She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Upon hearing Chu Zhiyi's words, the middle-aged man remained calm. "Your Highness, do not believe one-sided accounts. My Gu Family Weaving Workshop has always been law-abiding and honest. How could we commit such an evil deed?"

Chu Zhiyi stopped talking to him and signaled Zhi Mo, Meng Zhuo, and the others to search everywhere.

At this moment, an official rushed over and reported to Chu Zhiyi: "Your Highness, Du Bai committed suicide in prison out of fear of punishment."

"What? Du Bai is dead? Didn't I order you to keep a close watch on him?"

Chu Zhiyi was furious upon hearing this and severely reprimanded the official.

"Your Highness, please calm down. Du Bai claimed to be thirsty and asked me for some water. While I was fetching water, he committed suicide by running into the wall in the prison!"

Shen Man and Chu Zhiyi both frowned deeply upon hearing the official's words.

With Du Bai dead, many clues will likely be lost, and the origin of the armor will also be impossible to trace.

Shen Man said softly, "Your Highness, Du Bai's suicide is too suspicious. Someone must have secretly instructed him to die in order to cover up the Gu family's crimes."

Chu Zhiyi nodded slightly, his gaze fixed intently on the middle-aged man. "Tell me, did your Gu family mastermind Du Bai commit suicide in an attempt to destroy evidence?"

The middle-aged man quickly waved his hand, "Your Highness is wronged! We were just following orders in this weaving workshop and knew nothing about the inside story. Du Bai's matter has nothing to do with us."

Chu Zhiyi snorted coldly, "Then what were you burning here?"

“We’re just burning some old, worn-out fabric,” the middle-aged man replied.

Chu Zhiyi didn't believe the middle-aged man's explanation. He said coldly, "Old and worn-out cloth? Hmph, then why are you in such a panic, even trying to resist when you see me, the prince, coming?"

The middle-aged man was speechless for a moment, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he still tried to remain calm.

At this moment, Meng Zhuo and the others dug out some unburnt account pages from the still-burnt fire and handed them to Chu Zhiyi.

Chu Zhiyi took the tattered page and examined it carefully. It vaguely recorded some of the Gu family's weaving workshop's transactions, but he couldn't find any more information from it.

Looking at Chu Zhiyi's expression, Shen Man asked, "Your Highness, have you noticed anything amiss?"

Chu Zhiyi shook his head. "The remaining information on this fragment is too little to know for sure what the Gu family is planning."

Shen Man thought for a moment, then leaned close to Chu Zhiyi's ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "It seems we still need to find a breakthrough in this matter by talking about Du Bai. I want to go to the prison to see if Du Bai is really dead or just faking it!"

After thinking for a moment, Chu Zhiyi nodded in agreement.

Shen Man followed the official to the prison, where she saw Du Bai lying in a pool of blood, barely breathing.

She immediately had him carried out, and then reached out to take his pulse, only to find to her surprise that his pulse was still beating weakly.

She breathed a sigh of relief and said to the officer, "His pulse is still beating; perhaps he's just fainted. Quickly take him to Doctor Xu's house; maybe he can still be saved!"

The officials dared not delay and hurriedly escorted Du Bai to Xu Jing's residence together with Shen Man.

After examining him, Xu Jing frowned and said, "Although he still has a breath left, his injuries are extremely serious. I can only do my best."

"Miracle doctor, do you have any silver needles here? I have a way to wake him up!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Jing quickly replied, "Yes, yes, yes, I'll have someone bring it to you right away!"

A moment later, a servant brought over a set of silver needles.

Shen Man took it, took out the longest silver needle, and inserted it into Du Bai's Baihui acupoint.

"Miss Ding, you weren't trying to save him, were you?" Xu Jing gasped upon seeing this. Knowing he had a severe head injury, she still inserted needles into his Baihui acupoint. This wasn't saving him; it was hastening his death.

"I just want him to come to his senses now. As for whether he can survive, that's up to him!" Shen Man said nonchalantly. This method seemed dangerous, but it was also the most effective.

Sure enough, Du Bai woke up as soon as she finished speaking. When he saw Shen Man beside him, his eyes were filled with terror.

Shen Man said softly, "Manager Du, you didn't expect this, did you? I've pulled you back from the brink of death again! You can die if you want, but you have to tell me why you had Geng Qingsong have someone poison my well, and why you framed the Geng family's weaving workshop for secretly possessing armor. Explain everything clearly, or even if you go to the underworld, I'll drag you back!"

Du Bai weakly opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice, "Miss Ding, why do you have to make things difficult for me? Even if I tell you, I'll still die."

Du Bai avoided eye contact, not daring to look directly at Shen Man.

Shen Man sneered, "If you don't talk, you'll die right here. If you do, perhaps I can save your life and let you live in anonymity. Anyway, in the eyes of the Gu family, you're already a dead man!"

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in Du Bai's eyes. "Miss Ding, are you telling the truth?"

"Of course, I, Ding Man, always keep my word!"

After hesitating for a long time, Du Bai slowly said, "Miss Ding, do you know that in the embroidery competition held in the capital before the New Year, Xiu Tianxia from Biancheng Prefecture won first place with a painting of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix?"

"I don't know!" Shen Man hadn't seen Ji Qiuniang since she last went to the city to deliver goods, and with the war breaking out on the border, she knew even less about the affairs of the border city government.

"What does this have to do with you poisoning us?" Shen Man asked, puzzled.

"Because the owner of Xiu Tianxia was making a big fuss in the capital that their fabrics and silk threads were all purchased from the Jinxiu Weaving Workshop in Biancheng Prefecture, where the fabrics and silk threads were not only cheap but also of good quality."

Many merchants who cooperated with the Gu Family Weaving Workshop have cancelled their orders this year and plan to order fabric from you in Biancheng Prefecture instead. My second master was furious about this and ordered me to eliminate you and your daughter, so that the Brocade Weaving Workshop would disappear completely…”

"Is the Second Master you mentioned Gu Cang?" Shen Man recalled that she had seen Gu Cang once in Xiaoyao Village many years ago. He was accompanying Cui Jintang to find Li Mufeng.

At the time, she was worried about the silk reeling business, but he brought two masters from the capital to solve her urgent problem.

Actually, he deserves some credit for the success of Jinxiu Textile Workshop today.

"Why did you frame the Geng family's weaving workshop for secretly possessing armor? Where did you get that armor from?"

“I originally asked Geng Qingsong to find someone to get rid of you and your daughter, but not only did he fail to do it, he also planned to transfer the weaving workshop to you at a low price. How could I swallow this insult? I immediately bribed Magistrate Xu of Lin County to discuss this matter with him. He also found the armor in the county government's warehouse!”