When they saw this, the crowd was stunned. They started moving further away from the dead man and said, “He ate that Marrow Cleansing Pill.”
“That pill really was poisoned. He’s been poisoned to death.”
“Feng Tianlan is an evil woman, adding poison to that Marrow Cleansing Pill.”
“She’s just jealous of Second Miss, so why did she take it out on us? She’s such a malicious woman, and she deserves to be executed.”
Once someone accused Feng Tianlan of adding the poison, everybody agreed. They knew that nothing good could come from offending Feng Xiupei.
Feng Tianlan chortled when she heard these words. “I didn’t touch the pill.”
The crowd was stunned into silence as they started to recall what had happened. They remembered that Feng Tianlan had only touched the brocade box and not the pill—so did Feng Xiupei add the poison?
They looked at Feng Xiupei suspiciously. Since the pill had initially been intended for Feng Tianlan, they wondered whether Feng Xiupei had planned to poison her sister, but, unfortunately, someone else had consumed it.
Feng Xiupei saw that the situation was going awry, and so she immediately bit her lip, apologizing profusely between sobs.
“I’m so sorry…it’s all my fault. My sister wasn’t the one who added the poison, so please don’t blame her…it’s me…I’m the one who is jealous of my sister, so I added the poison. I didn’t mean to harm anyone else…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
If someone in training had eaten that Marrow Cleansing Pill, the only effect would have been the destruction of that person’s cinnabar field. But the poison could kill someone who wasn’t in training. She tried her best to convince the crowd that she hadn’t intended to murder anybody because that would damage her reputation.
Feng Xiuyu angrily marched to the front and said, “Sis, why are you even apologizing? You’re not the one who added the poison. Why would you be so jealous of her that you would need to poison her in public? All it takes is one flick of your finger, and she’d be dead!”
Besides, Feng Xiuyu thought, this was an excellent chance to shift the blame to Feng Tianlan and see her executed for a crime. She wasn’t going to let this chance go.
“No…I’m the one who added the poison. It has nothing to do with Eldest Sister…it’s my fault,” Feng Xiupei continued saying through her tears. Then, she knelt and said in a trembling voice, “Murder is punishable by death. I’m willing to die as a punishment. Please, kill me.”
“Sis, why are you so useless?” Feng Xiuyu felt that Feng Xiupei was too weak. She wasn’t as bright as her parents had described.
But Xu Jiayi and Feng Xiang were standing to one side and looking at Feng Xiupei with pride. They were impressed that she was so much cleverer than Yu’er. She knew how to handle this situation.
“Second Miss is too nice. She’s taking the rap for Feng Tianlan.”
“I’m sure that Feng Tianlan was the one who added the poison! She wanted to accuse Second Miss falsely in public so that she’d die.”
“You’re right. Feng Tianlan is just a good-for-nothing, anyway, so why would Second Miss be jealous of her? Feng Tianlan is the one who is jealous of Second Miss. Now, she’s trying to frame her!”
“Feng Tianlan, murder is punishable by death! Since you killed someone, you shall have to die! An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth!”
Feng Tianlan continued to look mockingly at the crowd, so easily swayed. To her, these people weren’t just blind in their eyes but blind in their hearts. She knew that any attempt to explain herself would not be accepted. They would even think she was trying to escape punishment.
The way Feng Xiupei had manipulated the crowd was commendable. She’d managed to remain innocent in the eyes of people even after creating such a mess.
“Eye for an eye! One life for another!” The shouts grew louder and louder. Nobody cared about the poor man who had just died, and they just continued their self-righteous shouting at Feng Tianlan.
Seeing that the crowd was now high on this wave of self-righteousness, Feng Xiang’s eyes lit up. He straightened his back and coughed a few times before declaring, “Feng Tianlan has killed someone. While it is a difficult decision to make because I am her father, I will not cover up for her.”