At three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was at its peak, scorching the blue brick floor of the General's Mansion's main courtyard. Even the air was tinged with twisted currents of heat. As Shen Ruorou was carried through the moon-shaped gate by two maids, the hem of her plain cloth skirt brushed against the moss in the corners of the wall. It was still stained with mud from being dragged that morning. A few wet strands of hair escaped from her loose bun, clinging to her sweaty cheeks. Her usually carefully painted eyebrows were now twisted into a knot, and her eyes were bloodshot.

The Third Elder, seated at the main table, slammed his teacup onto the table. The celadon base of the cup clashed with the rosewood tabletop, creating a crisp sound that was particularly piercing in the quiet courtyard. His graying goatee trembled slightly with each breath, and his gaze slashed across Shen Ruorou's bewildered appearance like a knife. "Shen Ruorou, when we unpacked the stolen goods yesterday, we found dog hair, grass scraps, and Shen Weiwan's jade bracelet. With all the evidence, what else do you have to say?"

A burst of suppressed laughter erupted from the servants behind the moon gate. Aunt Zhang, sweeping the yard, pretended to bend over to splash water, but in reality, her ears perked up. Shen Ruorou dug her nails deep into her palms, blood scabs still lingering between her nails from yesterday's stone-punched attack. She knew that if she didn't defend herself now, she would suffer the same fate as her aunt. She suddenly looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Elder, I...I did this all for my sister!"

"For me?" A crisp sneer echoed from the shadows of the porch pillars. Shen Weiwan was leaning against a vermilion pillar, chewing a piece of iced melon. The crimson juice slid down the corner of her mouth and dripped onto the moon-white hem of her skirt. She slowly wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, tilted her head and looked at Shen Ruoruo, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What are you talking about, cousin? How could I not know that you hid my heirloom bracelet for my own good?"

Shen Ruorou stumbled forward and grabbed the hem of the Third Elder's clothes. "Elder, you don't know," she deliberately let her voice tinge with tears, her shoulders trembling slightly. "Since...since she became smart, my sister's temperament has changed drastically. She often takes out expensive jewelry to show off in public. I'm afraid she'll develop extravagant habits at such a young age, so I thought of keeping it for her for a while, so that she can understand the difficulty of running a household..."

"Puff!" Chuntao couldn't help but spit a mouthful of her tea onto the bluestone slab, the splash startling ants at her feet. She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her knuckles turning white from stifling laughter. "Second Miss, you really know how to joke! Our young lady's jade bracelet was a dowry from the old lady, and last time you said the color made your skin look darker!"

Shen Ruorou's face paled, the plain fabric of her sleeves wrinkled from her grip. She caught a glimpse of the jade-like brilliance on Shen Weiwan's wrist and suddenly raised her voice: "I was... I was wearing it on purpose, wanting my sister to see it and feel ashamed and restrain herself!"

"Oh? Persuading me to be more restrained?" Shen Weiwan threw away the melon peel, clapped her hands, and approached. With every step she took, Shen Ruorou unconsciously took a step back, until her back touched the cold pillars of the corridor. Shen Weiwan suddenly stopped in front of her, the teardrop mole at the end of her eye gleaming cunningly in the sunlight, "Then the red gold hairpin that I lost three days ago, was it also 'persuaded' by my cousin to be put into your dressing box? And the pearl earrings that disappeared last month, could it be that my cousin was afraid that I would 'learn bad things' and put them at the bottom of the box for me?"

These words exploded like a series of firecrackers in Shen Ruorou's ears. She subconsciously reached for her pillow—the red-gold hairpin was hidden in the secret compartment under her bed! As if seeing through her thoughts, Shen Weiwan suddenly turned to face the gathered servants and said in a clear voice, "Butler Liu, tell me, on the fifteenth day of last month, whose maid, Xiaolian, was showing off my pearl earrings in the garden?"

Steward Liu, with his beard and hair all white, stepped forward and bowed to the Third Elder, his sleeves whipping up a gust of wind. "Third Elder, I saw with my own eyes that Xiaolian, Second Miss Shen's personal maid, was wearing Second Miss Shen's Dongzhu earrings while wandering around the koi pond. She even told everyone she met, 'These were a gift from Second Miss Shen!'"

"You're talking nonsense!" Xiaolian screamed and hid behind Shen Ruorou. The velvet flower on her bun trembled with her movements. "That's my young lady... No, I saved up money to buy it myself!"

"You bought them yourself?" Chen Weiwan sneered, pulling a brocade box from her sleeve. The moment the lid opened, two round, oriental pearls shone softly in the sunlight. Each bead had its hole engraved with a tiny "Wan" character. "My mother specially commissioned a craftsman from the South Sea to make these earrings. Each bead is engraved with my maiden name. Xiaolian, do yours have the same inscription?"

Xiaolian's face instantly lost all color, and her lips trembled, unable to utter a single word. Shen Ruorou felt dizzy, and before her eyes appeared the panicked look of Xiaolian when she was blocked at the corner door by Shen Weiwan's men yesterday - it turned out that Shen Weiwan had already laid out the plan since then!

"Chen Ruorou," the Third Elder's voice was as cold as ice in December. He slammed his cane down on the ground, startling the sparrows on the beams. "At this point, what else do you have to say?"

Shen Ruorou looked at the contemptuous eyes of the servants around her and listened to the whispers coming from afar. Suddenly, she made up her mind and showed a determination of breaking the jar: "Elder! Even if I took my sister's jewelry, it was for her own good!" She pushed away the woman who was holding her and pointed at Shen Weiwan, her eyes flashing with madness. "My sister is so scheming at such a young age. She set a trap to frame her own cousin. I'm afraid she will go astray in the future, so I want her to experience the treacherous nature of human nature firsthand!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole courtyard fell silent. Even the chirping of the cicadas in the trees stopped abruptly. Everyone stared at Shen Ruorou in amazement. No one had expected that she could describe stealing chickens and dogs in such a "righteous" way.

Shen Weiwan suddenly laughed, so much so that she fell backwards and fell to the ground with the melon handkerchief in her hand. She wiped away her nonexistent tears and approached Shen Ruoruo step by step, each step like stepping on her heart: "Cousin, you are really my good sister!" Her voice suddenly turned cold, with a piercing chill. "According to what my cousin said, you sewed grass scraps into my dress at the Spring Festival because you were afraid that I would 'learn bad things'? You stole my jade bracelet because you were afraid that I would 'learn bad things'?"

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