The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Jiang Guo'er gritted her teeth and dug her nails into her palms.

The intense pain jolted her mind back into focus.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, today is the Old Madam's birthday banquet, and there are many people and things are chaotic in the front hall and back courtyard."

"That cup of tea, from the time I poured it and placed it on the corner of the table until Sister Suyue drank it, took at least half an incense stick's time."

She paused deliberately, her gaze sweeping over the servants who were now silent with fear.

"During this time, there were more than a dozen maids and servants coming and going to serve food and add wine; any of them could easily poison the food."

"Sister Cuiping concluded that I was the murderer simply because I poured the tea—"

She took a deep breath and spoke with conviction.

"That's too arbitrary and unfair!"

Cuiping was stunned for a moment.

She never expected that Jiang Guo'er, even in dire straits, could remain so calm and turn the tables on her.

But she quickly realized what was happening, raised her voice, and her eyes were full of disdain.

"What a sharp tongue you have! Don't think I don't know you've been in this household for over a month, spending your days chopping wood and tending the fire; you've long harbored resentment!"

"That day you delivered velvet flowers to Suyue, and seeing that she had gained the Prime Minister's favor, you became envious and jealous, feeling that she was blocking your path to advancement. So, taking advantage of the large number of people at the Old Madam's birthday banquet, you ruthlessly murdered her!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Killing out of jealousy is all too common in the inner quarters of a household.

However, after hearing this, Jiang Guo'er not only didn't panic, but a very faint smile appeared on her lips.

"My sister is right, I did suffer some injustice."

Cuiping raised an eyebrow, thinking that she couldn't hold on any longer and was finally going to admit it.

"But if we really want revenge..." Jiang Guo'er's tone suddenly changed.

"Those old women who humiliated me should be poisoned first. Sister Suyue kindly accepted my velvet flowers; I should be trying to curry favor with her. Why kill her?"

Cuiping's upturned lips froze instantly.

Jiang Guo'er didn't give her a chance to reply and sighed softly.

"Everyone in the manor knows that Sister Suyue once served the Prime Minister. To harm her is tantamount to slapping the Prime Minister in the face."

Her shoulders were taut, but her voice was remarkably steady.

"No matter how foolish or ignorant I am, I would never dare to risk my life to test the Prime Minister's blade!"

"If Your Excellency does not believe me, you may bring those gossipy old women here for questioning, and you will know the truth in no time."

All around was silent.

Pei Yan stood quietly in place, his eyelids slightly lowered, his thumb slowly stroking the cloud pattern on his cuff.

interesting.

A concubine maid who was ostracized had a knife to her neck, but she neither cried, made a fuss, nor begged for mercy.

Instead, he cleverly outmaneuvered Cuiping.

He glanced coldly at Cuiping beside him.

Although the maid was somewhat flustered, a hint of smugness remained hidden in her eyes.

She was undoubtedly a spy planted by Kunning Palace.

He was mostly convinced that no matter how badly he handled the situation, he would go along with it for the sake of the Empress.

In today's situation, someone has to take the blame and bear the consequences.

Pei Yan suppressed the surging anger in his eyes and slightly raised his chin.

"The witnesses are here, and the motive is clear. Drag this wicked woman away, lock her in the woodshed in the north courtyard, and keep her under strict guard until she is sentenced."

...A poisonous woman?

Jiang Guo'er looked up, her eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief.

Is this man deaf?!

Did he not hear a single one of the loopholes she just pointed out?

Before her death, her father told her that although the current Grand Secretary Pei Yan was ruthless, he had the country at heart and cared for the people. He was a fair and honest minister who was rare in a century.

What utter nonsense about fairness and integrity!

Without asking the reasons or investigating the truth, she was hastily convicted based solely on the accusations of a maid!

Is the so-called uprightness only applicable to those aristocratic and wealthy families?

Are maids and servants of lowly birth destined to be trampled on at will?!

So what does it mean that she went through so much hardship, changed her name and surname, and infiltrated the Pei family?

She's blind!

"Your Excellency is wise!" Cuiping immediately knelt down to express her gratitude, her lips curling into an undisguised smile of delight.

