After hearing Xiang Wan's whisper, Xiao Lan's eyes flickered, then she put on a resigned look and kowtowed to the ground: "It was all because this servant was greedy for fun, it has nothing to do with my young lady, please investigate, madam."
The Queen Mother held a cup of tea and gently blew on it, as if she hadn't heard Xiao Lan's pleas.
"Sister Wan'er, it's all my fault. I've raised Xiao Lan's heart to be so big. If you have to punish someone, punish me!"
Qin Rong also knelt down next to Xiao Lan, looking heartbroken.
"You..." Xiang Wan was speechless. These two, master and servant, were such good actors. No matter what she asked, Qin Rong had a way of justifying herself. If she couldn't say something, she would push it onto Xiao Lan. Xiang Wan was so angry that she laughed, and her hand pointing at the two of them trembled slightly.
Now, if the matter of not paying after the meal were brought up again, Qin Rong could easily attribute it to Xiao Lan's indulgence. The waiter from the restaurant had already been arrested; even if he could be found to prove Qin Rong was lying, she could still pin the blame on the maid. Besides, it was impossible to bring the waiter out of jail to testify. Everything she said was specious; Xiang Wan had no evidence, and so far it was all just deduction. This morning, Qin Rong had persuaded the Queen Mother to make a big show of searching for Xiang Xia and her, and all the maids and servants knew about it. If she were to accuse Qin Rong of having ulterior motives now, by tomorrow, Wang Xiang Wan would likely be seen as an ungrateful and intolerant person. Even though Xiao Zhu and Xiao Mei testified, it only proved that Xiao Lan had lied, and had nothing to do with Qin Rong. Although Qin Rong hadn't spread the news that she and Xiang Xia hadn't returned home all night as if they had visited a brothel, the two sisters had indeed not returned all night. Because Qin Rong covered for them, she and Xiang Xia not only couldn't question them, but they also had to thank her for not spreading rumors.
Thinking of this, Xiang Wan was speechless for a moment. A mouthful of blood stuck in her throat, unable to be swallowed or spat out, causing her great discomfort. A sense of defeat gradually arose within her. She had been careless. At this point, she had to admit that Qin Rong was more cunning than her.
"Xia'er, help your sister sit down."
Seeing Xiang Wan's pale face, the Queen Mother's eyes flashed with heartache and regret. She then sighed and shook her head.
"Xia'er, tell me, what did you two do last night?"
The Queen Mother dismissed all unrelated people, leaving only Qin Rong and her servant, Xiang Xia and her servant, and Xiang Wan and her servant, to inquire about what had happened.
Xiang Xia hesitated for a moment, then recounted in detail how the group had been harassed, how they had been rescued, and how they had ended up at the county government office after waking up. Xiang Wan stared intently at Qin Rong and her maid, noticing that Qin Rong's face had first turned deathly pale, then she leaned against Xiao Lan, seemingly not expecting such a thing to happen. As soon as Xiang Xia finished speaking, Qin Rong could no longer stand and knelt on the ground, repeatedly apologizing, saying it was her fault, that she hadn't expected such a thing to happen, and asking the Queen Mother to punish her. Xiao Lan also knelt on the ground.
Even Xiang Wan couldn't do anything about them at this point. Qin Rong had alibis for each of these incidents, yet she still had to come out to find them. Now, seeing them admit their mistakes beforehand, no one could believe that this was their doing.
Xiang Wan had a terrible headache. Looking at the master and servant, and then at the Queen Mother, her desire to uncover the truth faded. She had been too hasty. If Qin Rong were so easily defeated, she wouldn't be the protagonist of this world.
In the end, Xiaolan was given ten lashes and locked in the woodshed, while Qin Rong was confined to her quarters for a month under the pretext of missing her deceased mother.
Before the people in the living room left, Wang's mother gave Xiang Wan a meaningful look, but in the end said nothing, only telling her to go back and get some rest.
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