Chapter 476: Interrogating Li Bihan

Chapter 476: Interrogating Li Bihan

"Madam, I was afraid... it would trouble you!" Li Bihan lowered her head, her eyes darting around, as she spoke with a tone of utter grievance, "After all, the Second Lady is your sister. How could we ask you to seek justice for us after she beat us? Wouldn't that trouble you?"

Every word she spoke seemed to defend Lu Lingyun, her pitiful words made it hard to find any fault with her. It even evoked sympathy, making one feel that as a concubine who had been set apart from the main family, she had no one to rely on. Being beaten and not daring to seek help from the main family, she appeared utterly pitiful!

Hearing this, Lu Lingyun laughed coldly, "So, going straight to the authorities doesn't trouble me?"

"This, this..." Li Bihan was immediately at a loss for words.

Lu Lingyun continued, "You keep saying you don't want to trouble me, that you're afraid of troubling me. Yet, just now, you said that my sister beat you, and if I sought justice, she would beat me too. Isn't that driving a wedge between us sisters? Are you really afraid of troubling me, or are you not?"

With just a few words, Lu Lingyun easily exposed the logical flaws in her argument.

Li Bihan kept saying she was afraid of troubling Lu Lingyun, but on one hand, she claimed she was beaten, and Lu Hanyi had threatened to beat Lu Lingyun too if she sought justice. On the other hand, she bypassed Lu Lingyun and went directly to the authorities. How could that be seen as being afraid of troubling her?

This was clearly an attempt to drive a wedge between the sisters and show disrespect to Lu Lingyun!

If Li Bihan truly meant what she said, she should have swallowed her grievances and not let Lu Lingyun know about the incident. When Lu Lingyun sent someone to inquire about what had happened, she should have denied it, fearing that Lu Lingyun would find out her own sister had beaten them.

She certainly shouldn't have bypassed Lu Lingyun and gone straight to the authorities!

By reason, Lu Lingyun was their mistress. Even though their branch had separated from the main family, they were still part of the Cheng family. If others bullied them, they should have sought their mistress's support to seek justice.

By sentiment, the one who beat them was Lu Lingyun's own sister. If they were unjustly beaten, how could Lu Lingyun, as the elder sister, not give them an explanation?

So, both by reason and sentiment, they should have sought Lu Lingyun's help after being beaten.

Bypassing Lu Lingyun and going directly to the authorities was a clear sign of disrespect!

And yet, she kept saying she was afraid of troubling Lu Lingyun. This was clearly nonsense!

Seeing that Lu Lingyun had easily exposed her lies, Li Bihan felt both panicked and flustered, while also cursing inwardly.

This damned Lu Lingyun, living in luxury for so long, hasn't lost her sharpness! She's still as sharp-eyed and clear-minded as ever, impossible to deceive!

She kowtowed repeatedly, weeping and pleading, "Madam, that's not what I meant! I'm foolish and can't speak properly. I spoke wrongly. I thought that since the Second Lady is your sister, I felt too lowly to ask you to seek justice for us. That's why I didn't dare to report it to you. As for going to the authorities..."

"It was Wei Dahai from our courtyard. He saw that we had been beaten and, out of anger, took it upon himself to drag us to the authorities!"

Li Bihan immediately shifted all the blame onto Wei Dahai.

"Wei Dahai?" Lu Lingyun repeated the name.

"He's the stable hand in our courtyard! The one you gifted to us," Li Bihan pleaded. "That stable hand is muddle-headed and can't even tell who his master is. Seeing us beaten, he only cared about venting his anger and urged us to go to the authorities! I thought that since the Second Lady is your sister, we should just let it go..."

She once again played the role of the pitiful and wronged.

Her implication was that she had been afraid of troubling her mistress and had intended to swallow her grievances and let the matter drop. It was the reckless man in their courtyard who had insisted on making it known, leading to Lu Lingyun's misunderstanding!

After all, it was Wei Dahai who had suggested going to the authorities. If Lu Lingyun sent someone to investigate and brought him in, he couldn't deny it!

"Madam, if you don't believe me, you can summon the stable hand for a confrontation! It was truly him who urged us. We truly didn't mean it!"

Lu Lingyun looked at Li Bihan, kneeling on the ground and weeping pitifully. The wounds on her face, half-dried, were now washed anew by her tears. Her voice trembled with each sob, clearly in agony.

"Forget about summoning the stable hand from your courtyard," Lu Lingyun said, furrowing her brow slightly. "I just want to know, why did my sister hit you?"

"This, this... I truly don't know..." Li Bihan lowered her head further.

"Ah, speaking of which, my sister shouldn't know you all. Although she has a bit of a domineering temper, she's not someone who acts recklessly. Where exactly did you offend her?" Lu Lingyun continued to ask.

"Madam, I truly have no idea!" Li Bihan looked at Lu Lingyun with tearful eyes. "The second lady came to our door without any provocation, beating us and smashing our things. How could I possibly provoke someone like her!"

Lu Lingyun scoffed, "But how did I hear that my sister went to seek justice for her son? Saying that Bing Zhi had framed him?"

"That's absolutely not true!"

"Bull...crap!"

As soon as Li Bihan spoke, her son, spitting blood, said,

Lu Lingyun then turned to look at Cheng Bingzhi.

"Bing Zhi, what do you say?"

"It was him, he... started it... ouch!"

Cheng Bingzhi, spitting blood, had his calf secretly and fiercely pinched by Li Bihan. Just as he was about to recount the events of that day, he immediately clammed up.

Li Bihan took the opportunity to say, "Madam, since things have come to this, I naturally can't hide anything. Bing Zhi did have some issues with Master Li. A few months ago, he had a few run-ins with Master Li on the road, but after the run-ins, it was over. We have no idea why the second lady suddenly came to beat us up!"

As she spoke, her fists clenched tightly.

She knew that the argument between Cheng Bingzhi and Li Shouye on the road was probably impossible to conceal.

Whether Lu Lingyun sent someone to investigate or directly asked Lu Hanyi, she would find out. So, she decided to confess this issue first.

Because, there was no evidence to prove that they were behind the rumors!

She would firmly insist that there was only that one street argument, and she knew nothing else. What could Lu Lingyun possibly do to her!

As she expected, after hearing her explanation, Lu Lingyun asked, "Is that all?"

"That's all!" Li Bihan lowered her head in grievance. "It must be that Bing Zhi offended Master Li that time, making the second lady hold a grudge..."

"But how did I hear that there were some rumors outside that ruined Shou Ye's reputation and almost destroyed his future, which is why my sister went to seek revenge," Lu Lingyun said slowly.

"Madam, please be wise! We don't know what happened! It's not us!" Li Bihan knelt deeply.

Her son, spitting blood beside her, said, "You, what, evidence!"