Xiang Lan half-closed her eyes.

Hua Mei cried, “Sister told me that you entered the household unwillingly, forced by Young Master. You harbored hatred for him and dreamed of leaving. But now, Young Master treats you so well – even though he nearly strangled you some days ago, you should still remember his kindness. Why resort to such methods!”

Madam Qin trembled with anger, her face dark as water.

Xiang Lan quickly knelt and said, “Madam, please consider – I’m not the only one who can enter this room. Distinguished maids, young ladies, and even Concubine Mei have all been here. How does this prove I placed the talisman?”

Chang Fa’s wife stepped forward, hands on her hips, saying, “You still dare to argue! Besides you who lives in this room, would Concubine Mei or Miss Ying Ge casually touch Young Master’s pillow in the bedroom? The maids can make beds and fold blankets, but who would harbor such evil intentions – Lian Xin, Ting Lan, Ru Shuang, Nuan Yue, or Chun Ling? Bah! Only you, with your improper appearance, you seductive hussy, know nothing but leading men astray. Young Master elevated you, yet you’re ungrateful even in your blessed position, your heart so black you resent Young Master and use such despicable methods! Madam, quickly take her away for punishment, strip her clothes, and beat her severely with the rod – her kneeling here already dirties the ground!”

Seeing Madam Qin’s face turn purple, Xiang Lan said tearfully, “I dare not argue about my innocence, but Madam has always been generous and reasonable. Please think carefully about my daily conduct in the household – all the maids can see it. Even when Daoist Cui came, I didn’t meet her. When I recently returned home, someone was always watching me – where could I have gotten such a harmful talisman? That’s one point. Secondly, though I’m young and ignorant, and have had arguments with Young Master, he has treated me well – how would harming him benefit me? Thirdly, Young Master shows me some favor and many gossip about it behind my back, so perhaps someone harbors hatred and jealousy and wishes to frame me.”

After these words, though Madam Qin’s expression remained stern, her eyes swept across the surrounding maids, showing she was moved by Xiang Lan’s words.

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Nuan Yue quickly knelt and said, “Reporting to Madam, I have something to say. A few days ago, I vaguely saw Miss sewing something into the pillow. I didn’t think much of it then, but never expected… never expected it would be this…” She wiped her face with her sleeve, secretly rubbing osmanthus oil on her eyes, causing tears to flow continuously.

Hearing this, Madam Qin’s face turned deathly pale. Pointing and cursing, she said, “You seductive, slanderous lowlife, still trying to deceive your masters with clever words! Someone saw you do it, yet you still stubbornly deny it. How detestable! Take her away!”

The servants rushed forward to drag Xiang Lan out. Xiang Lan stubbornly said, “I beg Madam to investigate clearly. If I did this, may heaven strike me with lightning and deny me a peaceful death! I implore Madam to investigate this matter thoroughly. Wronging me doesn’t matter, but if the real culprit goes free, leaving someone with evil intentions by Young Master’s side, what if Young Master is harmed in the future?”

Madam Qin’s heart felt like it was being roasted by a fire, both angry and furious. Hearing Xiang Lan’s words, she swallowed the flames in her throat.

Mother Wu quickly stopped the servants and approached, whispering, “Madam, she makes sense. If we wrongly accuse someone and leave the real culprit in the household, we won’t even know how we’ll die in the future.”

Madam Qin closed her eyes briefly. When she reopened them, her expression was calm and clear. After a while, she said, “You say you didn’t do this – do you have evidence? If not you, then who did it?”

Xiang Lan turned her head, gazing intently at Nuan Yue, “You say you saw me sewing the pillow – what was the scene like? Was anyone else with you who saw it?”

Nuan Yue felt somewhat panicked, her peripheral vision catching Hua Mei’s eye, who was kneeling beside her, only covering her face and crying sorrowfully. She steadied herself and recited her prepared story: “This happened three days ago, I remember it was the morning after Young Master went out to practice martial arts. I was bringing incense cakes to the room. After placing them on the outer table, I glanced behind the screen and saw Xiang Lan sewing at the bedhead. There was no one else in the room then, just the two of us.”

Xiang Lan raised her eyebrows – she had indeed been sitting at the bedhead doing needlework that day. She knew Nuan Yue must have prepared this story, so she wasn’t panicked, but Nuan Yue’s detailed account was difficult to refute, and there were no witnesses to prove her innocence…

She thought for a moment and realized, “Perfect – with no other witnesses, there’s also no one to prove Nuan Yue’s words are true.” She sneered, “Nuan Yue, your lie is well-rounded, but that morning I wasn’t even in the room. I was admiring the chrysanthemums that had bloomed behind the house…”

Before she could finish, someone behind her said, “Reporting to Madam, Xiang Lan speaks the truth – I accompanied her to view the flowers that day!”

Xiang Lan whirled around to see Xiao Juan kneeling stiffly, saying, “That morning I accompanied her to view the flowers. Xiang Lan looked at them for quite a while without saying a word.” After speaking, she glanced at Xiang Lan and lowered her head.

