Chapter 210: “Are You Going to Protect Her?”

“Why?”

Lord Lu’s expression became serious.

Leng Qing Yu took Lord Lu’s hand and softly said, “Lord Hou, think about it. This hairpin has never been worn by me in all these years. It has always been locked in the warehouse. How did it end up in this woman’s hands?”

“That…”

Lord Lu couldn’t respond.

Leng Qing Yu continued, “When something valuable from the household is lost, it must be an inside job. I suspect that not only is a hairpin missing from the warehouse, but other items are also gone.

A single hairpin isn’t a huge loss.

But if the precious antiques and paintings from the warehouse are gone, wouldn’t we be facing a huge loss?

That’s why I say this woman can’t leave. If she escapes now, finding her in the future will be nearly impossible.”

“What do you mean, Madam?” Lord Lu asked.

Leng Qing Yu replied, “What I mean is, we should take this woman to the authorities for interrogation.

Then, we’ll send someone back to the house to take an inventory of the warehouse and compare it to the original dowry list to see what exactly is missing.

Even if she didn’t steal them, she must be connected to this, and I believe the authorities can get the truth out of her.”

Ning Yu Er, hearing this, turned pale in fright. She quickly crawled forward and repeatedly kowtowed to Lord Lu, crying out, “I’m innocent! I’m innocent, Lord Hou! I can’t go to the authorities, I can’t go to prison!”

Lord Lu had never seen Ning Yu Er like this.

They had known each other since they were young, and Ning Yu Er had always been as bright as the stars in the sky.

When had she ever been in such a sorry state?!

Seeing Lord Lu hesitate, Ning Yu Er thought that he was unwilling to help her for the greater good.

She hurriedly said, “Lord Hou, I have a child at home who is still waiting to take the imperial exams. If I go to prison, my child’s future will be ruined!

My son is innocent, he’s the best child in the world. I can’t let him suffer, Lord Hou!”

Ning Yu Er’s emotional outburst tugged at Lord Lu’s heartstrings.

He looked back at Leng Qing Yu, and there was a trace of resentment in his expression.

All of this was because of a hairpin. Why was she being so relentless?

Leng Qing Yu noticed his gaze but remained unmoved.

She smiled gently, while inwardly mocking:

Looks like he’s feeling guilty.

But the more guilty days are probably yet to come.

Lord Lu’s mind raced. At this moment, he absolutely couldn’t let Ning Yu Er go to the authorities, but he also had to give Leng Qing Yu an explanation.

Just as he was caught between two choices, the old madam of the Lu family arrived.

“What is going on here? This is a Buddhist temple, don’t you fear the Buddha’s wrath?”

“Sun Mama, take the guests outside.”

With a command from the old madam, the Lu family’s servants began to usher the onlookers out.

The curious commoners had no choice but to leave for now, though some lingered nearby, eager to know the final outcome.

Some, wanting a better view, even climbed trees outside the courtyard walls.

After the crowd had been cleared, the old madam finally spoke:

“Leng, you’re becoming more and more unreasonable.”

Before arriving, she had already heard from the maids about what had happened, so she hurried to intervene.

The relationship between her son and Ning Yu Er couldn’t be exposed to Leng Qing Yu. If necessary, she, as the mother-in-law, had to step in to suppress things.

“You’re quarreling over a hairpin with a common woman. Where do you think that leaves the face of our Hou family?”

Leng Qing Yu was not polite, and directly responded, “Face is something earned by oneself, it goes wherever it should.”

Lady Lu was choked by these words, trembling with anger, and felt even more heartbroken as she looked at Ning Yu Er, who was still kneeling on the ground.

Before she could speak again, Ye Xin Ran said, “Grandmother, don’t worry, look. The officers are here. The officials will handle this matter.”

Lady Lu looked up and indeed saw several constables coming in their direction.

When the constables saw Lord Lu and Lady Lu, they immediately bowed.

Lady Lu was so angry her eyes turned red, and she shouted at Ye Xin Ran, “Who told you to report to the authorities!”

Ye Xin Ran looked innocent, “If something was stolen, of course, it should be reported to the authorities!

What my mother said is right: when you see a mouse in a house, there may already be a nest of mice.

Similarly, when you discover a hairpin is missing, the warehouse may already be half emptied by someone.

Grandmother, some of these dowries will also belong to me in the future, of course, I should care!”

“Ridiculous!”

Lady Lu slammed her cane on the ground.

“You don’t need to wrong others. This hairpin was taken by me!”

She actually took the responsibility herself.

Leng Qing Yu was not surprised.

She just asked, “Mother, why would you take my dowry? If others find out, they’ll laugh at our Hou family behind our backs.”

Admitting such a thing was also hard for Lady Lu, but she was still angrily retorting, “You didn’t come back last month, should our household just stop functioning?

The second and third sons’ monthly allowances are what you promised to give, so it naturally comes from your warehouse. I just took a few things from it.

This is our family’s affair, why drag an innocent woman into it?”

The constables were all looking at each other, confused.

It seemed that Lady Lu wanted them to take the woman away.

But Lady Lu also didn’t want that.

What should they do now?

The lead constable looked at Lord Lu, seeking his opinion.

Lord Lu could only speak up, “Thank you all for your hard work. We will handle this matter within our family.”

But Leng Qing Yu stopped him, saying, “Ting En, I still think something isn’t right.”

“What’s not right now?”

Lord Lu wanted to ask, “What’s so wrong that can’t be discussed at home?”

But in front of so many people, he had to maintain his image and couldn’t say such things to Leng Qing Yu.

Leng Qing Yu replied, “Mother said she gave the items from my warehouse to the second and third houses,

but just now this woman said that this hairpin was a token of love given to her by her husband! The timeline doesn’t match.

Mother must have remembered it wrong! This hairpin wasn’t what she took!”

“It’s me who remembered wrong, it’s me who remembered wrong!”

Ning Yu Er, kneeling on the ground, quickly spoke up, “This hairpin was one I bought a few days ago in the street, it’s not the one my husband gave me.”

“You keep changing your story. There must be a big problem here.”

Leng Qing Yu said, then turned to look at Lord Lu:

“Ting En, I still think we should send her to the authorities for interrogation!

At least she should clarify where she bought this hairpin and when. If the details match, then it will prove she’s not lying.

Ting En, you wouldn’t want to protect her, would you?”