Although Princess Wuyou showed a 친근한 disposition towards Li Man'er, many were unwilling to believe or witness this. They felt that Princess Wuyou, with her noble character and filial piety, would not associate with someone as notorious as Li Man'er!
Without waiting for Li Man'er's reply, Tong Qiuwu preempted her, saying, "It's fortunate the Princess has arrived. This Miss Li doesn't have an invitation and we don't know how she got in. As soon as she arrived, she started spouting nonsense and annoying everyone. Madam Qin merely said a few words to her, and she started causing a scene, shouting insults, and finally resorted to violence, scaring Madam Qin unconscious."
Li Man'er sneered, "Tong Qiuwu, your ability to fabricate stories is getting more impressive. It's a waste of talent not to find a theater to tell stories and compose tunes."
"You..." Who, as a proper young lady from a respectable family, would want to be called a storyteller? Tong Qiuwu dared not cause as much of a scene as Li Man'er. She had to seek help from Princess Wuyou, "Princess, look at her, she's so sharp-tongued."
Princess Wuyou glanced at Li Man'er and asked, "Do you have anything to clarify?"
This was clearly giving her an opportunity to defend herself properly.
"Who says I don't have an invitation?" Li Man'er tilted her chin up slightly. "My sister is standing right there. We are from the same household. Do you think my mother would go out without bringing me if she brought my sister?"
"This..." Tong Qiuwu hadn't expected Li Man'er to turn the conversation back on this. She looked pleadingly at Li Zha'er, hoping she would say something on her behalf.
Li Zha'er hesitated for a long time before stepping forward. She first curtsied to Princess Wuyou, and then said, "When I left with Mother this morning, I was indeed not with Eldest Sister. Perhaps the Princess has also heard that my Eldest Sister studied medical texts in her youth, and recently..."
Li Zha'er paused here before continuing, "My father's health has not been good. Imperial Physician Duan from the Imperial Hospital, while treating my father, also mentioned that Sister has a talent for medicine. My grandmother is old, and with the summer heat causing discomfort and some excessive internal fire, my mother was worried about grandmother's health and asked Sister to stay home to attend to her."
These words were enough to mislead everyone present. However, Li Zha'er added a seemingly sincere, "Eldest Sister, I am only speaking the truth. You won't blame me, will you?"
Hearing Li Zha'er's words, the assembled ladies were astonished and curious, discussing amongst themselves.
"She left her sick grandmother to run out?"
"Truly, a dog's meat cannot be served on a table. She disregards filial piety and has disgraced us women."
Tong Qiuwu finally found an outlet for her anger. "Li Man'er, I didn't expect you to have studied medical texts! Are you afraid that you'll be kicked out of the Marquis's mansion in the future and unable to make a living, so you want to become a medical woman?" She wanted to trample Li Man'er's dignity underfoot, so that she would never have the face to appear at banquets of prominent families again.
"Are you finished?"
"What?"
Li Man'er said word by word, "I asked if you are all finished speaking!"
Everyone fell silent, staring intently at Li Man'er.
The pressure had been created. Li Man'er looked at Li Zha'er with a half-smile and extended her hand to applaud her, "Li Zha'er, you truly have a silver tongue. Your ability to lie with a straight face is no less than that of the one surnamed Tong. You are indeed sisters, while I am the outsider. Last time at the Princess's residence, your maid kept insisting I was meeting a man privately. You, my dear sister, even brought a large group of ladies to catch us in the act! If I were not upright and honorable, I would have been dragged through the mud by you all at that moment."
Li Zha'er, hearing her mention that incident, couldn't help but feel guilty. "Sister, what are you saying? We said last time it was a misunderstanding, and I was just speaking the truth. Don't be angry with me."
Several ladies present knew about that incident. They understood the truth of the matter and were somewhat afraid to look at Li Man'er.
"Speaking the truth? Then what is this?" Li Man'er produced the private invitation Princess Wuyou had given her. "You all have a look too, what is this I'm holding!"
Li Zha'er and Tong Qiuwu had never seen the Princess's private invitation. They assumed she had brought something to sneak in. At that moment, they said, "Who knows what you're holding? Our invitations look like this."
Having said that, they displayed their own invitations, which were clearly different from what Li Man'er held.
"It's not your fault, you've just seen too little. This is the Princess's private invitation."
"Impossible!"
Li Zha'er's expression also changed. "Eldest Sister, don't joke."
"The Princess is here, how could I speak nonsense?"
Princess Wuyou said, "Indeed, this is my private invitation, and I did indeed invite Man'er to the poetry gathering."
Everyone's eyes widened, unable to believe that Li Man'er had actually gained Princess Wuyou's favor.
"Well?"
Everyone else remained silent, but Tong Qiuwu was unwilling to let her off. "Even if you came with the Princess's invitation, you shouldn't have scared Madam Qin. We all saw it with our own eyes. You scared Madam Qin unconscious."
Li Man'er stretched her wrists, which greatly alarmed the one surnamed Tong.
"You, what are you going to do?"
"I have always been one to persuade with virtue and not resort to violence easily. Don't be afraid." Li Man'er smiled and said, "It's a long distance for you ladies, so you probably didn't see clearly what happened. The doctor will be out soon, let's hear what he has to say."
As soon as she finished speaking, the doctor pushed open the door and walked out.
As the host, Princess Wuyou naturally wanted to inquire about the guest's condition first.
"Doctor Feng, how is Madam Qin? Why did she suddenly faint?"
"That lady is out of danger! She..."
Before the doctor could finish speaking, Tong Qiuwu interjected, "Doctor, did she faint from being frightened?"
Princess Wuyou gave her a displeased look, and Tong Qiuwu then restrained herself.
"Fright was only a small part of it. Madam Qin was poisoned. She..."
"Good! Li Man'er, you actually poisoned Madam Qin!"
This time, before Princess Wuyou could speak, Doctor Feng became displeased.
"Young lady, can you allow this old man to finish speaking? Madam was poisoned by a venomous spider bite. Coupled with the fright from the spider, her blood surged, accelerating the toxin's spread, which caused her to faint. It is also fortunate that the Princess was farsighted enough to have me wait in the mansion in case any of the ladies experienced any ill effects. If it had been even half an hour later, Madam Qin's hand might have been lost."
"Ah?"
"Where did the spider come from? It's so potent."
"We've never heard of it before."
"Too scary."
The ladies buzzed with discussion and at the same time cautiously looked around, afraid they too might be bitten by a spider.
"Thank you, Doctor Feng. Please go to the side room to rest."
Doctor Feng cupped his hands and returned to the side room.
"The truth has been revealed," Princess Wuyou declared decisively. "Madam Qin was bitten by a spider, and I invited Man'er to the poetry gathering. Do you have any other questions?"