Chapter 47 Why do you treat me like a jackal, tiger or leopard and avoid me as much as possible?

Seeing that his wife was unable to retaliate after being refuted by the second wife and was about to fail, Xue Yuan reached out in a hurry and swept the borrowing and returning record to the ground.

At this moment, Cheng and Rong stood face to face, one determined to expel the cousin who had feelings for her son from the Du residence, while the other refused to give in, firmly protecting her niece behind her, preventing her from coming to any harm.

Therefore, neither of them noticed the noise behind them.

Xue Yuan was anxious and secretly glanced at Li Ma. Li Ma understood and immediately pretended to scream, "Oh my, how could Miss Cousin have the young master's personal belongings?"

As soon as these words were spoken, they really attracted everyone's attention.

She pointed tremblingly at an old bamboo bookmark on the ground, on one end of which was engraved the word "Heng".

Cheng recognized it at a glance; it was something her son used privately.

She remembered this bookmark clearly; not only Heng'er had it, but Wanyi also had one. That year, when Heng'er was seven, her husband had personally cut some Xiangfei bamboo and, in his spare time, worked with Heng'er to make eight branches. Heng'er took four of them. Wanyi, still young at the time, saw both her brother and father had them, so she pestered for some too. Her husband had originally intended for her to take two of his own, but Wanyi insisted on having her brother's. Heng'er then gave half of his own to his sister. To distinguish them, he used a seal carving knife to carve the character "Heng" (Heng) on ​​one end of the bamboo.

Rong could argue that all those valuables were borrowed from Heng'er, but this bamboo bookmark was her personal property. How could she borrow it just because she wanted to? Moreover, it was stuck among Su Ying's books! She wanted to see how Rong could defend herself now.

Cheng sneered and said, "Xueyuan, take this to the Second Madam. This bamboo stick is neither ivory nor white jade. Could it be that she also borrowed this valuable item from Heng'er?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she glanced at Su Ying coldly and said sarcastically, "If the Second Madam doesn't know, then show it to this talented cousin and ask her why she has the young master's things."

Xue Yuan responded and picked up the bamboo bookmark, slightly discolored from age. There was a small round hole on the uncarved end, but it was empty, with nothing hanging on it, making the stick look more like an ordinary old piece of bamboo.

As if worried that the Second Madam or her cousin might come up with another excuse, ruining her carefully crafted plan, Xue Yuan hurried forward and, as instructed, handed the bookmark to them. Without regard for etiquette, she said, "Cousin, this bookmark is a favorite of the young master. If he had accidentally put it between his books, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But the strange thing is that it fell out of the borrowing and returning log."

"Miss, you are the only one who uses this borrowing and returning record. I have seen it with my own eyes. Please don't say that it has nothing to do with you and that you are completely unaware of it."

Xue Yuan stared at Su Ying intently. She no longer had the humility and shyness she had when she asked her for advice on writing. Instead, she had a ruthless desire to kill her.

Su Ying looked at her aggressive look and heard her insist that no one had touched the borrowing and returning record. Her heart tightened and she vaguely realized that she had fallen into a trap that had been set for her long ago.

If you want to accuse someone of a crime, you can always find a pretext!

She couldn't just sit there and wait for death, but how could she explain that Du Heng's personal belongings would appear in her book? She knew it, and now she could no longer claim to know nothing. No one would believe such an excuse.

Should we just point out that someone deliberately harmed us? But who was that person? What was their purpose? How can we confront them without any evidence?

Su Ying clenched her cold hands into fists, closed her eyes, and tried her best to control the surging emotions in her heart, searching for all possible words to fight back in her mind over and over again.

However, just as Cheng was watching with satisfaction as Su Ying and Rong were speechless in the face of this irrefutable evidence, a tall figure, as tall as a pine tree, stepped into the library. The library, already illuminated by a single glass lamp, suddenly became dim, making it difficult for Cheng to clearly see the person's expression.

The voice was calm and relaxed as it said, "I've been looking for this lot for a long time. I found it here."

As he spoke, the figure had already walked in front of Xue Yuan. He took the bookmark out of her hand without hesitation and turned to bow to Su Ying: "Thank you."

Su Ying slowly raised her head and looked at the figure standing in front of her, bowing slightly. She was a little stunned for a moment.

The person in front of me has soft eyebrows, a slightly raised mouth, and a hint of warmth in his words.

"I've always wanted to ask my cousin why you treat me like a jackal, a tiger or a leopard and avoid me like that?"

His eyes were like a clear lake, and as soon as he finished speaking, ripples appeared in them.

"Now, I understand the reason." He paused for a moment, then bowed solemnly to Su Ying and Rong. "Du Heng would like to apologize to Second Aunt and my cousin. My mother and I failed to discipline our servants, leading to my cousin being accused and framed for no reason."

"I, Du Heng, hereby promise that from today onwards, such unjust incidents will never happen again in the Du Mansion. Cousin, please feel at ease and do as you please. From now on, you don't have to avoid anyone, and you don't have to be afraid of anyone anymore."

When Cheng heard this, her face suddenly changed and she blurted out, "Heng'er, you!"

Unexpectedly, Du Heng did not turn around, but just raised his hand to stop his mother from saying anything else.

His expression remained the same, his eyes gentle. He bowed apologetically towards Rong and Su Ying and said, "It's getting late. Second Aunt and cousin, please go back and rest. I have something to say to Mother, so I won't keep you any longer."

After saying that, he directed the order outside, "Qingquan, escort the Second Madam and Miss Biao back. On the way, ask the kitchen to make some warm desserts to calm the two of them."

Somehow, Su Ying felt that Du Heng in front of her suddenly became unfamiliar.

He was no longer the older brother who doted on his younger sister, giving Wanyi whatever she wanted and encouraging her progress. Nor was he the eldest son and grandson who was filial and respectful to the elders, escorting the women along the way.

At this moment, he looked more like the head of the Du family, or even a powerful official who could turn the tide and control the winds of the storm. Although his voice was soft, it had an undeniable authority that made people want to believe him and rely on him.

Just like that day, when she slipped and was about to fall outside the Bodhi Temple gate, he reached out and held her steady.

And today, he appeared at the most critical moment and solved the dilemma.

Rong could see that Du Heng didn't want to make a big deal out of this, nor did he want to embarrass his mother in front of her and Ying'er. Since he had already taken steps to protect Ying'er, she didn't want to fall out with Cheng, after all, Ying'er still had to stay in the Du Mansion.

So she understood what he meant, gently pulled her niece who was still standing there in a daze, and said, "Ying'er, say goodbye to your aunt and cousin."

Su Ying finally came to her senses and bowed as she was told.

Rong nodded to Du Heng, then without further hesitation, took Su Ying out of the house.

As soon as he stepped out of the house, Qingquan came to greet him.

Just as Qingquan was bowing respectfully, Su Ying couldn't help but look back into the house. She saw Du Heng standing with his hands behind his back, looking solemn. He nodded slightly to the old woman guarding the door, and the door of the library closed immediately, isolating the faint light in the room behind the door.

Rong and Su Ying followed Qingquan out of the library gate, but suddenly they heard a low whimpering sound from the corner of the courtyard. They saw a little girl with her hands and feet tied, and a servant standing beside her seemed to be guarding her.

Qingquan had already known about this, and in a calm tone, he simply instructed the servant, "Listen up! If the young master calls for help, bring her in immediately."