Chapter 33: The Aunt's Poisonous Scheme, Many Maids Frame Fourth Miss

  It seemed like she had realized her own mistake, so Zhang Yun turned around and scolded Xi Yan, saying: "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if there were men's clothes hidden in Fourth Miss's courtyard, it could be a new set of clothes made for Master, why make such a big fuss?" On the surface, she was covering up for Pei Yuansong, but she actually confirmed that there were men's clothes in her courtyard. The word "hidden" was accompanied by an uncontrollable panic expression, and anyone who saw it would think it was a case of trying to cover something up.

  Madam Wen slightly furrowed her brow, her eyes gleaming like a sword as she coldly stared at Zhang Yun and Xi Yan.

  Pai Zhucheng looked at Pai Yuange, who was also surprised, but not panicked. She calmed down slightly and asked, "What's going on? Can a lady's reputation be slandered so casually?"

  Xi Yan suddenly knelt down with a "thud" and said in a panic, "I was wrong, I'm the maid who went to clean up Qing Yu's quarters!" She then turned around and was about to leave.

  "Come back." Pei Yuange spoke up, stood up and bowed to Pei Zhucheng, saying, "Father, tonight's matter is suspicious. If we just cover it up like this, it will instead harm daughter's reputation. Daughter has a clear conscience, please ask father to investigate this matter in front of everyone!"

  Bai Zhucheng nodded in satisfaction. With outsiders present, it was indeed impossible to gloss over the matter vaguely, so he spoke up and demanded a thorough investigation.

  A group of people arrived at the Jingyu Pavilion. A young maid in a peach-red dress was kneeling in front of a cluster of fresh flowers, and when she saw the crowd, she suddenly crawled over on her knees, hugging Pei Yuange's leg and crying out: "Fourth Miss, I was following your orders to handle that piece of clothing, you can't just abandon me! Save me, Fourth Miss, I don't want to die, I really don't want to die!" The man who came forward first confirmed that the clothing was related to Pei Yuange.

  Pei Yuange remained silent, simply looking at Pei Zhoucheng, waiting for him to ask a question.

  A maid had already brought over a red sandalwood chair with black lacquer, and Pei Zhoucheng sat down. Although he was somewhat perplexed by the situation before him, Pei Yuange's calmness put his mind at ease. He lifted his face and coldly asked, "Who will come and tell me the whole story in detail?"

  The little maid looked at Pei Yuange with tearful eyes and kept kowtowing.

  "Your Lordship, the original instruction was for me to deliver some fabric to Fourth Miss on behalf of Madame Zhang. I didn't expect that when I arrived at the courtyard, I saw this maid sneaking around by the flower bushes, doing who-knows-what. I was worried she might be up to no good against Fourth Miss, so I approached her to ask what's going on. This maid spoke nonsense, saying she was acting under Fourth Miss' orders to bury a blue men's garment in the ground without letting anyone else know. Since this is a serious matter, I didn't dare take it upon myself and ordered someone to keep an eye on this maid while I rushed to report back to Madame."

  She listened to her saying that she had something to do with it, and Pei Zhucheng looked at Pei Yuange again. Seeing that she was still calm, he asked: "What about the clothes?"

  Xi Yan pointed to a cluster of peonies that were blooming magnificently and said, "According to what this little girl has confessed, the clothes are buried under these peonies."

  Everyone's gaze was directed at the peony cluster, and the soil at its base showed obvious signs of recent digging and re-burial. Pei Zhucheng felt a bit apprehensive in his heart, but after glancing at Pei Yuange again, he still trusted his daughter more, and said: "Someone, dig up that soil!"

  The robust woman who was originally guarding the little maid immediately fetched a tool to dig a hole, and in just two or three digs, a corner of green clothing appeared from the soil.

  The people present were all stunned, especially Pei Yuange. Her elegant face turned pale, and she let out a mournful cry, rushing forward as if she couldn't believe her eyes, staring repeatedly at the blue corner of the garment, confirming it wasn't an illusion. She then stood there in a daze, unable to speak, until after a long while, she turned around, collapsed to the ground, and wept, saying: "Father, I don't have one! I really don't have one!" She seemed to be so shocked that she couldn't even defend herself, only repeating these two sentences over and over.

  Zhang Yun stood at the back, seemingly shocked on the surface but secretly laughing in her heart.