Two rough-looking old women immediately pounced on her, grabbed her arms from the left and right, and twisted them violently backward.

With her shoulder blades nearly broken, Jiang Guo'er let out a muffled groan as her knees slammed heavily onto the cold blue bricks.

The wooden hairpin fell off, her black hair was disheveled, and half of her body was in so much pain that she lost consciousness.

She was dragged out like a sack of potatoes, her toes leaving two long trails on the ground.

My initial hope, which I still held onto, gradually cooled down.

As she passed Pei Yan, she desperately turned her head away, as if trying to say something more.

But the man had already turned his back and was quietly instructing the butler on how to handle the aftermath.

The moment she was thrown over the threshold, the cold wind cut her face like a knife, and Jiang Guo'er's jaw clenched uncontrollably.

woodshed.

The rusty iron chain clattered shut, locking the wooden door shut. Outside, the old women's sneer echoed, adding insult to injury.

"She looks so effeminate, she's obviously not a peaceful person. Now she's getting her comeuppance."

"Enough of your meddling. If the Prime Minister wants her dead, she won't even see the sun rise tomorrow!"

The footsteps faded into the distance, and the woodshed fell into dead silence.

The woodshed was pitch black, drafty, and piled with chopped firewood in the corner, emitting a musty, damp smell.

Jiang Guo'er huddled in the innermost corner, hugging her knees, trembling like a sieve.

She instinctively reached into her bosom and grabbed the palm-sized silk doll.

That was the only source of warmth she had.

But this warmth couldn't warm her heart, which felt like it was in an ice cave.

Cold sweat poured out layer by layer, and fear and despair overwhelmed her completely.

"Pei Yan...you hypocrite...you bastard!"

She gritted her teeth, her eyes were bloodshot, and her voice was broken and incoherent.

"What talk of universal admiration and impartiality! They're clearly cold-blooded, heartless, blind, and utterly deceitful!"

"Indiscriminately accusing the innocent and condoning the true culprit!"

"My father even praised you as a pillar of the nation, a key minister... In my opinion, you're nothing but a despicable scoundrel, worse than a pig or a dog!"

As she cursed, scalding tears fell like beads from a broken string.

She didn't feel wronged, but rather disheartened by this hopeless dead end.

The blood feud of the execution of the entire Marquis's family has not yet been avenged, and his father and brothers are still burdened with the stigma of treason and collusion with the enemy.

She couldn't even find out who her enemy was!

What should I do...?

She couldn't just sit and wait to die.

But in the entire Pei household, apart from Lianhua and the Kitchen Goddess, probably no one would believe her.

Even if Granny Li remembered her contribution in mending the pillow, would she dare to disobey the Prime Minister for her sake?

Tears fell in a steady stream onto her inner garment, quickly soaking the doll in her arms.

Jiang Guo'er couldn't even wipe it off in time, so she simply gave up and buried her face in her knees.

Its small body curled up into a ball, trembling desperately in the darkness.

Meanwhile, in the Pei family study.

Pei Yan was sitting upright behind his desk, carefully reviewing official documents.

The flickering candlelight cast a deep shadow on his handsome, cold face.

The candlelight flickered twice, and his hand holding the pen suddenly stopped.

A sudden pressure came from my chest, a suffocating tension.

Again!

But this time, the feeling was completely different from usual.

The previous times, although they had made him feel suffocated, they were still somewhat soft.

But now, the force gripping his chest was trembling violently!

It was chaotic and disorganized.

Pei Yan frowned slightly, and just as he was about to put down his pen, he suddenly felt a chill on his forehead.

Suddenly something scalding hot hit his forehead.

One drop, two drops, rolled down the high bridge of his nose and onto his tightly pursed lips.

He instinctively licked the corner of his lips.

An intensely bitter salty taste exploded on the tip of the tongue.

These are... tears.

His destined woman...cried?

Pei Yan's usually calm and collected phoenix eyes showed a rare ripple.

He closed his eyes slightly and felt the clear tremor again.

And a kind of despair where you're pushed to the edge of a cliff and don't even dare to cry out.

Who bullied her like this?