Moments later, hurried footsteps echoed through the courtyard. Dongpo and the steward returned - the steward was breathless, clutching a small blue silk sachet embroidered with pale lotus petals.
He bowed, his face pale. "Master... we found this sachet beneath the Third Miss's inner garments... exactly where Qing'er said it would be."
Master Lin snatched the sachet from the steward's hands. He loosened the knot; inside was a small green-wrapped package.
A shudder went through Lu Yichen as his eyes fell on the package.
Qing'er pointed with shaking fingers. "T-That one... Master... that is the antidote-the antidote to the poison the Third Miss gave me... to slip into my young miss's tea."
With trembling hands, Qing'er reached into her sleeve and pulled out a tiny dark-red folded packet.
"And this... this is the poison."
Her voice cracked. Rage and grief snarled together; her eyes filled with hatred as she stared at Ruoyu.
"Third Miss said she would gain nothing if Eldest Miss's engagement broke... but that was a lie." Qing'er's breath trembled. "She gains something-because she has been having an affair with Young Master Lu. He promised to take her as a concubine."
Master Lin's hand shook so violently that the antidote packet nearly slipped from his fingers. His voice came out low, hoarse, and dangerous:
"Yichen...? A'Yu...? An affair?"
A shadow of panic flickered across Lu Yichen's face before he could suppress it.
"Lowly servant," he rasped, eyes burning with fury and panic, "how dare you slander me?"
Qing'er's body trembled, but she didn't stop.
"One month ago, Young Master Lu sent a message saying he would not meet my young miss and was returning to the capital. That news devastated my young miss. She put down her new clothes and said she didn't want them anymore."
Qing'er drew a shuddering breath and continued.
"That night, she asked me to deliver the clothes to the Third Miss. But when I arrived, Third Miss wasn't in her room. I heard her speaking to a man... and I got curious."
Her voice grew steadier, colder.
"I followed the sound. I saw the man-it was Young Master Lu. He gave Third Miss a cloud-shaped jade pendant and said that once he completed his marriage with my young miss, he would take Third Miss into the Lu household as a concubine."
Lu Yichen's hands clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked.
But Qing'er continued relentlessly.
"I went back and told everything to my young miss. She was furious-she rushed to confront the Third Miss. But Third Miss denied everything. She told my young miss that Young Master Lu had prepared a surprise for her-that was why he didn't come that day."
Qing'er's breath hitched.
"I tried to stop her from believing the lie, but Third Miss said I was working with Madam Luo. She made my young miss believe I betrayed her."
At the end, Qing'er's voice finally broke.
"She slapped me. Hard. She told me to find a new mistress the next day because she didn't want me anymore. The next morning, Bao'er came, saying she couldn't find my young miss anywhere."
Qing'er swallowed hard, tears falling.
"I knew Third Miss had something to do with my young miss's disappearance. But she told me the 'surprise' did not go well... and that my young miss went to the capital herself to confirm everything. I didn't know rumors would spread-that she had run away with a man."
Madam Luo stepped forward, trembling.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Qing'er sobbed. "I wasn't sure of anything. Third Miss said once my young miss came back, she would explain everything to Master-and Master loves her, he wouldn't be angry. I... I believed her. She asked me to go out many times to search for news. She said, 'When my young miss returned and saw us waiting for her, she would be happy...'"
Master Lin's knees nearly buckled, and the steward had to support him. His voice shook with fury.
"...Where did you go that night? What did you do to your sister?"
Lu Yichen clenched his fists until they trembled.
He stepped toward Ruoyu. "What did you do to her? Why doesn't she remember anything?"
But Master Lin, hearing his voice, snapped. His veins in his neck stood out.
"I am the master of this household-not you!"
Lu Yichen's lips trembled. He turned toward Master Lin, his voice cracking.
"Father... this lowly servant slandered me! Father, please believe me-someone must have paid her to turn you and A'Rou against me!" He looked toward Bairan.
"A'Rou doesn't remember, but I remember everything. Father, please believe me-your eldest daughter is the only one I ever wanted to marry!"
Bairan almost rolled her eyes.
What a smooth tongue. Yesterday he called him 'Master Lin' because of his official rank-now he calls him Father because the marriage is on the verge of breaking.
Ruoyu's eyes darkened as Lu Yichen spoke, her world shook apart. What about everything he had told her?
Bairan asked Qing'er softly with a gentle voice, interrupting Ruoyu's thoughts, "Qing'er, do you have proof of what you said? You know the consequences of slandering the Lin family's future son-in-law."
Qing'er nodded firmly.
"Yes, Miss, I am not lying. The cloud-shaped jade pendant was in two halves. I saw Third Miss carrying one half on her sleeve. The other half is with Young Master Lu."
She bowed deeply, tears streaking her face.
"Young Miss, if you still doubt me, you may search her sleeves."
Ruoyu instinctively clutched her sleeves, her breath hitching.
Master Lin's face darkened until not a trace of warmth remained.
"Search her."
Ruoyu's eyes widened. "F-Father! No-please... she's lying!"
But Master Lin did not look at her.
Two of Madam Luo's senior maids stepped forward.
Ruoyu stumbled back, shaking.
"Don't touch me! I said-don't-!"
"Hold her," Master Lin said coldly.
One maid grabbed Ruoyu's arms while the other pulled at her sleeve.
Ruoyu struggled desperately, but-
Something small and pale-green slipped free and rolled across the courtyard stones.
Ruoyu froze.
The half cloud-shaped jade pendant came to a stop at Master Lin's feet.
The steward picked it up and handed it to Master Lin.
Ruoyu stared at the jade, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
"N-no... no... I-I don't know how it got there-Father, believe me-someone planted it!"
Lu Yichen's eyes snapped to the pendant-his face draining of all color.
He had never expected she would hide the jade on her sleeve.
Master Lin roared.
"Ruoyu!"
He slapped her so hard she collapsed onto the ground.
"Were you having an affair with your sister's fiancé behind my back? Trying to ruin her reputation? "Do you have no shame? Have you no thought for my reputation? Do you not care about the Lin family name?"
His voice shook with fury.
"What kind of sins have I committed... to raise a daughter like you ...?"
Ruoyu hid her swollen cheek with her hand, sobbing. Her lips couldn't move. She looked toward Lu Yichen-but in his eyes she saw nothing but disgust.
Lu Yichen stepped forward quickly, his voice rising with panic.
"Master Lin-this... this proves nothing! I do not have such a thing!"
But Bairan's cold, calm voice cut sharply through his words**.
"Perhaps you don't have it here."
Lu Yichen's hand trembled.
Bairan continued:
"Or perhaps my sister received it from another man, and Qing'er saw wrongly." She tilted her head slightly. A small smirk curled on her lips.
"Right, Young Master Lu?"
Lu Yichen's eyes flickered. His gaze shifted. Ruoyu's heart was always on him, and he never doubted her love. Suggesting that another man gave her the jade could still save both of them. And in his mind, tonight's chaos was her fault, not his.
He nodded slightly.
"Yes, it must be another man!"
But fate did not favor him tonight.
His words pierced Ruoyu deeper than any blade.
Tonight, everyone had bitten her, trampled her, and exposed her.
Her only hope was Young Master Lu-he was supposed to protect her, to take responsibility for her. But he didn't.
She stared at him, tears spilling one by one.
"Must be another man...?"
Her voice trembled painfully.
"That man... was YOU. You told me you loved me first before my sister... You said the only reason you couldn't marry me as your principal wife was because I am a concubine's daughter-"
Lu Yichen's eyes widened and he shouted: "Shut up!"