Chapter 65: Oriole in Pursuit

  Second watch seeking pink!

  As expected, Old Lady Lin shifted her gaze onto Mrs. Lu, "Is it you?"

  Lu immediately vetoed, "How could it be me?!"

  The two maids beside Lu also hastened to say, "That day, Seventh Young Lady did not touch the clothes, but she gave us a Qinghua porcelain vase and told us to pour all the water in the vase onto Fifth Young Lady's clothes!"

  Lin Xing spoke out, hearing the words, and wiped away a tear. "Even if you want to protect your master and clear the name of Eldest Matron, you can't be so vicious. You are Eldest Matron's maidservants, what power do I have to order you around? Furthermore, if I really let you do that, it would clearly be harming Fifth Sister, would you listen to me? And what about evidence? What about the porcelain bottle? You can't just frame me because my aunt isn't here!"

  Lu had previously planned to collaborate with Lin Xingyan, together they would eliminate Lin Ruoyan, so these two maids naturally listened to Lin Xingyan's instructions. That blue and white porcelain bottle was destroyed long ago, where could it still be found?

  But how can these words be said? If they are said, it is equivalent to admitting that the Lu family really wants to harm Lin Ruoyan, and there is no evidence, so nothing can be done to Lin Xiangru, and they will suffer again.

  Those two maids looked at each other in dismay, unable to think of a retort.

  Lu was so angry that she almost vomited blood. She didn't expect to be outsmarted by Lin Xingyan, this little cheap person. Good, really good!

  Liu furrowed his brow deeply.

  She originally thought it was Lu's doing, but later found out that someone had tampered with the clothes using fragrance, and suspected Lin Xiangyan was behind it, after all, everyone knew that Wan Niang was skilled at making fragrances.

  But looking at it now, perhaps Lu was right.

  Because Lin Xingyan didn't have the skill to tamper with clothes, and secondly, she wouldn't be foolish enough to use a method that everyone would think of to frame Ruo Yan.

  It is said that Lu's family framed Lin Xiangru, but it can be passed off as a rumor.

  But why did she feel that something was off?

  Lu also forced herself to calm down and kept thinking about what had happened before.

  She thought of Lin Ruoyan's reaction, who was still crying and disoriented in the palace. With her temperament, she should have locked herself in her room to sulk after returning home, so how could she possibly go analyze with Liu Shi which link went wrong and even find out that it was because of that piece of clothing?

  She thought of the incident where the second wife was caught eavesdropping. The second wife wasn't stupid, if she really wanted to eavesdrop, she wouldn't have sent a familiar maid over, isn't that just asking to be caught?

  This string of events suddenly made Lu realize something.

  It turns out that everything was done by Sanfang! The purpose is to lure her into a trap and give her a devastating blow!

  Lu's eyes turned red with rage, and she cursed: "Liu Yuxin, you have a vicious heart! To frame me, you even sacrificed your own daughter's future!"

  Liu was unwilling to show weakness, "You yourself were caught first and then shifted the blame onto me!"

  Lu was so angry that she couldn't move. But she had no way out.

  These two maids, in order to expose Lin Xiangyan, have already said that it was them who splashed perfume on Lin Ruoyan's body, but they don't have any evidence to prove that it was Lin Xiangyan who did it, so it must be her!

  Old Lady Lin saw this scene and knew what was going on. Whether it was the Lu family's doing or not, she was sure that they had ill intentions towards Lin Ruoyan!

  Absolutely ridiculous!

  "Go back and reflect on your mistakes! Recently, I have handed over all the account books of income and expenditure in the mansion to Yu Xin. Since you are idle every day, thinking of harming people, then I will fulfill your wish!"

  This means to deprive Lu of his right to manage the household.

  Lu's face suddenly turned pale. Liu was also stunned.

  Lu knew that since she married into the Hou Mansion, she had been taking care of all aspects of the mansion. Although she didn't make a small fortune from it, she did an excellent job and never made any mistakes.

  Liu thought she wouldn't be able to do better than her. And indeed couldn't handle such a responsibility.

  Liu realized that Old Lady Lin was trying to give her the upper hand, but was also afraid that if she let Liu off lightly, she wouldn't know when to stop. That's why she said it on purpose, having already anticipated that Liu couldn't possibly take away Lu's position as the head of the household.

  How painstakingly it has been done!

  Liu knew it all along. She could only endure silently, and smiled as she stepped forward: "Mother is really too kind to Yu Xin. Eldest sister-in-law has always been strict with household chores, Yu Xin can't handle it, I'm afraid when the time comes, the Hou Mansion will be in disarray."

  As he spoke, he glanced at Lu with a slanted gaze and chuckled lightly: "Although Elder Sister's actions this time were not very kind, Mother's punishment is also too severe."

  Lu also understood the meaning of Old Lady Lin, she was grateful for Old Lady Lin's kindness, but thinking that she had never done such a thing and was being schemed by Liu, her anger filled the sky.

  "Don't pretend to be what you're not!" Mrs. Lu scolded.

  Liu's face turned cold and she said icily: "Sister-in-law, are you forcing me to compete with you for control of the household?"

  It's okay if she really is like that, who doesn't know that being a housekeeper means making money, and the silver that Lu Shi has "embezzled" over the years isn't small either!

  Lu's face changed immediately.

