Dual cultivation makes you stronger, everyone else is a prodigy, and I'm the only one slacking

Yu Luoning raised her head, her tone surprisingly calm:

"I didn't steal it."

"Since you have raised questions, then please provide evidence."

"Stealing core cultivation techniques is a serious crime. False accusation... isn't that also a serious crime?"

Chanyi was taken aback, then a look of joy flashed in her eyes.

She was just wondering how to definitively deny the matter when the woman unexpectedly handed her the knife herself.

Chanyi smiled.

"Fine! You want evidence, right?"

"The evidence is right in your house!"

She pointed to the door, her voice rising:

"You have the 'Qi Guiding and Unifying Technique' hidden in your room! Only the young master's core disciples use it. Where did a servant like you get it?"

"Butler, search her room; the answer will be clear!"

Yu Luoning remained calm and instead nodded slowly.

"You can search."

Chanyi's eyes lit up, but then she heard Yu Luoning say again:

"But before I start the search, I have a question."

She looked at Chanyi, "How did you know I had this book in my room?"

Chanyi choked, "I...I guessed!"

Yu Luoning: "Oh, you guessed. Well, you guessed pretty accurately. What a coincidence."

"I recently lost three spirit stones and haven't been able to find them. So I strongly suspect that you not only entered my house, but also took my spirit stones."

Chanyi's expression changed. "What nonsense are you talking about?! How could I possibly steal your things!"

"You think you can just say you didn't steal it and that's all it is?"

Yu Luoning was not in a hurry and continued, "Butler, I am an open and honest person, so I have no objection to you searching my room."

"Ke Chanyi and the others insist that I have a hidden cultivation technique in my room, which is too suspicious. Either she went in, or she took something."

"Then please search her house as well."

"Isn't that fair?"

The courtyard fell silent.

The maids exchanged glances, their eyes darting away.

Chanyi's face turned pale and then flushed, but she forced herself to say:

"Why are you searching me? I didn't do it!"

Yu Luoning: "Then why are you panicking? You can stay calm like me. If you think searching me is reasonable, then why isn't searching you reasonable?"

Chanyi opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

She didn't want people to search for her.

Because they did indeed touch Yu Luoning's things.

These past few days, they've been giving less of their monthly allowance of cloth and spirit rice.

Li Keqing's gaze lingered on Chanyi's face for a moment before he finally spoke, his voice cold and hard:

"If we're going to search, let's do it the rules."

"Search for Yu Xiaoguai first, then search for Chanyi."

Chanyi's legs almost gave way on the spot.

Soon, several servants entered Yu Luoning's room.

They lifted the bedsheets, turned over the pillows, opened the closet doors, and even shook out her bedding.

Yu Luoning stood at the door, slapping his forehead in disbelief.

"...It's on the table."

He raised his hand and pointed to the octagonal table.

Everyone paused, turning to look at the direction.

Sure enough, there was a thin booklet on the table, brightly lit, without any attempt to cover it up.

Some people have strange looks in their eyes.

What thief would display stolen goods in the open?

The booklet was quickly presented to Li Keqing.

Li Keqing opened it and saw that it was the "Method of Guiding Qi to Oneness".

Chanyi and the others immediately laughed and said decisively:

"Butler, did you see that? She really did steal the cultivation technique!"

"How can such a person be allowed to remain in the manor? Steward, please punish him severely!"

A cacophony of voices erupted from all sides.

Li Keqing did not immediately express his opinion, but only looked at Yu Luoning suspiciously.

She remained calm and composed, her expression unchanged.

"Yu Xiaoguai, what do you want to say?"

Yu Luoning said frankly, "I don't have much to say."

She paused, then raised her chin and nodded at Chanyi:

"But didn't we agree to search Chanyi's room? Let's search her room first."

Chanyi's face turned pale on the spot.

Yu Luoning laughed, then suddenly seemed to remember something, slapped her forehead,

"By the way, I'm missing three spirit stones from my monthly allowance."

"It's red with some bluish veins mixed in, which are quite eye-catching."

Each stone possesses a unique spiritual essence, with its own distinctive pattern.

The color drained from Chanyi's face.

Li Keqing frowned, raised his hand and waved: "Go."

