Qin Yuwan clutched the jade pendant, which glowed evilly in her hand. Qin Yunuan squinted and smiled, “Sister, you must be joking. I had my own pendant. That one was not mine.”
Not mine, not mine….
How could Qin Yuwan believe it? She heard the pusher calling her “second sister,” how could she not be Qin Yunuan?
“I don’t believe you unless you show me now.” Qin Yuwan held her belly. Fearing that Qin Yunuan might cheat on her, she held her servant girl Mujin by the hand hurriedly, “Go and tell Princess. No, she favored Qin Yunuan and would help her. Please call Old Madam over and redress the scales for me.”
Would Qin Yunuan be afraid of Old Madam?
Qin Yunuan snorted with disdain. She was waiting for this moment.
It was late at night. The lights in the Lotus Garden were dimming. Old Madam was almost at rest, but the maid by the door awakened her. After listening to the crying of Mujin, she immediately got up. Qin Yuwan, who had just yelled as if she had lost her life with her hands on her lower abdomen, appeared together with Qin Yunuan in the main hall of the Lotus Garden.
Princess Ning came after a short while. She said down after just one bow.
Old Madam sat with a tired face on the central seat. After listening to Qin Yuwan’s sobbing and complaining, she asked worriedly, “What about the child? Was the child hurt?” Old Madam cared most about her descendants.
Qin Yuwan said with tears in her eyes, “The doctor told me that we were both safe. But who knew about next time? I am Yunuan’s sister, but she harms me. How cold-blooded!”
Qin Yunuan glanced at Qin Yuwan and said calmly, “Second Sister, don’t pour dirty water on me. The thing wasn’t’ taken to you yet.”
Qin Yuwan said with sarcasm, “Huh. If you had it in your hands, it would appear soon. Now an hour had passed. The servant girl you sent for the pendant didn’t return. God knows what happened.”
Maner, who was sent for the pendant, rushed back at this very moment. She reported to Qin Yunuan in a low voice, her forehead covered with layers of sweat, “Third Young Madam, the pendant in our yard disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” Qin Yunuan changed of complexion abruptly, as if she didn’t believe it, “How could that be? Did you look for it everywhere?”
Maner nodded seriously, “I looked for the casket that carried the pendants everywhere, the dresser, the room, even in the woodshed. It wasn’t there.”
Qin Yuwan hurriedly spoke before Old Madam could say a word, “Old Madam, you heard all about it. We were from the same family, but she treated me this way because she was married to a better-off man.”
Leng Changxi was the beloved, legitimate son of Princess and Prince Ning. But what about Leng Changxuan? He was born with a humble background, and Consort Cao had passed away recently. Qin Yuwan didn’t even have a person with a common hatred.
“Why do you say that, Sister Yuwan? You and I are both wives of Prince Ning’s Mansion, and we should be one family. How could your marriage be better or worse than me?”
A charming female voice came from outside the courtyard. It was Tang’s coming to join the party.
Tang had heard about Qin Yuwan’s grumbles earlier outside the door. Holding the curtain to the side, she chimed in, “Yeah, Second Young Madam’s words seemed hurtful. We are all family members, why bother comparing to each other? Am I right, sister?”
Princess Ning looked at her sullenly, “You’ve got the carefree mood to visit me late at night.”
Tang flipped her dress to sit straight down. Ruan Ruyi served obediently beside her, “I have heard that something happened to Second Young Madam in the East Courtyard. I called Ruyi and hurried here to help, in case anything happened.”
Prince Ning favored Tang recently, making her swollen with arrogance again.
Even Tang came. It seemed that this incident was going to make a big noise. Princess Ning didn’t pay much attention to the gorgeously dressed Tang, just said softly, “Old Madam, since Yuwan stated categorically that the jade pendant was the one I gave to Yunuan. I’d better let my maid identify it, and then we would know the truth.”
This was the most straightforward method. Old Madam nodded in permission. Princess Ning then ordered, “Qingzhu, you have always kept my dowry safe. Would you like to see if this Yunfeng jade is real?”
Qingzhu nodded, taking the jade pendant in Qin Yuwan’s hand. After comparing back and forth, she said, “Princess, this jade was the one you gave to Third Young Madam.”
“That’s impossible!” Qin Yunuan shouted.
Qingzhu kneeled and pleaded, “Princess, I have kept the pendant for such a long time. There couldn’t be anyone who knows it better than me. Every word I said is true.”
Princess Ning appeared to be disappointed. She murmured, “Yunuan, how could you be so silly?”
Tang grinned, “Even sisters intrigue against each other. It seems that we have to be careful of stabs in our back from now on, Ruyi.”
