Chapter 165: Something’s Wrong with the Water

The Marquis of Lu narrowed his eyes, realizing that it was the man who had come with Ye Xin Ran.

The man wore a bamboo hat, and had not spoken a word since he entered the room.

When had he even come to stand by his side?

The Marquis of Lu’s expression changed. “What do you want?”

Xiao Huai’an spoke in a cold tone, “Marquis, your reputation is well-known. Is it wise to raise your hand in front of outsiders? Doesn’t it damage your dignity?”

Leng Qing Yu also stepped in, pulling Lu Chang Qing behind her. “Chang Qing is still young, he doesn’t have the heart for these matters. Marquis, you’re overreacting.”

The scene grew chaotic as everyone seemed to forget the purpose of the gathering today.

Ye Xin Ran had no choice but to speak up. “Can we set aside unrelated matters for now? The blood-test process is not finished yet.”

Xiao Huai’an let go of his hand and stepped back behind Ye Xin Ran.

Lu Zhi Yi, however, walked up to Ye Xin Ran. Her voice was gentle, but her face was not as pleasant.

“Ye Xin Ran, I think you’re mistaken. The result just now already proves that I am the Marquis’s daughter, and you are nothing but an outsider. We have already been merciful by not pursuing your intentions. What more do you want?”

Ye Xin Ran smiled lightly. “I don’t want anything.”

“I wasn’t even interested in the blood-test. It was the Marquis who insisted, which led to today’s situation. But now that I’m here, we must get to the bottom of this.”

“Now, I suspect something’s wrong with these two bowls of water, so we need to clarify that!”

“Something’s wrong with the water?”

The servants exchanged confused glances.

“Aren’t they both just plain water? They look the same to me.”

“Yeah, what could be different about the water?”

Leng Qing Yu began to calm down after hearing Ye Xin Ran’s words.

She looked around coldly and asked, “Who brought the water just now?”

“Replying to the Madam, it was Xia Zhu.”

Lan Zhi, who was standing by Leng Qing Yu’s side, answered.

Everyone’s attention turned to Xia Zhu.

Xia Zhu trembled slightly, not daring to look up.

“Xia Zhu!”

Leng Qing Yu shouted sharply.

Xia Zhu fell to her knees with a loud thud, bowing twice.

“Replying to the Madam, the water I brought was from the kitchen’s water tank. The two bowls of water are exactly the same, there is absolutely no difference.”

“Xin Ran, can you tell if there’s any difference in the water?”

Among all present, only Ye Xin Ran was knowledgeable in medicine, so Leng Qing Yu asked her to determine the difference.

The Marquis, however, disagreed.

“Miss Ye is directly involved in this matter. If she judges it herself, it might not be impartial. It would be better to invite a doctor from Shun Medical Hall to come and have a look.

It’s better to have an observer make the decision so that this matter can be handled fairly.

This will also prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.”

When the Marquis said this, he looked directly at Ye Xin Ran.

Ye Xin Ran received his gaze but didn’t mind. Instead, she smiled.

“You’re quite thoughtful, Marquis. Did you expect this situation to arise?”

The Marquis’s expression froze, but he remained silent. Ye Xin Ran continued, “There’s no need for such trouble. I have a simpler solution.”

“A simpler solution?”

Everyone turned their attention to her.

Ye Xin Ran didn’t speak right away. Instead, she walked toward the bowl of clear water.

“Ye Xin Ran, what are you trying to do?”

Lu Zhi Yi felt a sense of unease, unsure of what Ye Xin Ran was planning to do next, so she spoke up to try and stop her.

Ye Xin Ran turned her head, raised her hand to signal for quiet, and then said:

“I’m not trying to cause any trouble.

Actually, it’s very simple to prove if there’s something wrong with the water.

In the left bowl, my blood and the Marquis’s blood couldn’t merge,

but in the right bowl, Miss Lu’s and the Marquis’s blood mixed together.

Now, if I drop one more drop of my blood into the right bowl,

what do you think will happen?”

“Of course, it won’t mix!”

Before Ye Xin Ran even finished speaking, a servant responded.

Others, seeing the expressions on the Marquis and his wife’s faces, also chimed in, saying, “If it doesn’t mix, it doesn’t mix. It’s the same in which ever bowl!”

“Yes, the result would be the same!”

Ye Xin Ran waved her hand and continued the conversation.

“Logically, that would be the case.”

“But what if my blood does mix with the two others in the right bowl? What would that prove?”

“Impossible!”

“Yeah, that’s impossible!”

Ye Xin Ran smiled. “Well, that would prove there’s something wrong with the water, wouldn’t it?”

With that, she took the silver needle and poked it into the previous wound, allowing one drop of fresh blood to fall into the right bowl.

The atmosphere was even more tense than before.

Leng Qing Yu took the initiative to step forward, her eyes fixed on the bowl of water.

Lu Chang Qing and Leng Qing Xin also moved closer.

They watched as Ye Xin Ran’s drop of fresh blood slowly seeped into the two drops of blood that had already merged together in the bowl.

Soon, the three drops of blood fused into one.

“It’s merging! It’s merging!”

“Wow! It really mixed together!”

“Oh my god! So the water really has a problem!”

Everyone was talking over each other as they looked at the bowl of water.

Lu Zhi Yi, however, stared blankly at Lu Ting En, a lost expression on her face.

It was all Ye Xin Ran’s fault for ruining their plans!

Lu Ting En looked at Xia Zhu and sternly asked, “What is going on here?”

Xia Zhu knelt down once again, her head hitting the floor with a thud.

“Please, my lord and madam, spare me! I really didn’t do anything, I swear I didn’t do anything!”

Leng Qing Yu, enraged, kicked her: “The evidence is right in front of you, and you still dare to say you did nothing? What audacity! How dare you tamper with such matters.”

“Lan Zhi!”

“Yes!”

Lan Zhi stepped forward.

“Take her away and sell her off. Sell her far away, so she can never return to the capital,” Leng Qing Yu commanded.

“Yes!” Lan Zhi answered.

Xia Zhu kept bowing and knocking her head on the ground until blood poured from her forehead. “Madam, please! I’m truly innocent. Please, have mercy!”

Leng Qing Yu waved her hand, signaling Lan Zhi to stop. She then asked coldly, “I might let you go, but tell me, who instructed you to do this?”

“No one instructed me! I really don’t know anything!”

Xia Zhu’s face was covered in blood, looking fierce and twisted.

Lu Ting En spoke up, “Madam, please don’t be too angry. Don’t let this lowly servant make you upset.”

Leng Qing Yu’s voice was cold: “How could such a treacherous person be in my household? This is a failure of my management. Even if I die of anger, it’s my own fault!”

Lu Ting En: “…”

Leng Qing Yu hadn’t spoken to him this way for a long time, and for a moment, Lu Ting En didn’t know how to respond.

He gently patted her shoulder and said, “Madam, think about it carefully. The water bowl was originally placed there. Miss Ye was the first to approach it. She chose the bowl herself, and her blood was the first to be dropped in.

If someone had tampered with the water beforehand, how did Miss Ye happen to pick the problematic bowl?

Don’t you think there’s something strange about this?”