Chapter 45: Poisonous or Not?

Proofreader: Prof. Zhu Yuan

Ruan Jiujiu pointed to Ruan Qingqing. Ruan Qingqing froze in perplexity.

She told Ruan Jiujiu? When?

People turned to Ruan Qingqing. They saw Ruan Jiujiu talk to Ruan Qingqing in a low voice just now. Nobody knew exactly what they were talking about. However, they heard faintly Ruan Qingqing utter the word “die.”

Ruan Qingqing had become the center of attention even before she could realize that.

A shiver ran over her body all of a sudden. Ruan Qingqing felt a hostile glare was fixed upon her. She raised her head and met the Emperor’s eyes.

There was a murderous look in his eyes.

Ruan Qingqing realized what was going on right now. She shouted: “No! I didn’t say that!”

“My dear sister, I’m so sorry. I brought it into the open merely because I was frightened. It is perfectly understandable that you didn’t want other people know it was you who had found these treasures poisonous.”

Ruan Jiujiu put on a remorseful tone. She sounded as though she had no choice but to give in to her fear.

It was quite reasonable that she chose to double-cross Ruan Qingqing for protecting herself in such a desperate situation.

“Your Majesty! I didn’t say that! How could I judge whether those treasures were poisonous or not from such a considerable distance?” Ruan Qingqing went all out to prove her innocence, while the guards who were going to arrest Ruan Jiujiu just now had already turned to her.

The Emperor would severely punish whoever tried to destroy his plan to humiliate Beiming Xuan.

Ruan Qingqing cried and even tried to escape. However, the strength of a little girl like Ruan Qingqing was definitely no match for that of the guards. The guards seized her tightly without the slightest effort. Ruan Qingqing got injured.

“Ruan Jiujiu, turns out you are so wicked. What Ruan Qingqing did was no more than cursing you, but you set your mind on killing her.”

Beiming Xuan’s secret words reached Ruan Jiujiu’s ears. Ruan Jiujiu was irritated.

Wicked? Only Ruan Qingqing deserved to be called “a wicked person” as she intended to kill Ruan Jiujiu in an underhand way.

Ruan Jiujiu ground her teeth as she spoke to Beiming Xuan in a low voice: “I have always been a wicked person. My Lord, be careful not to get schemed against by me!”

Beiming Xuan squinted his eyes. Intimidated by Beiming Xuan’s frosty gaze, Ruan Jiujiu zipped her lip.

“Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, I didn’t say that! I’m telling the truth! I didn’t say that!”

Ruan Qingqing was dragged into the city tower. She cried aloud. Ruffling the Emperor’s feathers was no different from courting death. In order to get spared, she shouted at the top of her lungs.

“My Lord, Your Highness, please save me!”

Having tried in vain to cry aloud, she turned to someone else in hope of being saved.

Empress Xiao had always taking gifts from Ruan Qingqing. What’s more, Ruan Qingqing presented lots of beauty maintenance medicine to the Empress every month. At the moment, Empress Xiao should step forward to support Ruan Qingqing.

Beiming Ting was her fiancé.

However, she had to face up to the harsh reality.

Empress Xiao had been kneeling on the ground for a while. Having yet to be pardoned by the Emperor, how could she intercede on Ruan Qingqing’s behalf?

Beiming Ting? No kidding. He was a clever person. He would not step forward unless he could derive benefit from saving her. Please never count on Beiming Ting if there was no benefit for him.

Ruan Qingqing almost cracked up!

No, she would stay alive. It was Ruan Jiujiu, instead of her, who would bear the heavy burden. And it was Ruan Jiujiu who would be sentenced to death.

“Your Majesty, Ruan Jiujiu is scheming against me! She wanted to curry favor with the Lord Ming, so she made up that nonsense to prevent the Lord Ming from accepting your gift. She did that deliberately. Your Majesty, Ruan Jiujiu is so wicked!”

Ruan Qingqing exerted herself physically and cried aloud. She couldn’t miss a single chance of staying alive.

The Emperor’s face was grave. Ruan Qingqing’s words were no different from revealing his intention to humiliate Beiming Xuan.

