Chapter 92: Conflicting Accounts

Lady Wan smiled faintly but said nothing. After a while, Zhaixing returned with Aunty Fang. Lady Wan handed the peacock-blue silk thread she had been holding to her and instructed, “You oversee the embroidery room and manage all the fabric inventory in the residence. Examine this thread carefully. Identify which batch of fabric it came from and who might have used it.”

“Yes.” Aunty Fang was indeed an expert on fabrics and quickly identified it. “Esteemed Lady, this quality appears to originate from Lianzhou. I recall that only one shipment from Lianzhou arrived this year, including this exact shade of peacock blue. Initially intended for the ladies of the household, the fabric was later found to have minor flaws. Most of it was sent to the music hall, while the remainder was distributed to Zhaixing, Jichun, and others.”

Jichun was a maid serving Third Lady Linshi, similar to Zhaixing—both were high-ranking servants favored within the residence. Though their garments weren’t as luxurious as those of the mistresses, they still wore fine silks and satins, albeit of slightly lesser quality.

“The music hall, is it?” Lady Wan gave a cold smile and gestured toward Yunyi and the others. She ordered Zhaixing, “Search their quarters. Bring me every garment in this color.”

“Yes.” As Zhaixing led a group away, Yunyi grew increasingly anxious. However, with Lady Wan watching closely, there was nothing she could do.

The dancers’ quarters weren’t far, so Zhaixing soon returned with an armful of clothes. She also called Zhang Chenyue and Sunshi aside because they too wore garments in the same color.

Lady Wan commanded coldly, “Inspect them thoroughly. Look for any damaged pieces.”

“Yes.” Zhaixing’s team spread the garments on the ground and began checking them one by one. The dancers watched in dismay—most of them cherished these silk garments dearly. Even a single snag would upset them for hours, let alone seeing their clothes tossed carelessly onto the ground.

When they reached the final garment, Zhaixing’s eyes lit up. She brought it to Lady Wan and announced, “Esteemed Lady, this must be the one.”

Lady Wan examined it closely and confirmed the presence of slight damage, matching the threads she held in her hand. Her gaze hardened as she asked, “Whose garment is this?”

Zhaixing replied truthfully, “I retrieved it from the rooms of Wu Meixue and Jiang Caiping.”

Lady Wan glared icily at Yunyi and Jiang Caiping. “Which one of you does this garment belong to?”

Jiang Caiping was shocked that the investigation had turned against them. Panicking, she stammered, “This must be a mistake! We absolutely didn’t kill Ah Mu!”

“Answer my question!” Jiang Caiping detected the chill in Lady Wan’s voice and feared the consequences if she revealed the garment belonged to Yunyi. She clenched her teeth and refused to speak further.

Yunyi lowered her eyes and responded calmly, “Esteemed Lady, this garment belongs to me. However, I did not harm Fifth Young Master’s dog. In fact, today was the first time I’ve ever seen it.”

“If you didn’t kill it, how did Ah Mu manage to claw your clothing?” Before Lady Wan finished speaking, Li Zhiyun had already rushed forward, cradling Ah Mu’s stiff, lifeless body. He shouted angrily at Yunyi, “Why did you kill Ah Mu? What did it ever do to you?”

Lady Wan softened her tone and consoled him. “Don’t worry, my son. I’ll make her confess everything.” After calming Li Zhiyun, she turned back to Yunyi with cold indifference. “Earlier, you weren’t trying to send Jiang Caiping to fetch a chair—you wanted to hide this garment, didn’t you?”

Yunyi avoided answering directly and instead explained, “Esteemed Lady, while it’s true that the silk threads from Ah Mu’s claws match mine, it wasn’t caused by the dog. Someone deliberately framed me.”

Her words surprised Lady Wan, who raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Who would do such a thing?”

“Yesterday, after we finished practicing dance and returned to rest, Ji Rong stumbled and grabbed me for support. That’s when I noticed my garment had been snagged,” Yunyi explained.

Recalling the incident, Jiang Caiping chimed in hurriedly, “Yes, I remember! I even noticed it first. It must have been Ji Rong’s doing. She planned it deliberately.”

As all eyes turned to Ji Rong, her expression twisted with indignation. “It’s true that I grabbed you, but it was an unconscious action during a moment of panic. It wasn’t intentional, as you claim. Don’t slander me with baseless accusations.”

“Whether or not your accusations are baseless, you know best,” Yunyi retorted. “You’re close to Chunxiu, who was punished and sent to the firewood shed. Now you’re blaming us and accusing us of killing Fifth Young Master’s dog.”

“You… You’re being completely unreasonable!” Ji Rong exclaimed bitterly before turning to Lady Wan. “Esteemed Lady, though I may have some disagreements with Meixue and the others, that’s all there is to it. I would never resort to such cruel methods to harm Fifth Young Master’s dog and frame them. Please see reason, esteemed Lady.”

Jiang Caiping pleaded urgently, “Esteemed Lady, don’t believe her lies! She’s the one who did it!”

Lady Wan studied them silently for a moment, then held up her slender fingers adorned with crimson nail polish against the sunlight. “Explain this—if Ji Rong truly managed to snag the thread from Meixue’s garment without anyone noticing, how did she do it? With her bare hands?” Without waiting for Jiang Caiping to respond, she ordered, “Zhaixing.”

Zhaixing, having served Lady Wan for years, understood her intent with just a glance. She immediately demonstrated by dragging her ring-clad hand forcefully across her sleeve—but no threads were caught. She repeated the action several times with the same result.

Yunyi grasped Lady Wan’s implication and lowered her gaze. “Zhaixing’s nails are neatly trimmed, so naturally, no threads would snag.”

Lady Wan glanced pointedly at Zhaixing, who promptly approached Ji Rong and inspected her ten fingers meticulously. She reported, “Esteemed Lady, Ji Rong’s nails are neatly trimmed. There’s no evidence of what Miss Wu described.”

Lady Wan twirled the jade ring on her finger indifferently. “Do either of you have anything more to say?”

Jiang Caiping blurted out hastily, “Perhaps Ji Rong trimmed her nails afterward to cover her tracks. Esteemed Lady, please don’t let her deceive you!”

“But I find the two of you far more suspicious,” Lady Wan countered sharply. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice turned icy. “Take these two to Yuxiu Pavilion. I will interrogate them personally.”

Yunyi knew that going to Yuxiu Pavilion spelled trouble. At this moment, the only person who could help them was Li Shimin—but he was unaware of what was happening here.

Jiang Caiping also realized that entering Yuxiu Pavilion meant difficulty leaving. Struggling, she protested, “We’re innocent! We didn’t do anything wrong! Ji Rong is the real culprit who killed Ah Mu!”

Ji Rong’s face contorted with righteous indignation. “Jiang Caiping, what have I ever done to deserve such malicious slander from you?”

Accused in turn, Jiang Caiping seethed with anger. “Who’s slandering whom? You twist truth and falsehood to frame us—your heart is truly wicked!”

Ji Rong stamped her foot in frustration. “If I really intended to frame you, I’d have killed a human, not a mere dog!”