Qin Yunuan kept her composure. Just then, a servant girl reported outside the gate that Fourth Miss had come.
Leng Suxin had never shown any enthusiasm for the party. How could she come? The message surprised everyone present. Old Madam was the only one who revealed a kind smile and waved her hand, “Let her in.”
Leng Suxin had very light steps that there was no sound when she walked in. She was still in white clothes, and her pale face made her look distressingly weaker than before.
“Greetings, Old Madam and Princess.” Leng Suxin saluted to Old Madam and Princess Ning. Then she turned to Tang and said indifferently, “Mother.”
Tang raised her eyebrows, “Huh. If you still consider me as your mother, you’d better agree with the marriage of the Sun Family.”
Tang’s relationship with Leng Suxin had never been very close. Now that Leng Suxin had reached the age of marriage, Tang did a lot of work for her. Leng Suxin, on the contrary, didn’t appreciate it at all. Her lacking willingness to get married made Tang headache.
Leng Suxin ignored Tang’s nagging and faced Qin Yunuan, saying faintly, “I came to return the things of Third Young Madam. I will leave soon.”
After that, she just handed a small brocade box into Qin Yunuan’s hand. Maner, who stood next to her, immediately took it over and opened it for Qin Yunuan. She exclaimed when she saw what was inside, “It’s the jade pendant.”
Another jade pendant!
How could that be? Everyone was confused.
Qin Yunuan seemed to saw the light finally. Her fingertips laid loosely on the corner of her lips, “Oh, look, I forgot. After Princess gave me this jade pendant in the morning, I heard that Fourth Miss loves jade, and so my maid sent it to Fourth Miss for appreciation. Then I forgot to take it back, which caused such a big misunderstanding.” Qin Yunuan said as the smile on her face turned more tranquil. She smiled at Qingzhu slightly, “Will Qingzhu come to check whether this jade was real?”
Qingzhu was stunned, and her body froze. She was out of words and cast her eyes on Princess Ning for help. Before Princess Ning could respond, the old lady said as she took a sip of the tea, “You should go and check it if Third Young Madam had asked you to.”
“Sure.” Qingzhu walked submissively to the front of Qin Yunuan. Qin Yunuan immediately put the pendant in front of her, commanding attentively, “Qingzhu, remember, you must identify carefully.”
Qingzhu lifted her eyes but didn’t dare to look into Qin Yunuan’s. She was very tangled in her heart. She knew the origin of these two jade pendants very well. The one in the hands of Second Young Madam was indeed fake. It was just made to blame it on Qin Yunuan. But she had already declared it to be true. As for the other pendant in Qin Yunuan’s hand, this was handed over from Fourth Miss who was most adored by Old Madam. She would offend Old Madam indirectly if she said it was a fake one.
“Qingzhu? You said that pendant was the real one with just one glance. Why did it take so long for this one to be identified?” Qin Yunuan called Qingzhu, who seemed to be petrified.
The gentle voice scared Qingzhu, and she fell on the ground.
The head of servant girls beside Old Madam rebuked, “What happened? It was just an identification of the jade pendant. How dare you be so rude?”
Tears streamed down Qingzhu’s face immediately. She crawled to Old Madam’s feet and whimpered, “I was wrong. I identified it mistakenly. Third Young Madam had the real pendant. The one in Second Young Madam’s hand was fake.” Under this situation, Qingzhu had no other option but to sacrifice Qin Yuwan.
Qin Yuwan’s complexion changed immediately. Of course, she would think it Qin Yunuan’s scheme. Qin Yunuan said indifferently to Qingzhu, “You must be certain this time. Whether the pendant was real or not shouldn’t be a joke for you.”
Qingzhu kowtowed to Old Madam, “I could guarantee with my life that the pendant in Second Young Madam’s hand was fake.”
The people present were breathless, and Qin Yuwan’s face was already pale.
Suddenly there was a slam. The old lady patted her palm heavily on the mahogany case. Her face was filled with anger, and she shouted at Qin Yuwan, “What the hell do you mean? Giving us so much trouble because you are just pregnant. The mansion was restless because of people like you.”
Qin Yunuan was shocked. She was the victim but now became a vicious woman. She was aggrieved, and she kept kowtowing towards Old Madam and shouted, “I was wronged, someone did it on purpose. Old Madam, believe me, in addition to this jade pendant, I also have evidence. When I resisted, I not only grabbed the jade pendant from her waist but also scratched her left arm. You would see me as an innocent if you only check who has injured her left arm.”
Qin Yunuan saw a shake in Qingzhu’s right hand after the sentence finished.
