Chapter 246 Zhu Mian

Ji Yuntang's eyes turned cold as she fixed her gaze on Widow Yang, who stood beside her with her head lowered.

"Widow Yang, do you want to explain to this Princess and Miss Pei what is going on?"

Widow Yang's body trembled as she stammered, "I... I don't know..."

She had no idea that this skincare set was stolen and given to her by that person.

If she had known it was of dubious origin, even if she had a hundred times the nerve, she wouldn't have dared to bring it to Evening Makeup Tower to cause trouble.

Moreover, Widow Yang hadn't expected that Evening Makeup Tower kept purchase records for all its products.

She also never imagined that, even though these products looked exactly alike, Pei Zhiyi could still recognize them at a glance.

Ji Yuntang sneered repeatedly, "Since you're unwilling to speak, let the authorities come. When the charges—stealing from the General's Mansion, creating a disturbance, and framing the royal family—are brought, there will be no escape from at least ten years in prison!"

She spoke these words calmly, but everyone present knew she wasn't bluffing.

Rather, once the case was pursued, Widow Yang would truly end up in prison and suffer physical punishment.

Village Head Qin frowned, his weathered face full of anger, and said with an exasperated look,

"Even now, you still refuse to tell Princess Ye the truth? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in prison?"

"Your two young daughters—have you thought about what will happen to them if you go to prison?"

Widow Yang's face tensed as she bit her lip and hesitated.

Ji Yuntang parted her lips slightly, "Don't be afraid. Just tell the truth. No one here can hurt you."

"Whether you did it yourself or someone instructed you, if you speak out, this Princess will report it to the authorities and take your cooperation into account."

Widow Yang suddenly looked up at her, her eyes were bloodshot.

"If you don't turn me over to the authorities, I'll talk. Otherwise, don't expect to get a single word out of me."

Ji Yuntang's gaze instantly turned cold, and she no longer showed her any kindness.

"Even now you're still being stubborn. The situation has escalated, with so many people watching. Do you think you can still hide it from us?"

Pei Zhiyi said coolly from the sidelines, "Even if Princess Ye doesn't report to the authorities, our Dingyuan General's Mansion will pursue this to the end."

"You dared to sneak into our Dingyuan General's Mansion to steal, so be ready for a world of pain."

Widow Yang was so frightened that her face turned pale.

She knew the fearsome reputation of the Dingyuan General's Mansion.

But she had never imagined that one day she would offend such a powerful figure.

If the people of the Dingyuan General's Mansion really investigated, would she still have her life?

The answer was definitely no.

Widow Yang was a coward who feared death. She knew very well that if she spoke out, she might only lose face, but if she kept silent, she would likely lose her life.

Compared to losing her life, losing face was a minor concern.

After much hesitation, she gritted her teeth and mustered the courage to say, "Tell you? I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything I know. Just please don't send the authorities to arrest me."

"I am originally a villager from the neighboring Osmanthus Village. My husband died a few years ago, so I've been raising my two daughters on my own."

"It's really been difficult for me to raise two children alone, so I thought about remarrying an honest man. If I had a hardworking man at home, he could barely support the three of us—me and my two daughters."

"But as a widow with poor family circumstances, finding a man in Osmanthus Village is practically impossible."

Pei Zhiyi had been listening for a long time without hearing the key point. Instead, she saw Widow Yang wiping tears incessantly. She said impatiently, "Can you get to the point!?"

"What does this have to do with you stealing from the General's mansion and framing Nocturnal Beauty Pavilion?"

Widow Yang swallowed hard and slowly said, "The incident started about two weeks ago."

"I was on my way back from the village when I stumbled upon a man lying by the roadside. He was drunk, collapsed on the ground, and completely unconscious."

"Seeing he was decently dressed and not bad-looking, I took pity on him and took him back to my home."

"I took care of him all night, fixing him food, changing his clothes—I did everything with my own hands. The next morning, when he woke up and learned that I had saved him, he was very grateful to me."

"He told me he'd been orphaned as a child and had been living with his uncle. But a few days ago, he was framed by a petty man, accusing him of stealing silver from the storehouse. His uncle, in a fit of anger, severed ties and kicked him out. With nowhere to go, he drank all the way until he reached Osmanthus Village."

"He had no place to stay and begged me to take him in, promising to help me with work and do anything. Thinking that I had no man in my house, I softened my heart and agreed."

"Later, he told me about his time at his uncle's house. He said his uncle's family was well-off, running a textile business in the capital. His uncle was infertile with no offspring, so he was the only one who could inherit the family business in the future."

"He also said that if he ever had the chance to return to his uncle's house, he would marry me and take me to the capital to enjoy riches and honor, and I would never have to live a miserable life in the village again."

"I was very tempted, thinking the heavens had been kind to me. How could such good fortune fall upon me? So in the following days, I treated him even better; I even killed my three laying hens, which I'd raised for two years, to build up his strength."

"Just yesterday, he came back from outside at night, acting all mysterious, he pulled me aside, and said he wanted to give me a gift."

Widow Yang, reaching this point, turned to look at the skincare gift box in Pei Zhiyi's hand and said through gritted teeth, "This is the gift he gave me."

"He said this is something beloved by the wealthy young ladies in the capital, called... well, face cream, essence, something like that. Use it and your skin will improve. He said he bought this set at a high price, costing several hundred taels of silver. I was very moved, and because I had never seen such things, I found them really intriguing."

"But I only used that essence serum once, and my face broke out in many bumps. It itched so much I wanted to scratch my face off."

"Then I went to ask him what was going on, why it not only didn't work but gave me a face full of red rashes instead."

"He stammered and couldn't explain. Finally, under my repeated pressing, he told me that a clerk named Wang Sheng from Nocturnal Beauty Pavilion had sold it to him. He didn't know what was wrong either; maybe he was cheated by Wang Sheng."

"I was furious—I couldn't just let both the money and the product go to waste. I felt terrible about the three hundred taels he had spent, so I told him we must go to Nocturnal Beauty Pavilion to demand an explanation and have Wang Sheng come out and apologize and make it up to me."

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