Shen Ninghua frowned. “Younger sister, what are you talking about?”
Shen Linghan looked at Shen Ninghua in horror as if she had discovered something important. Her face turned even paler. “It must be you. You must have secretly planned this. Elder sister, even if you hate father and mother for sending you away to recuperate in the country villa, you can’t do this to grandmother. Ever since you came back, grandmother has treated you very well. Why are you so malicious?”
Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “Younger sister, you have been talking about kindness and righteousness. However, you couldn’t wait to pour dirty water on me after the shopkeeper said that the pearl came from the Xia family!”
Other people looked at Shen Linghan and then Shen Ninghua. They couldn’t tell which one of them was telling the truth. They could only sigh in their hearts. The Shen family was really a place where one was apt to get into trouble. The two first daughters were both too outstanding. How could they not contend with each other by resorting to every possible means?
Shen Linghan’s palms were covered in cold sweat. This time she had plotted at the cost of harming her grandmother in front of so many people, so she must trample Shen Ninghua to death. “Elder sister, I’m saying this for your own good. If you confess now, mother will plead for you, and you can probably have your life spared. But if you don’t confess, you will definitely have no chance of survival.”
Shen Ninghua ignored Shen Linghan. Instead, she looked at Shen Xuanye with a silent mockery in her eyes. Shen Xuanye’s plan was not bad. Unfortunately, the helpers he had found were too eager to achieve quick results. “Younger sister, let’s listen to the Governor of Capital Guards. You are not a judge and can’t convict anyone with death penalty.”
Her way of survival was to send these people to hell. If these people did not die, she would never be able to live in peace.
Shen Xuanye narrowed his eyes and looked at Shen Linghan with intensified coldness. Now in his heart, he had defined her as an unusable and abandoned pawn! Shen Ninghua, by comparison, was usable. But she was too crafty and would not be used by him, so he could only ruthlessly wipe her out!
The Governor of Capital Guards’ face was already extremely stiff. He even doubted how Shen Dong had raised his daughter to make her so arrogant, even to the extent of being totally ignorant. “Shopkeeper Zhang, do you have any evidence to prove that this pearl came from the Xia family?”
Shopkeeper Zhang nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes. I was afraid of being caught in trouble when I bought the pearl, so I asked the seller to write a receipt.”
Baili Jinchuan frowned and said. “Take shopkeeper Zhang away to find the receipt.”
Shopkeeper Zhang was escorted down. Chen Yun arrived in a hurry. After greeting the two princes and others, he hurriedly went to check on Old Lady Xiao.
The corpse melting water was very powerful. Right now, Old Lady Xiao’s hands were already mangled and there was practically only her palm left in her right hand.
Chen Yun looked at her hands for a long time and said with a serious expression to Baili Jinchuan. “Your Highness, what was hidden in that pearl was the corpse melting water. To save her life, I must use a knife to cut off all the skin and flesh that were stained with the corpse melting water. Otherwise, her life will be at risk.”
Baili Jinchuan looked at Shen Dong and said, “Lord Shen, you see…”
Shen Dong’s face was full of pain, and both of his hands were trembling slightly. “Then…doctor Chen, thank you for taking the trouble.”
“You are welcome.” Chen Yun roasted a dagger on the fire and carefully treated Old Lady Xiao. After about an hour, he nodded and told Shen Dong that Old Lady Xiao’s life was out of danger. All she needed was a good rest.
Shen Dong heaved a sigh of relief, but his expression became even more dispirited. He did have affection for Old Lady Xiao. After all, Old Lady Xiao was his birth mother and helped him become the Shen family’s patriarch. Seeing her suffer, he naturally felt very sorry.
Shopkeeper Zhang was summoned in once again, and the receipt he found was presented to Baili Jinchuan.
Seeing the handwriting on it, Baili Jinchuan suddenly raised his head to look at Shen Ninghua. He had seen the war manual that Shen Ninghua copied for Shen Xuanhua, so he naturally recognized her handwriting. The characters on this receipt were obviously Shen Ninghua’s handwriting.
Shen Dong recognized it as well. The veins on his forehead popped out and he pointed at Shen Ninghua with trembling fingers. “You monster! You really plotted to murder your grandmother!”
Shen Ninghua looked at him coldly. Her heart was no longer disturbed by his accusation. “Father, I didn’t plot to murder my grandmother.”
“You’re still lying. See for yourself. Is this your handwriting?” Shen Dong suddenly threw the receipt beside Shen Ninghua’s feet.
Shen Ninghua’s expression did not change. She bent down to pick up the receipt, smoothed the wrinkles on it and took a closer look. Suddenly, she laughed out loud.
Shen Dong was shocked by her laughter and frowned at her.
Madam Zhao stared fiercely at Shen Ninghua. ‘”Ninghua, I sent you to the country villa to recuperate because of your poor health. I hired many doctors to treat you, but you still couldn’t recover. Plus, your fate was a little too tough. During that time, our family was undergoing a lot of difficulties. I had no choice but to…I was also very sorry for you. But you failed me and your father. If you have any resentment, just say it out loud. Why would you use such a method to retaliate?”
Madam Zhao looked like a kindhearted mother, but her words were very ruthless. In her description, Shen Ninghua’s fate was tough, her heart was vicious, and she poisoned her close relatives…Every single accusation was enough to spell doom for Shen Ninghua.
“Mother, if you treat me so well, how would you refuse to believe in my innocence?” Shen Ninghua refuted.
