Lady Hou is reborn and, by pampering her illegitimate son, reclaims her life of wealth and privilege

Prince Duan chuckled softly, a hint of disdain in his eyes: "Madam Jiang, are you threatening me?"

Jiang Huaiyu said coldly, "I just want the truth to come out. Xinrui is a good child; she wouldn't do such a thing. Prince Duan, do you dare to confront my niece in front of everyone?"

Prince Duan hesitated for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Madam Jiang, are you forcing me? Fine, I'll agree to your request to confront Jiang Xinrui face to face."

A smug glint flashed in Jiang Huaiyu's eyes; she was certain that Prince Duan would be unable to produce any evidence. So she turned and left to find her niece, Jiang Xinrui.

Before long, Jiang Xinrui arrived, led by a maid. She wore a light pink palace dress, her face was beautiful, and her demeanor was elegant. Upon seeing Jiang Huaiyu and Prince Duan, she smiled slightly and gave a curtsy.

Prince Duan looked at Jiang Xinrui, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. He said, "Jiang Xinrui, did you ever tell me you fell in love at first sight, and did you try to have sex with me in Rongfu Garden?"

Jiang Xinrui blushed and lowered her head. She said softly, "Prince Duan, you have misunderstood. Since I met you, I have never overstepped my bounds. Please understand."

Prince Duan sneered, "Jiang Xinrui, do you think you can get rid of suspicion by denying it? Everyone in Rongfu Garden saw it that night."

Jiang Huaiyu glared at Prince Duan and said angrily, "Prince Duan, you are forcing Xinrui! She is a girl, and her reputation is extremely important to her. If you are truly a man, you should produce evidence, otherwise you are framing her!"

Prince Duan's eyes flashed; he indeed had no evidence. But he didn't want to appear weak in front of everyone, so he said, "Madam Jiang, please don't worry. I will have someone investigate this matter. If Xinrui is indeed innocent, I will naturally apologize to her."

Jiang Xinrui sighed softly, knowing that Prince Duan wouldn't let her off easily. She raised her head, looking at Prince Duan with unwavering eyes: "Prince Duan, I am willing to accept the investigation. If I have truly done something wrong, I am willing to bear the consequences."

Prince Duan looked at Jiang Xinrui, his heart wavering. But he was still unwilling to give up and said, "Alright, then let's wait for the investigation results."

Consort Xi glanced at Prince Duan and said with a half-smile, "Prince Duan, it seems that Rongfu Garden is not the place of leisure you mentioned, but has another purpose, right?"

Prince Duan frowned slightly, his face showing displeasure, but he still maintained his composure and calmly replied, "Your Highness Consort Xi has misunderstood. Rongfu Garden is indeed a place where I rest. The reason I brought Jiang Xinrui here today is because she claimed to have important matters to discuss with me."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huaiyu's gaze sharpened as he stared directly at Prince Duan, coldly questioning, "Your Highness, was that pot of wine from Rongfu Garden?"

Prince Duan pondered for a moment, then nodded in acknowledgment: "Indeed, that pot of wine originally came from Rongfu Garden. But later, Jiang Xinrui added drugs to it, intending to do something wicked."

Inside Rongfu Garden, flowers and trees flourished, and birds sang sweetly. Consort Xi, Prince Duan, and Jiang Huaiyu sat in the pavilion, the atmosphere growing increasingly tense.

Jiang Huaiyu trembled with rage, pointing at Prince Duan and shouting, "Prince Duan, you're making up lies! Xinrui is my niece. She's gentle and kind; how could she do such a thing?"

Prince Duan remained calm and looked at Jiang Huaiyu without changing his expression: "Madam Jiang, the facts are clear. If I hadn't discovered it in time, I would probably have been in danger long ago."

Consort Xi tapped the table lightly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, and said, "Prince Duan, you said Jiang Xinrui added the drug, so why would she do that?"

Prince Duan sighed, revealing a helpless expression: "Your Highness, Consort Xi, Jiang Xinrui intends to use the drug to make me lose control, thereby achieving her ulterior motives."

