The Duchess of Pingguo's eyes widened immediately: "What did you say? Who threw it to you?"

Liu Xiawei frowned: "I already said, I don't know much. It fell right in front of me. It was a purse. When I opened it, there was a key and a note inside that said 'Box Key'."

"I just set a fire in the outer study on a whim, then ran to pick the lock, and hey, I actually managed to open it."

Upon hearing this, Duke Pingguo and the others almost coughed up blood again.

"You unfilial son! You set fire to my study?! How could you be so wasteful!"

"Is this the time to talk about this?" The Duchess of Pingguo glared at him. "Where's the key? Where's the purse?"

Liu Xiawei scratched his head: "How should I know... I just don't know where I lost it..."

The Duke of Pingguo and the others were on the verge of tears.

Lady Pingguo asked, "Before this, to whom did you mention wanting to sell your family's belongings?"

“As for who else, Deli Money House keeps asking me to pay back the money, so I promised them that I would steal things from my house and sell them to pay off the debt.”

The Duke of Pingguo slammed his fist on the table: "Deli Money House! It was them who set this up. Tell me, did they give you the key? Did they tell you to steal?"

Liu Xiawei frowned: "No... I already said, I found the key."

Lady Pingguo said angrily, "Are you stupid! They must have given you this key; they secretly threw it to you so you would steal it and then trick you into selling it to them at a low price. It's a trap they set."

Liu Xiawei said, "Since they set this up, why don't you ask them to give the things back, Father and Mother?"

Duke Pingguo and the others nearly vomited blood again: "How do you want it?"

Hearing that they had gone off-topic again, Granny Yu said in a cold voice:

“Even if Deli Money House set up the scheme, we should think about how they obtained the key. The key was made by the Madam herself, and there was only one. How did another one appear? How did Deli Money House get an identical one, and how did it end up in front of the Second Master?”

Liu Xiawei said, "By the way, I did chase after it a few steps and saw a pink hem. I remember Li Jiaojiao had a pink outfit, it must have been Li Jiaojiao who did it!"

Liu Xiawei had already planned it out. Even if he got beaten up, he would find someone to take the blame, and that person was Li Jiaojiao.

Duke Pingguo roared, "What did I tell you? It was that jinx Li Jiaojiao who did it!"

"Impossible," Lady Pingguo immediately denied.

Granny Yu said, "Who else could it be but her? This key has always been kept by this old servant. If anything is lost, this old servant will bear the greatest responsibility. Normally, no one but this old servant and the madam can touch it."

"Only on that day did Li Jiaojiao touch me."

Xiao Lü said timidly, "When the fire started, we were all preparing to go to the outer courtyard when the Third Miss... suddenly said... that I should go back to her courtyard to keep watch. I asked why, but she didn't explain... something seemed a bit strange..."

Granny Yu slapped her leg: "I understand. She threw the key to the Second Master. She guessed that the Second Master set the fire. She was afraid that the Second Master would take advantage of the situation and take her dowry, so she sent you back to guard it."

Liu Xiawei's eyes widened: "Damn it, so I wasn't wrong about her, it really is her!"

The Duchess still shook her head: "Impossible. Liu Xiawei, when did you find the key?"

"On the morning of the arson day... I found the key in the morning, and I set the fire in the afternoon."

The Duchess was taken aback. That morning, Li Jiaojiao had been learning to read the account books from her, but she seemed distracted. Later, she said she wasn't feeling well and needed to go home to rest...

She still harbored some resentment towards Jiaojiao at the time, feeling that she wasn't making any progress...

The Duchess thought about it and then shook her head.

No, Jiaojiao would never conspire with outsiders to scheme against her family.

That was someone she had raised herself up; she was her adopted daughter.

She always protected and cared for Jiao Jiao, showing her so much love and affection that even her own daughter never received.

For Jiaojiao's sake, she offended the entire Shen family, making them the laughingstock of the capital.

If it really is Jiaojiao... isn't she just a blind fool who let a wolf into the house?

No...it's impossible, she's not! Neither is Jiaojiao...

The Duchess gritted her teeth and said, "That morning, Jiaojiao was checking the accounts the whole time and didn't go anywhere, so how could she have delivered the keys to you?"

Everyone present was taken aback.

Granny Yu looked at the Duchess in disbelief: "Madam... I was there that day, and she clearly left."

"Shut up! You're just trying to shift the blame onto her. Everything that was sold was my dowry... I... I'm more worried than anyone else, would I... possibly protect her?"

Granny Yu stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the Duchess of Pingguo, who was still defending Li Jiaojiao even now. She was really determined to see the truth!

A wave of sorrow and desolation washed over her like a tidal wave, leaving Granny Yu feeling utterly hopeless. Finally, she choked back tears and shook her head.

"Alright, alright... whatever Madam says goes..."

Looking at her dejected and disappointed appearance, the Duchess of Pingguo felt a pang of sadness.

Duke Pingguo slammed his fist on the table and roared, "You scoundrel! What do you mean by saying whatever she says goes! Qian San, go to the Marquis of Ningguo's residence and bring that ingrate back to me!"

"Also, first go to the prefect's office to file a complaint, saying that Li Jiaojiao, that ungrateful wretch, conspired with Deli Money Shop to swindle our family's money."

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