Chapter 574: Conversation
Chapter 574: Chapter 574: Conversation
Ye Chutang looked at him and retorted calmly, "Is the Princely Heir so certain that the Marquis’s death was caused by my medicine?"
"What else could it be!? Father was perfectly fine, but after you came to see him, he—" Xie Anjun took a deep breath, as if suppressing his grief. "But I don’t want to argue with you about this today. Second Miss Ye, please leave!"
But Ye Chutang didn’t move. She simply tilted her head, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"If the Marquis was truly ’perfectly fine,’ then why would I have been summoned? Princely Heir, you were present when I examined the Marquis. Why didn’t you stop me then?"
"I—"
Xie Anjun was dumbfounded. He never imagined Ye Chutang could be so sharp-tongued, leaving him utterly speechless and unable to form a rebuttal.
Just then, a woman’s hoarse voice cut in. "Second Miss Ye, the Princely Heir misspoke just now out of impulse. I hope you won’t take it to heart."
Ye Chutang looked past Xie Anbai and saw Xiao Jiayi walking out from inside.
Her eyes were bloodshot, clear evidence that she had been crying.
Unlike the proud, noble bearing she had during the day, she now looked far more weary and haggard.
Xie Anbai’s expression turned ugly at her words. "Something happened to Father all of a sudden. Am I not allowed to say anything?!"
Xiao Jiayi closed her eyes, looking as if her patience was about to snap. "Even if you wish to lay blame, Princely Heir, today is not the day."
’For the great Marquis Mansion to be in such a chaotic, noisy uproar... what a disgrace!’
Xie Anjun’s lips moved, but he ultimately just let out a cold snort and said no more.
Xiao Jiayi then turned to Xie Anbai, her expression and tone growing cold.
"An Bai, I know you are heartbroken by Father’s passing and refuse to accept it, but you shouldn’t have suddenly summoned an outsider. What is the meaning of this?"
’Ye Chutang has no connection to the Duke Zhongyong Mansion whatsoever. Her presence here now is simply preposterous!’
But Xie Anbai completely ignored Xiao Jiayi, his gaze fixed fiercely on Xie Anjun.
"So, you’ve decided then? That Father’s death is connected to me and Second Miss Ye?"
Xie Anjun’s eyes narrowed. With a flick of his sleeve and a cold snort, he turned his head away.
Though he remained silent, his action was a clear admission.
Xie Anbai suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"But what if I told you that Father never even took the medicine!?"
"What!?"
Xie Anjun froze in shock, staring at Xie Anbai in utter disbelief.
For a split second, the composure on Xiao Jiayi’s face cracked.
"Wh-what are you saying?"
Xie Anbai’s gaze swept across his surroundings.
’He had grown up in this Marquis Mansion, but he didn’t know when it had stopped feeling like home.’
’The people here couldn’t tolerate him; they wished he were dead!’
’Before, they would at least pretend in front of others. Now that Father was gone, they had all revealed their true, monstrous faces!’
An endless sorrow washed over Xie Anbai’s heart. A cold wind swept past, chilling him to the bone.
His expression gradually froze, as if coated in a layer of frost. He spoke, enunciating every word.
"I said... before he died, Father never drank the medicinal decoction!"
"Impossible!"
Xie Anjun immediately shot back,
"The servants all saw you go in with the medicine pot! How could Father not have drunk it!"
His words shamelessly revealed that he had his own people in the mansion keeping Xie Anbai under heavy surveillance.
However, Xie Anbai couldn’t be bothered to argue the point. After so many years, he was used to it.
But the truth about the medicine had to be made clear.
He gave a mocking smile.
"It’s true that I personally supervised the brewing of Father’s medicine, and I delivered it myself. But he happened to wake up at that moment, and we spoke for a good while. By the time we finished, I realized the decoction was cold, so I intended to go reheat it. I never thought... If you don’t believe me, by all means, bring the medicine pot over and take a look for yourself!"