Chapter 111

Pei Shangling stood not far behind her, watching her.

Pei Yunxi cautiously observed Pei Shangling's expression; Pei Shangling, backlit by the sun, had half of his figure hidden in shadow, his expression dark and inscrutable.

She simply could not tell whether he was angry or not, or how angry he was.

Pei Yunxi swallowed hard, forcing a smile: "Ling-gege..."

Mu Yuanzhi also did not know when Pei Shangling had arrived, whether he had heard Pei Yunxi's words, and if he had, what his reaction would be.

But she knew in her heart that as long as Pei Yunxi cried while making excuses, he would believe him no matter what.

She looked at Pei Shangling, waiting for his reaction.

Pei Shangling's gaze fell on the ceramic jar held in Pei Yunxi's hands; this black ceramic jar, with a seal sticker on it, looked at first glance like nothing proper.

It looked exactly like something used to hold gu poison.

"Little sister, what is this?" Pei Shangling asked Pei Yunxi.

Pei Yunxi's heart gave a jolt.

Such a big jar—she couldn't hide it even if she tried!

That dead girl Xueer, what's she eating? She didn't even react when Ling-gege came!

Pei Yunxi blamed her maid while desperately thinking of how to explain herself.

"Is there gu inside?" Seeing her silence, Pei Shangling asked again.

His tone gave no hint of joy or anger, but Pei Yunxi was already terrified to death.

This indeed contains gu; using gu to counter gu, poison to counter poison—apparently many Miao gu poison remedies work this way. The gu she gave the Qilin was exactly such a remedy, a gu poison she had painstakingly had people retrieve, something ordinary Miao people would not recognize.

That's why she dared to put gu poison on that little devil Qilin; things went smoothly—if not for Pei Shangling showing up midway, Mu Yuanzhi might already be dead!

Pei Yunxi bit her lip, wanting to speak but stopping; she timidly glanced at Pei Shangling.

Mu Yuanzhi was actually curious to see how Pei Yunxi would act to bluff her way through; would Pei Shangling's pigbrain be fooled by her?

"Sorry! Ling-gege!" Pei Yunxi fell to her knees with a thud.

She was betting that Pei Shangling hadn't heard her and Mu Yuanzhi's earlier conversation; otherwise he would have asked first why she had said those words, not about the jar.

Since he hadn't heard, it would be much easier!

The sudden kneeling made Pei Shangling's heart soften instantly; seeing Pei Yunxi already tearing up, he immediately felt anguished.

Seeing him like that, Mu Yuanzhi only wanted to laugh.

As guessed, as soon as Pei Yunxi shed two tears, Pei Shangling would lose his bearings completely!

Useless stupid man!

"It's all my fault!" Pei Yunxi began to sob, "I saw the great-grandmother poisoned by the Qilin, and you couldn't get any results from the investigation; in a moment of worry I thought to poison the Qilin to force him to confess his crimes, but I never expected this gu to be so toxic!"

Pei Shangling heard this, his brows knitting tightly; he glanced at the mocking Mu Yuanzhi, pressed his lips, then said to Pei Yunxi, "Little sister, you're too impulsive; the Qilin may not be the one who poisoned the great-grandmother."

"Ling-gege's lecture is correct..."

Mu Yuanzhi laughed outright, "You actually believe that?"

Her eyes seemed to write two huge stupid characters; Pei Shangling's chest heaved heavily, and he said nothing.

Pei Yunxi, seeing that, gritted her teeth, unwillingly offered the ceramic jar, sobbing, "This is the gu that counteracts gu poison; I was about to give it to elder sister."

There was no choice; she had to do this.

All effort wasted!

It was only a little bit off—just a little more and she could have sent Mu Yuanzhi to her death!

Who knows when she'll get such a good chance again!

And this failure not only made her suspect by Ling-gege, truly losing the wife and losing the troops!

"Is this the antidote? Great, Yuanzhi, quickly take it and give it to the Qilin!" Pei Shangling said, smiling at Mu Yuanzhi.

He himself hadn't noticed that he had stopped calling Mu Yuanzhi by her full name and now used only her given name.

Mu Yuanzhi smiled, "Little sister, you're so kind-hearted—you don't need to trade my life for yours?"

Pei Yunxi's pupils shrank, she blinked before understanding: "Elder sister, what do you mean? I know you're angry that I gave the Qilin gu poison, but I did it for the great-grandmother too! How can you think this of me?"

"Again twisting right and wrong, black and white? Isn't that what you just said? You'll only hand over the antidote to save the Qilin if I go die." Mu Yuanzhi slowly and deliberately "reminded" Pei Yunxi.

Pei Yunxi hurriedly stole a glance at Pei Shangling, only to see his eyes wide open, an expression of disbelief.

Normally, Ling-gege would have already exploded in fury, scolding Mu Yuanzhi for talking nonsense; but now he was still in shock.

Could it be that he already believed her?

Pei Yunxi's heart was in turmoil, her anxiety reaching its peak.

She hastily wiped her tears with a handkerchief, crying bitterly: "Elder sister, why must you slander me so? Although it's my fault, I shouldn't have harmed anyone, but I was also acting for the great-grandmother—why do you think so ill of me?!"

She kept bringing up the Empress Dowager to absolve herself, while openly admitting she had harmed someone, seeming repentant, her sobs making her look pitiful.

And Pei Shangling? It was as if his acupuncture point had been struck mute; he didn't utter half a word, just standing there dazed.

"Although you're good at making excuses, even those fools believe you, but as long as you hand over the antidote it's fine." Mu Yuanzhi said, snatching the ceramic jar from Pei Yunxi's hand, "But remember, Pei Yunxi, you will surely die without a burial place."

She didn't care whether Pei Shangling had heard; after threatening Pei Yunxi, she strode away.

Pei Yunxi heard Mu Yuanzhi's such gloomy warning for the first time, the killing intent fully evident in her tone, and she panicked for no reason.

But she quickly calmed down, because she believed Mu Yuanzhi could not defeat her, and besides, Ling-gege must have heard those words just now; he must be furious, perhaps he'll soon catch up to Mu Yuanzhi to reprimand her!

However, as she waited hopefully, eyes wet, she lifted her gaze to Pei Shangling—yet he was only staring at her blankly, his eyes holding a complexity she could not read.

Pei Yunxi's confidence vanished in an instant; she cautiously said, "Ling-gege?"

She even forgot to cry, tentatively calling him.

"Little sister, why are you kneeling here?!" Pei Shangyan strode over, not understanding, he glanced at Pei Shangling: "Why are you making things difficult for little sister?"

Pei Shangling withdrew his gaze, casually glanced at them, turned and left, "I'm going to check on the Qilin."

Pei Shangyan hadn't figured out the situation; he helped Pei Yunxi up, "Little sister, what exactly happened?"

Pei Yunxi currently has no mood to deal with Pei Shangyan; her mind is full of Pei Shangling's oddness.