As soon as Shen Cuiyu finished speaking, the nanny from the Shen Mansion stepped forward immediately. Regardless of Liu Ruyan's struggle, she quickly removed the delicate pearl hair ornaments from her hair bun!
"Ah!" Liu Ruyan let out a startled cry. Her hair was slightly in disarray, looking extremely embarrassed.
Everyone held their breath, and their gazes were all fixed on the hair ornaments. Sure enough, one of the hairpin holders was empty, and a pearl was clearly missing!
Taking a closer look, the size and quality of the other pearls on the hair ornaments were exactly the same as the one given by the Young Prince Pei!
There was an immediate uproar around!
"Good heavens! Isn't this the pearl that fell off her hair ornaments?!"
"Didn't Liu Ruyan keep insisting just now that she didn't leave the mansion on the day Miss Shen Er had the accident? Then how could this pearl have been picked up by the Young Prince Pei? Could it be that it became a spirit and ran out on its own?"
Everyone was talking one after another. It was already clear who was lying!
Madam Zou's face was as cold as frost. She sneered coldly, "Didn't you want evidence? Now that both the witness and the physical evidence are here, what else do you have to say?!"
Those who had shown a bit of respect for Liu Ruyan because of her reputation as the reincarnation of the Dark Goddess now gradually looked at her with disdain and contempt.
The whispers were incessant all around. Liu Ruyan's face turned paler and paler. Before coming to the Shen Mansion today, she never expected that Shen Cuiyu would wake up and regain her sanity!
She couldn't figure out why the Young Prince Pei, who was always eccentric and solitary, would go out of his way to get involved in this mess today and always side with the "fool" Shen Cuiyu!
Faced with the irrefutable evidence, Liu Ruyan bit her lips and suddenly knelt down with a "thud". Her voice trembled,
"Yes... it was me who pushed Sister Shen, but it was really an accident! The stairs in the Yuanli Pavilion were too steep. I lost my footing that day and..."
Liu Jinyan was instantly struck like a thunderbolt and stood there stunned. He couldn't believe that his usually obedient little sister would do such a thing. But seeing Liu Ruyan trembling in fear at the moment, he felt extremely heart - ache. So he knelt down too and said eagerly,
"Lord Shen and Madam Shen, please make a fair judgment! There must be some misunderstanding. Ever since Ruyan heard that Miss Shen had a persistent high - fever, she has been begging me to come. She really wanted to help Miss Shen out of danger..."
Shen Cuiyu watched coldly as Liu Jinyan was so eager to protect his sister. She didn't feel as heart - broken as in her previous life. Instead, she found it extremely ironic.
Sure enough, Liu Jinyan still chose to stand by Liu Ruyan's side as always. Even if she had committed a serious mistake, he would try every means to excuse her.
"An accident?" Shen Zanghai's voice was not loud, but it was intimidating. "If it was really an accidental injury, why didn't you send someone to inform the Shen Mansion? Instead, you disappeared without a trace and left A Cui unconscious alone! If it weren't for a kind - hearted person who happened to see her..." Shen Zanghai was still in shock and couldn't bear to continue. He looked at the Liu siblings with a sharp gaze like a knife and shouted sternly, "Such behavior is no different from murder!"
Liu Jinyan's clothes were already soaked with cold sweat. But seeing Liu Ruyan's teary and pitiful look, he gritted his teeth and defended,
"Ruyan is by no means a bad person! She grew up wandering outside and suffered a lot. She just returned to the mansion not long ago, and then was bullied by her evil elder sister at home... After experiencing so many sudden changes, she was panicked and made a mistake!" He looked up at Shen Cuiyu, with a hint of pleading and expectation in his eyes. "Miss Shen is kind - hearted. I hope you can forgive her for the sake of my poor younger sister!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone couldn't help but look at Liu Ruyan. She was as pale as a sheet, and tears welled up under her eyelashes, looking extremely pitiful.
The surrounding whispers paused for a moment. A few people showed a bit of pity in their eyes.
"Ah."
A very soft but extremely clear sneer sounded, which was particularly abrupt in the briefly silent courtyard.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the Young Prince Pei, who had been watching the show, slowly put down the teacup in his hand. He spoke in a lazy tone,
"I didn't know when the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty were changed. Can a rough life be used as a get - out - of - jail - free card now?" He raised his phoenix - like eyes and looked down at Liu Jinyan. "According to what Young Master Liu said, your younger sister's act of violence is excusable, while Miss Shen, who narrowly escaped death, is actually to blame? In that case, in the future, all those with rough lives in the world can harm others' lives at will. They just need to shed a few tears afterwards and say 'I'm so pitiful', and then they can get away with it?"
Pei Yu leaned forward slightly. His gaze was sharp as he stared directly into the depths of Liu Jinyan's eyes, but his tone was half - smiling, "Young Master Liu has such brilliant insights. It's really a waste of talent. It's a loss to our dynasty that you haven't joined the Supreme Court!"
Everyone knew that the Young Prince Pei had joined the Supreme Court last year. His resolute and forceful methods were intimidating. When he said this, it was obvious that he meant that Liu Jinyan couldn't tell right from wrong and was so muddle - headed and hateful!
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an instant silence around. Those who had felt a bit of sympathy for Liu Ruyan just now all came to their senses!
"The Young Prince is right. Whether Liu Ruyan has a miserable life or not has nothing to do with Miss Shen Er. If she is pitiful, isn't Miss Shen innocent? She almost lost her life..."
"Liu Jinyan's words just now were clearly trying to confuse right and wrong!"
"If this is the case, what's the use of the laws and regulations?"
The accusing voices came like a storm. Liu Jinyan stood there stiffly. His face turned from red to white, and then from white to green. He felt extremely ashamed and angry and couldn't even say a single word in refutation!
Shen Cuiyu stared blankly at the scene in front of her. Her gaze carefully scanned these people who were standing up for her. For a moment, her nose felt a bit sour.
The feeling of being believed was really wonderful.
If in her previous life, when she was wrongly accused by Liu Ruyan and misunderstood by her loved ones, there had been someone... even just one person, who could have stood firmly by her side like today.
Seemingly noticing that Shen Cuiyu's mood was not right, Madam Zou tightened her arms around her. She whispered to her in a voice that only the two of them could hear,
"A Cui, don't be afraid. Your father, mother and elder brother are here. You have the whole Shen family behind you. No one can bully my daughter!"
After gently comforting Shen Cuiyu, Madam Zou looked up at everyone. Her face was cold, and her voice was filled with an unshakable determination,
"The matter today is already clear. The Liu family has gone too far! Such evil deeds, even if we take it to the Metropolitan Government or in front of the Emperor, the Shen family will never back down! All of you here are witnesses. From now on, the Shen family and the Liu family are sworn enemies! The Shen family will definitely pursue this matter to the end and seek justice for my daughter!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Madam Zou's words left no room for compromise. It was clearly forcing the Liu family to make a public statement and severely punish Liu Ruyan!
Liu Jinyan's face was extremely ugly. He knew very well that if he dared to say one more word in defense of Liu Ruyan, the entire Liu family would be implicated, and even be branded with the bad names of being unable to tell right from wrong and shielding and conniving.
By then, his father's official reputation, the official careers of his brothers, and even the prestige of the Liu clan would all be ruined!
No matter how much he pitied Liu Ruyan, he had to make a choice between her and the entire Liu family today!