Jiang Huaiyu stared wide-eyed at Prince Duan in disbelief: "Prince Duan, you are slandering my niece! If she really had such intentions, why would she have told me she was coming to Rongfu Garden?"

Prince Duan frowned and said coldly, "Madam Jiang, your niece did tell you, but she also told me. Do you think she was being sincere?"

Jiang Huaiyu was speechless, her face turning pale. She knew full well that what Prince Duan said was true, but accepting that her niece had betrayed her was too painful for her.

Seeing this, Consort Xi gently patted Jiang Huaiyu's shoulder and said softly, "Madam Jiang, this matter still needs to be investigated thoroughly. If what Prince Duan said is true, then we cannot sit idly by."

A hint of gratitude flashed in Jiang Huaiyu's eyes, and she nodded: "What Consort Xi said is right. I will go back and ask Xinrui right away."

Prince Duan watched Jiang Huaiyu's departing figure, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

He turned to Consort Xi and said sincerely, "Your Highness Consort Xi, I apologize to you. If I had not been negligent in my precautions, Jiang Xinrui would not have had the opportunity to take advantage of me."

Consort Xi smiled slightly and said, "Prince Duan, you flatter me. Now that this has happened, we must face it together. I will send people to investigate this matter and make sure the truth comes out."

Prince Duan nodded in agreement, but inwardly he sighed. He had originally planned to use the Rongfu Garden incident to sow discord between Jiang Huaiyu and his niece. He hadn't expected Consort Xi to be so clever, seeing through his intentions at a glance.

Inside Rongfu Garden, the conversation between Prince Duan and Consort Xi gradually faded away. Jiang Huaiyu hurried away, her heart filled with doubt and anger. She needed to find out why her niece, Jiang Xinrui, had betrayed her.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xinrui was anxiously waiting in the palace.

Jiang Huaiyu was filled with resentment. This Prince Duan was truly eloquent; his fabricated lies seemed flawless. If what Prince Duan said was true, where was Jiang Xinrui now after drinking the wine? If the poison hadn't been neutralized, was her life hanging by a thread?

"May I ask Prince Duan, is there an antidote hidden in that wine?"

Prince Duan raised an eyebrow, seemingly testing my bottom line.

"Hmph, how would I know if there is an antidote for the poison she administered? However, based on my deduction, there probably isn't. After drinking the wine, her whole body became burning hot and her mind became confused. She didn't take the antidote immediately but was instead taken away by her maid. Based on this, I deduce that Jiang Xinrui believed there was no antidote to save her, and therefore forced me to have sex with her to achieve her goal."

After saying this, Prince Duan smiled smugly, quite satisfied with his reasoning.

Upon hearing Prince Duan's slander of his niece, Jiang Huaiyu was filled with rage, but his most urgent task was to find Jiang Xinrui to prevent her from falling into danger due to the unresolved poison.

"Your Highness, the most urgent task at present is to find my niece."

If what Prince Duan said is true, and Jiang Xinrui is currently suffering from a deadly poison with no cure, given her strong-willed nature, she would rather die than seek help from a man.

The eldest princess also knew that lives were at stake at this moment, and was preparing to send more people to search when suddenly a voice came from outside.

"May I ask, Prince Duan, are you certain that this poison is incurable?"

Everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came, and saw a man dressed in a white crane official robe, with an elegant demeanor, slowly walking in. This man was none other than Wei Fenghui, the eldest son of the Duke of Wei's family.

Wei Fenghui gave Jiang Huaiyu a look, indicating that he didn't need to worry too much.

However, Jiang Huaiyu was not adept at understanding people's hearts, and he could not fully interpret the deeper meaning in Wei Fenghui's eyes, so he could only wait anxiously.

A cold smile curled at the corner of Prince Duan's lips. He knew perfectly well that the secret of the antidote was in his own hands, and Jiang Xinrui could not possibly have any clues about it.

"I am now certain of my previous deduction. Jiang Xinrui is clearly trying to use the incurable poison to force me to have sex with her in order to cure her."