Reborn as the Regent's Beloved

News of Liu's poisoning spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the entire Xiao household.

When Madam Shen and Xiao Qingyin arrived at the old lady's room, Xiao Fengyi was administering acupuncture to the old lady.

"Waaah, Grandmother, you are so pitiful! Xiao Fengyi, how cruel you are to poison your grandmother!"

After her innocent-looking younger sister entered the room, she rushed to the bed in three steps, crying crocodile tears while blaming her.

Madam Shen also knelt before the bed, and while she and Xiao Qingyin embraced and wept bitterly, she ordered the servants to arrest her.

"Xiao Fengyi, the old lady allowed you to recuperate in Changyi Courtyard, and this is how you repay her? You actually tried to poison her! I'm going to send you to the authorities!"

Faced with the slanderous accusations from the mother and daughter, Xiao Fengyi remained calm and composed. After finishing the acupuncture treatment on the old lady, she slowly stood up and stood upright in front of the two women, questioning them: "You say I poisoned my grandmother to death, do you have any evidence?"

Is there any evidence?

These words not only made the servants who were arresting people hesitate, but also caused Shen and Xiao Qingyin to be stunned for a moment.

They hadn't expected the woman in front of them to ask such a question so coldly.

The mother and daughter had no evidence, yet they tried to frame them.

Shen stopped crying, stood up, and gave Xiao Fengyi a push.

"You've been at Changyi Courtyard these past few days. If you didn't poison him, who else could it be? And you still dare to ask for evidence."

Xiao Fengyi took a few steps back, a cold smile playing on her lips. Her eyes, as clear as water, looked at her grandmother behind Shen Shi with a hint of worry.

Behind Shen Shi, Xiao Qingyin also stood up, wiped her tear-streaked cheeks, and cried, "Sister, Grandmother was so good to you, why did you have to kill her?"

The woman sneered, staring intently at Xiao Qingyin. "Who told you that your grandmother would die?"

Xiao Qingyin and Madam Shen were incredulous. "You mean, the old lady is alright?"

Xiao Fengyi felt that the mother and daughter were probably not happy to hear this news.

She walked to the canopy bed, sat down, lifted the brocade quilt to take her pulse, and then looked up and answered affirmatively, "Yes, Grandmother is getting better."

After the acupuncture was administered, toxins began to be expelled from various parts of the old lady's body, and the black aura on her face gradually disappeared.

Xiao Qingyin persisted, "Even if Grandmother is alright, it doesn't erase the fact that you poisoned her."

Shen added, "Qingyin is right, we should arrest you and take you to the authorities."

The mother and daughter thought they could intimidate her, but little did they know she was no pushover either.

"It is necessary to see the officials, but it will not be me who goes, but you."

Xiao Fengyi stood up and looked at Xiao Fengyi with sharp eyes. Her imposing aura made the mother and daughter opposite her take a step back.

Xiao Qingyin trembled behind Shen Shi, "Xiao Fengyi, in order to shirk responsibility, you've shifted the blame for poisoning your grandmother onto your younger sister. Do you think the officials will believe your one-sided story?"

"Qingyin, don't be afraid, she's just bluffing you," Madam Shen reassured her guiltily.

Xiao Fengyi walked gracefully to the table in the side room, and picked up the glass bottle with her slender fingers.

"You want evidence? I have plenty here."

After speaking, she tossed the glass screen to the mother and daughter. Madam Shen caught the bottle, "This is..."

Xiao Fengyi was overjoyed. "Mother, you know perfectly well why you're asking. Didn't Qingyin put bright red arsenic in Grandmother's food?"

Crimson arsenic!

Inside the room, a misty atmosphere filled the air, and the red powder behind the glass screen reflected a startling luster.

Xiao Fengyi, with a waist as slender as silk, took an account book from the table and gracefully walked to the mother and daughter, flipping through it as she narrated.

