A maid handed it to Su Man. After taking it, Su Man looked at it seriously and said, "This hairpin does look very similar to my daughter's, but it is definitely not hers."
"You're lying!" Yun Xuelan immediately refuted her, saying confidently, "This is yours."
Su Man slowly shifted her gaze from the hairpin to Yun Xuelan. "Sister, you are so sure. Could it be that you took this hairpin from me?"
Yun Xuelan was young and impatient after all. When she heard Su Man's question, her face turned pale instantly.
The eldest lady came out to save the situation, "Miss, you can't just accuse others of your own mistakes. I've seen you wear this hairpin before, are you still trying to make excuses?"
Su Man said calmly, "This hairpin is indeed not mine. I accidentally dropped mine two days ago, and it even has a few fine cracks on it. But this one is intact, so it's obviously not my daughter's."
The lady thought she was just struggling to survive, and said with a fake smile, "Is that so? If that's the case, then why don't you take out yours to prove your innocence?"
Yun Xuelan perked up again and agreed, "Yeah, yeah, if it really isn't yours, then why don't you take out yours. Humph, I'm afraid some people wouldn't dare to do that."
Su Man did not respond to their questions, but turned her gaze to Lu Shusheng, "Before I take it, I want to ask Cousin Lu, where did you get this hairpin?"
Lu Shusheng had been pretending to be dead for quite some time, but when his name was suddenly called, he was startled and looked up in confusion.
Su Man looked at him intently, her eyes examining him. "Cousin, how did you get this hairpin?"
Lu Shusheng lowered his eyes. He neither joined Yun Xuelan in slandering Su Man nor did he clear Su Man's name. He just looked at the ground silently without saying anything.
His heart was too conflicted. On one side was the woman he loved, and on the other side was an innocent woman who was wrongly accused.
He didn't dare to speak, nor could he speak, so he could only remain silent.
Seeing that she couldn't get any information out of him, Su Man didn't force him. She turned to Xiao Chun and said, "Go and get the hairpin."
"Why."
When the lady saw Xiaochun really went to get it, she felt suspicious. She exchanged glances with Yun Xuelan, as if asking her how she dared to take it?
The inflated Yun Xuelan sneered, "Big sister, don't try to play the thief crying thief trick. Go find it first, then say it's lost. Deceiving your parents like this is extremely unfilial."
If Yun Xuelan hadn't said that, Su Man would have said that the hairpin was lost and there would still be a glimmer of hope. But now that Yun Xuelan has provoked her like this, she has no way out.
Sure enough, after hearing Yun Xuelan's words, Master Yun felt that he had been fooled and angrily scolded her, "You have done such a shameless thing, and you even thought of deceiving your parents. If you don't find that hairpin, you will kneel in the ancestral temple for a year!"
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were Master Yun's heavy breathing and the lady's soothing voice.
After a while, Xiaochun came back with a box in her hand. The lady and Yun Xuelan were both confused.
Xiaochun knelt on the ground and said, "Master and Madam, this hairpin of mine had been placed on the dressing table, but since it was broken, it was moved to the storeroom. It took me a while to find it, so I am late. Please forgive me, Master and Madam."
Master Yun's eyes were fixed on the box in her hand, and he didn't care to listen to what she said. He said perfunctorily, "Okay, okay, is the hairpin in there?"
Xiaochun opened the box, and all eyes were focused on her hands.
Inside the ebony box lay a golden hairpin, exactly the same as Lu Shusheng's.
"Give it to me."
Xiaochun handed it over as requested. Master Yun looked from left to right and indeed saw a few tiny cracks on the jade.
Facing the surprised gazes of the eldest lady and Yun Xuelan, Su Man knelt down and pleaded, "Dad, I really don't have any personal relationship with Cousin Lu. Please understand."
The lady didn't know what was going on and her eyes were full of confusion. She didn't understand. This hairpin was clearly taken from Yunman's dressing box, so how could it not be hers?
Even though she didn't understand why, she still didn't want to let Su Man go. She pointed at the letter on the ground and said, "Although this hairpin is not yours, this letter is yours, right?"
Su Man calmly analyzed, "The reason why Madam thinks this letter is for me is because Cousin Lu is carrying my hairpin. Now it has been proven that the hairpin on Cousin Lu is not mine, so this letter is naturally not mine either."
Yun Xuelan was unwilling to see her plan fail, and continued to argue, "Big sister, you are too good at making excuses. The maid who delivered the letter said it was for you, and you have no way to deny it."
The maid who came to report it knelt on the ground in response, "Yes, the servant said that the letter is for the eldest lady."
Su Man turned around and looked at the maid, "Are you from my courtyard?"
The maid glanced at Yun Xuelan, then lowered her eyes and shook her head.
"Is the person who delivered the letter to you a close confidant of Cousin Lu?"
The maid bit her lip and shook her head.
Su Man turned to Master Yun, who seemed lost in thought, and said, "If a letter like this fell into the hands of someone else, it would be a matter of great consequence to our reputation. The person who delivered the letter must have been someone close to us. How could they possibly have sent those unfamiliar maids and servants? Also, my cousin lives in the outer courtyard. No matter how he walks to Mingyue Pavilion where I live, he won't pass by the Madam's courtyard. Yet, the Madam still came across this letter. What is the hidden truth behind this? Please investigate, Father."
Although Su Man didn't say it explicitly, Master Yun was not a fool and he also noticed some clues.
The lady remained calm in the face of the doubts and said calmly, "Nothing is perfect. Some people are so confused that they probably don't care about so many things."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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