Chapter Sixty-Four: How Will This Matter End

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“Wasn't there a tiny orchid character embroidered on Miss Shui's sachet?” Mei Xue cried out anxiously.

“But there's no orchid character here, and this isn't my sachet. It's probably Yu Ru's own, isn't it?” Shui Ruolan relaxed after seeing the character stitched on the sachet, lifting her gaze calmly to ask Qin Yuru.

Qin Yuru's heart gave a jolt; she lifted her head in astonishment.

Qi Rongzhi, too, felt a sudden shock. She remembered distinctly that she'd asked about this sachet—it was supposed to have been stolen from Shui Ruolan herself. Her gaze involuntarily shifted to the servant boy Qi Hai.

Qi Hai was flustered as well; he remembered clearly that the sachet belonged to Shui Ruolan, but now he couldn't say a word.

Qin Wanru snatched the sachet from Shui Ruolan's hand and stood up, as if to see more clearly, holding it toward the light. A crowd had gathered, curious about the commotion, and their eyes followed her, many noticing the character “Yu” stitched on the sachet.

“It’s the sachet of Miss Qin herself.”

“It’s clearly Miss Qin’s sachet, how could it be Miss Shui’s?”

“What’s going on here? Did Miss Qin perhaps have some secret held by those two men, and so staged this whole scene herself?”

The incense at Jingxin Nunnery was always abundant, and many visitors came and went—wives and daughters of prominent families often stayed here. Hearing such talk now, many were startled.

It sounded very suspicious!

“I…” Qin Yuru was so anxious her face turned pale.

“It seems Miss Qin is lying again. Well, so long as it’s nothing to do with my elder brother, it doesn’t matter to us. Our Prefect’s mansion has no significant ties to your Ningyuan General’s mansion anymore. My brother has suffered once already, that’s enough. I hope Miss Qin, out of consideration for my brother’s feelings toward you, won’t drag him into this matter again.”

The implication was clear: if Qin Yuru tried to drag Qi Tianyu into things again, the Prefect’s family would not be polite. Qi Rongzhi believed Qin Yuru was sensible enough; if this matter truly came to light, Qi Tianyu would merely be accused of helping to find someone, while Qin Yuru would be exposed as the manipulative culprit.

Though things had taken an unexpected turn, Qi Rongzhi was not directly involved and quickly regained her composure. She finished her warning and approached the servant, her expression cold and severe: “My elder brother sent you to find me, yet you followed Miss Qin instead? Whatever happens in their mansion is now none of our concern.”

“Let go!” Chunxi, seeing Qi Rongzhi speak, immediately barked at the two matrons holding the servant boy.

The matrons glanced at Shui Ruolan, who had not spoken. Earlier, when Qin Yuru's servant went to report, the old lady had asked Shui Ruolan to bring people over. Naturally, Shui Ruolan was in charge now.

With the eldest miss disgraced and the second miss too young to take charge, the matter inevitably fell to Shui Ruolan.

Shui Ruolan remained silent, so they dared not release him.

Qin Wanru walked up to the servant, scrutinizing him from head to toe. The servant was anxious and flustered. Though Qin Wanru was still a young girl, her clear, cold eyes unsettled him.

“You are the servant of Young Master Qi Tianyu. Why were you following my eldest sister?” Qin Wanru asked.

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“I... I came to find our eldest miss, but unexpectedly saw someone trying to abduct Miss Qin,” the servant stammered, lowering his head.

“So, this has nothing to do with Young Master Qi Tianyu?” Qin Wanru smiled coolly.

“What do you mean by that, Qin Wanru? How could my brother have anything to do with this woman? Ever since she climbed onto the high branch of Yongkang Earl's mansion in the capital, our family has had nothing to do with her. This servant simply can't tell his place and still wants to help Qin Yuru,” Qi Rongzhi retorted coldly, displeased by the implication in Qin Wanru’s words.

“Sister, what do you think?” Qin Wanru ignored her, looking instead at Qin Yuru.

Qin Yuru, now helped to her feet, was both furious and hateful upon hearing Qi Rongzhi’s words, wishing she could slap Qi Rongzhi right then and there. The Ningyuan General’s mansion had handled the previous matter discreetly, hoping to minimize it and let it be forgotten. Yet Qi Rongzhi brought it up again in front of so many.

But she didn’t dare to argue back, fearing the real reason would come out. She could only grit her teeth and swallow her anger. “Wanru, let him go. He should have nothing to do with it. I... I was deceived. Someone took the sachet and said it belonged to Aunt Shui. I didn’t check, just followed along. I never expected… never expected…”

Qin Yuru broke into sobs as she spoke.

“But… but this isn’t Aunt Shui’s sachet!” Qin Wanru, seeing Qin Yuru still insist it belonged to Shui Ruolan, smirked inwardly but kept her face innocent as she shook the sachet, “Sister, this is your sachet!”

“I… I don’t know. I don’t know why it’s mine… Maybe… Maybe I dropped it earlier!” Qin Yuru’s tears streamed down, full of grievance.

