Zhou and her men left; the matter of the Marquis of Xuanping's residence will not be discussed further for now.

Upon returning to the hall, Shen Mianmian saw Ding Shi with a livid face and fierce eyes glaring at her. "Shen Shi, what explanation do you have?"

Sleepless and helpless—strictly speaking, the lady is also cannon fodder in the novel, completely manipulated by the female lead.

Why are there so many cannon fodder in this world?

There was no other way; she had to explain earnestly, "Madam, please calm down and listen to my explanation."

Then he turned to Hanrong and said, "Go and close the hall door."

Hanrong looked at the madam questioningly, and seeing that Li Mama nodded, she ran to close the door.

After closing the door and confirming that only the three women from the Marquis of Anning's residence, along with their personal servants, were in the hall, Chen Mianmian said, "To be honest, this handkerchief is indeed mine. Yesterday, when Hanrong came back from washing clothes, she said she had lost a handkerchief, a light green one. At that time, I had a bad feeling."

This morning, I had Guanshui destroy all the handkerchiefs with markings on them and buy a new batch without markings. That's why I dared to let Madam Huo search Mingyue Courtyard.

Ding said angrily, "You..."

"Madam, please calm down and let me finish." Shen Mianmian's voice remained calm and unhurried.

Granny Li patted Ding's arm discreetly, urging her mistress to calm down.

Chen Mianmian continued, "Madam, please recall why the second young master of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion harmed our heir last time? Normally, framing is due to some kind of opportunity, such as our heir offending the second young master, and the second young master framing him."

But I have asked carefully, and the young master has not been in contact with the second young master in the past six months, and has even rarely moved around in the capital. Why did the second young master suddenly decide to go to such lengths to harm the young master?

Is it possible that someone sabotaged this, deliberately instigating things around the Second Young Master, which led him to remember our Heir and frame us?

Everyone was surprised.

No one had noticed this before, but now that Aunt Shen brought it up, they realized that things were indeed very strange.

Chen Mianmian continued, "Yesterday, my handkerchief was lost. Hanrong searched the courtyard and asked many servants. Madam can call all the servants of Mingyue Courtyard to inquire. They can all testify that the handkerchief was lost yesterday."

If I were to collude with the Second Young Master, wouldn't there at least be someone to deliver the message? I came to the capital alone, and all my servants are from the Marquis's mansion. If I wanted to bribe him, I would need money, but all my money is in Mingyue Courtyard. Hanrong keeps a record of every penny I receive and every penny I spend, so there are absolutely no bad accounts.

"How can I bribe my servants without money? Besides, these days I'm either accompanying the lady in the main courtyard, or at the training ground with servants around, or simply at Mingyue Courtyard. I really haven't had time for those crooked ways."

Granny Li nodded – that’s right, Aunt Shen had neither the opportunity nor the motive.

Ding finally understood. "You mean, both times, someone was trying to sow discord between our two marquisates?"

Chen Mianmian—no, it's not about sowing discord between the two marquisates, it's about sowing discord between her and the heir.

But explaining this is troublesome, as she can't provide any evidence.

You can't exactly say, "This is a novel, and she's already read the plot," can you?

"This servant is unaware; I am merely expressing my suspicions and beg for your understanding, Madam."

Ding's face was ashen, and she sighed heavily. "Forget it. The court is a murky place, and there's nothing we women can do but be as cautious as possible. Let's just drop this matter. I'll write a letter to the Marquis tonight."

Chen Mianmian—the poor Marquis is about to be dragged into this, but she has no choice but to hope that it won't cause too much of a commotion.

Madam Ding added, "Oh, by the way, you mustn't tell anyone about this. Don't let the young master find out! I won't let anyone who interferes with the young master's exam get away with it."

"Yes, Madam," everyone replied in unison.

...

The residence of the Marquis of Xuanping.

While Huo Rang was still on duty, he heard that the young mistress had somehow heard that he had received the envelope, so she went to the study to search and found the handkerchief.

Then, she took the handkerchief and went to the Marquis of Anning's residence.

Huo Rang panicked upon hearing this, hurriedly asked his superior for leave, and rushed to the Marquis of Anning's residence to bring Zhou Shi out.

The couple remained silent the entire way back to their room, where they only started arguing after closing the door.

Huo Rang said, "Zhou Miaoyin, I can't stand you anymore. Do you even have the demeanor of a lady from a respectable family? Arguing with me at home isn't enough; why are you going to someone else's house to start a fight?"

Zhou Miaoyin's emotions, which had been calmed down by Shen Mianmian, suddenly surged again. "What right do you have to talk to me like that? Weren't you the one who had your eye on that skinny girl first? Yesterday you even said you were tired from your job and complained that I ate too slowly and made you wait. You're probably just eager to see that handkerchief, aren't you?"

Huo Rang's secret was exposed, and his face turned bright red. "You...you're talking nonsense! I'm really tired, but I also really want to investigate the source of the handkerchief!"

"The source of the investigation? Ha, who can't see it's from a 'skinny girl'? You've got your eye on a 'skinny girl' but you don't dare admit it? Are you a gentleman?"

Huo Rang's anger was completely ignited, and he roared, "Zhou Miaoyin, that's enough! I work hard all day, and every day I come back and I still have to argue with you. What else can you do besides arguing? Which man doesn't have a concubine? Even that effeminate Bai Qingzhou has one. Are you still not satisfied? Do you think I, Huo Rang, am incapable of taking a concubine? I'll show you right away!"

After saying that, he turned and walked out.

Zhou Miaoyin let out a loud howl.

Huo Rang ignored her, turned around and left the room, then went straight out of the Marquis's residence.

An hour later,

Huo Rang appeared at the brothel, where he drank alone, accompanied by many young women and his longtime friend Pan Bin.

Pan Bin snatched the wine jug from Huo Rang. "Stop drinking! How much have you drunk? Do you even want to work tomorrow?"

Huo Rang shook off Pan Bin and continued drinking.

Pan Bin waved to the other women, "You may all leave." He then took out some reward money.

The women took the reward money and left happily, leaving the room to their two patrons.

Pan Bin snatched the wine from Huo Rang's hand. "There's no one here anymore, just the two of us. If you still consider me a brother, tell me what's on your mind, and I'll help you figure something out. No more drinking."

Huo Rang struggled for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back any longer and revealed his family's dirty laundry.

Even if he didn't say it, Pan Bin already knew, since the two had grown up together.

Pan Bin knew everything except about Consort Shen of the Marquis of Anning's mansion.

Pan Bin listened quietly, secretly surprised—that spineless Bai Qingzhou actually had such a stunningly beautiful concubine?

His brother, Huo Rang, had seen many beauties, but he couldn't imagine how beautiful a woman could be to captivate him at first sight.

After Huo Rang finished speaking, he snatched the wine with a wry smile. "I've finished speaking. What can you do? Go over there, kill Bai Qingzhou, and kidnap her? Forget it, there's nothing I can do."

Pan Bin's eyes flickered. "Who says there's no way? I do have one."