Li Junyan stared at Ji Xinhe who appeared to be taking vows before her. A plethora of fearful emotions welled up in her heart. She tried to speak out, but words failed her. After all, the current situation was completely unexpected, one she had neither planned nor anticipated, leaving her mind in a state of disarray and her face paler.
Xinhe released her hand and stood up: "What are you all still staring at? Quickly take the second miss back to her room and summon the doctor. As for these two old hags....."
Xinhe’s gaze fell on the two elderly women, her expression cold and distant.
Lady Sun hastily interjected: "Leave the two old women to me. Their audacity to engage in such actions—heinous acts—I need to get to the bottom of this."
"These two old women dared to do something like this under my watch, there is no way I can let them go scot-free, let alone nearly causing Junyan to drown. How can I stand by idly?"
"Junyan fell into the water, and I was more anxious than anyone, but there must be rules in the rear house of Hou Mansion; it can’t be turned into a mess. So these two people have to be handed over to me." Lady Sun’s voice hardened.
She was the one in charge of the mansion, responsible for large and small things around the house.
Xinhe sneered inside, but her face betrayed no emotion: "If you insist, then so be it".
Either way, the truth behind this had been revealed. Lady Sun had laid her foundations in the Hou Mansion years ahead of Xinhe; it wouldn’t be easy for her to set Xinhe up merely with these two elderly women.
Lady Sun promptly instructed her servants to drag the two terrified women away: "Immediately bring them to my courtyard and lock them in the firewood room! I want to understand exactly who gave you the audacity to plot against the second Miss!"
The two elderly women were swiftly dragged away, and Li Junyan was carried back to her quarters. Lady Sun followed anxiously.
Finally, with peace restored to Lotus Lake, Xinhe stood there, looking at the now disturbed lotus flowers in the lake, her face indifferent.
Shulan quickly approached: "Miss, are you still going to the Dali Temple?"
"No." Xinhe spun around and began to depart.
"Ah?"
Xinhe quickly walked back, face devoid of emotion, but her mind was full of thoughts. Yesterday, her meeting with Shulan and Jinxiu was arranged by an elderly woman close to Lady Sun, and today, her own daughter Li Junyan tried to kill her. Therefore, Lady Sun was undoubtedly the one pulling the strings from behind.
But if this was all instigated by Lady Sun, Xinhe found it puzzling. Lady Sun’s maternal home, the Sun Family, had a mediocre standing, and they had been living in distress for years. Even if Lady Sun intended to harm her, how could she have such a force to drug and execute the Black Bear Incident that happened in the Imperial Concubine’s Palace?
Even if she had the cunning, she didn’t have the power.
Unless, there were more people supporting Lady Sun.
The thought made Xinhe shiver. Who could be backing Lady Sun, the madam of Le Yuanhou Mansion? Surely Le Yuanhou dealt with her as a long-lost treasure and wasn’t aware of her as a threat, including the person supporting Lady Sun.
"Shulan, what do you think of Lady Hou?" Xinhe asked casually.
"Lady Hou is kind and good-hearted. She seldom severely punishes her servants and keeps the Mansion well arranged. Everyone in the Mansion thinks highly of Lady Hou." Shulan explained.
"From what I observe, my father respects her a lot. She must hold a high position in the mansion."
"Yes, Lord Marquis has always respected Lady Hou. Lord Marquis often praises Lady Hou for managing the mansion so well that he doesn’t have to worry about anything." Shulan chuckled.
Xinhe paused, turned to Shulan: "Given such a high status of Lady Hou in the mansion, why was it that I heard her own daughter, Li Junyan, was often bullied by Li Junyao?"
Shulan looked angry while speaking about Li Junyao: "That Li Junyao, who doesn’t know about her arrogant and stubborn nature? The second Miss was often bullied by her, it was unbearable to watch!"
A cold smile appeared on Xinhe’s lips. So, Junyan was often bullied? This powerless person, it was hard to believe that she could plot a murder against her.
"Why is Miss asking about this?"
"It’s nothing."
——
At this moment, Li Junyan had been sent back to her room, and the doctor had rushed in, taken her pulse carefully, and then stroked his beard, saying: "It’s fine, it’s fine. She’s just weak from accidentally swallowing water. There’s no major harm. Thank goodness she was rescued promptly."
Lady Sun finally breathed a sigh of relief, sent the doctor out, instructed people to retrieve the prescribed medicine, and then ordered everyone else in the room to leave.
Lady Sun’s face instantly darkened as she settled next to Li Junyan’s bed: "Tell me, what on earth happened?"
Li Junyan looked sullen, her eyes filled with confusion: "I...I don’t know. I was planning to push her into the water, who knew, she suddenly turned around, and I lost my balance and plunged into the water. Then, the two old women in the water... they seemed to have mistaken me for her and were dragging me down, I almost ... almost..."
She almost drowned.
Lady Sun looked worried: "Could she have done it deliberately?"
"I...I don’t know. Everything happened so fast. Right now, I can’t really remember..." Li Junyan felt that Ji Xinhe didn’t really push her. But things seemed off, and with the shock she had just experienced, how could she remember what exactly happened?
Lady Sun frowned slightly: "Is it just a coincidence?"
"Mother, regardless of whether this time was a coincidence or deliberate, she has some evidence from the Black Bear Incident in her hands. What should we do if the matter is revealed?" Li Junyan said anxiously.
Lady Sun’s face darkened: "Servant."
An old housemaid walked in: "What do the madam need?"
"Has the eldest Miss gone to Dali Temple?"
The housemaid shook her head: "No, she returned straight to her courtyard after leaving Lotus Lake. She didn’t leave the mansion."
Lady Sun’s face turned exceptionally ashen: "Did you say she didn’t leave at all!?"
The housemaid stammered: "I...I don’t really understand."
Given such critical evidence in hand, why was she not in a hurry at all? Did she decide not to go to Dali Temple to submit the evidence just because she was slightly startled?
Lady Sun angrily threw her handkerchief: "What evidence! I don’t think there’s any evidence at all!"
Since Jinxiu first attempted to steal the box from her and found nothing, Lady Sun had had her suspicions. And now it had come true! Ji Xinhe had set her up twice with an empty box!
Li Junyan’s face turned paler, she cautiously said: "Mother, does this mean that she probably already knows that..."
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