"What?!" said the old madam and Ye Shin Ye's father in shock.
"This herb itself is medicinal in small doses but when made into incense it is used to stage many cases of accidental deaths." the Grand Chancellor and the crowd gasped.
"Accidental deaths?" the old madam asked shakily and Ye Shin Ah began to tremble like a leaf in the wind.
"Impossible!" The old madam said as she shook her head.
"Ye Shin Ah is so kind and innocent." The old madam said in confusion.
"Why would Ye Shin Ah try to harm me?" The old madam asked in disbelief.
"Yes." Ye Shin Ah's mother said quickly.
"Ye Shin Ah has been taking care of the old madam day in and day out." Ye Shin Ah's mother said swiftly.
"Ye Shin Ah could never harm the old madam." Ye Shin Ah's mom said firmly.
"Maybe," Ye Shin Ah's mom said slowly and awkwardly, careful not to anger the Grand Chancellor.
"The Grand Chancellor might have confused this herb for another." Ye Shin Ah's mother said with an awkward smile, praying that she didn't offend the Grand Chancellor but the Grand Chancellor ignored her as he proved the old madam further.
"Old madam, I heard from Minister Ye that you suddenly collapsed one morning," the Grand Chancellor and the old madam nodded.
"Was the weather particularly cold?" the Grand Chancellor asked and Ye Shin Ye and Shen Xiatang smirked simultaneously.
"No, it's a weather I had survived countlessly without much struggle so when I suddenly collapsed I was both confused and bitter." the old madam said, as she began to realize the rather odd circumstances of her collapse.
"Do you remember smelling an extremely sweet smell in your room?" asked the Grand Chancellor.
"Yes but the sweet smell was from an incense that I had received as a gift from Ye Shin Ah." the old madam said and Ye Shin Ye's father got up and slapped Ye Shin Ah across the face.
"Stop!" the old madam said as she scolded her son.
"There is something amiss here." the old madam said as she tried to defend Ye Shin Ah.
"Maybe someone might have tricked her with the inscence." the old madam said in Ye Shin Ah's defense.
"Yes." Ye Shin Ah nodded quickly.
"It was her!" Ye Shin Ah said and Shen Xiatang whistled.
"It was big sister that told me to give the incense to grandmother." said Ye Shin Ah.
"Ye Shin Ye?!" The crowd muttered in shock.
"Her mother's adoptive brother is stationed at the border so getting these kinds of herbs won't be hard!" Ye Shin Ah said as she pinned it all on Ye Shin Ye.
"You really see something new every day." Shen Xiatang said as she looked at Ye Shin Ah in wonder.
Getting up from the floor, Ye Shin Ye said "I" as she pointed to herself.
"Gave you that." Ye Shin Ye said and Ye Shin Ye nodded quickly.
Bowing with her hands before her in a standing bow, Ye Shin Ye said "Father, Ye Shin Ye has never seen nor heard of that incense before and anything brought to Ye Shin from the border must first be taken stock off by the male servants before being given to Ye Shin Ye." Ye Shin Ye said and her father nodded in agreement.
"The general created this method to ensure that no one could steal anything he specially prepared for you," said Ye Shin Ye's father as he summoned a male servant.
"If that incense did come from the border there must be a record of it." Ye Shin Ye's father said as he ordered the servant to search through the list of things the general had sent over to the Ye manor.
In the presence of all eyes in the room, the servant read the list of things the general sent from the border but there was no incense to be found.
"Ye Shin Ah didn't you say I was the one that gave you that incense?" Ye Shin Ye asked Ye Shin Ah.
"Ye Shin Ah must have remembered it wrong." Ye Shin Ah said pitifully.
"Sister has given Ye Shin Ah a lot of things so Ye Shin Ah mistakenly accused sister." Ye Shin Ah said, feigning disappointment in herself.
"If she has forgotten who gave her the incense, why not be a good big sister and help her remember." Shen Xiatang said in an amused tone.
Smiling discreetly at Shen Xiatang's words, Ye Shin Ah said, "Since you don't remember who gave you the incense, let me call someone who remembers things for you."
"Anyone there!" Ye Shin Ye said and a male servant came forward.
"Bring in Chun Hua, Ye Shin Ah's personal maid." Ye Shin Ye said with a smile and Ye Shin Ah's eyes began to dart around in panic.
After five minutes, the male servant brought in a sickly looking woman who immediately knelt to the ground with her hands in front of her face in a half bow.
"Chun Hua knows that she can't be forgiven for not being by the second young miss's side during the banquet but Chun Hua was ordered not to come, in order not to ruin the old Madam's health." Chun Hua said in panic, for fear that she would be punished.
"You are not summoned here for that." Ye Shin Ye's father said with a sigh.
"Do you remember giving any incense to the old madam on behalf of your young miss" Ye Shin Ye's father asked Chun Hua.
"Yes," the young maid said with a smile.
"The young Miss brought it with her when she arrived at the manor and handed it over to the old madam as a gift." the young maid said brightly but the room grew cold at her words.
"This herb," Ye Shin Ye's father said as a male servant presented the purple herb on a tray.
"Have you seen this herb before?" asked Ye Shin Ye's father.
"Yes." Chun Hua said with a nod.
"The second young Miss said it would ease the old Madam's pain." Chun Hua said and Ye Shin Ah screamed "Shut your mouth!"
"Shut your mouth!" Ye Shin Ah said with a crazed look in her eyes.
Crawling to her grandmother, Ye Shin Ah quickly said "Don't believe anything she says."
"She must have been put up to this by Ye Shin Ye to frame me." Ye Shin Ah said as she tugged on the hem of her grandmother's clothes.
"One last question." Ye Shin Ye said and everyone froze.
"How did you become so sick?" Ye Shin Ye asked Chun Hua.
"Did you eat anything you shouldn't have?" Ye Shin Ye asked Chun Hua in concern.
"I don't know myself." Chun Hua said as she coughed up a bit of blood.
"I have lived everyday like how I lived the last, the only thing different is that I am currently using an incense gifted to me by the second young Miss." Chun Hua said and all eyes moved towards Ye Shin Ah in shock.