuanzhi had been drinking medicinal soup frequently lately, and Cui'er assumed that the young mistress was pregnant, so she reported the news to Zhang Hui.

Shen'er was already practically crippled, and Zhang Huineng could only rely on the child in her womb. She wouldn't allow a direct descendant of the Xiao family to be born at this time!

The new medicine that she asked Cui'er to switch was mostly an abortifacient, while what she thought was a "pregnancy-stabilizing medicine" was actually Yuan Zhi's contraceptive soup.

Zhang Hui lifted a stone only to drop it on her own foot, directly causing the death of her child!

Madam Qin frowned in anguish. They all cried out for justice, but who would pay for her grandson's life?

"Guards, throw that wretched maid Cui'er into the well!"

Cui'er cried out, "Madam, I know I was wrong, please forgive me!"

The servants stepped forward, gagged her, and dragged her out.

Madam Qin looked down at Yuan Zhi and said, "I haven't settled the score with you for the matchmaking banquet. Today, my grandson died because of your contraceptive potion. I won't be able to quell my hatred until I kill you!"

Yuan Zhi scoffed, "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. Your mother-in-law wants to kill me; have you considered the consequences?"

Fearing that Madam Qin might back down, Granny Li urged, "Madam, Hui'er may have made a mistake, but the child is innocent! The doctor said it was a fully formed male fetus!"

Qin clutched her clothes at her chest and gritted her teeth, saying, "Strangle her! Make her pay for my grandson's life!"

Yuan Zhi was terrified. She shook off the maidservant holding her and ran towards the door.

The servants grabbed her, and the servants put a rope around her neck and tightened it with both hands.

Yuan Zhi struggled to breathe, desperately pulling at the rope around her neck, her fingertips bleeding from the friction of the rope, yet she couldn't catch her breath.

At the critical moment, a long sword flew over, cut the rope, and pierced the wall with a "clang".

Xiao Zong strode forward, caught the falling Yuan Zhi, and placed his fingers on the side of her neck to check her pulse.

Still alive!

Yuan Zhi coughed and slowly opened his eyes.

"I tried to run, but I couldn't get away."

This time, she didn't intend to die. He wouldn't blame her, would he?

"I know."

Xiao Zong's eyes seemed to glisten with tears as he spoke in a hoarse voice.

Madam Qin stood up, her voice brooking no argument: "Congyun, step aside! No one can plead for her today; she must die!"

"Even the Leopard Guards can't kill people at will, so where does Mother get that right?"

Madam Qin said, "You think I've wronged your wife? Granny Li, tell the young master what the young mistress has done!"

Granny Li embellished the story, but Xiao Zong simplified it and clarified the whole story.

"So, Aunt Zhang's attempt to harm others backfired, and she reaped the consequences?"

Xiao Zong knelt down. "I knew about the child taking the contraceptive soup a long time ago. If Mother blames her for this, then I am also responsible. If you must punish someone, then punish me."