376: The Truth (1)

The Truth (1)

How would the chef know who drugged it? In short, it was not him! There were a total of four chefs and eight servants in the kitchen. The person being questioned was the head chef. He was sure that the people in the kitchen were clean and would never do such a dirty thing.1

However, whether they would believe it or not was another matter.

The chef looked at Shangguan Yan for help. Old Mrs. Xiao was old and did not participate in the matters of the backyard. The person in charge was the Second Madam. He hoped that the Second Madam would believe him.

Shangguan Yan believed him, but she was afraid that Eldest Mrs. Xiao would not believe her.

Shangguan Yan had more or less figured out her sister-in-law's temper. It was not to the extent of being vicious, but it was not to the extent of being magnanimous. Eldest Master Xiao was disappointing, and her sister-in-law would cry in her mother-in-law's room every two to three days. What could Old Mrs. Xiao do? He was her biological son. In the beginning, if she could control him, she would not raise him crooked.

This was before she married into the family. After she married into the family, she began to cry, saying that she, as her sister-in-law, did not respect her sister-in-law enough. To put it bluntly, Eldest Mrs. Xiao just wanted to be in charge of the accounts. Shangguan Yan saw through her thoughts and let her be the head of the family for a year. In the end, there were loopholes. Eldest Mrs. Xiao was not made to be the head of the family, but she had the ambition to be the head.

Then there was the matter of Xiao Yan. Eldest Master Xiao was unreliable. Eldest Mrs. Xiao was much calmer now. When she was young, she would always vent her anger on the young Xiao Yan when she was angry with Eldest Master Xiao. It was a pity that the child was standing under the cold corridor in winter wearing a thin shirt. Eldest Mrs. Xiao said that if he didn't come back, she wouldn't care about that child. Eldest Master Xiao told her to do whatever she wanted, then turned around and went out to have fun.

Little Xiao Yan stood there for an hour. When the servants wanted to bring him in, Eldest Mrs. Xiao said angrily, "Let's see who dares to touch him!"

In the end, it was Xiao Zhenting who found out about this and carried Little Xiao Yan away without a word.

These were all old matters. As she grew older, Eldest Mrs. Xiao was no longer as confused as before. However, some things and some grudges would not easily fade from the bottom of her heart. For example, Xiao Yan's death, and her prejudice against her, a second-married widow.

Eldest Mrs. Xiao looked at Shangguan Yan. "Why are you looking at Second Madam? Could this have something to do with her?"

"Sister-in-law!" Xiao Zhenting's face darkened.

Although Eldest Mrs. Xiao had never harmed Shangguan Yan, she had a deep prejudice against her. When she encountered something bad, she would always be the first to blame it on Shangguan Yan.

Shangguan Yan was the vixen that the world talked about. There were many people who put the blame on her, so she was not short of Eldest Mrs. Xiao. Shangguan Yan pressed Xiao Zhenting's hand and asked him to go to the side, and Xiao Zhenting obediently went to the side.

Shangguan Yan looked at Eldest Mrs. Xiao and said, "Sister-in-law, why would I do that to Big Brother?"

She knew about croton. It was a conventional diarrhea medicine. When Xiao Yan was young, he was silly and accidentally thought that croton was peanuts. He ate a few of them and scared her to death. After that, there was no more croton in her house.

Not to mention that she had no reason to harm her brother, even if she did, where could she get a few croton?

No, the doctor seemed to have said croton powder? She had never seen that thing before.

Eldest Mrs. Xiao was stumped by Shangguan Yan's question. That's right, why would she harm Eldest Master Xiao? Eldest Master Xiao was just an idle person raised in the manor. Firstly, he did not threaten the status of the second branch, and secondly, he did not interfere with the second branch's decision. If there was anything that the second branch did not like, it would probably be that he was a playboy and a prodigal. However, this was not the first day he did this. She did not harm him earlier or later, but she had to do it at this critical juncture.

The moment Eldest Mrs. Xiao wavered, Concubine Meng, who was at the side, panicked. Eldest Mrs. Xiao did not like them to begin with. If she found out that she had accidentally harmed Master, wouldn't she skin her alive? Since Eldest Mrs. Xiao suspected Shangguan Yan, she would let her continue suspecting!

Concubine Meng made up her mind and said, "Second Madam, no matter how much you dislike the eldest branch, you shouldn't vent your anger on Master."

Shangguan Yan said coldly, "When is it your turn to interrupt when I'm talking to Madam?"

Concubine Meng mustered her courage and raised her head. "Second Madam, even if you don't like it, I still have to say it!"

Shangguan Yan smiled faintly. "Alright, if you want to say it, I'll let you say it until you're satisfied. You said that I don't like the eldest branch, so why did I only drugged Eldest Master, your daughter and you?"

Concubine Meng's eyes flashed. "You… you're trying to harm Master. Third Miss and I just happened to be implicated. Besides, Eldest Madam hasn't sent food yet. If she did, who knows if you'll send a bowl of sweet potato leaves with croton powder? As for Second Miss, isn't your daughter-in-law around? Can you harm your daughter-in-law too? Second Miss escaped because of this."

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