On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2285 The Cruel Truth

Yan Ruyu listened to Madam Qin's words and looked at her excited face, then frowned slightly and remained silent.

Madam Qin continued, "I pretended to casually ask him where he had been and who he had met, but he didn't tell the truth."

Madam Qin closed her eyes slightly to calm herself down and continued, "Once you have suspicions, you will discover many things that you didn't notice before."

"I found a small box in a hidden compartment in his study. There was nothing else in the box except some prescriptions and a few packets of medicine."

Her voice paused, and tears began to flow uncontrollably again: "I copied down the prescription and asked at other pharmacies. The herbs on that prescription are things that seem to nourish the body, but in fact they will damage a woman's blood and qi and make her unable to conceive."

Only then did I realize that all those supposedly "nourishing" herbal soups I'd been drinking all these years were actually poison that had harmed me!

Madam Qin broke down in tears at the end of her speech.

Yan Ruyu looked at her heartbroken expression and remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "So, you deliberately had the old steward poison the medicine and frame Qin Zhao, just to get revenge on him?"

Madam Qin slowly lowered her hands, her face still streaked with tears, but her eyes became firm and cold: "Yes! He destroyed my hope of being a mother, destroyed all my trust and feelings for him, why should I let him have an easy time?"

"The Qin family pharmacy is his lifeline. I'll make him lose it with his own hands, and let him taste that kind of pain!"

Huo Changhe frowned: "Do you know that by doing this, you not only harmed Qin Zhao, but also almost implicated the people of Youcheng?"

A complex emotion flashed in Madam Qin's eyes. After a long while, she said in a low voice, "I never intended to harm the people. I only wanted to take revenge on Qin Zhao."

Using poisonous plants is based on the assumption that such plants are common and anyone with a medical background would recognize them, allowing them to be easily identified in a given situation.

Yan Ruyu gently shook her head: "No matter what your original intention was, using the wrong way to retaliate will only lead you to an abyss of no return."

Madam Qin raised her head, her eyes filled with despair: "I have no other choice!"

My biggest wish in this life was to have a child of my own, but Qin Zhao completely destroyed that wish.

What's the point of my life?

Yan Ruyu looked at her and said sincerely, "The meaning of life is never just one thing."

Losing the opportunity to be a mother does not mean your life has no value.

“Furthermore,” Yan Ruyu pondered for a moment, “the relationship between Qin Zhao and Miaoqin is not what you think.”

Madam Qin stared at Yan Ruyu's calm eyes, her face full of astonishment, her brows furrowing slightly: "What do you mean by that, Your Highness? I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, how could it be false?"

Yan Ruyu asked in a calm tone: "You say that Qin Zhao and Miaoqin have romantic feelings for each other, but do you have any solid evidence?"

Or, to put it another way, how are you so certain? Based solely on what you saw at the teahouse that one time?

Madam Qin shook her head: "Of course not."

We were husband and wife, and our love was once as deep as the sea. I trusted him so much; how could I possibly believe him again just because of a chance encounter?

Yan Ruyu didn't respond, but just looked at her quietly, waiting for her to continue.

Madam Qin took a deep breath and exhaled all the pent-up air from her chest: "It was Miaoqin. She came to me personally and told me herself."

Her thoughts drifted back to that afternoon, the sunlight dazzling, yet unable to penetrate the gloom in her heart.

Miaoqin arranged to meet her at a teahouse, an elegant place in Youcheng, usually a gathering place for literati.

But that day became a battlefield that shattered all her happiness.

"She was wearing a light green dress, her makeup was exquisite, and she had a smug smile on her lips that made her look disgusting."

Madam Qin's voice was chilling: "She took a jade pendant from her personal brocade box and placed it in front of me."

Madam Qin's fingers curled up: "That jade pendant is shaped like a fish, and the pattern is exactly the same as the one Qin Zhao always carries with him."

Qin Zhao said that it was a keepsake left to him by his mother before she passed away. He treasured it dearly, and even I was not allowed to touch it much, for fear of accidentally breaking it and betraying his mother's good intentions.

Her tears rolled down her cheeks: "But that day, Miaoqin was holding another fish-shaped jade pendant, which was obviously a pair."

It turns out, he wasn't unwilling to let others touch him, he just wasn't willing to give him to me.

He gave his mother's belongings, the treasures he spoke of, to another woman.

Yan Ruyu looked at her but did not interrupt her.

Madam Qin wiped away her tears and continued, "Miaoqin also said that they had been together for a long time, and Qin Zhao was deeply in love with her and was willing to do anything for her."

She said that Qin Zhao wanted to seize control of the chamber of commerce in order to give her a better life.

“I felt like I had fallen into an ice cave, my whole body was cold, and I didn’t even have the strength to stand up.” Madam Qin’s voice choked with sobs. “I didn’t want to believe it, but the jade pendant was right there, and I had no choice but to believe it.”

She gave a bitter smile, her eyes filled with despair: "Even those prescriptions that made me unable to conceive were told to me by Miaoqin."

She said that Qin Zhao didn't want me to have a child from the beginning, fearing that if I had a child, it would tie him down and affect his and her future.

She also told me that the prescriptions were hidden in a secret compartment in the study. When I got back, I actually found the little box, and the prescriptions inside were exactly as she had described.

“I took the prescription to other pharmacies to inquire, and the doctors all said that those herbs, though seemingly nourishing, would actually damage a woman’s blood and qi. If taken for a long time, she would naturally be unable to conceive.”

Madam Qin's voice was shrill: "For so many years, I always thought he was truly good to me. I drank those 'tonics' that he personally brewed every day on time."

Little did I know, they were all poisons that would ruin my life!

Looking at her heartbroken appearance, Yan Ruyu remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "What Miaoqin said is all false."

"What?" Madam Qin looked up abruptly, her eyes wide, unable to believe her ears.

"Your Highness, how could you say that? The jade pendant is real, and the prescription is real too. I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. How could it be fake?"

Yan Ruyu pushed a stack of papers in front of Madam Qin: "You can take a closer look. These are the medical records of several doctors who have treated you over the years, which I had someone find for you."

Even if Qin Zhao were incredibly capable, it would be impossible for him to bribe so many prestigious doctors in Youcheng.

Furthermore, look at the dates above; the earliest one dates back to before Miaoqin arrived in Youcheng.

Madam Qin's fingers trembled as she reached for the medical records; her fingertips were icy cold, and she could barely hold the paper.

She flipped through the pages one by one, her eyes eagerly scanning the words. The records from several doctors were almost identical, all clearly stating that she had a weak and cold constitution, insufficient qi and blood, and difficulty conceiving from birth, which was not caused by external forces.