Chapter Thirty-Three Analysis

  She pushed open the door and entered the courtyard.

  The scene in the courtyard was extremely chaotic, with shards of porcelain and wood chips, clothes, shoes and socks, and even some jewelry scattered all over the ground.

  Lin Ruoyan was standing in the middle of the courtyard, her hair disheveled and her eyes red and swollen, as if she had been heartbroken to the extreme.

  Lin Zhaoyan's heart ached and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

  She can understand Lin Ruoyan's feelings, if today, Man Shuang or Man Hua died inexplicably, she would also be reckless and determined to investigate the truth.

  Liu stood frozen in the corridor, her gaze at Lin Ruoyan was both disappointed and heartbroken.

  "Is your concubine more important than your brother's future and your own reputation?!"

  She was forced by Lin Ruoyan and had no choice but to tell her what happened last night, just wanting to let her know that Zisu deserved it, who would have thought she would make an even bigger fuss.

  She was actually informed of the matter last night and was shocked. To think that Xuan Ge had not yet married, if it were to be known that he had an affair with his cousin's maid on his cousin's grandmother's birthday, his reputation would be ruined!

  Moreover, Zi Su is a maid by Ye Jie's side, and if this gets out, people will only say that Ye Jie is not good at teaching her subordinates, and may even mistakenly think that Ye Jie is also a shameless person.

  She didn't have the intention of marrying Ruo Si to Xuan Ge, so when this happened, Ming Lan asked her how to deal with it, whether to send her to the Zhuangzi or simply give her to Xuan Ge. She chose to execute Zi Su without hesitation.

  It's not that she is heartless, but rather that only a dead person would not stir up any waves.

  She thought that Zisu was just a servant girl, even if she died for no reason, giving her family some comforting silver would be enough, and it wouldn't have much of an impact.

  She never expected her daughter would have such a big reaction!

  Lin Ruoyan wiped away the tears on her face, stubbornly saying: "Zi Su is not that kind of person, she was framed, she died unjustly! If I don't help her find out the truth and clear her name, I will be uneasy for the rest of my life!"

  Liu's breathing quickened, and she laughed instead, "Fine, fine, you want to investigate, you want to investigate! You investigated, and it will be the entire Hou Mansion that loses face, it will be your older cousin and his wife who lose face! Your older cousin is not yet married, and now during the national mourning period, he still wants to take the imperial examination. If such a scandal gets out, do you think anyone will still dare to marry him? And how can he stand firm in court afterwards? At that time, don't say you'll feel guilty, your uncle and aunt will also hate you to death!"

  "If Brother Lin really did such a thing, then he would be getting what he deserves!" Lin Ruoyan gritted her teeth, and seemed to put the blame for Zi Su's death on Liu Wenxuan's head. Then she said: "But if he was also being framed by someone, how could he not be understood by the world?!"

  "Who framed him?! He just got drunk and did something wrong! And what's the injustice to Zi Su? She was trying to climb up the social ladder, but her scheme didn't work out, that's why she jumped into the lake and killed herself!"

  "Not true." Before Lin Ruoyan could refute, Lin Zhaoyan stood up and said in a calm tone, "It was I who asked Zi Su to visit her brother last night, there's no question of her having ulterior motives."

  Lin Ruoyan only then discovered her, with flames of anger shooting out from her eyes, "Lin Zhaoyan! Didn't you say last night that you were going to watch Wenxuan's older brother with Zisu?! Where did you go?!"

  "Calm down first, don't vent your anger on me." Lin Zhao Yan looked at her and said as calmly as possible: "The matter with Zi Su was an accident, but it can also be said to be man-made. In short, I will help you investigate the truth together."

  "Speak clearly!" Liu's voice was urgent. "What are you meddling in again? Where were you last night, do you know anything?"

  Lin Zhaoyan ignored Liu's anger and said calmly, "Mother, this matter must be investigated. Because the person behind it all wants to harm is not Zi Su, not my brother, but... Ruo Yan."

  "What?" Liu and Lin Ruoyan were both startled.

  Lin Zhaoyan nodded, "The past is gone, arguing is useless. Let's calm down first and talk again when we get back to the house."

  She knew that the death of Zisu last night was more than half caused by Liu, because Ma was not such a ruthless person. Even if something like this happened, Lu would not have taken Zisu back, and at most, she would have been sold out of the house.

  Only Liu would, for the sake of Lin Ruoyan's reputation and the future prospects of her natal family's children, do something so ruthless.

  She didn't want to pursue the truth about Zi Su's death, it was just to make Liu Shi and Lin Ruoyan mother and daughter estranged, let Wan Niang and Lin Xiangyan get their way, and make her even more like walking on thin ice.

  She wants to investigate who is secretly manipulating and framing Sanfang and Lin Ruoyan.

  The three women returned to the house. Liu and Lin Ruo Yan both tried their best to suppress their anger, staring at Lin Zhao Yan and asking: "What do you know exactly?"

  Lin Zhaoyan then analyzed last night's situation for them one by one.

  She didn't say it was because she felt uneasy and paid attention, nor did she mention the encounter with Lu Yan. She only said: "Last night's birthday banquet was unusually noisy. According to reason, since there is a funeral in the imperial palace, this birthday banquet should just be a gesture, not so grandly celebrated. But last night at the table, there were several people who seemed to be unscrupulously, and the male guests could hear the constant sound of being urged to drink. Although I left for a while later, when I came back, I heard that my grandmother had also drunk a few more cups. My grandmother has always been strict with etiquette, so she must have been persuaded by someone."

  Liu furrowed her brow, "The man who was persuading the guest to drink on that side is your second uncle and his wife. Your grandmother would also drink because your second aunt often mentioned a few words about your aunts and Sixth Princess."

  "That's right." Lin Zhaoyan nodded, "Mother, do you still remember that Grandmother asked you to send Big Brother to rest, but Second Aunt stopped you from going, and then she went herself? After that, she seemed to have come back, but also left again?"

  "My second aunt said she felt stuffy in the chest and wanted to go out for some fresh air." Lin Ruoyan replied.

  "There's no such thing as being stuffy or not, I think she was sent by her grandmother to take care of her cousin Red String Sister. The reason she insisted on sending her cousin over herself earlier was just to get familiar with the route, so that after something happened, she could rush over at exactly the right time and expose the ugly truth."

  "That's her son! Impossible!" Lin Ruoyan denied without thinking.

  Lin Zhaoyan couldn't help but laugh softly, with a subtle undercurrent in his eyes.

  "If it were Zisu, that would be impossible. Before your brother got married, having an ambiguous relationship with his sister-in-law's maid would naturally not be good for his reputation. But what if it was you, as the young lady of the Marquis' household? What if you and your brother had a relationship, wouldn't the Marquis' household have to cover it up? And wouldn't you then only be able to marry him? At that time, there would be no worries about marriage or career prospects. Why wouldn't your aunt be willing? She could even use this matter to control you and your mother after marriage. Wouldn't this be a wonderful outcome?"

  Lin Ruo Yan was shocked speechless.

  Although she was reluctant to believe that her second aunt, who had always been kind to her, would use such vicious means to frame her, Lin Zhaoyan's analysis made sense and forced her to believe.

  Second Aunt has a motive, and Second Aunt's behavior last night was also unusually suspicious!