Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 2581: Chapter 2582: Courting Trouble

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight days passed since the commotion of the Posthouse being surrounded, and everything settled down, though the citizens of Kyoto were still discussing Anben’s situation. Everyone knew he had escaped, and many were worried, fearing he would return to disrupt the government.

Just as everyone was speculating about Anben’s skills, someone was beating the drum to file a grievance at the government office in Kyoto.

”Who is underneath, and why do you beat the drum to file a grievance?” asked the criminal officer of Kyoto.

”I am the daughter of the Tangmu Family, my name is Hui Zi. I want to accuse the Zhongyuan envoy, Bai Ruozhu, of poisoning and framing me, humiliating my reputation!” said the woman kneeling below, her face full of anger.

The criminal officer muttered to himself, how come it’s again about the Zhongyuan envoy, that commotion had barely calmed down.

”Do you have any evidence?” asked the criminal officer.

”I once spoke out righteously at the Poetry Competition and accidentally offended her. Later, at the Poetry Competition not long ago, everyone could testify, she was targeting me heavily. Subsequently, I was framed and lost my purity, but no one believed it was her who used poison on me. Just a few days ago, a major incident occurred at the Posthouse, revealing her identity as a Poison Master. How can she explain that?” said Hui Zi.

The criminal officer thought about it and said, ”Even if she is a Poison Master, it doesn’t prove she poisoned you. Do you have any other evidence?”

Previously, even General Chisong surrounded the Posthouse, but later withdrew his troops. The Emperor was very accommodating towards those envoys; how dare he provoke trouble at this time?

So, the criminal officer thought it best to dismiss this lady named Hui Zi for now.

Unwillingly, Hui Zi took out a sheet of paper, carefully opened it, ”My lord, this is the evidence I found when I had someone search in the Poetry Competition’s garden afterward. I had it examined, and it contains some Drug Powder, namely Aphrodisiac.”

The corner of the criminal officer’s mouth twitched; the Fusang folk customs are open, but bringing this topic up is somewhat embarrassing.

”Coroner, go have a look.” The criminal officer ordered his subordinates to examine it and soon confirmed it indeed was Aphrodisiac and very potent.

At this moment, the deputy officer carefully reminded, ”M’lord, even if this is Aphrodisiac, it doesn’t prove it was the Zhongyuan envoy who administered it, right?”

Hui Zi looked up and exclaimed, ”I plead for justice, my Lord. I had someone investigate, and this paper has a special manufacturing method, not typical of Fusang papermaking habits but produced in Zhongyuan!”

Upon hearing this, the criminal officer couldn’t dismiss it any further and had to have someone check it out. It turned out to be just as Hui Zi stated; the paper was indeed not produced in Fusang.

”I plead for justice for me, a Noble Lady of Fusang, who cannot let Bai Ruozhu as the Zhongyuan envoy have free reign in Fusang and falsely implicate innocent Noble Ladies of Fusang. Furthermore, I accuse Fangzi as an accomplice; unhappy with me marrying her second brother, she and Bai Ruozhu plotted such a scheme.” Hui Zi said, knocking her head fiercely.

Reluctantly, the criminal officer had no choice but to summon Bai Ruozhu; else he would be accused of shielding and corruption.

The officer dispatched encountered Sa Tian on the way to the Posthouse; Sa Tian happened to know one of them and soon inquired about the reason.

As soon as Sa Tian reached the Posthouse, he hurriedly explained to Bai Ruozhu who, after listening, chuckled.

Firstly, she never wraps her poison in paper; she always uses bottles, sometimes jade ones for better quality, and porcelain ones as general practice.

Secondly, even if the poison were wrapped in paper, Fo Lanying doesn’t have the habit of carelessly discarding packaging. Bai Ruozhu usually enjoys educating people about environmental protection, often saying not to litter, and would Fo Lanying be foolish enough to throw paper around her vicinity?

Lastly, it’s autumn with frequent winds, which makes finding a lightweight paper remarkable indeed, even more so when the wind hasn’t whipped the Drug Powder off the paper—truly peculiar.

”She must be framing you. I’ll accompany you to the government office, and can act as a translator for you then,” said Sa Tian angrily.

Bai Ruozhu rubbed her nose; facing such an upright young man made her somewhat embarrassed. Hui Zi could not be entirely accused of framing, as Bai Ruozhu had indeed poisoned Hui Zi.

”Well then, thank you,” Bai Ruozhu said while standing up, Fo Lanying and Yizi wanted to follow but were stopped by Bai Ruozhu.

”Look at what kind of matter it is that involves Hui Zi; it’s awkward for you unmarried young women to go. Achun is out handling affairs; even if he were here, I wouldn’t let him go either; just wait at home,” Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.

Fo Lanying wanted to say how dare someone accuse her, but since Sa Tian was present, she couldn’t speak freely, so she agreed.

Bai Ruozhu went to the government office with Sa Tian and the officer, and upon entering, she saw Hui Zi and the already summoned Fangzi.

Fangzi, being a young girl, was intimidated by the scene, and upon seeing Bai Ruozhu, promptly sought her for help.

Bai Ruozhu gave her a reassuring look, and Fangzi didn’t know why, but suddenly felt much calmer, as if she found her backbone.

The chief officer explained the situation, speaking very courteously, and then asked Bai Ruozhu for her viewpoint.

Bai Ruozhu casually glanced at Hui Zi, then at the evidence presented in the hall, quickly understanding what was going on.

The paper of the Drug Powder indeed came from what they brought from Zhongyuan; she remembered their ship anchored at the Pier was raided by pirates, and later General Chisong caught the pirates but not the real Boss among them, only recovering part of the stolen items, including this paper.

Why was this paper considered special? In fact, it wasn’t the usual straw paper but was blended with silk.

However, this kind of paper was thicker than regular paper, and the surface wasn’t smooth due to the silk; who would use it to wrap drugs?

Of course, it also explained why Drug Powder remained on the paper.

”Simply pinning it on me because of one piece of paper feels a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it?” Bai Ruozhu chuckled, ”My Lord, Kyoto’s people knew our official ship was raided by pirates; His Majesty and General Chisong later sent people to apprehend them, finally recovering part of the lost items, including such silk paper.”

She then smiled at Hui Zi, ”My Lord can also inquire from those who attended the Poetry Conference; whether I left the scene at any point, it was Hui Zi herself who left midway and sent her maid to invite Fangzi to the Back Garden to talk. The maid was brought to the Government Office at the time, but to save face for Hui Zi’s family, the matter was suppressed. Am I right?”

Hui Zi hurriedly said, ”I intended to speak with Fangzi that day, mainly hoping to reconcile, but who knew you schemed to invite Lord Dubian and used drugs on us!”

”I never left the scene, just went to observe you brazenly mingling with Lord Dubian in daylight with people all around. How could you pin it on me?” Bai Ruozhu spoke sharply, deliberately accentuating the ”mingling” part.