Gu Xin asked her what she bought, and Ye Cuiru said she bought flowers. Across the street from Xima Alley, there was a family living with only an old woman and her granddaughter. The old woman could make flower cakes, and Ye Cuiru often went to that village outside the south city to collect flowers and help the grandmother and granddaughter.
"Then what's with the flower on the sole of your shoe? Song Yi said he saw a flower on the sole of your shoe on the ninth day of the month, a flower that only grows along the official road outside the eastern city. Looking across the entire capital and its suburbs, there are only two places where that flower grows." Gu Xin raised her question, then stared intently at Ye Cuiru.
"Brother Yi?" Ye Cuiru was taken aback, then said sadly, "Brother Yi must have told me! He questioned me before. But I really only escorted Miss Xie home. The flowers on the soles of my shoes were probably from the flower field that I accidentally picked up when I bought them!"
"Why does Brother Yi treat me like this?" Ye Cuiru said, wiping away her tears. "Princess, I love Brother Yi, and he must have told you. But Brother Yi and Miss Xie are close. I know I can't compare to Miss Xie, so I've suppressed my feelings. Miss Xie knows that I and Brother Yi are neighbors and grew up together, and she often asks me about Brother Yi's preferences. That day, when Miss Xie saw me, she came to ask me as usual. She said she embroidered a purse for Brother Yi, but I had to go to collect flowers and would be late if I was late, so Miss Xie offered to come with me. She got into the carriage with me and asked me many questions about Brother Yi. I couldn't take her out of the city, so I could only take her home. I never imagined that in Brother Yi's heart, Miss Xie's suffering was caused by me?"
Gu Xin watched as large tears fell from Ye Cuiru's eyes, but remained unmoved.
That explanation sounds absolutely convincing.
But her father told her that seven parts truth and three parts falsehood are what make it impossible for people to tell the difference.
Ye Cuiru cried for a while, and seeing that Gu Xin didn't react, she calmed down, but the sad little expression was still there, and the tears were still there.
Seeing that she had stopped crying, Gu Xin asked, "Then why did you lie the night before last? And why did you make your brother and sister-in-law lie with you?"
Ye Cuiru whispered, "I'm scared. I heard that Miss Xie didn't return on the seventh day of the month. On that day, I met her around 3 PM. I'm worried that the officials will suspect me, so I dare not say anything."
Gu Xin: "Is it because you're afraid to say it? Or are you deliberately hiding it?"
Ye Cuiru kowtowed: "Please, Your Highness, investigate thoroughly! I went to buy flowers for Granny Sun and the others, and there are witnesses to prove it. I really didn't."
Gu Xin took out earrings and beaded flowers, and made Ye Cuiru look up.
Tears blurred Ye Cuiru's vision as she pointed to the pearl earrings: "These belong to Miss Xie. I heard Miss Xie say that they were a birthday gift from her brother, and she liked them very much. However, Miss Xie did not wear these earrings that day."
Seeing that her expression didn't seem fake, Gu Xin put the things away.
Her brows furrowed tightly, her mind a jumbled mess, like a ball of yarn pulled tangled by a cat, with no end in sight and no way to untangle it.
She rubbed her temples and said, "Someone, take her away..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ye Cuiru seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Princess, I suddenly remembered that Miss Xie once told me that she wanted to buy the courtyard next to Brother Yi's house."
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