  This dress was naturally buried here by her to frame Pei Yuange, in the quiet and elegant room, except for Zi Yun, everyone else listened to her. Zi Yun followed Pei Yuange closely, never leaving his side, taking advantage of the fact that neither of them were around, burying a piece of clothing wasn't easy? Today, Pei Yuange didn't return to the quiet and elegant room from start to finish, it's absolutely impossible for him to discover this matter. With men's clothes and a young maid's testimony, ironclad evidence, Pei Yuange's reputation is ruined!

  Zi Yuan's face was also deathly pale.

  Bai Wei had informed on her, and Quan'er was keeping an eye on Bai Zhi. She thought that no matter what poisonous plan Zhang Niang had, it wouldn't come to fruition. So why did the man's clothes still appear? Looking at Miss's expression just now, could it be that something went wrong in between? Suddenly gritting her teeth, she rushed out and knelt down on the ground, knocking her head and saying: "Slave deserves to die, slave deserves to die, please master punish!"

  She suddenly rushed out to apologize, which stunned everyone.

  Bai Zhucheng was wary of the people in Jingyuan Courtyard and saw Zi Yun, warningly saying: "What's going on?"

  "Now that it's come to this, I, a slave, dare not hide it any longer. This garment...this garment was not buried by Miss. It was me...it was me..." Zi Yun, after all, was a chaste and virtuous girl. Although she wanted to help Pei Yuange avoid this calamity, when the words reached her lips, she still found them difficult to utter. Steeling herself, tears streaming down, she said: "I, a slave...I have been intimate with someone. This garment was given to me by my...my lover. I feared being discovered by Miss, so...so I ordered this little maid to bury it here. This matter has nothing to do with Miss. I, a slave...am willing to accept the death penalty!"

  Pei Yuange stared at Zi Yun in shock. In this era, a woman's reputation was as precious as the sky. For her sake, Zi Yun was willing to bear such infamy?

  Want to take the blame for Pei Yuange? You're not worthy! Zhang Yun said disdainfully, and gently asked the little maid: "You say, who told you to handle this dress? Was it Fourth Miss or Ziyun?" When mentioning Fourth Miss, she clearly emphasized her tone.

  The little maid was being teased by Zi Yun and felt dizzy, when she heard Zhang Yun's question, she quickly kowtowed and said: "It's the fourth young lady!"

  "Don't talk nonsense! What does this have to do with Miss?" Zi Yun said sternly, then immediately kowtowed and explained, "Master, please be aware that this clothing is indeed obtained by me, a servant. I must have been mistaken for Miss when I was serving her closely every day, but in fact, it has nothing to do with Miss at all!"

  The little maid finally came to her senses and knew that Zhang Yun wanted to harm Pei Yuange, not Zi Yun. She quickly said: "Tell the master, this dress was indeed given to me by Fourth Miss herself, and she ordered me to get rid of it. At that time, Bai Zhi sister was also present and can be a witness!" In order to increase credibility, she pulled out another witness, anyway, everyone in Jingxuan House was Zhang's person, they would definitely follow her words.

  As expected, Bai Zhi heard this and immediately kowtowed, saying: "Slave's death penalty, slave's death penalty!" Although nothing was said, she had already admitted that the matter was done by Pei Yuange. Zhang Niang had previously said that as long as they could successfully frame the fourth miss, even if they were driven out of the mansion, she would redeem them and restore their freedom, and would also give them a sum of silver, so that they would no longer have to be slaves or servants.

  Bai Zhi took the lead, and the other maids all spoke up, each saying their own words, but they all confirmed that Pei Yuange had committed adultery with a man.

  "You guys are so cruel..." Zi Yun was so angry that she couldn't speak, and a wave of despair hit her heart.

  These people are determined to harm Miss, and even if she comes out to take the blame, they won't let up... What should be done this time? How can we ensure Miss's safety?

  Madam Wen finally couldn't bear it, just about to speak up, when she suddenly saw a faint cold glint flash in Pei Yuange's eyes, seemingly not surprised by the situation before her. Her heart couldn't help but feel suspicious - this matter wasn't entirely without doubt. Given Pei Yuange's cleverness and intelligence within the imperial palace, logically speaking, he shouldn't be so helpless. Could it be that he had another plan?

  Just then, the robust women behind suddenly lost their voices and said: "This, this is not a man's clothes...... This, this is——" The trembling hands held the excavated things, shocked to the point of being pale.

  Digression

  Recommend my friend Miao's rebirth revenge house fighting article "Rebirth of the Marquis House Eldest Daughter", my friend Ning'er's transmigration house fighting strong woman article "Princess of Chu Kingdom", both are already very popular ~O (∩_∩) O~