Many coincidences in this world that appear so at first glance are actually inevitable. Luo Chen naturally hadn’t gone to the lakeside for no reason—he had encountered Hong Dou.

At that time, Hong Dou’s steps had been hurried, her face fierce, frightening Luo Chen into thinking the little maid was off to snatch men on the street for her mistress again. That was why he stopped Hong Dou to ask.

Hearing Hong Dou say she was returning to the room to fetch melon seeds and that her young lady was still waiting by the lakeside, Luo Chen thought it over and felt it wasn’t very reliable. His legs moved beyond his control toward the lakeside.

At the lakeside, he saw Luo Sheng dozing off. He breathed a sigh of relief while preparing to turn and leave immediately.

He didn’t care about what happened to Luo Sheng at all—as long as she didn’t cause trouble and make him lose face, that was enough.

But just then, Luo Chen saw Sheng Jialan walking toward the lakeside, and then he witnessed with his own eyes the dozing Luo Sheng being pushed down by Sheng Jialan.

After Luo Chen finished speaking, the room was so silent a pin drop could be heard. A moment later, Sheng Jiayu broke the suffocating quiet.

She stared at Sheng Jialan with wide eyes, her face filled with disbelief: “Second Sister, was it really you who pushed Luo Sheng into the lake?”

Sheng Jialan didn’t respond, only covering her mouth while shaking her head and shedding tears. That solitary pearl earring swayed back and forth with her head shaking, lightly patting against her ashen cheek.

Sheng Jiayu seemed to think of something and called out loudly: “That’s not right!”

She pointed at Sheng Jialan, her voice urgent: “Second Sister returned to search for her lost earring. If she harbored thoughts of harming Luo Sheng, how could there be such a coincidence?”

Luo Chen frowned, his eyes showing the sharpness of youth: “Elder Cousin doesn’t believe me?”

Sheng Jiayu bit her lip awkwardly: “It’s not that I don’t believe Cousin, it’s just that there’s clearly something strange about this matter. We should clarify it before—”

Hong Dou sneered: “Just now, Eldest Cousin rushed in saying our young lady pushed your sister into the lake without asking anything. Could it be that your sister is a precious sister, but someone else’s elder sister isn’t a precious elder sister?”

Hearing these words, Luo Chen’s face darkened, anger rising in his heart.

Whose precious elder sister? This little maid was simply talking nonsense!

A slightly cold voice rang out: “If Cousin wishes to clarify, then I’ll make it clear.”

Luo Sheng walked step by step toward Sheng Jiayu, stopping before her.

Sheng Jiayu instinctively retreated half a step: “What do you want to say?”

Luo Sheng extended two fingers, her tone unhurried: “Harming someone falls into two categories—one is acting on impulse, the other is long premeditation. Perhaps Sheng Jialan truly lost her earring and came back to search for it. Seeing me sitting by the lakeside asleep, she had an evil thought and pushed me into the lake. In that case, her return to search for the earring couldn’t be called a coincidence. Does Cousin think what I’m saying is correct?”

Although Sheng Jiayu was very unwilling to give Luo Sheng face, she still reluctantly nodded, asking unwillingly: “What about long premeditation? Second Sister’s earring was lost here at Grandmother’s. When she lost the earring, she couldn’t have known you’d be dozing by the lakeside.”

Luo Sheng smiled slightly.

Sheng Jiayu couldn’t help but freeze.

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but in her impression, Luo Sheng hadn’t smiled in a very long time.

Just as Sheng Jiayu was in a daze, Luo Sheng raised her hand toward her ear.

“What are you doing?” Sheng Jiayu retreated a step, demanding sternly with both voice and expression, her heart pounding.

With Luo Sheng’s unreliable temperament, she wouldn’t be thinking of scratching her face, would she?

Luo Sheng’s action undoubtedly captured everyone’s full attention. They saw her open her hand, revealing in her palm a red coral bead earring.

Sheng Silang cried out: “Elder Sister, you’re missing an earring!”

