Li Yue ignored their stares, put on an innocent smile on her face and walked past the servants to sit on one of the empty sofas in the living room. She crossed her legs and leaned back leisurely, her gaze drifting around the room, taking in the tense atmosphere.
"Who did this?" Li Hong shouted at the servants, making them cower in the corner. "If no one speaks up, you're all fired! Pack your bags and get out!" His voice vibrated through the air, sending shivers down their spines.
But they just looked at each other nervously, whispering among themselves, and no one dared to say anything to Li Hong, which further fueled his anger and he asked, "You are all silent?" His face darkened and brows furrowed in rage.
"Fine! Since no one will speak up, you're all dismissed! Get out of my sight" he spat as his hand shot up, his index finger pointing towards the main gate of the mansion.
The servants, who had been silent with their heads hung low all this time, looked up at him and started begging for mercy. But Li Hong's expression remained unyielding, "I don't want to hear your excuses," he growled. "Either you tell me who's responsible for this, or you're all gone. The choice is yours."
Suddenly, a timid hand rose from among the crowd, and Li Hong's piercing gaze locked onto it. The other servants stepped aside and the maid who had raised her hand came forward.
"Did you do this?" Li Hong asked her in a low, doubtful voice. Her eyes widened with fear and she hastily shook her head in denial. Seeing that, he arched an eyebrow, "Then why did you raise your hand?"
The maid gulped, and pointed a trembling finger towards a blonde- haired maid who was attempting to conceal herself behind others. Li Hong's gaze flicked towards her before returning to the one who had pointed her out.
"What about her?" He asked, "Did she do it?" And the maid nodded vigorously in response.
The blonde maid's face flushed with rage as she pushed her way to the front. "How dare you slander me?" She yelled at her with raised voice. "I didn't do anything!"
Li Hong's face remained impassive, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied her reaction. Then, he turned back to the maid who had accused her. "Why do you say it's her?"
The maid glanced nervously at Guo Yan, the head maid, who stepped forward to intervene. "Master, she's mute," she explained. "But she can write." He nodded curtly, and ordered. "Get her a pen and a paper."
After the mute maid scribbled something on the paper, she haded it to Li Hong with shaky hands. He squinted his eyes as he read through its contents, before turning to the blonde- haired woman.
He threw the paper in her face. "This maid saw you put some kind of powder in a wine glass. What do you have to say for yourself? If you still don't confess, I'll call the cops."
Hearing that, she quickly fell on her knees and started begging for mercy. "Be quiet!" Li Hong suddenly shouted, clearly irritated by her. "Who told you to do this?" He asked, while glancing at Li Yue.
She hesitated for a moment before saying, "I- It was Miss Li Yue." The room fell silent as everyone turned to look at Li Yue. A hint of disappointment laced with distrust filled their eyes. Li Yue, however, seemed entirely unbothered, and stared at everyone with amusement, a smirk dancing on her lips.
Li Hong's anger boiled over upon seeing his daughter's nonchalant behavior. "Li Yue, how could you-"
Before he could finish, Xiao Mian cut him off. "How can you be so heartless, Yue Yue? She's your sister! Why did you hurt her?" She accused, and demanded an explanation from Li Yue even before hearing her out. It was as if she had already decided that her daughter was the culprit.
Li Yue's smirk grew into a chuckle, which slowly turned into an outburst of laughter - a laughter so cold, so menacing in the silence that it echoed throughout the villa. As her laughter faded, she casually rested her elbow on the sofa arm and propped her chin on her hand. Her piercing gaze locked onto the blonde maid, boring into her very soul.
"Do you have any evidence to support your claim?" she asked in a low, icy tone with a serious expression on her face, that sent chills through the air. The maid's eyes widened in terror as she stumbled over her words, "I- I-"
Li Yue didn't bother to let her finish. She swiftly rose from her seat and walked towards the projector.
She signaled Puff with her hand, and as soon as she turned on the projector, Puff played the earlier recording of Zhao Shui's meeting with the blonde maid in the corridor.
When the recording finished, everyone's faces froze in stunned silence. They instinctively looked at Zhao Shui, their eyes filled with doubts and questions.
Zhao Shui panicked, and words tumbled out of her mouth in a frantic rush. "This- I- I was just helping her find medicine for her mother! It- It has nothing to do with me! Why would I harm myself?" Her voice shook with desperation as she tried to defend herself.
"Heh," Li Yue snickered at her response. "Maybe you just missed your target, dear sis." With that, she turned on her heel and walked away.
~~~~~
As she stepped out of the mansion, she glanced over her shoulder at Puff, who hovered behind her, and asked, "Where's he?"
Puff's eyes flashed while it scanned their surroundings. "Just outside the villa," it replied.
Li Yue nodded briefly. "Don't follow me," she said, before turning and disappearing into the night, leaving Puff lurking in the air behind her.