Everyone was intrigued by her unfinished sentence and wanted to see what would happen next.
Madam Ling then spoke up at the opportune moment, "What's wrong? Is there some difficulty?"
"I originally bought the golden nanmu Buddha statue as a birthday gift for the old lady. But I never expected that the Buddha statue would disappear the day before the birthday banquet. I searched the whole courtyard but couldn't find any trace of it. It's really unbelievable."
As Song Zhiyu spoke, she glanced at Shen Jinhua out of the corner of her eye, her eyes crinkling with a smile, "Fourth Sister, where do you think this Buddha statue could be?"
This ambiguous statement made Shen Jinhua uneasy. She was afraid that Song Zhiyu would reveal in public that she was involved in the matter of the switched gifts, and her heart jumped into her throat.
Her expression was somewhat unnatural, and she said dryly, "Perhaps it was stolen by some dishonest servants. Second sister, you must keep a close eye on the servants in the courtyard and never let them climb over your head."
Upon hearing this, Song Zhiyu scoffed inwardly, a dark glint flashing in her eyes before disappearing in an instant. "Then, according to Second Sister's plan, if we catch the person who stole the Buddha statue, what should we do with them?"
“This kind of thieving lackey should be given twenty lashes and then sold off to teach him a lesson.” Shen Jinhua was completely unaware that Song Zhiyu was setting a trap for her, and she got more and more excited as she spoke.
Song Zhiyu hesitated, "This...isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
"What's wrong with that? Not reporting it to the authorities is already an extraordinary act of leniency," Shen Jinhua retorted sharply, providing Song Zhiyu with many ideas for punishing the thieves.
She completely forgot what she had done, and as she talked, she even fooled herself.
"Then once we catch that thief, we'll do as Fourth Sister wishes," Song Zhiyu replied casually, her gaze devoid of warmth.
The words Shen Jinhua uttered will soon become boomerangs, piercing her own heart.
But there are more important things to do right now.
Song Zhiyu curled her lips, glanced at Shen Jinhua, and subtly steered the conversation to the key point, "Look at me, I've talked so much with Fourth Sister that I've delayed your time to congratulate the Old Madam. I suppose the brocade box on Fourth Sister's table is the congratulatory gift for the Old Madam."
“Indeed, this jade ruyi is the gift I want to give to the old lady.” Shen Jinhua nodded arrogantly, opened the brocade box and displayed the jade ruyi to everyone.
The jade ruyi in her hand was a warm and delicate mutton fat white, with a few strands of light green showing through it. The handle was slender and slightly curved, like a lingzhi mushroom, and was exquisitely carved with smooth lines.
At first glance, it instantly captured the hearts of the guests present.
“If I’m not mistaken, this jade ruyi is one of Master Qian Yuan’s masterpieces.” The guest rubbed his eyes, finally confirming his guess.
"Since Master Qianyuan passed away, no one has seen this jade ruyi again. I never expected it to be in Miss Shen's hands."
"..."
Hearing the continuous exclamations of praise, Shen Jinhua smiled and proudly nodded her chin. "Indeed, this jade ruyi is a genuine work by Master Qianyuan, and I acquired it by chance."
Jade is believed to have health benefits, and a jade ruyi (a type of scepter) is said to ward off evil spirits, bring good fortune, and prolong life. Hearing that the old lady has been feeling quite tired lately, Jinhua wished to give her this jade ruyi, hoping it would be of some use to her, in a small way.
Her words were clever; they pleased Old Madam Ling while also promoting her own reputation for kindness and gentleness—a win-win situation.
To Shen Jinhua's surprise, Old Madam Ling's face showed no emotion, she simply said calmly, "You're very thoughtful."
Shen Jinhua was stunned for a moment, not understanding why Old Madam Ling reacted this way.
Just moments ago, Madam Ling could smile and praise Song Zhiyu's worthless painting, but when it came to her, she only offered a faint remark.
Shen Jinhua was unwilling to give up, so she continued, "The reason why I was able to get this jade ruyi was entirely due to a liking for it and my sincere heart."
Otherwise, why would my second sister have seen the jade ruyi before me, yet the old man sold it to me? Of course, I'm not saying my second sister wasn't sincere.
Her last sentence seemed like a cover-up, as she praised herself while simultaneously putting down Song Zhiyu.
Shen Jinhua's sarcastic and eccentric behavior made Old Madam Ling, who was already dissatisfied with her, even more disgusted with her.
It's one thing to try and fool her with a fake, but to secretly mock Song Zhiyu for not being as sincere as her is truly beneath her dignity.
But others couldn't resist her charm, their scrutinizing gazes lingering on the two of them with inscrutable expressions.
How insincere must one be to allow someone to surpass another? It's such a waste of Madam Ling's sincere feelings for Song Zhiyu.
No wonder the Marquis of Chengen's family disliked Song Zhiyu, their biological daughter; it turns out everything was foreshadowed.
Shen Jinhua listened with satisfaction to the chatter of the surrounding guests, and her displeasure at being neglected by Old Madam Ling lessened somewhat.
"Second sister shouldn't be upset that I told you this, after all, we're all family, and you should naturally have a share of this gift."
Song Zhiyu gave a forced smile and retorted, "So you want me to tell everyone what methods you used to block my way back to the manor, and then get there first and buy this jade ruyi?"
"The money and goods are settled. Whoever pays first naturally gets it. How can you say it's a robbery?" Shen Jinhua naturally refused to admit it. If Song Zhiyu were capable, this jade ruyi wouldn't have ended up in her hands.
Ultimately, she was still the better one.
Shen Jinhua was secretly pleased with herself; she had finally trampled Song Zhiyu under her feet.
"It was clearly you..."
Before Lu Bai could finish her rebuttal, she was interrupted by a deep male voice that seemed capable of shattering eardrums, "Wait! This jade ruyi seems to be fake."
His words caused a huge uproar. The man's aged and deep voice was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, leaving everyone stunned and speechless.
"What nonsense are you spouting? I spent a lot of money to buy this jade ruyi, how could it be fake?" Shen Jinhua glared at the silver-haired old man who walked out of the crowd. She had never seen this man in any aristocratic family before, so she figured his status was not as high as that of the Marquis's family.
The old man spoke gently, showing no displeasure at being offended by Shen Jinhua. “The jade ruyi made by Master Qianyuan is more lustrous and delicate in color than yours. If you don’t look closely, you certainly won’t notice the difference.”
He initially thought the jade ruyi in the girl's hand was a genuine work by Master Qian Yuan, but the more he looked at it, the more he felt something was wrong. No matter how well it was imitated, it was still different from the real thing.
After careful observation, the old man finally confirmed his guess.
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