It was indeed a deliberate attempt to humiliate Beiming Xuan. However, nobody dared to air it openly.

The Emperor signaled to the guards to release Ruan Qingqing. He stared frostily at Ruan Qingqing and asked: “Let me ask you. Are the treasures toxic?”

“Non-toxic, absolutely non-toxic! The treasures Your Majesty gave to the Lord Ming are indeed non-toxic!” Ruan Qingqing froze for a second. Then she shouted at the top of her voice.

Only through supporting the Emperor right now could she stay alive.

“Are you sure?” The Emperor asked Ruan Qingqing again.

Ruan Qingqing nodded her head, using every ounce of her strength. Then she added: “Ruan Jiujiu was trying to prevent the Lord Ming from accepting the gift.”

She couldn’t afford to offend the Emperor as well as the Lord Ming. So she had to pin the blame on Ruan Jiujiu.

“Your sister is not as silly as you thought. Your plan didn’t work,” Beiming Xuan spoke secretly to Ruan Jiujiu. Ruan Jiujiu knitted her eyebrows upon hearing that. Then Beiming Xuan added: “Remember, I will not take the gift.”

Ruan Jiujiu ground her teeth. It was so shameless of Beiming Xuan to impose such an intolerable burden on a little girl.

Ruan Jiujiu had to shoulder that burden.

“Your Majesty, the treasures are poisonous. It is exactly what my sister told me just now!” Ruan Jiujiu shouted.

She could also shout aloud in an imposing manner!

The Emperor turned to Ruan Jiujiu immediately upon hearing her words. Ruan Jiujiu stepped forward and raised her head without fear.

“Nonsense! I didn’t say that!” Ruan Qingqing was so frightened that she became almost hysterical upon hearing Ruan Jiujiu’s words.

The way Ruan Qingqing behaved made it difficult for people to trust her. By contrast, Ruan Jiujiu remained calm and composed.

“So you believe the treasures are poisonous?” The Emperor had his frosty stare fastened on Ruan Jiujiu.

Ruan Jiujiu insisted that the treasures were poisonous, which was no different from accusing the Emperor of trying to poison the Lord Ming. How dare she!

At the moment, the Emperor could barely resist the urge to kill Ruan Jiujiu immediately!

However, he couldn’t sentence Ruan Jiujiu to death right now.

The Emperor would be misunderstood if he simply sentenced Ruan Qingqing or Ruan Jiujiu to death before the truth of the matter was discovered. He would lose his prestige and Beiming Xuan would gain strong support from common people.

Beiming Xuan, rather than the Emperor, was bound to be the silent victim!

“I’m pretty sure.” Ruan Jiujiu was firm in her stand. She turned to Ruan Qingqing as she raised her eyebrows: “My sister did say that. I have always believed her words without a shadow of doubt. I would rather believe her previous remarks, although I don’t know why she suddenly withdrew her words.”

Ruan Jiujiu kept acting in all apparent seriousness. Everyone couldn’t help but raise doubts about the Emperor’s intention. Were those three treasures poisonous? The Emperor was going to poison the Lord Ming?

“Are you sure the treasures are non-toxic?” The Emperor asked Ruan Qingqing. Her eyes were burning with hatred.

Ruan Jiujiu didn’t feel ashamed of herself for telling lies, which really freaked Ruan Qingqing out. Ruan Qingqing’s confidence was undermined.

She had to insist on her innocence as her life was at stake. She shouted: “I am pretty sure that these treasures are non-toxic!”

“Fine. Ruan Jiujiu said they were toxic, while Ruan Qingqing said they were non-toxic. I will give you an opportunity to prove your innocence.”

The Emperor said with a glum look on his face. His gaze was fixed on Beiming Xuan who was standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

Beiming Xuan remained calm and aloof as if what was going on right now didn’t concern him. By contrast, the Emperor’s fury appeared to be a hilarious topic of conversation.

The Emperor ground his teeth silently. As the present giver, he was well aware of the quality of the three treasures.

He decided to let Beiming Xuan know it was no easy to avoid being humiliated. Resorting to the so-called safety concern would never work!