usatvline Chapter 174 Witness
Chapter 174 Witness
Chapter 174 174 Witnesses
"Huh? Who said no one can prove it?"
A lazy male voice suddenly rang out from all around. This sudden voice not only surprised the guests present, but also shocked Ye Yingrou to the extreme. She looked incredulously at the source of the voice and watched as a handsome and dashing figure jumped down from the tree next to the lotus pond.
When Tong Hansheng saw that person in the crowd, he cried out and covered his face, wishing he could dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
The person who suddenly appeared was none other than Tong Zhu, Ye Yanxun's classmate who had submitted a blank paper in the provincial examination and, fearing reprimand from Elder Feng, had secretly slipped away from the banquet. It turned out that he wasn't drinking with Ye Yanxun at the table, but had gone to the inner quarters of the Marquis's mansion to take a nap!
It was so embarrassing that Tong Hansheng felt he had no face to face Marquis Anshi.
The Vice Minister of Works came to his senses and asked, "Young Master Tong, you said you could testify that what she said was all false. Could it be that you've been here from the very beginning?"
Tong Zhu did not answer him, but first bowed to Marquis Anshi and apologized: "I am sorry, Uncle Marquis Anshi. I did not mean to trespass into your backyard. It's just that your manor is too big. I got lost while walking and finally came here. I found the scenery here to be very unique. I was also tired, so I took a nap in a tree."
His account was almost identical to what Ye Yingrou had just said, but who really got lost remains to be investigated.
Marquis Anshi thought he could let the matter drop, but Tong Zhu suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He was extremely embarrassed, and his face turned pale and then red, making for a very interesting scene.
Tong Zhu's unauthorized entry into the inner quarters was inherently inappropriate, and in principle, Marquis Anshi could have easily expelled him. However, if he hadn't been there, the true reason for Ye Pianran and Ye Yingrou's argument would have remained a mystery. If the guests behind him hadn't come to join the commotion, he might not be in such a predicament. But now, if he didn't give everyone the truth, it would be his fault.
After a moment of internal struggle, Marquis Anshi gritted his teeth and said to Tong Zhu:
"It's alright. It was my poor hospitality. I should have had my servants prepare some guest rooms for you all to rest, so this matter is not your fault." After clearing his throat twice, Marquis Anshi continued, "What exactly happened by this lotus pond just now? Did you really see everything, my dear nephew?"
"All of them?" Tong Zhu put his hands in his sleeves, glanced back at Ye Yingrou who was looking down, whether she was crying or silent, and said in a drawn-out voice, "Hmm... let me think, when exactly did I start being woken up?"
His feigned mystery only intensified Ye Yingrou's anxiety. Her lowered face was taut with tension, her lips clenched into a tight fist inside her sleeve, clutching something in her palm as she frantically tried to figure out how to silence Tong Zhu in front of everyone.
“Oh, I remember now, it must have been when that girl over there brought the child to the lotus pond that he started to wake up,” Tong Zhu said with a smile. “After that girl brought the child to the pond, she didn’t do anything to him at first.”
Upon hearing this, Marquis Anshi breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, he simply didn't believe Ye Yingrou would actually harm Ye Yankang. After all, he was just a child, and a mentally challenged one at that, completely unaware of anything. Moreover, he was her younger brother; surely she wouldn't be so heartless?
“However…” Tong Zhu suddenly changed the subject, “When Miss Ye arrived here, things were different again.”
"How is it different? Just tell me already!" Someone complained, as he kept dragging his feet and wouldn't give a straight answer.
"No rush, no rush," Tong Zhu waved his hand and smiled. "Before that, I'd like to take everyone to sort out the relationship between these two young ladies."
“After the two met, Miss Ye was clearly very wary of this girl, and this girl was also very familiar with Miss Ye. Judging from their words and actions, they did not seem to be meeting for the first time, and they even had a deep grudge.” Tong Zhu looked at Ye Yingrou and said slowly, “Miss Ye’s previous injury on her face and her marriage to Shao Yu seem to be related to this girl.”
"Young master, you must have misheard me?" Ye Yingrou raised her head, still looking pitiful. "The injury on her face was inflicted by the young lady of the Marquis's mansion. It has nothing to do with me. The Ouyang family wants to break off the engagement with her because of the rumors circulating about her. How can you put such a accusation on my head just to protect her?"
Knowing that he couldn't waste words arguing with her, otherwise she would definitely change the subject, Tong Zhu ignored her and continued, "After the two of them got into an argument, this girl said some harsh words to Miss Ye, and then pushed the child into the water. Miss Ye rushed to save him, pulling him back before he fell into the water, but she also fell out of the pond. Seeing that her plan wouldn't work, the girl tried to cut Miss Ye's hand with a dagger to make her fall into the water. Fortunately, Miss Ye was skilled and dodged the danger, successfully bringing the child ashore. Fearing that the girl might do something else, Miss Ye turned around to try to take the dagger from her hand, and then what you all saw was what happened."
After listening to Tong Zhu's clear and logical explanation of the whole story, the expression on Marquis Anshi's face slowly changed from shock to rage. He never imagined that his daughter not only wanted to kill Ye Yankang, but also wanted to harm Ye Pianran as well. He knew she had always wanted to return to the Marquis's mansion and have a clear identity, but how could she... how could she do this?
Chunyu Yang was just as furious as An Shihou. His murderous aura seemed to solidify into a tangible form, and he looked at Ye Yingrou as if she were a dead man.
At the very back of the crowd, Ye Yanxun, who had come to see what was going on, also looked extremely displeased. He had explained everything so clearly to Rou'er, but she was still stubbornly pursuing her own path, seeking "revenge" in this way.
Is that all the vision and patience she has? It's incredibly disappointing.
[Ding, Marquis Anshi's favorability -5, host's good/evil value -5, Marquis Anshi's current favorability 55, host's current good/evil value 257]
[Ding, Marquis Anshi's favorability -5, host's good/evil value -5, Marquis Anshi's current favorability 50, host's current good/evil value 252]
[Ding, Ye Yanxun's favorability -10, good/evil value -10, target's current favorability 50, host's current good/evil value 242]
[Target's favorability -5, affection -5, morality -10. Target's current favorability is 5, current affection is 1. Host's current morality is 232, below the requirement for 'Intermediate Drug Maker'. You will soon be demoted to 'Junior Drug Maker'. Please prepare to accept the demotion penalty!]
A series of notifications about decreasing favorability and affection levels rang in Ye Yingrou's head simultaneously. Before she could recover from the chaotic notifications, the demotion penalty for having too low a morality value immediately arrived.
In less than a month, she was demoted from a senior drug maker to a junior drug maker. Even the system within her body was dissatisfied with this speed, so this wave of punishment came extremely fiercely. She felt as if countless sharp ice spikes were repeatedly and mercilessly piercing her brain. The intense pain made her feel as if she were bound hand and foot and sunk into a thousand-mile-deep icy pool. She was powerless to struggle, unable to breathe, and was in unbearable pain!