Shi Qingxue kept silent for a long time. When Xia Mang almost thought that she tacitly approved, the lady shook her head slowly.
She replied, “I don’t know. I am not sure.”
“Then…” Xia Mang spoke in haste.
Qingxue raised her hand and stopped Xia Mang from asking more, saying simply, “My father said we should talk about everything in the main hall. Let’s go there first.”
When she reached the main hall, all the mistresses in the Shi family had arrived. It appeared to be a trial.
They waited a moment, and Shi Junhe came unhurriedly.
He wasn’t surprised when the main hall was full of people. He just walked slowly to his seat and stated impassively, “Alright. What do you want to say now? Just say it!”
Zhou Ruyu winked at Zhang Qiuyan in secret, and the latter stepped forward, telling him what she had seen last night.
“Brother, what I said is true. If I say something wrong, I will be struck by lightning.” In the end, she vowed solemnly and almost stretched out three fingers to swear.
Shi Junhe listened to her from beginning to end and stayed silent.
After Zhang Qiuyan finished speaking, he expressed casually, “Qiuyan, you’d better not swear randomly. What if you are really struck by lightning?”
Zhang Qiuyan wanted to stress again that what she had said was the truth, but when Shi Junhe looked at her coldly, she felt a shiver down her spine and panicked for no reason.
She was really frightened and stuttered, with no confidence.
Zhou Ruyu was afraid that Zhang Qiuyan would ruin the plan and hurriedly stepped forward, cutting in with sarcasm, “Brother, what are you talking about? We and Hui are sisters-in-law and keep a good relationship. If nothing like this happened, why would we lie and frame her? I know you feel pity for Hui as she is pregnant, but you can’t ignore the difference between right and wrong.”
Shi Junhe didn’t get angry after she commented on him. He just looked indifferent, and nobody knew what he was thinking about.
Shi Qingxue was anxious after waiting for long, so she didn’t want to wait anymore. She retorted Zhou Ruyu coldly, “You said that my mother has an affair with a man, but you didn’t tell us who the man is. Is that the truth as you said?
“What’s more, Aunt Qiuyan said she was in the Valentine’s Pavilion last night, and it’s understandable that she affirmed, but you didn’t go to the pavilion or pick up the gift. How can you be so sure that my mother has an affair?”
Zhou Ruyu was speechless and wanted to say that Zhang Qiuyan had shown the solid evidence and she believed the evidence.
But before Zhou Ruyu replied, Shi Qingxue glared at her and warned her silently, “If you want to harm my mother, don’t blame me when I show no mercy.”
Qingxue stretched out her fingers and waved four of them in front of Zhou Ruyu.
Zhou Ruyu turned pale immediately. Others might not understand what Shi Qingxue meant, but Zhou Ruyu understood.
Shi Zhi was the fourth son in the Shi family.
Zhou Ruyu was a little scared, but on second thought, she had only one chance to defeat Dong Hui. If she missed this chance, she would hardly find another one.
Moreover, so what even if Shi Qingxue knew her secret?
She had no evidence, and if she revealed it, who would believe her?
“Qiuyan has shown the handkerchief with your mother’s name in it. Can it be false?” Zhou Ruyu swelled out her chest and tried hard to be confident.
But after she spoke, she was still weak. She had to turn to Mo Shujun for help. “Moreover, when Qiuyan took out the handkerchief, your mother’s reaction showed that she was guilty obviously. We are not blind. Do you want to fool your grandma?”
Shi Qingxue bit her lower lip and knew that she could hardly explain Dong Hui’s emotional reaction.
Even though she had a silver tongue, she couldn’t easily clarify Dong Hui.
Shi Junhe looked at Zhang Qiuyan and asked coldly, “Who was the man Hui met last night?”
“Ah?” Zhang Qiuyan didn’t expect that Shi Junhe would ask so directly.
Her honest face looked awkward again, and she didn’t know if she should speak out. Then she turned to Zhou Ruyu secretly.
Zhou Ruyu glanced at her in secret, with her fierce eyes, and Zhang Qiuyan was scared to shrink her neck, but she didn’t understand what Zhou Ruyu meant.
Did Zhou Ruyu tell her to say it or not?
Shi Qingxue noticed their eye contacts and moved one step forward to block their eyes.
She questioned Zhang Qiuyan in a cold voice, “Just now when I asked you in the East House, you planned to say that man’s name, but you don’t say it now. Is there something wrong? Otherwise, why did you see my mother clearly but you didn’t see that man’s face?”
Shi Qingxue tried to mislead her. After all, even if Zhang Qiuyan saw that man’s face, it didn’t mean that she knew him.
But Zhang Qiuyan was nervous and couldn’t think. She just thought that she said something wrong.
She gritted her teeth and revealed at a breath, “That man is the Confucian scholar Yan Lü, the student of the famous scholar Dong Biren, Hui’s childhood sweetheart. Brother, you must be familiar with him, right?”
When Shi Junhe heard Yan Lü’s name, he was nervous and didn’t speak.
Shi Qingxue was confused by his abnormal attitude.
She had heard about Yan Lü’s name from childhood.
This man was the most favored student of Dong Hui’s father Dong Biren. He also hated the officialdom, so he learned knowledge from Dong Biren all the time, and his character was similar to Dong Biren’s. He was conservative and stubborn, but he was kind-hearted.
