Madam Shen brought Lichu back to Jinxiu Garden and gently comforted her. “Don’t be afraid. Your aunt will stand up for you in this matter. You won’t be wronged.”
Lichu wasn’t afraid at all. Did they really think such a clumsy trick could frame her?
Once everything was properly investigated, who would be the one afraid… that was still uncertain.
“I understand, Aunt,” Lichu nodded.
“Go back and rest,” Madam Shen said, patting her head.
Only then did Lichu leave.
As she watched Lichu walk away, the expression on Madam Shen’s face slowly darkened.
“That little bitch… how dare she! She even tried to frame A’Li!”
Nanny Cai brought over a cup of tea. “Madam, please calm down. Such a crude trick isn’t worth worrying about. Once the servants in her courtyard are dealt with one by one, even those who didn’t do it will end up saying they did.”
But Madam Shen’s face still looked grim. “This won’t be enough to convict A’Li, that’s obvious. But since they knew it would be hard to pin this on her, why still use such a clumsy method to frame her?”
Nanny Cai paused, then her expression changed. “Madam, do you mean… Song Qinghe has some other plan?”
Madam Shen let out a cold laugh. “I don’t think she actually cares whether A’Li gets convicted. She just wants Ji’er to start being wary of A’Li.”
Recently, A’Li and Lu Shiji had been getting closer. Song Qinghe probably couldn’t sit still anymore.
Did she really think Madam Shen couldn’t see through her little thoughts?
To convict someone, you need solid proof. But suspicion and wariness only need a tiny seed of doubt.
What Song Qinghe did was clearly meant to drive a wedge between Lu Shiji and Shen Lichu — to make him think Shen Lichu was jealous and vicious at heart.
Nanny Cai looked troubled. “But what if the Heir really starts doubting Miss Lichu because of this? What should we do then?”
Madam Shen said bitterly, “That little bitch… At a time like this, we can’t rashly make a harsh move against Song Qinghe. The most urgent matter right now is A’Li’s marriage to Lu Shiji. We can’t let anything complicate it.”
“As for Lu Shiji and A’Li… we’ll wait and see.”
Madam Shen’s gaze slowly turned ruthless. “No matter what methods we use, A’Li must marry into that family. Only if the Shen family is completely tied to the Duke’s residence will we have a way out.”
Only then would she have a way out too.
“Miss, I heard that Miss Song specifically went to Wenlan Court. Do you think she went to complain?” Chunxing asked cautiously.
Lichu was organizing the calligraphy sheets she had just finished writing.
“The Heir and Miss Song have always been close. If Miss Song complains at a time like this, and if the Heir really suspects you did something… then wouldn’t that be…”
Lichu paused when she heard that. The fingers holding the stack of rice paper turned pale.
“Cousin Brother wouldn’t,” she said seriously. “Cousin Brother isn’t the kind of person who can’t tell right from wrong.”
“But the Heir and Miss Song grew up together. They’re very close, like siblings. What if… what if the Heir really believes her…”
Lichu lowered her head and smoothed the calligraphy sheet. “Then I’ll leave the Duke’s residence and go back home.”
“Huh?” Chunxing stared at her in shock. “Miss, you’ve spent so much effort for the Heir. How can you just give up like that?”
“If there’s no fate between us, what else can I do? I can’t force it.”
Lichu snorted softly. “Besides, if my future husband doesn’t trust me and instead favors someone else, then I don’t want him.”
Even if that person was her cousin brother, she still wouldn’t want him.
“But Cousin Brother wouldn’t do that.”
Lichu said seriously, “Cousin Brother is kind and fair. He’s solved many major cases. I heard that when he first became an official, he even helped common people sue the son of Marquis Yong’an for illegally seizing farmland. Not only did he punish the marquis’s son, he also helped the people take back their land. Cousin Brother is a good official, and a good person.”
The best person she had ever met.
Chunxing nodded firmly. “Miss is right!”
Lichu picked up her calligraphy sheets, her steps light as she headed out toward Wenlan Court.
Wenlan Court.
Xiping came in to report, “Heir, your cousin has arrived.”
Lu Shiji didn’t look surprised at all. He casually said, “Let her in.”
Lichu walked in with light, careful steps, unusually well-behaved. “Cousin Brother.”
Lu Shiji lifted his eyes to look at her. “How many sheets of calligraphy did you write this time?”
Lichu held the papers out to him like she was presenting a treasure. “Ten sheets! I went back yesterday and just kept practicing. I remembered everything Cousin Brother taught me and followed it seriously!”
Her attitude was very proper, and she had clearly put in a lot of effort.
Lu Shiji glanced at the familiar chicken-scratch handwriting, but he still took the stack and started flipping through it.
Xiping looked at those large characters that honestly looked like messy doodles, and his eyelids started twitching. With handwriting this terrible, and the Heir could still tolerate it even now…
The Heir’s patience was really getting better and better.
While Lu Shiji was looking through the papers, Lichu secretly studied his expression. It didn’t seem to change much.
Cousin Brother had always had a good temper. He rarely got angry, no matter what.
Lichu thought for a moment, then carefully tested the waters. “Miss Song suddenly fell ill today.”
Lu Shiji didn’t look up. “Hmm?”
“I didn’t know Miss Song had asthma. Today the Old Madam specifically called me over to question me. It seemed like she suspected I did something, but I really don’t know anything about it.”
Lu Shiji raised his eyes and saw her small face all scrunched up in grievance. The corner of his brow lifted slightly.
She had improved a little. Now she even knew how to act pitiful at the right time.
Lichu looked at him expectantly, her heart tightening with nervousness.
She actually wasn’t very confident about this.
After a long pause, she finally heard Lu Shiji’s calm voice. “I know.”
Lichu’s eyes flickered. “Know what?”
His lips curved slightly, his voice gentle. “A’Li wouldn’t do something like that.”
Lichu froze for a second. Then those beautiful almond-shaped eyes of hers lit up instantly.
She had imagined Cousin Brother might suspect her. She had even thought he might wait until the truth came out.
But she never expected him to simply say he believed her.
Her heartbeat slowly sped up, and her ears turned red. “Why?”
He looked at her, his eyes soft. “The A’Li I know wouldn’t do that.”
That night, Lichu rolled over in bed again, wrapped tightly in her blanket.
She couldn’t stop the smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
His gentle voice kept echoing in her ears. “The A’Li I know wouldn’t do that.”
Lichu rolled over again, still wrapped in her blanket, squirming around on the bed like a little cocoon.
“Miss, go to sleep already,” Chunxing’s sleepy voice drifted from the small couch outside.
Lichu poked her head out from the blanket. “Chunxing, why do you think Cousin Brother trusts me so much?”
Chunxing yawned. “Because Miss didn’t do anything wrong in the first place.”
“That’s different! Cousin Brother doesn’t know that I didn’t do it!”
“The Heir can tell right from wrong…” Chunxing was already half talking in her sleep.
Lichu’s cheeks were red. Her bright, sparkling eyes looked at the pair of scented sachets hanging from the bed curtains.
“Cousin Brother is the best person in this world.”