In the Songhe Hall, the ancestral home of the Ye family.

Ye Zhujin sat on the main seat with a cold face, and on the left sat Mrs. Shen, who also had a cold face, and Mrs. Shen's next was Ye Qishu and several famous Ye family elders. On the right side of Ye Zhujin stood the Hu family who was supported by Ye Lang, and on this side sat the Hu family with a white cloth on the placket and a blue face.

On such an occasion, Ye Qiong, an unmarried daughter in the next room, could not come forward, so she stood behind the screen with Su and Ye Po, who were also not easy to come forward.

Since the last time he reported the Hu family, Ye Po has spoken less and less, and it seems as if he has grown up overnight.

Su was pregnant and afraid of being impacted, and because of Hu's sake, it was not good to be too close to Ye Po. Ye Qiong didn't have such concerns, beckoned to Ye Po, and said, "Brother Po, I don't need you to go to the hall today, so I can stay by my cousin's side?" ”

Ye Po only relaxed his eyebrows a little when he looked at Ye Qiong, nodded, and sat on the chair beside Ye Qiong obediently.

On the other side, the atmosphere in the hall was condensed, and the first to speak was Hu Ziming's own brother, who raised his eyebrows and asked, "According to this, Brother Zhu Jin wants to reconcile with my sister?" ”

Ye Zhujin said: "Exactly. ”

"Ridiculous!" Hu Ziming shouted, "Don't say that my sister has been married to your Ye family for more than 20 years, let's just say Brother Lang and Brother Po." My sister gave birth to such two good children for your Ye family, and Brother Lang has already become a family, just from the perspective of heirs, my sister is the hero of your Ye family, how can you be separated? ”

Seeing this, several Hu family elders invited by the Hu family also said: "That's right. The children are so old, why are they still making trouble and leaving, Po Ge'er is still young and doesn't care for the time being, Brother Lang has become a family, and he is about to take the spring exam, which is not good for Brother Lang'er's reputation. ”

Ye Lang lowered his eyebrows and didn't speak, his son didn't say anything about his mother, he couldn't say much about this matter.

Ye Zhujin had a cold face, and Mrs. Shen smiled and said, "That's right. However, please also ask a few elders of the Hu family to think about it, Brother Lang and Brother Po'er's surname is Ye, if it can, how can our Ye family be willing to hurt Brother Lang and Brother Po'er's reputation? It's just the lesser of two evils. ”

Mrs. Shen's words, Hu Ziming, who had a ghost in his heart, rolled his eyes weakly and did not answer again. However, several elders of the Hu family asked rhetorically: "What are the two evils?" Mrs. Shen, you have something to say. ”

Mrs. Shen did not answer this question directly, but beckoned to the maid beside her, and waited for the maid to retreat before saying, "There are a few things, please take a look at them." ”

On Hu Shi's face, his eyes moved almost imperceptibly, and Hu Ziming couldn't help but clench the armrests of the circle chair under his hand.

Everyone saw that the maid led Fan's mother to present the pot of tea with peach blossoms and refreshments with croton, Fan's mother swept in front of everyone with a tray, and then put the tray on the small coffee table between Mrs. Shen and Ye Zhujin.

There are not many or few people who know peach blossoms, especially Ye Renliang, who has been farming in the Ye family, and when he saw that someone didn't understand it, he explained: "I didn't see the refreshment, but I can recognize the things in the teapot, it's peach blossoms." The amount of peach blossoms is also a little full, and if you drink it according to this amount, I am afraid that you will not be able to get out of the toilet for a day. ”

Ye Renliang's words were vulgar but plain, and the Hu family's face was a little embarrassed when they heard it.

Hu Ziming gritted his teeth and said, "Mrs. Shen, what do you mean by this, do you want to say that the peach blossoms in this teapot are from my sister?" ”

Mrs. Shen did not answer, she was not in the Ye family's ancestral house at the time of the incident, and many things were relayed by Ye Qiong.

Ye Zhujin took over the conversation and said, "Exactly." In addition to the peach blossoms in the teapot, a large amount of croton powder is also added to this refreshment. Ling Mei's maid Jiao'er was caught red-handed when she was adding things to the teapot and refreshments, the evidence was conclusive, and she confessed that the incident was instructed by Ling Mei. ”

Hu Ziming immediately retorted: "There are loopholes in Brother Zhu Jin's words. It was Jiao'er who was caught red-handed, but not my sister. If Jiao'er did this alone, and my sister didn't know about it, it would make sense. Or does Brother Zhu Jin want to put that trumped-up charge on my sister? ”

"Unnecessary?" A member of the Ye family who had a hot temper said, "If you are not the head of the house, who can make the big maid to do such a thing." Could it be that your Hu family still wants to say that this teapot and refreshments are also fake certificates prepared by our Ye family themselves? ”

Hu Ziming snorted with his hands: "This is not certain. ”

Ye Zhujin and Mrs. Shen hadn't spoken yet, and Ye Qishu, who was sitting at the bottom, was already angry and scolded: "Hu Ziming, you are talking nonsense with your eyes open!" ”

The Hu family did not show weakness, and immediately a member of the Hu family jumped out and said: "It is not unreasonable to say it clearly, maybe, it is your Ye family who wants to reconcile and separate, and deliberately made such perjury!" ”

"Nonsense!" The Ye family was angry, and a few more clansmen jumped out to speak.