  Old Lady Lin intervened, "What's all the commotion? You're in the wrong for treating Ruo Jie poorly, how dare you still speak out?! I'll deduct half a year's allowance from you, and have you go back to reflect on your actions. Write a self-criticism report and submit it to me, I want everyone to see it as a warning!"

  This punishment is much lighter compared to handing over the management rights, but for someone like Lu Shi who values face so much, it's also a fairly heavy penalty.

  After all, Lu Shi still had to manage the people of the Hou Mansion in the future. Letting her write a self-criticism that would be shown to everyone else would greatly undermine her authority.

  However, there is an advantage, which is that the people in the Hou Mansion dare not make mistakes easily again. But this has nothing to do with Lu Shi.

  Old Lady Lin's gaze swept to the two trembling maids, "Hou Furen has made a mistake, and you two didn't stop her, but instead helped her do evil. It's really hateful! From today on, go to the outer courtyard laundry room to work. Without my permission, don't take half a step into the inner courtyard!"

  These two were both reliable maids by Lu's side, normally pampered more than the young ladies of ordinary families, and being punished to do hard labor in the laundry room was already quite an ordeal.

  But compared with Tang Mom being beaten to death and Zi Su being drowned in a pond, this punishment is relatively light.

  The two maids also knew and immediately knelt down to thank her profusely.

  Lu's family this time is considered to have suffered a great defeat, returning to the courtyard, angrily smashing all the decorations in the house.

  Liu's wife kept persuading her on the side and it wasn't until half a time had passed that she finally calmed down.

  "Madam, this time we lost a trick, but there's nothing we can do about it now. The only thing we can do is make sure that next time we won't be outsmarted again."

  Lu calmed down and also understood that it was useless for her to spend more time on this matter. She could only take revenge from another place!

  "Go tell the people of the second house that it was the third house who made trouble, and that Qin Shi is not a person to be trifled with. From now on, there will be good shows to watch in this mansion! In short, I will return the humiliation I suffered today to the third house a hundredfold!"

  Lin Zhaoyan and Lin Ruoyan also followed Liu's family on their way back.

  Lin Xingyan left first with great self-awareness.

  "Mother, do you really believe that this is something Madame Hou would do? I find it strange the way Lin Xingyan looked at me just now." Lin Ruoyan's eyebrows were furrowed tightly.

  Although she disliked the Lu family, she didn't want the culprit to go unpunished. Moreover, if it was found out that Lin Xiangyan did this, the punishment would be much heavier!

  Liu's expression was relatively calm, "No matter who did it, your grandmother's attitude is clear, you are still the most unsuitable person to enter the palace. What's most important now is to think about how to restore your image in the empress dowager's mind."

  Lin's mother said: "In my opinion, Old Lady will definitely arrange for the young lady to enter the palace again."

  Liu nodded in agreement and patted Lin Ruoyan on the shoulder, saying: "Next time you enter the palace, be sure to seize the opportunity well, remember not to be calculated by others again."

  Lin Ruoyan's eyes flashed with a fleeting rejection, but her face was solemnly swearing: "I will never see you again."

  Liu then knocked and reminded him again, and then turned to Lin Zhao and said, "What happened this time when you entered the palace? Did Empress Dowager say anything?"

  Lin Ruoyan hastily interrupted, "What can be said? Of course, she will be lavishly praised and even granted the title of County Princess!"

  Liu's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she felt a few points of annoyance in her heart.

  Who was it that forced her to claim Lin Zhao's words as her own child at first? What is going on now!

  She Liu Yuxin has been providing for her food and accommodation for 13 years, taking care of her worries for 13 years. Now it's up to them whether they want to recognize her or not?!

  Lin Zhaoyan saw that Liu's expression was not good, thinking she was blaming her for stealing Lin Ruoyan's thunder, so she lowered her eyes and said: "The Empress Dowager only mentioned it casually, I, Zhaoyan, cannot bear to hear it."

  Liu gazed at Lin Zhao's cautious appearance and felt an inexplicable taste in her heart.

  This girl was originally supposed to be pampered and loved by all, but she ended up like this.

  She was originally going to put down her resentment towards the past, treat her well and arrange a good family for her, but so many branches grew out of it.

  Heaven's will is playing tricks on people!

  I hope the empress dowager is just a temporary obsession and won't cause any more trouble that will ruin this child's life.

  "That's good, some things are not for you to touch, and don't even think about it. Live a stable life, after the matter with Ruo'er is over, mother will start looking for a match for you."

  Lin Zhaoyan nodded obediently.

  It's better to get married early and marry into a stable family, so you can live a peaceful life afterwards.

  Qingfang Pavilion arrived, Lin Zhaoyan took the lead in saying goodbye.

  Lin Ruoyan and Liu continued walking towards Luyu Hall.

  Lin Ruoyan asked Liu, "Really want to be a matchmaker for Lin Zhaoyan?"

  Liu nodded.

  Lin Ruoyan suddenly felt a little reluctant in her heart.

  If Lin Zhaoyan gets married, it will be hard for her to see him again. In the future, there won't be anyone else who can tolerate her bad temper and still give her warmth even when she's at her worst.

  She blinked her eyes, and her nose was a bit sour. "That mother must choose carefully, I don't want her to cry and cry after marrying someone and come back to the house to ask us to solve her troubles!" She said stubbornly.