Chapter 62 – Young but Not Lacking in Cunning

Shen Lan saw that Xia Tian was not cooperating, so she had no choice but to compromise. Otherwise, Xia Tian might stop playing later, and there would be no chance at all.

Xia Tian snorted inwardly. “Ha, does she think I’m stupid? Just because it’s personal property doesn’t mean I can casually hand it over.”

If someone came knocking with that item later, she’d have proven that she didn’t give it out privately. Wouldn’t that just bring trouble upon herself?

Besides, she had just overheard their plot to frame her, and yet, they still tried to trick her. Wasn’t that asking for trouble?

The plan failed, and Shen Lan along with a few other companions started coming up with new ideas.

Sure enough, before the throwing of the arrows even ended, someone had thrown something.

The one who threw it was the legitimate daughter of the third household, Shen Yi. Her “buyao” (hair ornament) was missing. That had been a birthday gift from her mother, with embedded gems—it was precious!

Xia Tian rolled her eyes in silence. “Oh, they’re at it again, trying to frame me!”

As expected from children raised in a big family—though young, they weren’t lacking in cunning.

Over at the side, Shen Lan saw that Shen Yi looked like she was about to cry, and she hypocritically comforted her. “We’ve been at the pavilion by the water all along; the item definitely couldn’t have been lost. We’ll find it for sure.”

While speaking, she glanced in Xia Tian’s direction, her words intentionally or unintentionally hinting, “If anyone sees it, please bring it out immediately. It’ll be bad if it’s found later during the search.”

Although Xia Tian was sure she hadn’t taken it, she couldn’t afford to be careless. What if someone took advantage of her momentary distraction and planted it on her?

She calmly checked herself. Hmm, nothing. For now, she could relax.

Seeing that no one had brought anything forward, Shen Lan ordered her maid to guard the door of the pavilion, not allowing anyone to leave.

She then arranged for her personal maid to come over and search everyone.

Surprisingly, no one objected. This felt way too obvious!

“This isn’t right, is it? There are other men here, shouldn’t the search be done separately by gender?” Xia Tian couldn’t hold back any longer. “Are you treating us like fools?”

“And,” she added, “since something has been lost, shouldn’t we first ask a few questions?”

“What for? I, the legitimate daughter of the Wuanhou residence, would never falsely accuse anyone over a mere buyao!” Shen Yi responded, displeased.

“I’m not accusing anyone, just asking you—are you sure you wore the buyao today? Are you sure you lost it here?” Xia Tian narrowed her eyes and asked.

“I’m sure!” Shen Yi snapped back, embarrassed and angry.

“Fine, then if we’re going to search, no one should be excluded,” Xia Tian declared.

“Are we men supposed to be searched as well?” Shen Ke asked.

“Of course. Who knows if any of you might be scheming and hiding something inappropriate?” Xia Tian said, a wry smile on her face as she glanced at Shen Lan and Shen Yi.

The two looked away, no longer daring to stare at her.

Shen Lan ordered Shen Ke to take the other men to search the neighboring pavilion, while her maid went to search the girls.

“Hold on, it’s inappropriate for you to have your own people conduct the search, isn’t it?” Xia Tian objected.

“What’s wrong with that? Do you think I’d steal from myself?” Shen Lan retorted, annoyed.

“Everyone here has a potential motive. To be fair, I suggest we bring someone from Ruixuan Hall to conduct the search. That way, there will be a witness,” Xia Tian suggested.

Shen Lan glared at her but sent someone to Ruixuan Hall to fetch someone.

Xia Tian subtly signaled Ning Xue to check herself. Ning Xue shook her head imperceptibly. She had already checked herself when she first heard about the missing item. Growing up in such an environment, she was aware of these framing tactics.

Xia Tian thought about it. Though they hadn’t found anything yet, she couldn’t let her guard down. She scanned the faces of everyone present, and when she saw that Shen Yi’s maid looked nervous, she knew something was off.

Before long, the person arrived—an elderly woman and a young girl, both from the old madam’s side.

They greeted everyone, and after listening to Shen Lan’s brief recounting of events, they prepared to start the search.

The elderly woman, Zhang, sat to one side while the young girl, Mu Jin, began the search.

“Who will go first?” Zhang asked solemnly.

Seeing no one step forward, Mu Jin was about to start from the left side.

“Since we must go in order of age, the eldest sister should lead the way!” Shen Lan suddenly spoke up.

Xia Tian’s eyes flashed. “Mu Jin, since it was Lan sister and Yi sister who suggested the search, to avoid controversy, I think it would be best if they started first. What do you think?”

“Would I steal from myself?” Shen Yi retorted angrily.

“Who knows?” Xia Tian smirked.

“Fine, then let’s do it,” Shen Lan said, stepping forward.

Mu Jin, not one to oppose, was preparing to move forward when Xia Tian spoke again, unhurriedly, “Mu Jin, for your own peace of mind, it would be better if we check you first. This way, no one will suspect that something was planted on them during the search.”

Mu Jin was taken aback. She hadn’t considered that possibility. Who would dare falsely accuse someone from the old madam’s side?

However, what Xia Tian said made sense. What if…?

After Mu Jin had been checked, the search continued.

Nothing was found on Shen Lan or Shen Yi, and they exchanged smug glances.

Xia Tian smiled. “Since you’re so proud, let’s see how long you can keep that up.”

“Mu Jin, what about their maids?” she asked.

Just as Mu Jin was about to turn around, she paused.

Xia Tian continued, “Since Yi sister’s things aren’t on her, we should check her maid as well, just to set an example for Ameveryone.”

Shen Yi’s maid, Liu’er, who had been quietly slipping back, stopped in her tracks and slowly stepped forward under the scrutinizing gazes of the others.

Before Mu Jin could make a move, the young girl began to tremble. When the buyao was found on her, Liu’er couldn’t hold her balance and collapsed to the ground.

She was just a 12 or 13-year-old girl, after all. No matter how composed she tried to be, there was still some guilt.

Shen Yi’s face turned red with embarrassment when the trick was exposed. “You little maid, you could have just said you had it. You made me think it was lost.”

Liu’er, hearing her mistress’s words, quickly apologized tearfully, “Mistress, I’m so sorry. I forgot.”

“Humph, careless as always. If there’s a next time, I’ll tell your family to send you away!” Shen Yi scolded.

“Thank you, Mistress. I’ll be more careful in the future,” Liu’er bowed and quickly stood up.

Xia Tian watched the master and maid’s performance with a cold eye, suddenly feeling that this whole scene was quite boring.

Why waste her time watching this drama? Wouldn’t it be better to copy some books?

“Since the item has been found, I’ll return to inform the old madam, so she won’t worry,” Zhang said, standing up slowly.

“Yes, thank you, Mammy, and thank you, Mu Jin, for personally running this errand,” Shen Lan said, smiling as she walked over and affectionately linked her arm with Zhang’s, slipping a bulging pouch into the sleeve of the elderly woman.

Xia Tian watched as Zhang and Mu Jin walked off, saying nothing further.

They were family. Even if something went wrong, they wouldn’t side with an outsider like her.

As long as this didn’t fall on her, she had no stake in how they handled it.