Chapter 132: Spitting Out Vegetable Leaves

The child’s eerie behavior terrified the peasant woman so much that she collapsed onto the ground, kowtowing frantically. "Don't come near me! It’s not my fault... You aren't even my own son. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to raise a child for that mother of yours who works in a house of ill repute? Your cheap life is worth thousands of taels of silver, and you have younger siblings to support—I did this for the sake of this family!"

It turned out the child was not the woman’s biological son, but the offspring of her husband and a woman from a brothel.

As the woman continued her frantic, repentant kowtowing, the child suddenly went limp and collapsed to the floor. The woman let out another shrill scream; thinking the child was about to pounce on her, she scrambled backward on her backside, kicking her legs and retreating several meters in a display that was nothing short of ridiculous.

Xia Jiujiang said calmly, "Stop screaming. The parasite poison has been removed. He will wake up in a few hours."

The woman patted her chest, exhaling in relief after the close call.

A traveling physician, skeptical of Xia Jiujiang’s words, stepped forward to check the child’s pulse. He exclaimed in shock, "It’s true... he’s really alive... he’s recovered."

"No way, she actually brought him back from the dead?"

"The Princess of Jin isn't a useless fool after all? Everything she said was true?"

Xia Jiujiang continued, "He can rest now, but you, however, have no such luck."

The woman’s expression, which had just begun to relax, suddenly turned tense again. She trembled and asked, "What does the Princess of Jin mean?"

Xia Jiujiang’s gaze turned icy. "A lowly peasant woman persecuting her own son and poisoning him with parasites—how do you know the art of gu-sorcery? Are you a spy for the Southern Kingdom? What was your plan in bringing the child to cause trouble at Jiangmantang? These are so many questions that I’m afraid you’ll have to be taken away for a proper interrogation."

The woman stammered, "What nonsense are you spouting? I’m just a village woman, how would I know anything about gu-sorcery? Don’t you dare slander me!"

Xia Jiujiang sneered, "You spoke those words in front of everyone just now. Even if I were deaf, all these commoners here certainly aren't."

The woman regained her earlier audacity, planting her hands on her hips and shouting aggressively, "I... I was just talking nonsense because I was scared by Bao'er! So what? Is that a crime?"

Xia Jiujiang gave a disdainful laugh. "Whether it was nonsense or the truth spoken in fear, you should know best, madam."

Jun Buwen glanced at the woman, his lips curling into a smile. "I didn't realize there was someone bold enough to attempt deception in my presence. The Imperial Guard has plenty of ways to extract the truth."

The woman, accustomed to being a rogue, wailed, "Does the Prince of Jin intend to beat a confession out of me? How pitiful I am... My son is dead, and now I’m being dragged away to be tortured into a false confession! Everyone, look at this! I am just a poor peasant woman; the people can never win against the officials."

She threw a tantrum, but the surrounding crowd began to look at the Prince of Jin with concern, fearing that arresting her might incite public outrage that would be impossible to quell. The Imperial Guard was known for their swift, iron-fisted methods, but since the woman had been causing a scene at Jiangmantang for some time, arresting her hastily would play right into the hands of those behind the scenes.

The woman shouted, "If the Prince of Jin doesn't believe me, go investigate! I’ve lived in Peach Village my whole life and have no connection to the Southern Kingdom. I don't know any gu-sorcery! If I really knew it, I would have used it to force my good-for-nothing husband to stay home! Why would I waste it on this little brat?"

At her words, the crowd began to murmur in agreement. "Could a peasant woman really be this clever? Using parasites to harm a child?"

"Perhaps she really didn't do it."

"If the Prince takes her away, she’ll never make it out alive."

"The Imperial Guard will turn truth into lies through torture, tsk tsk tsk."

Gossip spread rapidly. Seeing the child lying on the ground, the woman’s expression changed from one of terror to a look of utter disdain. She clearly knew the child was fine, and her shrewish nature returned in full force.

Xia Jiujiang smiled and said, "You are right, you don't know how to cast the spells, but you knew about the poisoning and intentionally brought your child to Jiangmantang to stir up trouble."

The woman retorted rudely, "I don't know anything! I don't know what these 'parasites' are. I’m just a country woman; the only things I know are wild vegetables and fruits."

She played the "ignorant, uneducated woman" card to perfection, using her own lack of sophistication as a shield. Xia Jiujiang hadn't truly expected the woman to be a practitioner of dark arts; by accusing her of being a spy and a sorceress, she had simply wanted to rattle her. Since the woman remained composed, Xia Jiujiang switched to a simpler, more direct method.

Xia Jiujiang demanded sharply, "Do you dare claim you didn't deliberately bring your child here to cause a scene, using his supposed poisoning as a pretext to extort money from Jiangmantang?"

The woman wailed, "Heaven help me! How could I have known? I truly thought my son was dying, that’s why I brought him here to seek justice!"

Xia Jiujiang produced her evidence. "I knew there was something wrong the moment I saw the expensive clothes the boy was wearing."

The woman was taken aback, realizing Xia Jiujiang had been suspicious from the start.

Xia Jiujiang pointed to the vomit on the floor. "And what he threw up confirms it. Look for yourself at what came out of him: rotten tree roots and vegetable scraps. You dressed him in clothes worth fifteen taels of silver, yet you fed him that? Do you still dare to say this wasn't a long-planned scheme?"

The evidence was direct and simple. The roots and scraps were not fully digested, and the traces were clear for all to see. The crowd immediately understood the contradiction.

Xia Jiujiang pressed on, "You planned this days ago when you bought those clothes. Even if you don't know sorcery, all of this was carefully orchestrated. Otherwise, where did you get the money to dress him in such finery?"

The clothes were expensive, but they had become the very evidence that turned the tide against her. The woman had tried to paint herself as a loving mother, but the contents of the boy's stomach proved she was anything but. If she weren't a good mother, why would she spend so much on his clothes?

The crowd’s gaze toward the woman turned suspicious.

Xia Jiujiang added, "You waited for the parasite to take effect before bringing him to Jiangmantang, and you specifically chose a time when the Southern Kingdom’s Princess, Ming Ningzi, was present. You provoked the situation, claiming that clothes sold by Jiangmantang poisoned your son to incite public fury against the Princess and smear the shop’s reputation. Do you still dare to claim you knew nothing?"

The woman completely panicked. With Xia Jiujiang’s logic laid out, the public sentiment shifted instantly.

"That's right, the woman is definitely suspicious."

"She had an ulterior motive from the moment she bought the clothes. How can she claim ignorance?"

"Damn, she was trying to fool us! She caused this on purpose."

Xia Jiujiang walked up to the woman, looking down at her from a height. "The evidence is conclusive. If you don't want to talk, that's fine. Even if the Imperial Guard takes you away for a brutal interrogation, everyone will agree you deserved it."

Xia Jiujiang’s eyes gleamed with a cold light. The woman’s defenses crumbled completely. No longer daring to act out, she knelt before Xia Jiujiang, begging, "Princess of Jin... please, have mercy!"