The jar was ordinary, the jar that ordinary people usually use to pickle vegetables. It was glazed black on the outside, and it glowed under the sunlight.

It looked scary, with a very chilling light.

“The test method is very simple. Just put your hand into the jar. If there is no movement, then nothing will happen.”

Ai Cao explained and demonstrated to everyone. She put her hand in and took it out after a while. “Look, it’s safe and sound.”

“These bugs only recognize the murderer who tried to murder Master Yi. As long as you have a clear conscience, you don’t have to be afraid. Who will be the first to try?”

Although there was nothing wrong if you had a clear conscience, everyone still felt a little scalp numb when they thought that there were bugs in the jar, and they didn’t dare to step forward.

But there were also brave ones.

The servant who often served Zhou Ruoyi stretched out his hand first, “I’ll do it!”

He put his hand in and took it out. Everything was normal, and there was nothing unusual.

The servant heaved a sigh of relief and grinned, “It’s okay, everyone, don’t be afraid.”

With someone doing the same, the others naturally felt more at ease, and just followed the servant’s example and reached in.

Soon, more than half of the suspicious people who were originally to be examined in the yard had passed.

Su Yujin narrowed her eyes, “Let Mother Zheng examine it first. Mother Zheng accidentally spilled the tea and her clothes got wet. If she tests it earlier, she can change into clean clothes earlier.”

Mother Zheng subconsciously shrank her neck, looked at Su Yujin, and laughed, “Thank you, Miss Su, for your concern. I will come to examine it right away.”

After hesitating for a long time, Mother Zheng rubbed her hand on the wet clothes again and again, and then she reached deep into the jar held by Ai Cao with a slightly trembling hand.

The finger had just been inserted halfway, and Ai Cao’s face suddenly changed.

Her eyes widened, and she even stuttered when she spoke, “Miss, Miss, bugs, bugs, bugs…”

There were bugs?

Mother Zheng was startled and hurriedly pulled her hand out.

“Mother Zheng, don’t move!” Su Yujin shouted immediately, “The bugs are moving right now. If you pull your hand away, the bugs that are already on your body will be frightened and will definitely start to bite you. I’m afraid your whole body will be turned into bones in an instant!”

Will your whole body be bitten into bones?

Mother Zheng’s face turned pale with shock, and she didn’t dare to move.

She felt that the ends of her fingers seemed to be crawling with those fluffy bugs, crawling around, and there was a faint tingling pain like a needle.

Those bugs should be biting her fingers!

But, didn’t she just overturn the Lu’an tea, and even rubbed a lot of it on her hands? Logically, she should have removed the medicinal smell, so how could the bugs be attracted?

After a moment of thinking, Mother Zheng felt a piercing pain coming from her ten fingers. It seemed that the bugs had already gnawed the skin and flesh and eaten the bones!

Mother Zheng screamed, “Wow!” and looked at Li Shi with a pale face, “Miss, Miss, please save me, Miss, Miss…”

“Mother Zheng!”

Li Shi screamed at first, and hurriedly wanted to save Mother Zheng, but when she changed her mind, she was stunned where she was.

Su Yujin said that this bug would only react when it smelled the smell of the allergy-suppressing drug.

When others reached out their hands, nothing happened, but when Mother Zheng reached out her hand, the bug crawled out.

The one who was going to harm Zhou Ruoyi…

was Mother Zheng!

Li Shi’s face suddenly changed, and when she looked at Mother Zheng again, her eyes changed from previous worry to anger.

“Is it you?” Li Shi shouted angrily, “Are you trying to murder Yi’er?”

Mother Zheng’s face was no longer pale, and she just knelt on the ground with a “thump”, “Miss, this old slave…”

“At this time, you still dare to deny it?” Li Shi roared, “If you don’t tell the truth, I will leave you alone and let those bugs eat your whole body!”

The bites on her fingers were already excruciatingly painful, and if the whole body was eaten by bugs, it was really more terrible than lingchi!¹

Mother Zheng was shivering, her lips were shaking, and she nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice. After stammering for a long while, she finally spoke, “It was the old slave, it was the old slave who did it…”

Guessing was one thing, and actually hearing the answer was another.

When Li Shi heard these words coming out of Mother Zheng’s mouth, her body swayed twice, and she stood still for a long time, “You watched me grow up, and now you have taken care of Yi’er for so many years. If you think about it carefully, I have treated you well over the years. Why did you do such a thing!”

“It was because I was blinded by greed that I agreed to work for the Second Madam…”

Mother Zheng said with tears in her eyes, “My good-for-nothing son was originally given the position of steward at the estate thanks to the young lady’s kindness, helping her manage the rent collection. But that scoundrel, after drinking two bowls of liquor, got wicked ideas and dragged a thirteen-year-old girl from a tenant family into a room and did that deed.”

“The girl jumped into the well because she couldn’t bear the humiliation. Her parents cried and died of heartache. They wanted to go and complain, but the bastard was afraid that he would be arrested and thrown into prison, so he had the legs of the couple broken, and threatened them that if they dared to make trouble again, they would be reunited with their daughter in the underworld.”

“With this incident as a precedent, that bastard became more and more daring. All the pretty girls among the farmers fell victim to his murderous hands. Anyone who dared to tell others would be severely beaten. The farmers could not bear it anymore and finally reported him to the government office, where he was arrested and sentenced to life exile.”

“I was extremely anxious when I heard about this, but I did not dare to tell the young lady, for fear of dirtying her ears and losing face. I was also afraid that she would be angry if she knew about this and would not only not help me but would punish me again.”

“I don’t know how the Second Madam found out about this later. She came to me and said that if I was obedient and willing to work for her, she could rescue my disappointing son and send him away far away, thus avoiding a disaster.”

“I thought about it for several days and then listened to the Second Madam. I put the plum blossom dew and the medicine she sent me into Yier’s tea…”

Li Shi’s lower lip was bitten by her teeth and bleeding, and her mouth was full of an indescribable fishy smell.

After a long while, she finally spoke, “Then you were the one who caused Yi’er to choke when he was eating at Su’s?”

Things had come to this point, and Mother Zheng no longer had the intention to hide anything, so she answered honestly, “The young master choked because of an accident. When I saw that something happened to the young master, I was scared at first, but then I thought that if something really happened to the young master, it would be an accident, and I would not be able to report to the Second Madam, and my sin would be less. So I pretended to be scared and did not call the doctor in time…”

“Do you think that by acting this way, you are not harming Yi’er?”

Li Shi’s voice trembled, “Come on, tie up this cunning servant and lock her up in the woodshed first, then call the Second Madam, report to the Old Lady, and send them to the county government together!”

A/N: He Yanxiu: On the first day of not appearing, missing the readers…

(End of this chapter)

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Footnote

1. Lingchi, often translated as “death by a thousand cuts,” was a form of slow and painful execution used in China from roughly the 10th century until its abolition in 1905. This method involved the condemned person being slowly dismembered while still alive, resulting in an extremely prolonged and agonizing death. It was typically reserved for the most serious crimes, such as treason or patricide. The executioner would make precise and methodical cuts to prolong the victim’s suffering. This form of punishment was also intended to serve as a powerful deterrent and a means of enacting retribution against the most egregious offenders.