In the Marquis's Mansion, chaos had reigned since last night.
The candles burned all night long.
Previously, Wen Hongxin had caught wind of something in the office compound. At first, the old matriarch had tried to hide it from him and handle it secretly. But he had dragged Wen Yuanning back in a hurry to figure out a solution. Wen Yuanning wanted to go look for the missing person himself, but the old matriarch had stopped him firmly. His wedding was approaching, and he was not allowed to mess things up by going out for Lan Miao.
Madam You had been in high spirits and completely unaware. It was not until the steward told her that Qingzhi had left the mansion with someone and hadn't returned by nightfall that she panicked. She wasn't worried about Qingzhi's safety but rather about whether Qingzhi had heard something that might affect her grand plan.
It was bad enough that Qingzhi was missing.
Even more troublesome was that Shuangxi had returned injured.
And it was the emperor's personal guard who had brought her back.
Each piece of news had hit them like a bombshell, leaving them dazed.
The few people were in a complete uproar, making a huge commotion.
Shuangxi only felt it was unfair for her mistress.
She had jumped out of the carriage, and her right arm was broken. Fortunately, they had been discovered in time, and the imperial doctor who had accompanied the emperor out of the palace had set the bone for her. She had mustered up the strength to return to the Marquis's Mansion, determined not to let Yan Bo get away.
But just as they were about to look for Yan Bo.
Yan Bo had somehow received the news and had bitten her tongue to commit suicide.
Suddenly, the mansion was in a complete mess again.
In the second half of the night, the emperor's guard had sent Shuangxi to rest and had also brought the news that Lan Miao was safe and sound.
Wen Yuanning let out a sigh of relief.
Madam You's heart skipped a beat. Yan Bo had died without confessing her, but Lan Miao was still alive. Now, relying on the power of the palace, who knew what she would do when she returned. Madam You didn't sleep a wink all night, filled with uneasiness.
Amidst all this chaos, Lan Miao finally returned.
In the inner chamber of Chunxi Hall.
Supported by Hanbi, Lan Miao stepped in. She was so weak that it seemed a gust of wind could blow her away. There were still bandages on her forehead and neck. Wen Yuanning's face was as dark as water. He tried to reach out but forcibly held back the urge to support her.
Everyone present looked at her in surprise. Some were stunned, some were concerned, some were disgusted, and some were filled with hatred...
The imperial guards and maidservants were all evidence of Lan Miao's close connection with the people in the palace.
Even when something happened, the emperor had sent people to look for her.
In the inner chamber, the old matriarch sitting on the upper seat was the most annoyed. She had always looked down on Lan Miao the most. She had even thought that Madam You and Yan Bo had done her a good deed. But now, it seemed that Lan Miao and Xue'er had really attached themselves to the princess and the empress dowager and were on the rise.
"You're back? As long as you're okay. We're all family. That scoundrel has already committed suicide. Let it go."
The old matriarch raised her eyes, her gaze cloudy.
Naturally, it couldn't end like this.
Lan Miao scanned everyone present one by one, saying nothing. Hanbi sensibly moved a chair for her and placed a cushion on it for her to sit on. Then she stood obediently behind her.
It seemed that she wasn't going to let it go.
The old matriarch's face darkened. Due to the presence of the palace maid, she could only hold back the urge to scold.
"What do you want? The person is already dead, and you're okay. What can't you let go of?"
"Yan Bo is dead? I don't believe she could have bribed the coachman and plotted to kill me all by herself." Lan Miao's voice was as weak as a thread. Her eyes fell on Madam You beside Wen Hongxin. Her panicked expression made it obvious to anyone.
In her memory, Yan Bo's once-pretty face appeared in front of her eyes. She recalled the words Yan Bo had said to her the last time they met.
Lan Miao really didn't understand why Yan Bo hated her so much.
Hated her enough to kill to cover up the truth, hated her enough to want her to disappear forever.