The servant turned and left.

A short while later, the servants found a small cloth bag in Chanyi's room.

When the lid was opened, the spirit stones clattered and rolled all over the ground.

There were exactly three spirit stones inside, reddish-green in color, just as Yu Luoning had described.

"Head butler, this is my monthly salary; she took it from me."

"Is it alright if I take it back now?"

Li Keqing's expression darkened: "Hmm."

Chanyi gritted her teeth and insisted, "It's true that I was wrong, but what she did by stealing the book was far more serious than what I did!"

Yu Luoning laughed. "Stealing books?"

She looked up at Chanyi, and said, word by word:

"Who told you I stole a book?"

Chanyi scoffed, "Then what did they find in your house?!"

Yu Luoning said matter-of-factly, "It was given to me by the young master."

"You're talking nonsense!" Chanyi shrieked. "How could the young master possibly give you the core cultivation technique?!"

Yu Luoning scoffed, ignoring her completely, and turned to Li Keqing instead, "Butler, if you don't believe me, you can turn to the back page. There you'll find the young master's spiritual power imprint and sealing array patterns."

"How could I possibly browse through these pages without your permission, young master?"

Li Keqing flipped his fingertips.

Sure enough, there was a very faint array pattern on the inside of the page.

One book, one print; one copy for each person.

Each book in the Li family has a unique array pattern, precisely to prevent the leakage of knowledge.

These techniques are the foundation upon which our family stands.

The courtyard suddenly became eerily quiet.

Chanyi's lips trembled, clearly still reeling from the shock.

She stared intently at Yu Luoning, her eyes filled with hatred.

"You deliberately didn't tell me the young master gave it to you. You were just waiting for this day to make me jump into the pit myself, weren't you?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Luoning actually smiled.

You're overthinking it.

"I don't take you seriously at all. If you don't bother me, I won't even bother to remember your name."

"But since you dared to sneak into my room, take my monthly salary, and even try to pin the blame on me for stealing martial arts techniques, then don't expect me to stand here obediently and let you beat me up."

Chanyi bit her lip tightly, her face pale.

Several maids who were on good terms with her quickly stepped in to smooth things over:

"Since it's a misunderstanding... let's just let it go."

"We were also worried about the family's martial arts techniques being leaked, and Chanyi was also eager to protect her master."

Yu Luoning gave a soft "Oh," and said, "So, no matter what the outcome, you all have something to say, right? Since you can't figure it out, then go and ask the young master to make the decision."

Li Keqing frowned and said in a deep voice, "The young master is currently in seclusion, and the most important thing in seclusion is to avoid disturbing the mind. This matter is not worth bothering the young master."

Yu Luoning raised her eyes. "Then, butler, what do you suggest we do? Are you just going to let me take the blame for stealing cultivation techniques for nothing?"

Li Keqing remained silent for a while. Chanyi was born into a family of servants; both her father and mother were servants of the Li family. Even if one doesn't care about the monk, one should at least consider the Buddha.

So he smoothed things over by saying, "You're all from the same courtyard, you see each other all the time."

Yu Luoning interrupted him: "Butler. I'm new here, and I don't have many opportunities to bow my head to them. But if I bow my head today, they'll take advantage of me tomorrow and start shitting on my head."

Li Keqing's expression darkened slightly.

As the head steward of the Li family, who would dare to talk back to him like that?

But then he remembered Yu Luoning's other identity.

The runaway fiancée of Prince Feng.

This will blow up and look bad.

You can't force it.

After a moment of silence, he finally took a step back and said:

"Alright then, Chanyi broke into your room and stole her monthly salary. She'll be dealt with according to the academy rules and locked in the solitary confinement room. As for your copy of 'The Method of Guiding Qi to Unity,' I'll keep it for now. Once the young master emerges from seclusion, he can decide everything."

Upon hearing that the young master would make the decision, Chanyi felt a sense of relief.

She was raised in the Li family from a young age, and her father also served under the young master.

Even if the young master is cold-hearted, out of consideration for their years of friendship, he wouldn't punish himself for the sake of a maid from outside the family.

She looked up, a hint of smugness resurfacing in her eyes.

She will still have a chance to turn the tables once the young master emerges from seclusion.