Madam Zhao wiped away her tears. “Ninghua, how can I believe you this time? You are too muddle-headed.”
“Haha,” Shen Ninghua chuckled again. “Mother, you said that I was in poor health and that I needed to go to the country villa to recuperate. However, during the entire year of my stay in the villa, the Shen family had never sent even a single needle to the villa. If I hadn’t met the old doctor to help me improve my health conditions, I would have died long ago.”
Bai Ruo walked out, lifting a thin notebook above her head and kneeling down. “Master, madam, this notebook had the records of the medicinal herbs that the young lady used to recuperate, as well as the records of us selling jewelry and embroidery to buy the medical materials. The last page of the notebook was the analysis of the young lady’s fate that the old doctor made based on the date of her birth and her horoscope. There is nothing wrong with the young lady’s fate at all! ”
Madam Zhao’s face was pale. Previously, she thought that Shen Ninghua had fallen off the cliff and was dead. She never thought that Shen Ninghua would be able to come back. Therefore, she didn’t even bother to feign kindness to Shen Ninghua. She really didn’t send anything to the country villa. Now, she had no way of refuting.
Shen Dong was about to take the notebook, but the Second Prince, Baili Jinchuan, was one step ahead of him. He took over the notebook, opened it and examined the contents carefully. There were clear records of the time and items that were pawned and the medical materials that were purchased. Baili Jinchuan couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. No wonder he had sensed Shen Ninghua’s resentment. Even a first daughter was treated like this, and no one else would be willing to bear the insult.
When he saw the last page, he suddenly widened his eyes. On it was written Shen Ninghua’s fate analysis that read “Destined to Good Luck and a Noble Fate.” This kind of fate analysis was not rare. Girls from families of officials could all be considered to have good luck and a noble fate. But he felt that something was inexplicable.
Shen Ninghua closed her eyes and sighed as if she was in despair. She handed the receipt over to Shen Dong and said, “Father, if you don’t believe the words in that notebook, it’s fine. Just take what I said as nonsense. I admit that I have complaints in my heart, but I absolutely refuse to admit anything about murdering grandmother. The handwriting on this receipt is very similar to mine, but it’s only similar. I didn’t write the receipt.”
Shen Linghan refused to give up. She took a scripture from the maid’s hand and opened it in front of everyone. “If you don’t admit it, then let everyone see if this handwriting is yours or not.”
People passed around the handwritten scripture and the receipt, discussing whether they were the same or not.
Shen Ninghua sighed. “At this time, I don’t want to continue the farce. Younger sister, take a closer look. If someone else writes a horizontal stroke, they will write from left to right. But my horizontal strokes are all written from right to left.”
Shen Linghan was stunned for a moment. She quickly stepped forward, took the scripture and carefully examined it. “This … this is impossible. You must have forged it.”
“Why would I forge this? You can flip through everything I’ve written. You won’t find any exception.” Shen Ninghua said with a sad tone. “I heard from my nurse that my birth mother could never write well the horizontal stroke, so she simply wrote it the opposite way. The horizontal stroke actually turned out to be quite good. In order to commemorate my birth mother, I wrote the horizontal stroke the same way.”
Many ladies below immediately dispelled their doubts about Shen Ninghua when they heard this. How could such a pure and kindhearted girl have such malicious intentions?
Madam Shao said, “Lord Shen, Ninghua is the most kindhearted girl. From the birthday gift she prepared, it can be seen that she is very filial. Even in such a difficult environment as the country villa, she did not forget to copy the scriptures and embroider the screen for her grandmother. You must not make her bitterly disappointed.”
The other ladies all agreed. Shen Ninghua’s expression aroused their pity. If Shen Dong forced Shen Ninghua to confess, he would be too biased in the eyes of the people present.
Shen Dong looked at Shen Ninghua’s face that bore a high degree of resemblance to Madam Xia’s, and his heart ached slightly. Even if this child had a grudge in her heart, it was only natural. The Shen family had indeed treated her unfairly.
Madam Zhao gritted her teeth in hatred. She coldly looked up at Shen Ninghua, and her heart trembled all of a sudden. Then, she realized that Shen Ninghua must have discovered their plan long ago and turned their trick to her own use by making this plot to destroy her reputation today! She thought quickly to find a way to deal with the situation. She couldn’t let Shen Ninghua get her way!
Shen Ninghua looked at the sudden enlightenment in the First Lady’s expression, and sneered in her heart. The First Lady finally figured it out, but unfortunately, it was already too late.
“Father, if you still have doubt about the receipt, I have other evidence to prove my innocence. Bai Ruo, take it out.”
“Yes, Miss.” Bai Ruo respectfully bowed, and then took out a box from her sleeve and opened the lid. There was another illuminating pearl lying inside!
“This…”
“There’s another one?”
“I’m afraid the previous one wasn’t true. I told you, how could the Xia family’s heirloom contain poison?”
“Right.”
Shen Ninghua lowered her eyes as she listened to people’s discussions. “Father, this pearl was left behind by my mother. It’s very simple to prove its authenticity. When I found my birth mother’s dowry was used by others, I had made this point. Any article that belongs to my birth mother, regardless of what it is, will definitely be engraved with the imprint of an azalea.”
As she spoke, she picked up the pearl and raised it against the sunlight. A burst of seven-colored light flashed, and the shadow of the illuminating pearl was on the ground. Amidst the shadow, there was the shape of an azalea slightly shaking and shining.
Madam Zhao’s face turned pale: Oh, hell’s bells!