Chapter 18: It Turned Out the Young Lady Was Framed

Chapter 18: It Turned Out the Young Lady Was Framed

"Haha, Su Youyue, did you hear that? Your mother's dowry was never missing. You deliberately framed Aunt Liu to tarnish Second Sister's reputation! How sinister of you!"

Upon hearing the answer she had hoped for, Su Rong wished she could laugh out loud to the heavens. Today's spectacle had been worth it.

Aunt Liu had been covering her face with a handkerchief, but now she quickly dropped it. Her expression changed dramatically, quicker than an actor on stage. "I told you I didn't do it. How could I possibly steal from my own family? Young Miss, what else do you have to say?"

"Big Sister, Mother is truly innocent. Now, do you believe me? She has worked tirelessly for our family all these years and shouldn't be subjected to such humiliation today," Su Qian spoke without directly demanding an apology from Su Youyue. Nevertheless, everyone present felt that Su Youyue should apologize to Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu had suffered greatly!

Madam Su closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. "Nuan Nuan, you've wronged Aunt Liu today. She has indeed contributed much to the family over the years. You should make amends."

Aunt Liu was about to agree when Su Qian gave her a subtle signal. She promptly covered her face again with the handkerchief. "Madam, a little suffering is nothing to me. I'm just afraid of how outsiders might gossip about Qian'er."

"Mother, I don't care what outsiders think. Big Sister is simply too young and easily misled by those with ulterior motives. They don't understand that our blood relatives genuinely have her best interests at heart," Su Qian said as she walked up to Su Youyue and took her hand. "Big Sister, you should still learn household management with me. Neither my mother nor I will hold today's incident against you..."

Su Youyue promptly snatched her hand away from Su Qian's grasp.

"Big Sister?" A flash of ruthlessness flickered in Su Qian's eyes, but as she lifted her gaze, all that the others saw was her vulnerability and confusion.

The servants couldn't bear to witness it, let alone the elderly Lady Su sitting by the side. Even though she usually favored Nannan, she couldn't spoil her too much, or how could she face her deceased daughter-in-law?

Just as the elderly Lady Su was about to speak, Su Youyue gave her a reassuring glance, leaving her momentarily stunned and unsure of what was happening.

"You truly are pitiful, almost making me believe you!"

This time, Su Youyue didn't bother with these disdainful individuals any longer. She called out for Chunya instead.

Seeing that her moment had finally arrived, Chunya was thrilled. With a voice even louder than Mother Zhang's, she declared, "Elderly Lady! At first glance, Madam's dowry seems complete, but ten precious items have been replaced with fakes!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became a kaleidoscope of astonishment, suspicion, and panic.

"Aiyah, Chunya!" Aunt Liu shrieked, her anxiety obvious on her face. "You wretched girl, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Undaunted, Chunya replied, "Aunt Liu, I'm not lying. The switched items are exactly as Miss described. We practiced thoroughly two days ago. There's the peacock green, red, and blue gemstone headdress, the supreme-grade jade headdress, and the set of eight lotus-shaped glass vases... They might appear unchanged at first glance, but the craftsmanship, gems, and jade quality are far from genuine. Elderly Lady, you can inspect them yourself if you don't believe me!"

Observing how meticulously Chunya described the situation, those who initially harbored doubts began to believe her. If she were lying, there was no way she could provide such intricate details. Besides, wouldn't it be evident by simply examining the items?

As they glanced at Madam Liu's ashen face, drenched in cold sweat, they couldn't help but interpret it as a sign of guilt!

Could it be that Madam Liu had indeed switched the dowry? Thus, they had wrongly accused Miss Eldest?

Mama Zhang's expression was grim as well. The dowry left behind by Lady years ago was incredibly substantial. It took her and several trustworthy servants from Lady's quarters almost an hour to account for everything. As for verifying the authenticity of each item, she simply didn't have the time for such a meticulous task!

On the other hand, Chunya had been running around the entire scene, inspecting closely. It was quite possible that she might have genuinely discovered something amiss.

But wouldn't that imply incompetence on his part?

Who could have imagined that Madam Liu would actually touch the dowry left by Lady? And not just steal it discreetly, but substitute it with a cunning ploy...

Su Rong also didn't expect such a twist. After being stunned for two seconds, she immediately understood what had happened and pointed her finger at Aunt Liu's face: "Aunt Liu, you actually stole mother's dowry!"

It infuriated her. If Madam Liu had stolen those dowry items, who else could she have given them to but Su Qian?

If Madam's dowry could be used by Su Qian, why couldn't she make use of it? It was common knowledge that Su Youyue's mother was once drowning in wealth, with a bridal procession stretching for ten miles when she was married off!

Madam Liu flinched at the direct accusation, nearly trembling as she prepared to beg for mercy from Old Madam. At that moment, Su Qian stepped forward and shielded her, "Grandmother, it's impossible for my aunt to have done this. You've seen how dedicated she is to our family affairs. I believe there must be a thief among us..."

Old Madam Su maintained a calm expression. Her experienced eyes studied Madam Liu for a while before turning to Su Qian. After a pause, she spoke slowly, "If there truly is a thief in the house, it seems your aunt's management skills aren't as effective as we thought. It took Nuan Nuan discovering the loss for us to learn of it."

"Grandmother's criticism is well-deserved..." Su Qian lowered her head, gritting her teeth. She took a deep breath before lifting her head again, returning to her usual submissive demeanor. "Aunt has proven incompetent in managing the household. My aunt and I are indeed incapable of teaching Second Sister. Perhaps it would be more appropriate for Grandmother to educate her."

As she spoke, she turned apologetically towards Su Youyue, "Elder Sister, please accept my mother's apology on her behalf..."

The expressions around them softened slightly. Even if Madam Liu was at fault, Second Miss was surely unaware. How kind and fortunate was Second Miss? It was a pity she had such an ineffective mother.

Of course, Su Youyue could sense the lack of malice in the gazes directed at Su Qian. With her reputation as a 'blessing star' so well-established, who wouldn't like her?

However, the higher one climbed, the harder one fell. She eagerly awaited the day when, before everyone, she would expose Su Qian's hypocrisy. The consequences of being a 'blessing star' would then inevitably reflect back onto her.

"Very well, I'll personally teach Nuan Nuan about household management." Old Madam Su sighed. "Liu, since the dowry was lost under your watch, you have seven days to return the keys to the household and the dowry storeroom, along with the thief. You will also compensate for the missing items out of your own pocket! It seems I overestimated you!"

Her words were severe. None in Old Madam's quarters were fools; they could tell that Old Madam believed Madam Liu was responsible for the theft.

By not exposing her, Old Madam was merely sparing her face, considering her years of hard work.

Madam Liu was genuinely weeping this time. All those years of hard work and effort she and her daughter had put in were utterly wasted because of that wretched little vixen, Su Youyue!

It's over! Completely over!