The old woman froze when she was caught. Her breathing faltered for an instant, but she quickly acted as if nothing was wrong.

"My dear girl, what could I possibly be doing? The hot water was scalding, and I’m terribly thirsty. I was just going to scoop some cool water to mix with it."

The Zhao Family’s kitchen was quite spacious.

Directly opposite the door was a stove with two cooking pots. To the right of the stove, right by the kitchen entrance, sat a small stool and a pile of dry firewood. To the left of the stove were a cabinet, a dining table, and, tucked away in the farthest corner, a large water vat.

A lid woven from sorghum stalks covered the water vat. It was the faint sound it made that prompted Chen Wanqing to turn her head just in time.

She was already on guard, so she spun around with exceptional speed. Her eyes were sharp, and she instantly spotted the brown powder scattering from the old woman’s hand.

Chen Wanqing’s heart leaped into her throat.

In that instant, her mother’s pointed warning exploded in her mind.

’Someone is really trying to harm Jing! But why?’

It was no wonder Chen Wanqing’s immediate conclusion was that someone wanted to harm Zhao Jing. After all, the rest of them were just women and children. They were always kind and rarely got into disputes with anyone. ’In that case, why would someone go out of their way to harm us?’

Chen Wanqing recalled that Jing was due to take the county examination in ten or twenty days. ’To harm him at a time like this... they must not want him to pass and become a Scholar.’

Her voice sharpened. "Who sent you? You’re here to harm Zhao Jing, aren’t you?"

But the old woman’s expression remained calm. "My dear girl, what are you talking about? I don’t understand. How could I possibly harm anyone? I’m just an old woman. Your family has shown me such kindness—I couldn’t be more grateful. How could I ever harm you?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Nonsense! You just put poison in the water vat."

"That wasn’t poison, it was just dirt from my clothes. My dear, look at this misunderstanding. It’s all my fault for being so filthy. I tried to scoop some cool water and ended up dropping dust from my body into your family’s water vat. If you find me an eyesore, my dear, I’ll leave right now. I won’t trouble you any longer..."

Mrs. Zhao and Xiang’er happened to be returning with some things at that moment. Before they even stepped through the door, they heard the argument inside and quickened their pace. "What’s wrong? What’s going on?"

The old woman didn’t stop, only hurrying toward the exit. "This old woman is filthy, so I won’t stay here and be a nuisance. You are all good people. It’s just my fate to be lowly; I’m not worthy of your kindness."

Chen Wanqing caught up from behind and clamped down on her arm. "You think you can just run away after trying to harm someone? In your dreams! Jing, come help me!"

At Chen Wanqing’s shout, the old woman, who had been so calm just a moment before, suddenly began to panic.

The woman who had seemed so frail and trembling moments ago suddenly found a surprising burst of strength and shoved Chen Wanqing away. And her "broken" leg? It wasn’t broken at all—it had merely been curled up and hidden inside her baggy pants.

Now, hearing Chen Wanqing call for help to capture her, the old woman was in a complete panic. Forgetting all about her feigned injury, she bolted for the door.

However, she was a step too late. Zhao Jing had already emerged from the south room. Grabbing the broom from behind the main gate, he reversed it and brought the heavy wooden handle down hard on the old woman’s head.

The old woman collapsed to the ground, dizzy and crying out in pain.

Everything had happened in a flash. By the time Mrs. Zhao and Xiang’er snapped out of their shock, the situation was already mostly resolved.

The two women clung to each other, crying out in distress, "What a terrible sin!"

Zhao Jing, however, rushed to Chen Wanqing’s side, looking her over from head to toe. "Are you hurt, Sister?"

"No, I was on my guard, so she didn’t get a chance to do anything. I’m perfectly fine. Jing, don’t worry about me. Quick, find a rope and tie her up so we can hand her over to the authorities. This woman is up to no good; she put poison in our water vat."

Blood streamed from the wound on the old woman’s head. Dizzy and dry-heaving, she couldn’t even move.

Even so, she struggled, trying desperately to crawl away with her head covered in fresh blood.

"I told you, it was just dirt! This old woman is filthy, I’m covered in dirt..."

But who was going to listen to her excuses? Zhao Jing shouted for help, and all the women from the neighboring houses came running.

When they saw the beggar woman crawling on the ground like a dog, her head soaked in blood, they were all dumbfounded.

But as soon as they heard from Zhao Jing that the woman had tried to poison him, a neighboring couple was so furious they were practically fuming. They grabbed a rope and, together with Zhao Jing, tied the woman up securely.

In the blink of an eye, news of the incident had spread throughout the entire neighborhood.