Reborn as the Regent's Beloved

Seeing Xuan Hua's hesitant expression and the faint scar on her jade wrist, Xiao Fengyi felt heartache but also understood the cause and effect.

Instigated by the Shen mother and daughter, Xiao Qishan believed that Xiao Fengyi had poisoned the old lady and framed Qingyin. Enraged, he led Xiao Ye, Xiao Qingyin and the Shen family to Baoguo Temple that very night to confront them.

He was already seething with anger, but when he arrived at Baoguo Temple he couldn't find anyone, leaving him with nowhere to vent his anger. Taking advantage of this, Madam Shen fanned the flames, saying that Xiao Fengyi was unruly and must be severely punished.

Unable to find the missing Xiao Fengyi, they brought Xuan Hua, who had stayed behind, for interrogation.

Zi Hua has always been straightforward and single-minded, while Xuan Hua is good at dealing with things. She must have mentioned going to town to buy medicine when she was first interrogated. However, she still has marks on her hands, which must have been caused by Xiao Qishan whipping her to vent his anger.

Seeing that Xuan Hua's injury was only on his arm, Xiao Fengyi breathed a sigh of relief.

She guessed that Xuan Hua was able to escape this calamity because the old lady heard Xiao Qishan beating someone in the next room and invited him to her room.

While everyone else left the room, Xiao Qingyin deliberately stayed behind to look for evidence.

The Shen mother and daughter could fool the government about poisoning the old lady, but they couldn't fool Xiao Qishan, so they wanted to destroy the evidence.

"After I went to town, I bought some medicinal herbs, but I lost them on the way."

She regretted not taking any of the many rare medicinal herbs she had seen at Prince Zhao's residence.

Almost fooled by the mysterious painting, Madam Shen's tense face relaxed considerably when she heard that Xiao Fengyi had no medicinal herbs. She immediately retorted sarcastically, "Fengyi, did you go to town to buy medicinal herbs or to play? Perhaps you were having too much fun and forgot to buy any herbs?"

After speaking, Madam Shen looked at Xiao Qishan, who was standing to the side, and provoked him, "Master, this Fengyi is unruly and has done things that disgrace the family time and time again. Now she is even using Mother as a shield."

Xiao Qishan was suddenly enraged. He picked up a ruler and struck Xiao Fengyi on the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel on the ground.

"Ah..." Xiao Fengyi cried out in pain, letting out a muffled groan.

"Miss, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Fengyi said, looking at Xuanhua with a reassuring expression.

Seeing that the young lady was forced to kneel, Xuan Hua crawled to the side and knelt down beside her.

The old lady couldn't bear to see Xiao Fengyi injured and scolded her son, "Xiao Qishan, why did you hit Fengyi?"

Holding a ruler, Xiao Qishan clasped his hands and said, "Mother, Fengyi is a habitual liar. If she is not disciplined, she may cause a great disaster in the future!"

Xiao Fengyi did lie about where she went last night, so she did not refute her father's words. However, her stubborn appearance made Liu feel sorry for her, while Xiao Qishan and Shen saw her as unruly, disobedient, and a real headache.

Madam Shen continued in a high-sounding manner: "Mother, a doting mother often spoils her son. The Imperial Advisor said that Fengyi is destined to be an empress and will marry into the royal family in the future. If she does not behave properly now, how will she be able to rule the world as an empress in the future?"

Xiao Fengyi looked at Shen Shi, who had been sowing discord, with disappointment.

She had always longed to live in harmony with the Shen family, but the Shen family wanted to kill her and her grandmother.

In her past life, how come she never realized how ruthless the Shen family was?

Unable to bear Xiao Fengyi's gaze, Madam Shen said sarcastically, "Fengyi, don't look at me like that. I'm only doing this for your own good."

For her own good? Xiao Fengyi didn't believe it.

With Xiao Ye's help, the old lady walked to Xiao Fengyi's side and helped her up, saying, "Good child, you've suffered."

Xiao Qishan was dissatisfied with his mother's favoritism. "Mother, why did you let her get up? I haven't even questioned her about where she went last night."

The old lady's dragon-headed cane slammed into the ground, startling Xiao Qishan so much that he took a few steps back.

“Xiao Qishan, don’t lecture the child in front of me! Fengyi is not a question to be asked. Let me tell you, she went to town last night to find medicinal herbs.”

Madam Shen panicked, "Mother, Fengyi is deceiving you. Returning empty-handed is the strongest proof of that."

The old lady snorted coldly.

“Shen, I lied to her when I sent her to town to find medicinal herbs. Did you think Fengyi would go out to find herbs in the middle of the night and come back empty-handed? Didn’t she say she left them in town?”

"Mother, I didn't mean that." Although she knew she was being favored, Madam Shen dared not disobey the old lady.

The old lady gazed at Xiao Fengyi's disheveled hair, her affection growing even stronger.

"Xiao Qishan, I am so disappointed in you. I was poisoned by crimson arsenic and barely survived. You came back with me without asking how I was poisoned or how to cure it. Instead, you immediately stood up for the vicious mother and daughter of the Shen family and shouted at Fengyi, who saved my life. How could I have given birth to such a fool!"

These words made Xiao Qishan feel ashamed, and he could only ask, "Mother, how exactly were you poisoned?"

"Ask Mrs. Shen and her daughter!"

Xiao Qishan originally believed Shen's one-sided story without a doubt, thinking that Fengyi poisoned Qingyin and then framed her. However, judging from his mother's words, it seemed that it was not as Shen said.

"Granny Yao, bring up all the evidence."

Granny Yao was the old lady's confidante, and all the evidence that Xiao Qingyin had poisoned the old lady was kept by her.

When Shen saw her take out the account book, the glass screen, and the well-preserved remnants of quince leaf cakes, her palms clenched involuntarily.

While the old lady and Xiao Fengyi were away from home, she and her daughter searched for this evidence, turning the Changyi Courtyard and Qingya Courtyard upside down, but to no avail.

I thought Qingyin could find the evidence in Xiao Fengyi's room, but I didn't expect it to be kept by Granny Yao.

"Lord Duke, please take a look." Granny Yao placed all the evidence on a tray and presented it to Xiao Qishan.

Upon seeing the evidence, Xiao Qishan looked incredulous. "What on earth is going on?"

At this moment, Xiao Fengyi, who had been silent all along, laughed.

"Father, Grandmother was almost poisoned to death by my sister, and you're still asking why? Why don't you go ask Aunt and Xiao Qingyin why they put red arsenic in the quince leaf cakes?"

She didn't beat around the bush and directly told the story of what the Shen mother and daughter had done, and she didn't call "Shen" her mother, but her aunt.

Xiao Qishan, unwilling to be criticized by his daughter, retorted, "You have no right to speak here!"

She didn't argue with Xiao Qishan. Her grandmother stepped forward and sneered, "Fengyi is the most qualified to speak. If it weren't for her, I would have been poisoned long ago!"

With irrefutable evidence, Xiao Qishan still tried to exonerate himself, saying, "Mother, Qingyin is your granddaughter, she wouldn't do such a thing?"

The old lady laughed in anger, "Then ask her why Fuyin Courtyard received such a deadly poison as crimson arsenic, and why the quince leaf cakes she sent me were also poisonous?"

"This……"

Xiao Qishan had no answer and could only search for Xiao Qingyin in the crowd.

They couldn't find her at first, but after a while, they finally spotted the youngest daughter preparing to run away at the door of the side room.

It turned out that Xiao Qingyin had arrived outside the old lady's room long ago, but she was secretly observing and did not dare to come in.