Xu Xin grabbed her bracelet and slapped it hard onto the plaid pattern of Su Xiaoning's clothes.
"Why is my bracelet with you? If you can't give me an explanation, I'll take you to the authorities!"
She pounded on the wooden lattice, making a loud clanging sound, a hint of smugness in her eyes, as if she was afraid Su Xiaoning wouldn't know that she had done it herself.
Su Xiaoning silently complained to herself, but she didn't show any fear. Instead, she crossed her arms and looked relaxed.
"Miss Xu, why don't you take a closer look and see whose clothes are in this compartment?"
"This is your clothes compartment. Whose clothes would be in here if not yours?" Xu Xin scoffed and grabbed a neatly folded coat from the compartment.
All the girls wore the same clothes during the physical examination. This coat was ordinary, very clean, and showed no abnormalities.
Su Xiaoning glanced at the arrogant Xu Xin with a half-smile, then suddenly turned around, grabbed an outer garment from an unused shelf, and shook the blood-stained garment in front of everyone.
"Because my nosebleed got on my clothes, they weren't put away properly before. Why don't you ask—whose clothes are in my compartment now?"
A glaring red stain appeared on her coat, as if silently mocking Xu Xin's recklessness.
Xu Xin's eyes widened, and something seemed to be blocking her throat, preventing her from saying anything.
Holding the coat in her hand, she didn't know whether to throw it away or not. After a long while, she asked awkwardly, "Whose...whose is this?"
At this moment, Meng Ruqiao, who had been silent all along, suddenly frowned and stepped forward.
"This dress is mine."
She snatched the coat from Xu Xin's hand, turned around and explained to the head maid, "I don't know who took my compartment. I was in a hurry, so I just put it in a compartment randomly. That was wrong of me. I only realized now that this is my coat. I didn't know it was Su Xiaoning's compartment before."
The girls' assigned clothing racks didn't have names written on them, only numbers. The body check process was a bit chaotic, with many people leaving their outer garments lying around. Meng Ruqiao just put hers in one of the racks, never expecting this to happen.
Unexpectedly, this matter involved the Prime Minister's daughter. The head maid was somewhat at a loss and cautiously asked, "Miss Meng, since this dress is yours, can you explain the matter of Miss Xu's bracelet?"
"I have nothing to explain." Meng Ruqiao glanced at Xu Xin indifferently, as if she had already seen through everything. "As the daughter of the Prime Minister, why would I need to steal a bracelet? This matter is probably a frame-up. Both the nanny and Miss Xu can choose to report it to the authorities. I believe the government will clear my name."
The Prime Minister's daughter is always of high status; why would she waste her time on such low-level tricks?
Meng Ruqiao held her head high, exuding an imposing aura, and this incident did not affect her arrogance at all.
The old woman felt very troubled and hesitated before looking at Xu Xin: "Miss Xu, are you going to report it to the authorities or not?"
Who would dare report the prime minister's daughter to the authorities? Xu Xin's face turned pale and then red. After holding it in for a long time, she angrily said "I won't report it" and stormed off.
Her impulsive actions embarrassed the old woman, who, despite harboring some resentment, kept quiet and led everyone to change clothes and leave.
Su Xiaoning didn't pay attention to the blood-stained clothes and was about to put them on when someone suddenly tugged at her arm and handed her a clean coat.
"I asked the nanny for an extra one, you can wear this one for now." Meng Ruqiao didn't say much, handed over the clothes and left, no one knew what she was thinking.
"This Miss Meng seems quite nice..."
Holding the clothes, Su Xiaoning stared intently at Meng Ruqiao's departing figure, a smile appearing on her face.
...
The day passed quickly, and it was almost time for lunch.
There was still some time before dinner, and although the food hadn't been served yet, the tableware and decorations were already set out for convenience, and several wine glasses were filled with fine wine.
Xu Xin arrived at the dining room early. She nervously looked around and, after confirming that no one was there, secretly slipped in. After finding Su Xiaoning's location, she took out a cup of medicine powder from her pocket and poured it directly into a wine glass.
Hmph, it must have been Su Xiaoning and Meng Ruqiao who teamed up to make her suffer. She can't retaliate against Meng Ruqiao, but she can still make Su Xiaoning look bad.
Xu Xin smiled smugly, shook the wine well, and then sneaked away.
Half an hour later, when it was time for dinner, the girls came to the dining hall led by their nannies.
Su Xiaoning had been starving for a long time, so she wasn't interested in drinks and just kept eating. Xu Xin, who had been watching her from a distance, was very anxious and glared at her several times.
Meng Ruqiao sat next to Su Xiaoning. She didn't know that Xu Xin's target of hatred was Su Xiaoning, and thought that Xu Xin was dissatisfied with her.
Thinking back to what happened during the physical exam earlier that day, Meng Ruqiao felt a little irritated and returned Xu Xin's cold glare. Xu Xin was puzzled, frowned, and stared back defiantly, creating a tense atmosphere between them.
Seeing the two of them like this, Su Xiaoning felt a little uncomfortable and even lost her appetite.
She thought for a moment, then picked up her wine glass and handed it to Meng Ruqiao, smiling as she said, "What happened today wasn't a big deal, and in the end, nothing came of it. You two are both from noble families, so why be angry with each other? Drink this glass, and why don't you make up?"
Meng Ruqiao frowned slightly. She glanced at the wine glass in Su Xiaoning's hand, then picked up the wine glass on her own table and drank it all in one gulp.
"If you want to talk things out, you should try to persuade her. If she can drink this glass of wine, then I have nothing to say."
"That's easy!" Su Xiaoning immediately took the wine and ran to Xu Xin's side, repeating the peace-making plan to Xu Xin again.
Xu Xin glanced guiltily at the wine glass in Su Xiaoning's hand. Knowing what kind of drug had been added to the wine, she naturally dared not take it. She could only pretend not to reconcile and coldly ignore Su Xiaoning.
"Miss Xu, that's not right of you! Everyone's watching, and Miss Meng isn't even bothered by it, so why are you still being so stubborn? Come on, drink this glass, and we'll still be good sisters!"
Su Xiaoning, however, persisted and insisted that Xu Xin drink the wine.
All eyes were on her, and Xu Xin became restless, her tense expression almost crumbling.
Su Xiaoning wanted to reconcile the two of them, so she kept babbling words of persuasion while bringing the wine glass closer and closer. Finally, when Xu Xin wasn't paying attention, she fed the wine into her mouth!
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