The elder of the Ye family is Ye Zhujin, and now that Ye Zhujin and Ye Qishu have a good future, the Ye family naturally wants to stand on their side. What's more, the Ye family can get the evidence, the Hu family is just messing around, and the Ye family naturally knows how to choose.

There was a lot of noise in the Songhe Hall, even behind the screen, Ye Po's face was not good-looking, he grabbed Ye Qiong's sleeve and said, "Cousin Qiong, why don't you let me come out to testify?" ”

Ye Qiong sighed and said, "First, it's because your father and brother and I have been completely prepared, and now we haven't reached the point where you have to come forward." Second, what you are reporting is, after all, your mother. The Ye family is your real relative, and they will understand the pain in your heart and support your righteous heart, but the Hu family is not necessarily. Jiao'er was poisoned, probably at the behest of your uncle, if your uncle is really such a person with a bad character, it is hard to guarantee that he will not use this to hurt you. ”

Ye Qiong's words, Ye Po didn't fully understand, he could only hear that his uncle might harm him, so his father, brother and cousin Qiong didn't let him come forward, his heart was moved, and the clouds between his eyebrows and eyes also dissipated a lot, and he gently thanked him.

Ye Qiong and Su Shi on the side saw that their eyes were hot, and they sighed in their hearts.

In the hall, the Ye family and the Hu family were still arguing, Mrs. Shen was pale, took the cane handed over by the maid, knocked twice on the ground, and shouted: "Silence-"

After all, Mrs. Shen had a fate, and her voice was not loud, but she still stabilized the situation. Hu Ziming flicked his sleeves and sat back in place indignantly.

Mrs. Shen glanced at Hu Ziming with empty eyes and said, "Who said that we only have physical evidence, come here, bring Jiao'er up." ”

Hu Ziming was shocked, and couldn't help but look at Hu Shi, who always had a wooden face and didn't speak, but Hu still only had a wooden face, like a puppet.

Jiao'er was quickly brought up, and as soon as she knelt down, she said what had happened: "...... That's the way it is, it was the peach blossoms and croton powder that my wife asked me to put out, not me alone. There was still something left at the head of Madame's bedside, and when she explained to me, there was another maid in the courtyard listening, and she could testify as well. ”

As soon as Jiao'er's words fell, another maid walked up to the stage, knelt down and said, "Yes, it was instructed by Madame herself, and I did hear it." Under this year's festival, croton is just that, peach blossoms are not easy to find, and there are few ones sold in Beijing, and the price is expensive. Since returning from the family temple, the lady has not had much silver on her, and even this peach blossom was bought with the silver of the princess. ”

In the Ye family's ancestral house, since the Hu family made a mistake and was sent to the family temple last time, the middle feed has always been controlled by the Su family, and it is difficult for the Hu family to do anything from the accounts of the public middle school.

Mother Fan had already prepared the account book, held it in her hands and swept it over everyone's eyes again, and said, "The middle feed of the Ye family's big house has always been managed by the young grandmother. At that time, Mrs. said that she wanted to add some more flowers and trees, and the young grandmother, as a daughter-in-law, naturally did not disagree, but she didn't expect that the peach blossoms were used to harm people! ”

The elders of the Ye family whispered, and their eyes when they looked at the Hu family were also filled with disdain and disgust.

can raise a daughter who uses such means to harm others, which shows that the Hu family is not upright. Previously, Hu caused his daughter-in-law to have a miscarriage due to drugs, but now he still hasn't changed, which shows that the country is easy to change, and his nature is difficult to change.

Seeing that there was no change in this matter, the Hu family first played the emotional card: "Although this is the case, it will not come to the point of reconciliation and separation." As the old saying goes, it is better to demolish ten temples than to destroy a marriage. Besides, the Ye and Hu families have been married for so long, and Brother Lang is about to give birth to a baby, but now there is a quarrel and separation, and when others ask, the faces of the Ye family and the Hu family are not good-looking......"

Hu Ziming was originally thinking about how to refute it, but after listening to the words of the clan elder, he hurriedly followed the words and said, "Yes, yes, yes." My sister made a mistake, just punish her, it's better to send her to the family temple like last time, so as not to make trouble to the point of harmony and divorce, and hurt the harmony of the two families. ”

If there is really a trouble, as long as the Ye family reveals a little bit of the Hu family's fault, the loss of his Hu family will be greater than that of the Ye family. Besides, now that his father's disciple Huang Ruizao is hopeless competing for the position of sacrificial wine, the future of the Hu family is in vain, as long as he maintains his in-laws with the Ye family, he can also get a little light from the Ye family outside.

