Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Xie Run asked curiously, "So you've found something?"

Spring Roll nodded, "Master, it's Cai Lan."

"Cai Lan?!" Xie Run's delicate brows moved slightly, but she was not particularly surprised.

Cai Lan was a second-grade maid in Spring Mountain Courtyard.

After moving to Spring Mountain Courtyard, Xie Run had been assigned several second-grade maids.

Since Xie Run's personal maids were named after colors, apart from Yueya'er who was promoted exceptionally, the other three were similarly named after colors: Cai Lan, Fang Cheng, and Qing Ya.

However, these three were assigned by the mansion, and Xie Run only gave them tasks within the courtyard; they did not attend to her personally.

Now that Spring Roll mentioned Cai Lan, Xie Run recalled, "I remember that the low hill area has always been Cai Lan's responsibility."

"If someone wanted to sabotage things, she would indeed be the most convenient."

Spring Roll snorted lightly, "It's precisely because of that she dared to harm you, Master."

"Cai Lan is also somewhat clever, which threw me off the track, so I couldn't discover her betrayal immediately."

"Last time her attempt to harm you failed, she must have started plotting other schemes." Spring Roll analyzed carefully, "While setting the trap, the person behind this also removed a few stones, to be used for today's framing."

Xie Run thought more deeply, "Did you find out who was behind Cai Lan?"

What Spring Roll said was startling, "Cai Lan used to serve Shufei Ning."

Xie Run, "Could it be Shiqie Han again?"

"Isn't her reach a bit too long?"

When Shiqie Ning became a secondary consort, she had four senior maids and eight second-grade maids, not counting the extra maids and servants she kept beyond the allowance.

Once she fell from power, those maids and servants were dispersed to various courtyards.

Now, there are very few old servants left in the courtyards who were contemporaries of Shiqie Ning, so naturally, people hardly pay attention to their backgrounds.

This gave Shiqie Han a chance to exploit loopholes.

Spring Roll said gravely, "When all this happened in Autumn Maple Courtyard, I first thought Cai Lan was Shiqie Han's spy."

"To be thorough, I carefully asked about Cai Lan's time serving Shufei Ning."

Xie Run's eyes flickered with curiosity, "Was there more?"

Spring Roll nodded repeatedly, lowering her voice, "When Cai Lan served Shufei Ning, she wasn't noticeable; she couldn't even become a second-grade maid."

"I was curious at the time—how could she be so loyal to Shufei Ning, still working for Shiqie Han after Shufei Ning died?"

"Until I found someone who had served with her!"

Xie Run listened attentively.

Spring Roll, "It turned out that Cai Lan wasn't very loyal to Shiqie Ning; instead, there was an old grudge."

Spring Roll recalled, "Shiqie Ning was notorious for mistreating servants."

"When the eldest young master was learning to walk, he once fell and cried bitterly. Shiqie Ning punished all the servants responsible for that area."

"Cai Lan, who was on duty there, was unfairly docked three months' pay and also given a beating."

Xie Run understood somewhat, "It seems someone showed her kindness, thus winning Cai Lan's loyalty."

Xie Run smiled faintly, "Let me guess—it's Shufei Yun, right?"

Spring Roll's eyes widened, "You're so sharp, Master."

Xie Run suddenly felt choked, the pun 'boiled green onions and stew' popping into her head—a homophone for 'Master is clever'.

She suppressed her laughter, "Don't call me that; I can't stand it."

Spring Roll looked bewildered.

Xie Run took a sip of tea to suppress the laughter before speaking, "Actually, it's not hard to guess."

"Among the old servants in the mansion, apart from Shiqie Ning, there are only Shufei Yun and Shiqie An. Shiqie An has always been a coward; the more trouble there is, the less she dares to show herself."

That left only Shufei Yun.

This lady was clever and calculating—how could she let a good opportunity pass?

Spring Roll said, "You're right, Master. I found that Cai Lan once received a favor from Shufei Yun, and even her transfer to Spring Mountain Courtyard was quietly orchestrated by Shufei Yun."

"This time, perhaps Shufei Yun used Shiqie Han's name to harm you, or they might have conspired together."

Xie Run recalled that at the end of the banquet, Shufei Yun had deliberately kept everyone to wait and watch the kite display Prince Jing had prepared for the princess.

At the time, she felt Shufei Yun was overly eager, as if she knew something was about to go down and wanted everyone to see it.

She boldly speculated, "I suspect they conspired together."

Dan Tao said softly, "Shufei Yun has always been cautious in her actions. This conspiracy likely involved her going with the flow, tipping off Shiqie Han."

"Now that Shiqie Han has fallen, she will probably shift all the blame onto Shiqie Han, keeping herself clean."

Xie Run looked down at the exquisite patterns on the teacup and sighed, "They're all clever people."

"But can anyone really keep up a pretense forever?"

Not everyone else is stupid.

Xie Run thought for a moment and suddenly said, "I'll just keep playing the fool."

Clearly, her superior, Prince Jing, was no fool.

Naturally, he would not tolerate being deceived.

Dan Tao and Spring Roll were both puzzled.

But Xie Run was still in the mood to comfort them, "Don't worry, the prince will certainly clear my name."

Seeing her composure, Dan Tao and Spring Roll stopped worrying.

Prince Jing investigated quickly and soon traced it back to Cai Lan.

By around 3:45 in the afternoon, the results were out.

The matter of Shiqie Li's fall was ultimately blamed entirely on Shiqie Han.

Cai Lan was taken away and disappeared without a trace; at least Xie Run was not implicated.

Xie Run reflected that given Prince Jing's speed of investigation, it was impossible for him not to find out about Cai Lan's past service with Shiqie Ning.

Since he could find that out, wouldn't he be at least a little suspicious of Shufei Yun?

Putting all the blame onto Shiqie Han and quickly closing the case—was that not Prince Jing protecting Shufei Yun?

But such protection instead directly pinned the crime on Shufei Yun, leaving her no chance to defend herself.

The matter of cutting the kite string was also traced back from Ju Zi to Shiqie Han.

It turned out that since the previous incident of stealing charcoal came to light, Shiqie Han, knowing that Ju Zi's mother was dying of illness, secretly used money to bribe Ju Zi.

She used this money to buy Ju Zi's loyalty, and also made Ju Zi claim that Shiqie An had ordered her to do it.

Unfortunately, Ju Zi's mother suddenly had extra money for treatment, which could not be hidden from anyone.

As soon as it was investigated, it pointed to Shiqie Han.

Shiqie An was cleared of suspicion.

However, Shiqie An was timid; frightened once in the morning and again in the afternoon, she actually suffered a threatened miscarriage and had to summon the imperial physician again.

The household all looked down on her for being so fragile.

In the evening, Prince Jing came to the Chunshan Courtyard.

Xie Run had removed her hair ornaments and jewelry and was originally planning to have a simple meal and then rest.

Hearing that Prince Jing had arrived, she was quite surprised.

Prince Jing stood tall and graceful, his demeanor composed, and his thick, dark brows and deep eyes showed a hint of coldness.

The maidservants waiting at the door were somewhat afraid.

He saw Xie Run in casual clothes with her hair loose and her peach blossom eyes wide with surprise.

"Why have you come, Your Highness?"

Prince Jing's cold demeanor softened considerably. "Did I scare you?"

Xie Run sensed that Prince Jing was in a bad mood.

Normally, if she asked why he came, Prince Jing would tease her with a rhetorical question, but tonight his words were tender and gentle while his demeanor remained cold and hard.

Xie Run still spoke softly, "It's not that I'm frightened, just a bit surprised."