Chapter 1409: Whispering Among The Servants
Along the way, the servants, upon seeing the bloody cat in Zi Xia's hand, were all terrified and avoided her.
They huddled in the distance, whispering to each other, wondering what on earth had happened. Why was Madam Situ's personal maid holding such a terrifying cat? Everyone shook their heads, indicating they had no idea what event had occurred.
Zi Xia carried the bloody cat through the garden, past the corners of pavilions and towers. Initially, many servants she encountered along the way did not notice the cat in her hand and calmly brushed past her. Later, when they saw it, they reacted as if they'd seen a ghost and quickly ran away.
Study room, at the door.
From a distance, Long Yi, standing at the door, saw Zi Xia approaching with a dead cat in her hand and, puzzled, walked up to her, asking, "Hey! Aren't you Madam Situ's maid? What are you doing with a dead cat?"
Long Yi was the Prince's personal bodyguard.
Zi Xia, naturally recognizing him, walked up to him without a word, shoved the dead cat into his hand, and said angrily, "Here, take it."
Long Yi was dumbfounded, asking in disbelief, "Why are you giving me a dead cat?"
"Who said it was for you? It's for the Prince," Zi Xia said angrily. It was all the Prince's fault for being such a philanderer. With so many women in the residence, it had come to the point where someone wanted to kill.
"Why give a dead cat to the Prince?"
Long Yi lifted the dead cat high and took a look, seeing its orifices oozing blood—it was clear this cat had been poisoned.
"This cat snatched the young lady's dinner earlier and died in her place. The young lady instructed that the Prince give it a proper burial. This cat did a great service; it saved her life. The young lady also said to make the tombstone well because she'll want to visit and pay respects to her savior during festivals in the future, offering incense and burning joss papers."
These words, of course, Xuexue never said; Zi Xia made them up.
Along the way earlier, Zi Xia became more and more furious, thinking about how the young lady almost got poisoned. Reflecting on it, she attributed the root of the trouble to the War Prince. If it weren't for him, no one would have attempted to poison the young lady. That's why she deliberately said those words.
Upon hearing that someone had poisoned the young lady, Long Yi was also startled and didn't bother to argue with Zi Xia's words.
Carrying the dead cat, he spun around and rushed into the study room.
Seeing his anxious demeanor, Zi Xia finally felt a bit relieved and turned to walk back.
Inside the study room.
Long Rui was sitting behind the desk, reading documents.
With the dead cat in his hand, Long Yi burst in urgently, "Prince, Prince, something terrible has happened."
"What's going on?" asked Long Rui without lifting his head.
"Prince, something terrible happened. Someone tried to poison Madam Situ."
"What?" Originally indifferent, Long Rui immediately put down the documents in his hand, raised his head, and looked at Long Yi nervously, "What exactly happened?"
"Prince, see for yourself." Long Yi placed the dead cat on the table for Long Rui to see.
Anyone with eyes could tell the cat had died from poison.
"Where did this cat come from?"
"Madam Situ's personal maid brought it over just now, saying this cat turned into such a state after eating Madam Situ's dinner. She also asked the Prince to give this cat a proper burial, saying it was Madam Situ's savior and has to be honored during every festival."
The more Long Yi spoke, the guiltier he felt. He couldn't help but sneak a glance at the Prince, only to see his face growing darker. Long Yi couldn't help blaming Zi Xia—her reckless words had led him to stupidly repeat them, and the Prince would certainly reprimand him now.