When the patriarch of the Ye family heard this, he couldn't help but ease his expression slightly.

The Hu family has a saying that is right, why not go to the step of harmony, once reconciled, it will hurt the reputation of the Ye and Hu families.

Ye Renliang was the most famous among the elders of the Ye family, and when he saw this, he proposed to Mrs. Shen: "Nephew and daughter-in-law, it's not that we don't stand on Zhu Jin's side. What the Hu family said does have some truth, this Zhu Jin's daughter-in-law made a mistake, and she was not allowed to come back to the family temple, and it was really unnecessary to go to this step. ”

Mrs. Shen wrinkled her eyebrows and didn't speak, Ye Zhujin glanced at Jiao'er, and saw that Jiao'er nodded to him imperceptibly, so she said: "Then this matter will only go to the maid's level for the time being, come here, drag Jiao'er down, and deal with it according to family law." ”

When the words fell, a mother-in-law immediately wanted to drag Jiao'er away, but Jiao'er was unwilling, so she desperately threw off her mother-in-law and cried loudly: "Uncle, you can't just die like this!" I listened to your words before coming to Yefu, and I also poured arsenic into that refreshment, I am so loyal to you, you must save me! ”

Everyone present changed color, and Mrs. Shen immediately jumped up from her chair in shock and shouted, "Stop, what arsenic are you talking about?" ”

Hu Ziming sighed in his heart, regardless of the fact that there were so many pairs of eyes watching, he rushed forward and kicked Jiao'er in front of him, and scolded: "You, you dare to slander me!" ”

Jiao'er had been kicked by the egret before, and the old wound was not healed and a new wound was added, and she vomited a mouthful of blood when she landed. Bright red blood stains sprayed on the blue stone bricks of Songhetang, which is particularly eye-catching.

Hu Ziming's behavior made the clan elders of the Hu family a little unbearable, and reprimanded him in the court: "Nonsense, what kind of place is this, how can you lose your temper at will." ”

Hu Ziming's hands trembled, not knowing whether it was out of anger or panic.

Jiao'er was supported by her mother-in-law and knelt up straight, kowtowed and said, "Mrs. Tai, lord, I confess that arsenic was added to the refreshment!" I was brought here by my wife from Hufu, and I have always been in contact with Hufu. Not long ago, my uncle sent someone to find me and gave me a packet of arsenic, and asked me to find a way to add it to the snacks that my young grandmother sent back to the Su family. On that day, it happened that Mrs. gave a similar order, so I put arsenic and croton powder in the refreshment, which Madame did not know. I didn't use up the arsenic, and the rest was in the dark compartment under my bed......"

Jiao'er said weakly, but the words were clear, Ye Zhujin immediately called someone to search, and sure enough, a bag of arsenic with a large amount was found.

The Songhe Hall suddenly became noisy again, and the patriarch of the Hu family pointed at Hu Ziming and scolded: "You foolish thing, how can you do such a thing!" ”

Hu Ziming was sweating profusely, and he argued strongly: "I don't know anything like arsenic at all, this must be the Ye family who wants to harm me, and I have nothing to do with the Su family, why hurt him?" ”

Someone in the Ye family snorted and said disdainfully: "Why doesn't it matter, that Huang Ruizao is your father's disciple, before Huang Ruizao and Su Qingyi competed for the position of the country's son of the priest, who in the capital doesn't know, you want to stand up for your father's disciple!" ”

Mrs. Shen pretended to suddenly realize: "No wonder, no wonder this poison is not down sooner or later, but it was on the day of the Taoist meeting, it turned out to be waiting for this encounter!" ”

Hu Ziming knew that the Ye family had no empirical evidence to blame him for the poisoning, so he insisted that this matter had nothing to do with him, and said: "But arsenic was found here, how can I definitely conclude that the matter has something to do with me?" This Jiao'er is already a slave of the Ye family, maybe in order to save her own life, she deliberately climbed the original owner? ”

The Songhe Hall was noisy, and the back of the screen was indeed quiet, only Ye Po was full of anxiety when he heard it, and asked: "Cousin Qiong, didn't my father already know about this arsenic matter, why did he mention it now?" Uncle...... What Uncle Hu said does have some truth, and this matter is indeed not necessarily related to him. ”

Ye Qiong's fingers tapped on the table, and first whispered to Su Shi, who was sitting on the other side: "In another quarter of an hour, you can let the pharmacy shopkeeper, Dr. Sun, and the Su family's people come in to say goodbye." ”

Su Shi nodded, beckoned and shouted to the next person.

Ye Qiong saw that Ye Po was still puzzled, and said, "Don't worry, this is your father and grandmother acting." Originally, if the Hu family could happily agree to reconcile and leave, the Ye family would not want to make things like this. Now, it's not time for the Hu family to stop if they want to. ”