Chapter 445: It’s the Sister-in-Law who is Indecent
Lady Li’s face turned cold. She regretted being influenced by Liu Xianxian to scheme against her own daughter-in-law. It was true that all the ideas were from Liu Xianxian, and she did everything herself. However, Lady Li had indeed provided conveniences for Xianxian. It was hard to deny that she was also implicated in this. What would her son think about her now?
On this thought, not only did the face of Lady Li turn cold, but her heart also chilled. Her complexion turned pale.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t like Lady Li very much. Nonetheless, she had no plans to expose Lady Li. For even if she did, Lady Li, being an elder, would not receive much of a punishment. Instead, it would be a disgrace to Li Shunsheng. Moreover, if word of this spread out, he might even find it hard to get a promotion due to his mother’s deeds.
On their journey, Li Shunsheng helped Bai Ruozhu’s family a lot. He considered her second brother as his own. Hence, Bai Ruozhu decided to help him with this matter.
"Lady Li’s situation is different from yours. The numerous spots on your hand indicate a repeated contact with poison. However, Lady Li just came into touch with you frequently, thus she only got a bit of it. If you don’t believe me, look carefully, the red dots on Lady Li’s hand don’t exceed ten," Bai Ruozhu explained.
Lady Li really didn’t touch the poison. She was just present when Liu Xianxian poisoned the food, thus she got a bit of it. Fortunately, she didn’t do it herself, which left Bai Ruozhu a chance to clear her name.
"It wasn’t me! Someone must have framed me. She could also touch my hand after poisoning the food!" Liu Xianxian worriedly glanced at Lady Li as she made up an excuse.
Bai Ruozhu laughed. Her laughter was pleasing, but when it hit Liu Xianxian’s ears, it sounded like a devilish whisper.
"Are you implying that I’m that someone? I was in Beiyu City recently, and only returned last night. I didn’t touch you at all."
Just as Liu Xianxian was about to speak again, Jiang Yichun interrupted, "Enough! The evidence is irrefutable. Assembling to harm the women of the official’s family carries a severe punishment. You should be arrested and convicted." He looked at Li Shunsheng as he finished, implying that Li Shunsheng should issue the command as to assert to Liu Xianxian that she had no escape.
Liu Xianxian collapsed to the ground and cried out, "Cousin, it really wasn’t me. You have to believe me!"
Lady Li couldn’t bear to look at Xianxian and so she looked at Li Shunsheng. She suggested in a questioning tone, "It might be better to deal with this within the family."
Li Shunsheng snorted coldly and said. "This has nothing to do with me; I’m not the victim here. If you want to ask anyone, ask your cousin’s wife whether she’s willing to forgive you."
Liu Xianxian’s shoulders slumped and she realized that her cousin had indeed decided it was her. He didn’t consider her feelings at all!
Liu Xianxian didn’t want to ask for her cousin’s wife’s forgiveness, and yet his wife, with teary eyes, asked her, "Why? Why would you harm me? Haven’t I treated you well? If you wanted something to eat you just had to tell the kitchen. We even let you have the new clothes first. When I had new jewelry made, I never forgot to have a piece made for you as well. What else could you possibly want?"
By the end of her questioning, Lady Li was shouting. Being poisoned had left her breathless. After shouting so loudly, she could barely breathe. Li Shunsheng quickly took her hand and gently advised, "Wife, please take care of yourself."
Lady Li looked at Li Shunsheng and her eyes were filled with wronged sadness. Then the tears began to flow again.
Liu Xianxian clenched her teeth, her eyes staring at Lady Li like poison daggers. She was particularly focused on the hand that was being held by Li Shunsheng.
"Because you’re not worthy! You’re not worthy of being my cousin’s wife. I’ve seen you messing around with other men. How could a woman like you, who doesn’t respect herself, be suitable for my cousin?" Liu Xianxian also began to yell. At her words, Lady Li’s complexion turned a dreadful white, as if she had been struck with a critical hit.
Lady Li then remembered why she had been convinced by Liu Xianxian back then. Wasn’t it because Liu Xianxian had claimed that Lady Li was unfaithful? At first, she didn’t believe it. But when she saw the bruises on her daughter-in-law’s wrist, she was fully convinced and developed a strong aversion towards her daughter-in-law.
"Don’t make random accusations. My wife is not such a person," Li Shunsheng defended his wife and cameth forward angrily to challenge Liu Xianxian.
Liu Xianxian began weeping even harder. "Cousin, you’ve seen me grow up. Why won’t you believe me?"
"Enough!" This shout was from Lady Li. After shouting, she began to cough violently. Bai Ruozhu quickly rushed over and fed her a pill.
"It’s not the antidote, but it can make you feel better. Please refrain from getting angry," advised Bai Ruozhu in a low voice.
After a few deep breaths, Lady Li calmed down. ""Since you brought this matter up, I won’t hide it anymore. It happened when I encountered a robber on that day. I gave him my money, but he didn’t believe that I only had that much. He grabbed my wrist and threatened me. Lingling can testify to this."
All the servants had been sent away. Lady Li’s maid, Lingling, was not present. Lady Li wanted to call Lingling in, but Li Shunsheng said, "There is no need. I trust my wife."
Lady Li still had doubts. She asked, "Then why didn’t you mention it when you came back? Shouldn’t we report such a robber and let Li Shunsheng arrest him?"
Lady Li blushed, "The officer had already arrested the robber that day. I was afraid if the officers saw my wrist grabbed by the robber, they would laugh at my husband. So I hid with Lingling as soon as possible. They didn’t know I was the woman the robber had robbed. Fortunately, the robber didn’t know my identity either. But he disgraced me by his dirty words when he was captured."
Everyone could guess what kind of indecent comments such a ruffian would make. Even though the customs of Danliang were not as strict and conservative towards men and women as they were in other places, women still felt uncomfortable with such slander.
"Then there was the matter of the spy. My husband has been busy every day dealing with this and I didn’t dare bring up my own issue. I thought that the robber being caught meant he wouldn’t be able to harm anyone else," Lady Li said and cast an apologetic glance at Li Shunsheng.
"You’re lying. To cover up your affair, of course, you would make up a story," Liu Xianxian said stubbornly.
"Enough! I’ve said, I trust my wife. Liu Xianxian, shut your mouth!" Li Shunsheng rubbed his forehead in anguish. He did remember that robber. At that time, he was surprised that the woman who had been robbed didn’t report the crime.
Lady Li looked at Liu Xianxian. "Even for this, you want me dead? You could have told my husband to divorce me. Why must you kill me?"
Liu Xianxian turned her head but didn’t answer. Bai Ruozhu, however, replied, "Didn’t you forget what I said? You’re standing in her way. She aims to be Lady Li."
Both Li Shunsheng and Lady Li were shocked. Li Shunsheng, even more so, opened his mouth in amazement. "This... how can this be? I’m eight years older than her!"
Lady Li couldn’t help but laugh. As she laughed, tears flowed down her face. "When I got married to my husband, she was only 10 years old. She was still playing with mud and climbing trees. `How could she have held such intentions?’