“Xiao Qingyin, these are the inventory records for the manor’s storeroom. The crimson arsenic is a tribute item, bestowed by the Emperor last month. After it entered the storeroom, only your Fuyin Courtyard in the entire manor has received it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Qingyin and Shen tried to snatch the account book, but Xiao Fengyi had no intention of doing so and simply threw it to the two of them.

As the two searched through the pages and tore out the one listing the Crimson Arsenic, Xiao Fengyi sighed and sneered.

"Tear it up, it won't do any good. There are two copies of the household account books. If you tear this one up, there will still be another copy for verification. What you're doing is like trying to hide something obvious."

"Xiao Fengyi, you..." After being reminded, Madam Shen and Xiao Qingyin stopped.

Xiao Fengyi half-squatted in front of the two, picked up the torn account pages, and pointed to the numbers at the bottom of the page, "By the way, the page numbers of the accounts are also different. Your tearing up of the accounts makes people even more suspicious."

With the ledger in her hands, it was impossible for the mother and daughter to stick it back together.

Seeing that things were heading towards a dead end, Madam Shen retreated to advance, using a delaying tactic, "Qingyin, since the matter points to your Fuyin Courtyard, you should go back and stay at home until the government comes to investigate the truth."

Xiao Qingyin was taken back to Fuyin Courtyard by the servants, and Shen Shi also left Changyi Courtyard under the pretext of reporting to the authorities, and Changyi Courtyard returned to peace.

Xuan Hua brought a bowl of medicine to Xiao Fengyi's side. "Miss, it's obvious that Madam and Second Miss are trying to get rid of you and the Old Madam while Master is away."

She took the medicine bowl, walked to the bedside, and fed the old lady the medicine.

"How could I not know?"

As the old story repeats itself, Xiao Qishan and Xiao Ye went on a trip, leaving behind their children and relatives. Madam Shen harbored resentment towards the old lady, and Xiao Qingyin poisoned the old lady with crimson arsenic and framed her, causing her to be arrested and taken to the authorities.

In her past life, it was Feng Mingjing who went to the government office to bail her out, clear her name, and thus she was spared any trouble.

In her grief, she foolishly believed that Feng Mingjing was an incredibly kind person. Now that she thinks about it, it was all a trap set by Xiao Qingyin and Feng Mingjing.

Xuan Hua added, "Miss, I have a feeling that Madam will find someone to take the blame for the Second Miss."

"You guessed right."

After feeding the last spoonful of medicine to her grandmother, Xiao Fengyi put the porcelain bowl aside.

The ledger only noted that Fuyin Courtyard took away the Crimson Arsenic, which made it easy for Xiao Qingyin to deny it.

Xuan Hua looked at the old lady's unfinished quince leaf cakes and hung her head in dejection.

Xiao Fengyi took the old lady's pulse again, "The most important thing now is to wait for Grandmother to wake up. We can ignore everything else for now. Let's preserve the evidence and give it to Grandmother so she can make a decision."

Sure enough, news came that night that the one who poisoned the old lady was Yuanshu from Fuyin Courtyard, and that she had been arrested by the authorities.

Not only that, the entire household praised the Second Miss for her impartiality in handing over her personal maid.

Xiao Fengyi found it absurd; the injured person was Xiao Qingyin's grandmother, yet it was being made as if Yuanshu was her relative.

In fact, when she first learned that the old lady had been poisoned, the family physician had already said that there was no hope of saving her.

Unwilling to accept this, she wanted to prevent the tragedy from happening, so she asked her grandmother what she had eaten.

According to the old lady's nanny, the grandmother started vomiting, having diarrhea, and vomiting blood after eating the pine leaf cakes sent by the second young lady.

Seeing her grandmother's pale face, Xiao Fengyi took out a silver needle to test for poison.

After finding a small amount of toxin in the quince leaf cake, but not knowing what kind of poison it was, they had no choice but to call the prefectural physician.