Lu Xiang looked at Lu Mingzhu with a burning gaze. "I'm smiling… because you gave me jewelry. I'm happy… But since this is a gift from father to you, how can I accept it?"
She remembered that she was overjoyed then, when she heard that Lu Mingzhu was going to give it to her. Who does not love beautiful jewelry? However, because it was a beloved item given to Lu Mingzhu by her father, she didn't want to take it away from her.
Later on, Lu Mingzhu said that she liked the jade pendant that she often wore, so she had thought of using the hairpin to exchange with her.
The ignorant Lu Xiang had no idea that this was a trap prepared for her by Madam Liu and her daughter, and she happily traded it with her jade pendant. At that time, she felt guilty as she thought that she had taken advantage of Lu Mingzhu, but she didn't know that she had jumped into the trap dug for her.
Same place, same jewelry, same trap. Do it all over again. Let's see who falls into the trap this time?
That mother and daughter duo didn't let go of any chance to harm her.
Lu Mingzhu said, "We're sisters so we should share. Moreover, you helped me out in front of Miss Qin. Actually…" Halfway through her sentence, she smiled in embarrassment.
Lu Xiang knew that she was going to mention about exchanging it with the jade pendant, so she deliberately did not wait for her to finish her sentence. "Thank you, Wu Yue. Take it."
"Yes, Miss," Wu Yue said.
Lu Mingzhu's face turned sullen as if she had swallowed a fly. Clearly, she did not expect Lu Xiang to accept it just like that.
Bah, shameless thing.
Hua Mei's expression was very ugly. She subconsciously stepped back when Wu Yue reached out.
She was Lu Mingzhu's trusted maid and knew her plan. Now that her Miss has not gotten what she wanted, how could she hand over this hairpin so easily? Wasn't it a double loss for her Miss?
Wu Yue was also stubborn. Seeing Hua Mei's subconscious action, she turned to Lu Xiang and said, "Miss, Hua Mei is unwilling to give it to me. Is it because Miss Mingzhu is unwilling to give it in the first place?"
Lu Xiang could not help but laugh. She looked at Lu Mingzhu in surprise. "Since you can't bear to part with it, you should take it back."
Lu Mingzhu: "…"
Was this master-servant duo doing this on purpose?
"Of course not. Hua Mei, give it to Wu Yue," Lu Mingzhu said with a fake smile. The villain in her heart wanted to shoot Lu Xiang into a sieve.
Wu Yue took the box and stood behind Lu Xiang like a victorious rooster. Lu Xiang held her teacup and took a slow sip.
The room suddenly became quiet. After what Lu Xiang did, Lu Mingzhu did not know how to continue.
Quite a while later, when Lu Mingzhu was so anxious that she was about to jump out of her skin, Lu Xiang said, "You gave me such a good piece of jewelry, so I should give you something in return." As she spoke, she took off the jade pendant at her waist. "Although this jade pendant is not worth much, it's something I love."
She would not let Lu Mingzhu return empty-handed. Otherwise, how could she continue the trap? However, she would have the final say on how and what to give.
Lu Mingzhu did not care if the jade pendant was valuable or not. As long as it was Lu Xiang's, it was fine. Hence, she quickly reached out and took it. She was flattered and said, "This… Thank you, Fourth Sister." She wanted to be polite, but she was afraid that Lu Xiang would take the jade pendant back if she was too polite.
Lu Xiang, I'll ruin your reputation this time…
Lu Mingzhu got what she wanted and left happily.
"Miss, why did you give her your jade pendant? God knows what she's scheming with this hairpin?" Wu Yue asked, but when she saw Lu Xiang's expression, she was shocked.
Lu Xiang was silent and the coldness in her eyes seemed to freeze the surrounding air. Her jade-like face was as calm as a cold lake. She seemed to have fallen into some kind of memory, and her body emitted a terrifying aura.
Wu Yue looked at Lu Xiang and felt uneasy and heartbroken.
Why were Miss' eyes filled with hatred?
"Miss…" Wu Yue called out in a low voice.
Lu Xiang came back to her senses. When she looked at Wu Yue, her gaze softened. She played with the hairpin and said in a cold voice, "Since she can't wait to dig a trap, I naturally have to send her into it."
In her previous life, Lu Mingzhu used her jade pendant to frame her innocence as a woman. Even though Old Madam used forceful methods to deny her entanglement with others and prevent this matter from spreading, everyone in the Lu Manor knew that her reputation had been damaged.
The funny thing was that in order to take herself out of the matter, Lu Mingzhu said that the jade pendant had been stolen by Qiao Jingru's maid, so it must have been Qiao Jingru who wanted to ruin her. She had foolishly believed her then.
The unique thing about Hua'an Temple was the large bamboo forest.
Because there were many people who came to offer incense and pray, the temple received visits from noblemen often. As such, the bamboo forest was made as a part of Hua'an Temple when it was being built. It became the greatest feature of the temple and many liked to take a walk in the bamboo forest after offering incense.
They were tall, verdant, resilient, and extremely lush.
This bamboo forest was not only for people to watch and play, but it also became a place for many people to meet in private as it was a huge area with plenty of hiding spots within.
It was inevitable that there would be young masters and young ladies who liked each other and met here in secret.
Especially at night, when the moon was dark and the wind was strong, it was a good time to meet.
At this moment, in the bamboo forest, two figures were revealed under the moonlight.
"Take this jade pendant and follow the plan tomorrow." The person who spoke was a woman. She lowered her voice and said to the man in front of her.
The man took the jade pendant and chuckled, revealing his black and yellow teeth. His triangular eyes were filled with lust. "Hehe, don't worry. You can see how I perform tomorrow. But after it's done…" Halfway through his sentence, he looked at the other party meaningfully.
The woman rolled her eyes at him and angrily growled, "Don't worry, you will be duly rewarded when the matter is completed. Besides the remaining 100 taels as promised, my Young Miss will reward you as well."
Hearing this, the man had a satisfied expression on his face. He weighed the jade pendant in his hand and said proudly, "I'll keep my word."
"Alright, alright. Keep it well. Don't lose it." The woman said impatiently, "I'll leave first. You can leave later."
With that, the woman turned around and left in a hurry. Her face was full of disgust.
What a disgusting man. When he spoke, his mouth was filled with a stench that almost killed her. Miss could not let others know about this matter, and since she was Miss's trusted maid, Miss trusted only her to complete this important matter. Otherwise, she would not be willing to make this trip.
She hoped that Wang Er would be smart and not mess things up tomorrow.
Not far away from where the two of them were standing, a figure slowly walked out. Her thin lips were slightly pursed on her delicate face, and her dark and clear eyes were spewing raging flames of anger.
Thanks to Miss' alertness, she was able to observe Hua Mei's every move in secret.
Pfft, this son of a b*tch actually wanted to frame Miss.