Sheng Jiayu instinctively raised her hand to feel—indeed, one earlobe was completely bare.

“You, what are you doing?” Sheng Jiayu was both puzzled and shocked with anger.

Luo Sheng didn’t answer her, but casually tossed the red coral bead earring.

The small earring traced an arc through the air, landing at the foot of the screen embroidered with pine trees, cranes, and longevity.

Old Madam Sheng spoke: “Sheng’er, what are you doing?”

Standing at the room’s entrance, Sheng Dalang’s eyes flickered slightly as he looked deeply at Luo Sheng.

He roughly guessed Cousin Luo’s meaning. This Cousin Luo seemed far more intelligent than his impression of her.

Having guessed Luo Sheng’s thoughts, Sheng Dalang remained composed, only looking at Sheng Jialan with eyes carrying disappointment and heartache.

Luo Sheng pointed at the earring at the foot of the screen and said unhurriedly: “It’s true that Sheng Jialan’s earring was lost in Funing Hall, but how can Cousin be certain she accidentally lost it when leaving with you after paying respects to Maternal Grandmother, rather than deliberately losing it just now when she was summoned here with me?”

Sheng Jiayu was completely stumped by the question and slowly turned her head to look at Sheng Jialan.

Her confusion had been made clear by Luo Sheng. With Cousin and Hong Dou as witnesses, then Second Sister—

“Jialan, why did you harm your cousin?” Old Madam Sheng slapped the table, her tone severe.

Sheng Jialan knelt with her head lowered, saying nothing.

Hong Dou slapped her forehead: “I remember now—a few days ago, our young lady didn’t hang herself at all. She was harmed by Second Cousin!”

“What?” Hong Dou’s words greatly shocked everyone.

Old Madam Sheng’s tone became even more severe: “Hong Dou, make your words clear!”

Hong Dou spat at Sheng Jialan before continuing: “When the young lady had her incident, because it was too chaotic, that white silk ribbon wasn’t taken away. Later I found it, and when I hung it on the beam, I discovered the height wasn’t right…”

Hong Dou recounted the words Luo Sheng had said, following the pattern exactly, only changing the person who discovered this point to herself.

And all of this was naturally what Luo Sheng had instructed.

Everyone listened with rapt attention, but one person gripped the teacup in her hand with slightly more force.

That person was precisely the Great Madam.

In the Great Madam’s ears echoed the words of the head maid Shuangye from the day of the family banquet: “A white silk ribbon hung right before this servant’s eyes, frightening this servant’s heart and liver until they nearly jumped out…”

So this meant that when Shuangye happened upon that scene, Cousin wasn’t making a fuss about hanging herself again, but had noticed something was wrong?

The Great Madam looked at Luo Sheng imperceptibly, her thoughts stirring: This Cousin was not so simple!

She absolutely didn’t believe it was the little maid called Hong Dou who had discovered what was wrong.

After hearing Hong Dou’s account, Old Madam Sheng’s face was covered with dark clouds. Trembling, she threw a teacup beside Sheng Jialan: “You wretched girl have truly lost your mind! Why have you harmed your cousin again and again?”

The teacup shattered to pieces beside Sheng Jialan, the ground full of broken porcelain presenting a shocking sight.

Yet Sheng Jialan still didn’t speak, allowing Old Madam Sheng and the others to question her in turn.

In the end, Sheng Jiayu was grief-stricken, stamping her foot: “Second Sister, you’ve truly disappointed me!”

Disappointed?

Sheng Jialan’s lashes trembled as she pressed her lips tightly together.

The matter had already been exposed. At this point, she had nothing more to say, nor could she say anything.

A pair of shoes embroidered with crabapple flowers appeared before her.

Sheng Jialan slowly raised her head, meeting Luo Sheng’s gaze.

Luo Sheng leaned forward slightly, staring into Sheng Jialan’s eyes and saying word by word: “You did it for Su Yao.”

Sheng Jialan felt as though her head exploded with a thunderous boom, her mind instantly blank, with only one sentence echoing over and over again.

You did it for Su Yao.