His words, which were based on historical records, left Lin Wanyue speechless.
Su Jinli couldn't help but roll her eyes behind Jiang Yan. This guy was pretending to be serious again.
"Mr. Jiang is right." Su Jinli took a step forward and looked at Lin Wanyue. "Sister Lin, if you think I plagiarized your poem, why don't we take out the original manuscripts of the two poems and let everyone see the handwriting and the condition of the paper?"
Lin Wanyue's face turned pale instantly. She had never written a manuscript of that poem; she had only mumbled a few lines off the cuff. How could she produce the manuscript now?
"I...I accidentally lost my manuscript..." Lin Wanyue stuttered.
"Oh? Lost it?" Su Jinli raised an eyebrow. "What a coincidence! I have a habit of keeping all my poems safe. Lingge, go get me the manuscript of 'Preface to the Spring Night Banquet in Peach and Plum Garden' that I wrote on the tenth day of March."
"Yes, Miss!" Lingge responded and left. Not long after, she came back holding a rosewood box.
Su Jinli opened the box and took out the rice paper. The handwriting on it was exactly the same as Lingge had just recited. There were some ink stains on the edge of the paper, which showed that it had been written for some time.
"Please take a look, everyone." Su Jinli handed the manuscript to the noble lady next to her for circulation.
Everyone looked at it and nodded. The condition of the paper was so bad that it was obvious that it couldn't have been made in the past few days.
Lin Wanyue looked at the manuscript and felt dizzy. She had never imagined that Su Jinli actually kept the manuscript!
"Sister Lin, what else do you have to say now?" Su Jinli's voice was not loud, but it was like a needle, piercing Lin Wanyue's heart.
Lin Wanyue's lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word for a long time. The eyes of the noble ladies around her had turned from suspicion to contempt and ridicule.
"So it was Miss Lin who made a mistake." Su Jinli smiled faintly and put away the manuscript. "Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, let's continue our gathering. Let's not let this little thing spoil everyone's fun."
She spoke so calmly, as if nothing had happened. But everyone understood that Lin Wanyue's reputation as a "talented woman" was completely ruined. She had attempted plagiarism, only to be slapped in the face. For a noblewoman who values reputation, this was more painful than killing her.
Lin Wanyue couldn't hold it in any longer, she burst into tears, covered her face with her hands, turned around and ran, and the maid behind her hurriedly followed.
The storm was thus calmed down.
Su Jinli breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to sit down and rest for a while when she felt there was someone next to her.
"Thank you, Jiang Zhuangyuan, for saving me just now." She turned her head to look at Jiang Yan, with a hint of ridicule in her tone, "But it's a pity that Jiang Zhuangyuan, with his ability to quote classics, doesn't become a teacher."
Jiang Yan looked at the smile flashing in her eyes and couldn't help but curl his lips: "It is my honor to help Miss Su out." He paused and whispered, "Don't take what Lin Wanyue said just now to heart."
Su Jinli waved her hands: "I won't bother with such a person. He's just a clown."
As the two were talking, Lingge suddenly leaned close to Su Jinli's ear and whispered, "Miss, I just saw the servant next to Jiang Zhuangyuan secretly pass a note to the owner of a shop. It seems to be... Minister Lin's shop?"
Su Jinli was stunned, then looked at Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan noticed her gaze and looked back calmly, with a barely perceptible cunning on his face: "Miss Su, why are you looking at me?"
Su Jinli narrowed her eyes. "Nothing much. I just feel that Jiang Zhuangyuan's 'standing up for injustice' seems to come with a 'settling the score afterwards' service."
Hearing this, Jiang Yan chuckled softly. His laughter was as gentle as jade, yet it carried a hint of doting: "Miss Su is smart. Some people, if they dare to touch my people, will always have to pay a price."
"Your people?" Su Jinli raised her eyebrows, her heart skipping a beat for no apparent reason.
Jiang Yan looked at her seriously, "Yes, mine."
The sunlight shone through the willow leaves onto the two of them. Although they were in public, Su Jinli felt that the noise around her had disappeared, leaving only the gentle gaze of the man in front of her and the resounding words "my person".
She suddenly felt that the late spring breeze seemed to have become particularly gentle.
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