Xin He arrived late and looked at the room filled with people in amazement. "What is happening here?" she asked.
Lord Marquis looked upset. He opened his mouth, paused, and then finally asked her, leaning back in his tone, "Did you come to my study?"
Even though his tone was as friendly as usual, there was a trace of disappointment in his eyes.
Xin He shook her head, utterly confused. "Father, did you want me to come to your study? I left the estate earlier today and just returned. What’s happening here? Has there been a burglary in the study?"
Lord Marquis felt uneasy hearing her words. He turned and looked at Jinxiu, who was still kneeling on the ground. His intense gaze bore into her. "What’s going on?" he demanded.
Jinxiu shivered, clenched her teeth, and confessed boldly, "I genuinely saw Eldest Miss enter the master’s study. Why are you denying it now, Eldest Miss?"
Xin He looked at Jinxiu in astonishment. "You are my chief maid, but you are openly opposing me right now and even slandering me. Are all the servants in Hou Mansion so disloyal?"
Jinxiu’s face turned white immediately. She counteracted, "I am a servant of Le Yuan Hou Mansion. If Miss does something wrong, how could I cover it up thoughtlessly?"
Le Yuanhou’s look darkened further. As Jinxiu was handpicked by the old lady to serve Xin He as her head maid, her primary duty was to be loyal. While she was indeed expected to be loyal to the Hou Mansion, she ought to be even more loyal to her own master.
Now that Jinxiu had gone against Xin He and implicated her in the theft, something was indeed not quite right.
Xin He snorted coldly. "Father, this servant is clearly disloyal. Are you willfully believing a servant’s word over mine?"
Of course, Le Yuan Marquis didn’t believe Jinxiu’s words. He glared at her and commanded, "If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll have you dragged out and beaten until you do!"
Jinxiu became pale with fear and was momentarily stunned, unsure what to do.
Wei Popo hurriedly defended, "Jinxiu may not be lying. After all, who else in the mansion would want to steal Mu Xiang’s indictment? It is rather suspicious that I unintentionally mentioned it to Shulan, and now it’s lost."
Xin He looked at her coldly and lightly said, "Indeed, I find it suspicious too. Today, the evidence implicating Mu Xiang vanished, and conveniently a maid from my household claims that I stole it. Then, Wei Popo, you just happen to tell Shulan about Mu Xiang’s case today. It looks like someone is intentionally trying to set me up."
Wei Popo’s face stiffened, and for a moment, she couldn’t find any words to say. "I...I..." she stammered.
Xin He didn’t wait for her to retort, she directly addressed her father, "Father, the moment I heard about the burglary in the mansion, I ordered it to be locked down and rushed here. I predict that the thief, after stealing the items, would try to escape as soon as possible. Given that the mansion is now sealed off and no one can enter or leave, the thief has nowhere to run. We should perform a thorough search of the mansion to find the thief and the document."
Le Yuan Marquis nodded in agreement, "Xin He makes a valid point. Let’s do as she suggested. What are you waiting for?"
All the guards and servants answered in unison, "Yes!"
They then scattered in different directions to search.
A trace of worry clouded Lady Sun’s eyes, and her heart quivered. She had a feeling that the situation was getting out of her control. What disrupted her more was the whereabouts of that man.
Xin He’s eyes swept over Lady Sun, a hint of a smile played on her lips that was hard to interpret. It sent a shiver down Lady Sun’s spine, giving her a bad feeling.
However, what’s done is done, and everything has been set in motion. Apart from waiting for the result with Xin He, what else can she do?
Lord Marquis’s complexion was not good. He paced back and forth in the study. Some young servants rushed in to clean up, their hands shaking in fear, they were worried that even slightest misstep might provoke their master’s wrath against them.
The atmosphere in the room was oppressive. Xin He casually seated herself in an armchair and calmly said, "Since we’re conducting a search, we should inspect the whole mansion. It would be inappropriate to omit any area. Let’s start from my own courtyard. Getting wrongfully accused is a burden that I cannot bear."
Lord Marquis ordered sternly, "Proceed as Eldest Miss suggested!"
The entire mansion became restless at the news of the impending search. Everyone was not only worried whether the thief had escaped but more importantly, what they would do if the thief was found on their premises.
Lady Sun became even more anxious, and her face became more drawn. She stayed quiet for a while without uttering a word.
Suddenly, a young servant rushed in, "Master, we searched the outer courtyards, but no one was found!"
Lady Sun’s heart skipped a beat. If no one was in the outer courtyards, could the thief possibly be in the inner courtyards?
Another servant arrived, "Lord Marquis, we searched the courtyards of Eldest Miss and all the concubines and found no one."
Lady Sun clenched her hand within her sleeve. The growing sense of foreboding stronger with each report. Suddenly, she stood up and proposed, "Since no one was found, then the thief is likely someone within the mansion!"
Her words pointed directly at Xin He. But Xin He merely blinked during the silent accusation. "The thief hasn’t been found, nor have the stolen items. If it indeed were an insider, how could the goods simply vanish? We still haven’t found them, which means the thief and item must still be hidden somewhere in the mansion."
"Should we hastily conclude without even having searched Father’s and Lady Hou’s quarters or the Second Miss and Eldest Young Master’s courtyards?" Xin He scoffed, anyone hoping to stop the search easily, had their hopes dashed.
Lord Marquis commanded in a deep voice, "Continue the search."
Lady Sun turned pale, and her heart filled with an uneasy feeling. When she looked at Xin He, she saw a hint of a grin on her face, as if she was eagerly anticipating the outcome. All the places have been searched, except for hers. Could the thief indeed be hiding in her courtyard?
The thought terrified Lady Sun, and she felt a chill run down her spine.
After what seemed like ages, the young servant reported back anxiously, "Lord Marquis, we found an unfamiliar man in Lady Marquis’s courtyard."
"Nonsense!" Wei Popo almost jumped in anger. "How could there be an outsider in Lady Marquis’s courtyard? It must be one of us!"
"Indeed, he is an outsider. I cross-checked with the household register, and his name was not there. However, he disguised himself in the attire of a servant from our Le Yuanhou Mansion."
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