Ye Caiping also saw Li Jiaojiao.

The three Ye sisters frowned.

Ye Caiping raised an eyebrow and smiled, then quickly stepped forward: "Oh, so it's the third young lady of the Duke of Pingguo's mansion. Welcome, welcome."

Li Jiaojiao choked for a moment. What was she welcoming?

Why should she welcome me here?

This Ye woman is so sarcastic... She's here to expose her!

She wants to strike first!

What should she do? How can she get rid of that bunch of vile women from the Ye family?

Li Jiaojiao was anxious, her face was cold, and her heart was pounding. Her gaze fell on Ye Caiping, then swept over her, and suddenly an idea struck her. She covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise:

"Ah, isn't this my jade hairpin? How did it end up in your hair? It disappeared after I came back from the tea shop last time. So you picked it up! You picked it up and didn't return it, you even wore it! This is practically theft!"

This exclamation stunned Little Green, who was standing nearby.

What is all this about?

My gaze fell on Ye Caiping's head, where I saw a jade hairpin, its color clear and bright, obviously very valuable.

Such a fine jade hairpin is something that even the Duchess of the State would not possess, let alone Li Jiaojiao.

Moreover, she was quite certain that Li Jiaojiao did not have this hairpin!

How did this happen? And why is it on Ye Yiren's head?!

Xiao Lü instantly understood: Miss was up to her old tricks again!

Little Green's face turned green instantly, just like her name, Little Green.

“Miss…” she tugged at Li Jiaojiao’s sleeve cautiously.

"Get out of my way!" Li Jiaojiao glared at her, then stared at Ye Caiping: "Ye Caiping, you stole my hairpin!"

Li Jiaojiao's scream drew the attention of the surrounding guests, who all looked at each other in bewilderment.

How could such an important banquet have a thief?

One of the noble ladies looked shocked and whispered to her friends, "This... isn't that Ye Yiren? I ran into her when I was seeing the old lady just now."

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't say it out loud, just watch the show." The voice was full of mockery.

This Lady Ye is the future second wife of the Marquis's mansion. How dare this unfamiliar young girl point fingers at her and accuse her of stealing from her on her own turf?

They're either stupid or unaware of Ye Caiping's identity.

The Shen family is now someone no one can afford to offend! Including the three regents!

Those who knew the situation wanted to watch the show, while those who didn't watched with curiosity.

Ye Jin'er and Ye Huan'er looked at Li Jiaojiao with strange expressions, as if she were an idiot.

Ye Caiping played along with her, finding it amusing: "What evidence do you have?"

Li Jiaojiao's face darkened, and she snorted, "I am the evidence. I, Li Jiaojiao, am the adopted daughter of the Duke of Pingguo's mansion. The Duke of Pingguo is my adoptive father, and the Duchess is my adoptive mother!"

"Ye Caiping, even if you have a title, you're just a lowly seventh-rank Yiren. You can't afford this kind of hairpin! You can't buy it either!"

"How could I, a daughter of a Duke's mansion, possibly wrong you? I, Li Jiaojiao, swear on the honor of the Duke's mansion that if this is false, may I, Li Jiaojiao... die a horrible death!"

If swearing an oath were effective, Li Zhiyuan would have died hundreds of times over!

Therefore, Li Jiaojiao is not afraid to make an oath.

And given the current situation, she has no choice but to swear an oath!

As she spoke, she looked around at the people around her.

Apart from the one or two people who went to pay their respects and bumped into Ye Caiping, none of the people present recognized Ye Caiping.

Hearing Li Jiaojiao's words, they were all stunned: "I have heard that the Duchess of Pingguo has taken in an adopted daughter."

“A young lady from the Duke’s mansion would never joke about her family’s reputation!”

Seeing that everyone around her was on her side, Li Jiaojiao felt a surge of smugness. She stared coldly at Ye Caiping and thought, "See? This is the difference in treatment that comes with different status!"

"Jiaojiao!" At this moment, the Duchess of the State came over with Granny Yu and her daughter-in-law, Madam Qiao.

Seeing the crowd gathered around, he was shocked and his gaze fell on Ye Caiping: "It's you again? How did you get in?"

Li Jiaojiao's heart skipped a beat, fearing Ye Caiping would say something. She pointed at Ye Caiping's head and said, "She stole my jade hairpin!"

Granny Yu was stunned. All of Li Jiaojiao's jewelry had passed through her hands. She frowned and said, "Miss, this old servant remembers..."

"Shut up, if Jiaojiao says it's hers, then it's hers! It must be hers!" The Duchess believed Li Jiaojiao without hesitation.

As she spoke, the Duchess raised her chin and said, "I knew all along that you were a wicked person, and now you've even turned into a thief!"

Upon hearing this, all the guests watching were taken aback. Even the Duchess of the State had said such a thing.

Did this woman really steal someone else's jade hairpin?

Seeing the one-sided scene, Li Jiaojiao felt even more smug and shouted urgently, "Guards, throw her out of the Marquis's mansion!"

But after he finished speaking, no one responded.

Li Jiaojiao looked a little embarrassed, only then realizing that this wasn't her home.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Xiao Lü, Granny Yu, go find the old lady and tell her that someone has stolen from here and offended our distinguished guest! Let's see if they handle it!"

The last sentence caused everyone around to gasp.

Even those who had just sided with Li Jiaojiao almost choked on their own saliva.

Her tone made it sound as if the Marquis of Dingguo's household was inferior to her...

That's the Marquis of Dingguo's mansion! In the entire capital, no one dares to claim the title of number one!

"Jiaojiao..." The Duchess of Pingguo was somewhat frightened.

Jiaojiao's tone was indeed excessive, but she was just a young girl and acted impulsively. She said to Granny Yu:

"Go and inform the Lady of the Marquis that there has been a minor incident here. But it's nothing serious; just have her send a servant."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!