She didn't believe there wasn't someone else behind it.
"The real culprit must be her."
She raised her finger and pointed at Madam You. Her voice was calm. "Sister-in-law, I thought I had never done anything wrong to you. But you've been pushing me again and again. First, you sent people to cause trouble in my jade workshop. Then you even tried to kill me for my money. Has the Marquis's Mansion ever been short of your silver?"
Madam You was startled when she was pointed at. Her heart was pounding wildly.
Wen Hongxin looked at her with a dark and complex gaze, but there was no surprise in his eyes.
Wen Yuanning was so ashamed that he couldn't face anyone and could only lower his head.
Lan Miao saw clearly that they were all conniving.
"Do you have any evidence? What evidence points to me?"
Madam You was so angry that she gritted her teeth. Those people were so useless that they couldn't even kill Lan Miao in that situation. "Even if the empress dowager is supporting you, you can't just wrongly accuse a good person and interfere in the affairs of the Marquis's Mansion without any basis."
"Please watch your words, Madam You. I'll report every single word you said to the empress dowager exactly as it is."
Hanbi said gently.
This shut Madam You up before she could say anything else.
It also made everyone's faces in the room even darker.
They had all forgotten - there was still a palace maid here, and they couldn't chase her away.
"Sister-in-law, have you ever thought about Qingzhi? If you confess your crime now, you might get a lighter punishment. If you don't, you'll only drag the whole mansion down with you." Lan Miao seemed to have no more energy to argue with her. She pointed at Shuangle who had followed her in.
"Shuangle has already collected evidence of you sending people to cause trouble in the jade workshop. You asked Yan Bo to bribe a coachman from who knows where. That coachman didn't actually die. After he woke up, he told everything about you. He knows you, and you can't get away with it. And there's also Steward Li in the mansion..."
Lan Miao said every word lightly, but the speaker might not have meant anything, while the listener took it to heart.
Wen Yuanning was extremely shocked. He knew Lan Miao's life wasn't easy, but he never expected she had been under so much pressure all along. His eyes were filled with pain. Why had she never told him?
Wen Hongxin thought that Madam You was probably doomed.
Hearing this, Madam You jumped up herself. Her eyes were bloodshot as she shouted, "Don't talk nonsense. My people never even saw that coachman. It was all that dead Yan Bo who contacted him. He couldn't have confessed..."
At this point, Madam You's face turned as white as a corpse.
She instantly realized that Lan Miao was bluffing her.
"Yes, sister-in-law, you seem to know everything very clearly."
Lan Miao's eyes were calm, and her lips were tightly pressed. When she wasn't smiling, there was a coldness like snow and wind hidden in her eyes and brows.
"You... you, I'm going to kill you. It's all your fault. You have no evidence."
Madam You was so angry that she was about to go crazy. She really wanted to strangle Lan Miao.
Shuangle and Hanbi quickly blocked in front of her.
Wen Hongxin quickly grabbed and held Madam You firmly. She was really embarrassing him.
Only then did everyone realize that Lan Miao had played a very clever word game. Regardless of how much evidence she actually had in her hands, once Madam You said this, she was doomed. Even if they tried to protect her, there was still a palace maid here. How could they ignore it?
"Alright, alright, there's no need to argue." The old matriarch hadn't rested all night. She had been sick before, and now, after all this arguing, she couldn't hold on anymore. "Madam You made a mistake and tried to kill you. But you're still alive. I'll punish her myself. You don't need to argue anymore."
"How will the old matriarch punish her?" Lan Miao raised her eyes.
"..."
Being questioned by Lan Miao several times in a row, the old matriarch felt embarrassed. Lan Miao had always been very obedient before, and she rarely showed such a sharp side. She immediately sank her face.
"You're a daughter-in-law. How can you question your mother-in-law? Look at what you're saying?"
"Words that make sense."
Lan Miao replied calmly.