Xiang Lan felt a warmth surge through her heart, her hands clenching inside her sleeves. Turning back, she took a breath and said, “Indeed, that morning I only looked at the chrysanthemums…” Her eyes reddened as she continued chokingly, “Nuan Yue, Young Master once favored you, but later didn’t give you a single glance. You often tried to get close but received no favor. But this isn’t my fault. You used to serve in the outer room, and I let you move to the inner room for your sake, asking you to help Young Master dress and make the bed. How could you frame me like this, repaying kindness with enmity? A few days ago, you were the one who took away the pillowcases to change them…” Before she finished, tears were already falling.

Hua Mei’s heart sank as she lowered her head, thinking, “She was so aggressive earlier, yet now she cries on command. I underestimated her. These days, Nuan Yue specifically watched for when she was alone in the room, but we didn’t expect she would be able to win people’s hearts – even the little maid is willing to give false testimony for her, and she even managed to turn the accusations around.”

Nuan Yue was frightened. Being timid by nature, she pointed at Xiang Lan and cursed, “You, you’re talking nonsense, spitting blood to slander me!” She knocked her head on the ground repeatedly, saying, “Madam, please see, it wasn’t me, it wasn’t me!” Pointing at Xiang Lan, she continued, “It was her, it was her! Xiao Juan is close to her, that’s why she lied! Everyone knows she entered the household unwillingly, crying every few days, getting beaten and scolded for not serving Young Master well, almost losing her life when Young Master strangled her – who else but she would be vicious enough to harm Young Master? Only she would wish Young Master dead.” Being unable to keep her composure, she became flustered and incoherent toward the end.

Madam Qin’s eye twitched slightly.

Hua Mei silently cursed Nuan Yue for being useless. She lowered the sleeve covering her face, her eyes red and expression sorrowful, saying, “Sister, with the evidence and person both caught, why still refuse to admit it until you see the coffin?” She picked up the talisman from the ground and said, “The handwriting on this talisman matches your usual writing exactly – if not you, then who?”

Nuan Yue’s forehead had already turned blue, her eyes darting around frantically as she stammered, “Yes, yes, it was her!”

Hearing this, Madam Qin immediately ordered someone to bring Xiang Lan’s previous writings for comparison, which proved to be identical.

Madam Qin threw the writing in front of Xiang Lan, sneering, “What do you have to say now?”

Xiang Lan’s gaze remained clear as she said, “Please allow me to write a few characters.” She stood up, walked to the table, dipped the brush in ink, and wrote quickly on paper. Bringing it to Madam Qin, she said, “Please look, Madam.”

Madam Qin looked and saw the characters for “die without descendants” written in regular script, cursive script, clerical script, running script, yan script, and seal script. The regular script was further divided into Liu-style, Yan-style, and both large and small characters, all showing elegant structure and powerful strokes.

Madam Qin was shocked. It was already difficult for ordinary noble ladies to master one style of writing, and even Lin Zhang Zheng, a two-time imperial examination graduate, might not be able to write like this. Yet this servant-born girl Xiang Lan could write so freely and gracefully in multiple styles, truly eye-opening.

Xiang Lan knelt down and calmly said, “Madam, please see – though I’m unworthy, I know several writing styles. The regular script on this talisman matches my usual writing, which is why someone could frame me. If I truly had evil intentions, I could have used a different style or deliberately written messily – who would have guessed it was me then?”

Madam Qin looked at Xiang Lan’s beautiful, striking face and met her clear, bright eyes – eyes like cold stars in the sky or like a dark, deep pool that could unconsciously captivate one’s spirit.

Their gazes locked for a moment before Madam Qin looked down at the page of characters in her hand.

Nuan Yue watched anxiously and shrieked, “This must be another of your schemes – just trying to mislead everyone!”

Xiang Lan glanced at Nuan Yue, her gaze seemingly mocking. Suddenly composing herself, she said to Madam Qin, “Madam, I have a few more words to say.”

Madam Qin started, looked at Xiang Lan again, and slightly nodded.

Xiang Lan turned her body, her gaze sweeping over the pale-faced Nuan Yue and the sorrowful Hua Mei, then looking at the kneeling maids and servants. She sighed and said, “No lie can be perfect. I believe in karmic retribution in hell, and I’ve kept some words in my heart for a long time. Since things have come to this, I might as well speak openly before Madam.” Her eyes fixed on Hua Mei as she asked, “Hua Mei, raise your head. Let me ask you – at this hour you should have been asleep, why did you suddenly come to the main room?”

Hua Mei secretly cursed. Though she knew Xiang Lan was eloquent, she had thought her just a crying, bullied weakling. Who knew that at this crucial moment, she would remain composed, overturning her entire plan and creating a chance for survival? With tears in her eyes and teardrops still on her rosy cheeks, she said pitifully, “Sister, your words are so harsh. I heard the commotion in the room and knew something had happened. Worried, I came to look. Seeing this talisman and recognizing the writing, I was terrified. Thinking of how you always harbored resentment toward Young Master, I became emotional in my concern and cried out, feeling Young Master didn’t deserve this and wanting to plead for you…” She continued sobbing, crying miserably, still muttering, “No matter who placed it, their heart is black! My poor Young Master…”