"Aunt Lin, that does seem to be Lu Xiang's jade pendant," Aunt Fang said to Aunt Lin in a low voice. At this juncture, no matter how much she wanted to watch the commotion, she did not dare to shout and let Old Madam have the chance to deal with her.
However, she could not hold it in anymore.
The corners of Concubine Lin's mouth twitched. Between the choice of offending Concubine Fang and the Old Madam, she chose to offend the former without hesitation. She pulled Lu Qiao away from Concubine Fang.
If you know, so be it. Don't say it out loud. Didn't you see the Old Madam's expression?
Concubine Fang looked at Concubine Lin, who wanted nothing more than to distance herself from her. She was so angry that her mouth was crooked. "Lin, what do you mean by this? I'm talking to you because I think highly of you." she thought.
"Fourth Miss, don't deny it. You gave it to me yourself." Wang Er shouted confidently.
When Old Madam saw the jade pendant, she was shocked and furious. "Ridiculous. You casually took out a jade pendant and said that it's Xiangxiang's. How can a thief like you tell the truth? Nanny Wen, get someone to shut his mouth and bring him back to the manor."
At this point, she only wanted to keep Lu Xiang's reputation and innocence.
Lu Xiang looked at the old lady who was defending her and felt warmth in her chest.
"Grandmother, this jade pendant looked similar to mine but it's not mine after all. I've always kept my jade pendant close to me. It's impossible that I would give it to him. Look." As she spoke, Lu Xiang took out the jade pendant from her pouch. Doubt flashed across her beautiful face, and there was a hint of grievance and stubbornness in her eyes.
When the old lady saw the jade pendant in Lu Xiang's hand, her tense expression suddenly relaxed. She took the jade pendant from her and looked at it carefully for a long time. When she spoke again, there was a faint smile on her lips. "This jade pendant is your mother's favorite. The workmanship is meticulous. When I saw it back then, I even praised the craftsman's dexterity in making it." As she spoke, she took the jade pendant from Nanny Wen's hand. "Although this jade pendant has the same pattern, if you look closely, you can see that the workmanship is a little rough. It's not as good as yours. If you don't pay attention, it would have been thought to be the same pendant."
When everyone heard this, they immediately understood that the jade pendant in Wang Er's hand was fake.
Concubine Fang pursed her lips in boredom. After all this time, it was just a farce. What a waste of time.
When Lu Mingzhu saw Lu Xiang take out the jade pendant, a shocked expression flashed across her face.
How was that possible? That was clearly Lu Xiang's jade pendant.
Wang Er, who was tied up, was stunned after hearing the old lady's words. Why had things turned out differently from what he had agreed to?
If he could not prove that the jade pendant belonged to the Fourth Miss, wouldn't he be able to collect the money that he was promised?
No matter who the Fourth Miss was, he just had to complete this matter.
"That's really the jade pendant that the Fourth Miss gave me. The Fourth Miss and I love each other. If you don't believe me, I have another token."
Fortunately, the maid had given him a hairpin last night. Otherwise, all his previous efforts would have been in vain.
When the old lady heard Wang Er's words, she was so angry that smoke was about to rise from her head.
This damn b*stard. He didn't succeed in slandering her precious granddaughter the first time, and so he wanted to do it a second time.
Lu Xiang had been waiting for this moment. In order not to alert the enemy, she did not ask Wu Yue to take the jade pendant back. The jade pendant she had given Lu Mingzhu yesterday had been prepared since her rebirth to prevent this day from happening.
She looked at the Old Madam and said, "Grandmother, I'm upright and not afraid of being accused. If he has any evidence, just let him take it out."
The old lady looked at Lu Xiang with heartache, but she believed that her granddaughter was innocent.
No matter how slow-witted the Old Madam was, she could tell that someone was trying to frame Lu Xiang from how things had turned out. Madam Liu was the most suspicious.
Hmmph…
There is no limit to the stupidity of these two. How dare they scheme against her? Did they think that she, an old woman, was dead?
"Alright, I want to see what other love token he had," the old lady said with a dark expression.
Lu Mingzhu looked at Wang Er in shock. She had only asked Hua Mei to give him a jade pendant. What other token did he have? Did her mother prepare something else just in case?
Thinking of this, Lu Mingzhu felt that it was very likely. No matter what, as long as Lu Xiang could be convicted of losing her innocence, any token would be fine.
Hence, she continued to watch how things unfold calmly.
Hearing Wang Er's words, Nanny Wen took out something from his clothes again.
However, when the dazzling butterfly pearl hairpin was taken out, Lu Mingzhu could no longer remain calm. Her face instantly turned ashen, and her legs went weak.
Madam Liu was also stunned. She looked at the hairpin in disbelief. As Nanny Wen took it out, the butterfly wings on the hairpin flapped tremendously a few times, but it was like a slap to Madam Liu and Lu Mingzhu's faces.
Wang Er was completely unaware that the so-called love token in his hand had long gone wrong. Instead, he said smugly, "Look, this hairpin was given to me by your Fourth Miss yesterday in the bamboo forest at the back of Huaning Temple."
Lu Xiang covered her mouth in surprise and looked at Lu Mingzhu. "Ah, Fourth Sister, isn't that your hairpin? Yesterday, you even specially brought it over for me to admire. You said that Father gave it to you a few days ago. You liked it." Her every move completely replicated what Madam Liu had done to her just now.
Madam Liu was so angry that her vision darkened. But at this time, she couldn't care less about arguing with Lu Xiang. She had to protect her daughter's reputation first.
In order to convince Lu Xiang, Mingzhu took out the hairpin that Old Master had given her for real. However, no one knew that she had given it to Lu Xiang.
Lu Xiang seemed to think that it was not enough excitement for them and said, "You said that Father specially asked someone to bring this to you from the capital. Father really dotes on you. You're the only one among us sisters who received such a gift."
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the jealousy in Lu Yue's eyes.
They were both daughters of their father, so why should father buy jewelry only for her?
Lu Xiang exhaled softly. How satisfying.
"In my previous life, you sowed discord and surrounded me with enemies. You can forget about living in peace in this life," she thought.
Looking at the hairpin, it was obvious who the lover was.
Lu Mingzhu looked at Old Madam in panic and explained, "Grandmother, I'm innocent. That hairpin isn't mine. He framed me on purpose."
"Oh, is that so?" The old lady raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at Lu Mingzhu coldly.
If what happened today was planned by Madam Liu and her daughter, then she had no sympathy to give now that they had shot themselves in the foot.
Even if it was Madam Liu who did this and had nothing to do with Lu Mingzhu, Old Madam still felt that she should teach them a lesson.
Madam Liu wailed and knelt in front of Old Madam. "Yes, that must be it. Old Madam, Mingzhu has always been obedient and would never do such a thing. You have to believe her."
The matter had developed to something that is out of her control. The hairpin had clearly been given to Lu Xiang, so why was it in Wang Er's hands now?