“Maybe it fell off when the men grabbed Miss Qin,” Mei Xue quickly improvised.

But her words only reminded bystanders of the earlier scene when the ruffian pressed on Qin Yuru. Disdain appeared on many faces—not only was the incident contemptible, but there were oddities before as well. There was clearly something wrong with Miss Qin: her words and those of her maid did not match, her actions were flustered, and their explanations about the sachet were contradictory.

“Let him go!” Shui Ruolan finally spoke up, and the two matrons let go immediately. Qi Hai quickly hid behind Qi Rongzhi.

“If this matter has nothing to do with us, then I’ll take my people and leave. I hope Miss Qin, for the sake of future relations between our two families, won’t drag my innocent brother into this,” Qi Rongzhi warned Qin Yuru once more, then left with her servant and maids.

The two ruffians had already fled far away; only women remained, and dusk had fallen. No one dared enter the dense woods to search.

Shui Ruolan had Qin Yuru helped up and led everyone to see the old lady.

The Ningyuan General’s mansion people followed. The crowd dispersed, chattering as they left the woods.

Many present had heard rumors about the disputes between the Ningyuan General’s mansion and the Prefect’s mansion, but had never seen anything themselves. Now, they had witnessed the entire scene.

Miss Qin had just been caught between two men and had her sleeve torn—her reputation was ruined.

A woman’s virtue was as weighty as heaven, especially in front of so many witnesses. To preserve her name, she might seek death for her honor, or else enter a nunnery and spend her days with the Buddha.

No one knew what Miss Qin would choose. This was the main topic of discussion. Another was the suspicious nature of the whole affair—Miss Qin was definitely not innocent, and likely brought it upon herself.

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Everyone chattered, their discussions swirling; nine out of ten remarks cast doubt on Qin Yuru’s character…

“What exactly happened, Yuru? Why did you follow those people outside?” The old lady sat at her bedside, her face pale with anger, slamming the bed rail as she questioned furiously.

This was the root of the matter.

“Grandmother, grandmother… I truly thought Aunt Shui was in trouble. I… I was deceived!” Qin Yuru cried loudly, kneeling before the bed.

“If you thought Ruolan was in danger, why not send someone to ask? Why go yourself? And Ruolan never lost any sachet, so how did this rumor start?” The old lady didn’t believe Qin Yuru at all. Both Di Shi and Qin Yuru had never liked Shui Ruolan, especially after recent events.

They were hardly eager to save Shui Ruolan, certainly not anxious enough to rush to her rescue.

“Grandmother, I really was deceived. I panicked then,” Qin Yuru could only insist she was tricked.

“With you like this, I can’t protect you. You’d best go down the mountain and tell your parents yourself!” Seeing Qin Yuru still refusing to tell the truth, the old lady was deeply hurt. She leaned back, closed her eyes tiredly, and said, “I’m old, and none of you care about me anymore. These words… you’re planning to deceive me again, aren’t you? Enough, enough, go down the mountain.”

The old lady felt she had always given her all for Qin Yuru. She had no other relatives and had always cherished her two granddaughters. Qin Yuru was Qin Huaiyong’s own daughter—she would never be neglected. Yet now, she was truly heartbroken; Di Shi and her daughter had repeatedly treated others as fools.

“Grandmother, please… Please tell father that it was because of Aunt Shui that I… I was harmed!” Qin Yuru pleaded, sobbing.

“I won’t say it. If anyone’s to tell, you tell him yourself!” the old lady responded angrily. Even at this point, Qin Yuru still wanted to blame Ruolan, sowing discord between Huaiyong and Ruolan.

“Grandmother… I am your real granddaughter… How can you…” Hearing the old lady refuse, Qin Yuru rushed forward, crawling to the bedside to grab the old lady’s hand. A trace of viciousness flashed in her eyes. No matter what, she wanted to lay the blame for this incident on Shui Ruolan.

She wanted Shui Ruolan to bear the guilt for harming her.

Qin Wanru’s hand reached out, striking Qin Yuru’s hand away forcefully, sending it flying: “Sister, you keep blaming Aunt Shui for everything—how much do you hate her?”

The old lady could not speak plainly, but Qin Wanru was still young and could bluntly “speak out of turn.”

“I will tell father: Aunt Shui saved you, yet you keep blaming her, claiming her sachet lured you away, when it’s clearly your own. You also released the servant boy of Young Master Qi Tianyu, who obviously had something to do with this. That servant was suspicious. I think this matter still involves Young Master Qi Tianyu—let father speak to the Prefect about it!”

Qin Wanru was furious, “If those two ruffians are sought, it’s not impossible to find them. Let father gather all the tenant families to investigate, and the truth will come out—who did this, who was targeted. Once it’s clear, let father deal with the culprit accordingly.”

The childish voice was full of indignation, but every word struck at Qin Yuru’s heart. Qin Yuru trembled in fear.

No… No, this matter cannot be investigated any further!