Chapter Ninety-Eight: Deception

Upon hearing Xu Ruo Jin’s words, Bai Mei’s face immediately stiffened, her wide eyes betraying guilt as she quickly lowered her head.

“I don’t know what the Second Miss means. I was only following your orders.”

“Following my orders?” Xu Ruo Jin smiled lightly. “If you truly were, why would you be so obsessed over a single bowl of wine? If you weren’t afraid there was something wrong with it, why wouldn’t you dare to drink it?”

“I genuinely only had the courtyard’s work in mind, with no other intentions.”

Bai Mei swallowed hard, steadying her nerves before lifting her head. “I’ve always worked wholeheartedly. I don’t understand why the Second Miss keeps making things difficult for me.”

“Making you drink a bowl of wine—would you call that difficult?”

Xu Ruo Jin glanced sideways at Xiao Ke, who looked at Bai Mei in confusion, then turned a shocked gaze toward her.

Holding her breath, Bai Mei hadn’t dared to swallow it down.

Her eyes flickered nervously as she looked around, pursing her lips before saying, “Second Miss, I don’t know why you blame me. It’s true I took the wine jar that day, but there were so many jars—how could you be sure the one I took was the problematic one?”

“Because I marked that jar.”

Xu Ruo Jin pointed to a white scratch on the side of the wine jar. “And you still dare to say you didn’t tamper with it?”

“No, I just took the jar out. I even got slapped a few times by Mother Huang because of it...” Bai Mei’s face was full of guilt. Her eyes never left the bowl of wine, fearing someone would force it down her throat.

Xu Ruo Jin sneered. So young, and already beginning to show her true colors?

She gave Chun Cao a look, and Chun Cao spoke, “Think it through carefully. The reason the Second Miss stopped to ask you directly is out of consideration for the days you’ve served. If she reported this straight to Madam, think about the consequences for yourself—no need for me to elaborate, right?”

Bai Mei’s face was filled with shock, her steps faltered twice. Before she could reply, Xiao Ke pointed at her in astonishment.

“So it was you who doctored the Second Miss’s wine and made me do so much work. Red Apricot Sister scolded me many times. How could you be so heartless?”

After scolding Bai Mei, Xiao Ke stepped forward toward Xu Ruo Jin.

“Second Miss, a few days ago when I cleaned the wine jars in your room, it was under her orders. Seeing this, she’s truly cruel.”

Xu Ruo Jin quietly asked, “What cruelty?”

“This way, you, Red Apricot Sister, and Chun Cao Sister should all suspect me, right?”

Xiao Ke glared at Bai Mei with resentment. “You’re truly wicked.”

“Today I realized you’re quite clever. I never thought she’d repeatedly have you handle the jars and keep you absent from the scene. She deliberately set you up as a scapegoat. Xiao Ke, I underestimated you.”

Xu Ruo Jin’s sarcasm was clear to Xiao Ke.

---

But she didn’t regret it and continued, “I was tricked before. I was falsely accused so terribly. I never thought I’d encounter this in the Xu Mansion. I truly serve you with all my heart, without any ill intentions!”

“Then according to you, who is she acting under?”

Xu Ruo Jin didn’t accept Xiao Ke’s allegiance but instead threw the question back at her.

Xiao Ke’s eyes darted around before answering immediately, “I don’t know who it is, but these past days, some maids from the mansion came to see her.”

“Which maid?”

“I don’t recognize them.”

“How do you know they’re from the mansion?”

“I’ve seen them before, they look familiar, but I don’t know their names.”

Xu Ruo Jin smiled faintly. “So what else do you know?”

Biting her lip, Xiao Ke glared at Bai Mei. “That’s all I know. Nothing more.”

“Did you hear that?” Xu Ruo Jin looked at Bai Mei. “Confess. Who is it? Tell me, and I promise you won’t be handed over to the authorities. Otherwise... you’d be guilty of harming your mistress, a grave crime that would ruin your parents’ lives as well. Is it worth it?”

“I truly didn’t!” Bai Mei gritted her teeth, refusing to admit anything.

At that moment, Hong Xing rushed in hurriedly, storming up to Bai Mei and striking her. “You heartless wretch! Do you know you killed Yang Tao? That wine was poisoned, and it’s your doing! I’ll beat you to death...”

Before Bai Mei could recover, she was slapped repeatedly.

But Hong Xing’s words truly shocked her.

Her vision blurred, her head throbbing. In this mansion, the only person she got along with was Yang Tao.

Killed Yang Tao?

How could she have done that?

Though the wine was tampered with, it wasn’t poison.

If Yang Tao died because of that, she would truly be turned over to the authorities and beheaded.

Hong Xing’s slaps landed one after another on Bai Mei, who crouched on the ground holding her head, pain unbearable. Blood soon trickled down her face.

“It wasn’t me who killed her! I didn’t poison it! I didn’t kill her!”

Hong Xing rolled up her sleeves. “If not you, then who? I’m reporting you to the authorities this instant!”

---

Bai Mei hastily tried to clear her name. “I didn’t kill her! The wine wasn’t poisoned—it was just a laxative. The Eldest Young Mistress gave the croton seed. How could it be poison...”

Eldest Young Mistress?

Upon hearing those words, Hong Xing stopped hitting her.

Though still filled with hatred, she struck her a few more times. Bai Mei knelt on the ground, disheveled and tear-streaked.

“I didn’t mean to kill Yang Tao. Truly, it wasn’t intentional. I absolutely did not poison her! I didn’t know it was poison—it was all the Eldest Young Mistress’s doing...”

Mentioning Li Qiuping, a wave of disgust and loathing swept across Xu Ruo Jin’s face.

Did she really want to see her humiliated like this?

Trapped in the courtyard by the Yang family, yet all the hatred was thrown onto her.

Who had she provoked?

Why was everyone’s blame aimed at her?

Xiao Ke stood dumbfounded by the side, staring at Bai Mei’s heartbreaking crying. In truth, she was frightened by the news of Yang Tao’s death.

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