Every time Shi Qingxue went to her maternal grandpa’s mansion when she was a child, she could see Yan Lü and called him Master, and Yan Lü loved her very much. However, Shi Junhe seemed to dislike Yan Lü, and Little Qingxue who defended her father didn’t know the truth, but she still stayed away from Yan Lü.
But now, the words “childhood sweetheart” made her frown.
She couldn’t help but complain, “Mother is too careless. No matter how open-minded the people in the Mo Country are, the childhood sweetheart would easily make others comment.”
And now, the evidence against Dong Hui was in the hands of the enemies, and they would be dragged down at any time.
Qingxue looked up at Shi Junhe and saw that his face was ghastly pale for a long time.
He must be angry.
She thought that it was bad and knew that this matter couldn’t be denied.
At this time, she had a brain wave and suddenly figured out a way.
Although it might not be the best one, it would leave no room for a route for escape so that they would fight for their dear lives out of desperation and eventually won the battle. At least, she couldn’t let these people decide Dong Hui’s crime on the spot.
“Aunt, you said that Master Yan is my grandpa’s student, so he is not an outsider.”
What Shi Qingxue said was shocking. She tried to explain this matter as Dong Hui and Yan Lü once studied together. Even though it appeared to be phony, she made Zhang Qiuyan and the others unable to answer.
After all…
It was common to see her father’s student and keep in touch.
If they didn’t see each other in the Valentine’s Pavilion at midnight.
Zhang Qiuyan goggled and tried to retort, but Shi Qingxue spoke first and continued to mislead them, explaining clearly and logically, “Since he is not an outsider, how can you say that she saw another man secretly?
“What’s more, Master Yan is living in the Dong family’s mansion and stays with my grandpa all the time. Since he came to see my mother, it must be because my grandpa misses my mother, but he can’t walk freely, so he asked Master Yan to send a message to her.”
At the moment, Zhang Qiuyan’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t speak a word.
And even the others were open-mouthed and their jaws almost dropped.
They had seen somebody with a silver tongue, but they saw somebody who was so choplogic for the first time.
Shi Qingxue could call black white and confuse right and wrong, and perhaps nobody was more capable than her.
Even though all people knew that it was not true, they couldn’t find any fault with her or retort her.
Seeing that Zhang Qiuyan was silent again, Zhou Ruyu glared at her in a rage and asked coldly, “How would you explain the handkerchief with the word ‘Hui’?”
Shi Qingxue shrugged and responded indifferently, “She lost it by accident. Who will be always careful, right, Aunt?”
Zhou Ruyu responded, “…This is your mother’s private thing. How can she lose it as she likes? You should find a convincing excuse.”
She just didn’t believe it.
Qingxue didn’t expect her to believe it, and she replied casually, “Nothing is impossible. Last night under the cold frost and heavy dew, people could hardly recognize others. My mother didn’t keep it well and lost it in the Valentine’s Pavilion by accident. And later Aunt Qiuyan picked it up.
“It proves that Aunt Qiuyan and my mother are destined to meet, but it can’t explain that my mother would give the handkerchief to Master Yan. Or do you want to change your mind and say that you saw it?”
“Of course not.” Zhang Qiuyan was forced to this point and had to answer.
“But…”
Shi Qingxue winked at Shi Junhe secretly, and the latter looked dignified, waving his hand to interrupt Zhang Qiuyan. He stated coldly, “Yan Lü is a student of Hui’s father. He saw her at midnight must because there was something urgent at her father’s home, so they sent him to see her.”
“Brother, even if you want to cover up for Hui, you need to find a better excuse.” Zhou Ruyu sneered and sniffed at Shi Junhe’s explanation.
After all, even if there was something urgent, they would tell somebody to send a message to Duke Shi’s mansion. Who would meet in the remote Valentine’s Pavilion at midnight?
Shi Junhe was exposed, but his expression didn’t change. He didn’t even give a glance at Zhou Ruyu. Then he just talked to Mo Shujun distantly. “I think the truth is found. Mother, if you have any doubts, Yan Lü and the Dong family are not outsiders. You can send somebody to ask the Dong family.”
Zhou Ruyu and Zhang Qiuyan were speechless.
Even Mo Shujun goggled and didn’t say anything after a long time.
Shi Qingxue heard that and couldn’t help but give Shi Junhe a thumbs-up sign in secret, praising, “Bravo!”
If they sent people to ask the Dong family, even the idiots knew how to explain to them.
Dong Hui never admitted it, and as long as the Dong family said that they asked Yan Lü to send a message, Zhou Ruyu and the others couldn’t say anything even if this matter appeared to be suspicious.
The storm was settled down by Shi Junhe.
It happened that Xia Mang came in hurriedly and whispered in Shi Qingxue’s ear. Then she gave the lady something sneakily.
Shi Junhe noticed them, but he was far away and couldn’t see what Xia Mang gave to Qingxue. He just found it was like a letter in the distance.
“Ahem… Qingxue!” Shi Junhe called and winked at her.
He asked silently, “What happened?”
Shi Qingxue unfolded the letter and scanned it quickly. Soon she finished reading.
She raised her head and smiled at Shi Junhe slyly with relief. “Don’t worry. I know what I should do.”
Shi Junhe frowned in confusion and stared at Qingxue. He wondered what tricks this girl would play.
Shi Qingxue turned to Zhou Ruyu who was reluctant and staring at them. Suddenly she showed a sweet and charming smile on her pretty face.
Shi Junhe saw that and felt restless. Then he looked at Zhou Ruyu, with compassion in his eyes.