If you were cold and aloof in your past life, why are you crying in this one?

"Gentlemen, I apologize for the offense, but a search of the mansion is truly unavoidable."

Xi Jian made the decision: "Search! I also want to see just how clever their framing methods are, that they could even infiltrate my residence."

The old fox is different now. With just one sentence from Xi Jian, he determined that no matter what is found today, it is all a frame-up by someone with ulterior motives.

"search!"

The guards in black filed in.

The rain was pouring down like a waterfall. Xi Lingxian sat beside her father, Xi Jian, who put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, your father is here for you."

Xi Rui cursed, "If I find out which bastard it was, I'll chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"

"Don't worry, brother. The innocent will clear themselves."

Despite saying this, she remained uneasy.

She is indeed innocent, but what if someone secretly sets a trap for her, or what if they actually find something?

How can the Xi family prove its innocence? Will those who covet the interests behind the Xi family seize this opportunity to launch a coordinated attack?

Time slips away bit by bit, and every moment feels like a sword slicing through my heart.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of footsteps returned.

The lead black-clad guard knelt on one knee, holding a wooden box: "Young Master."

Wang Jue took it and opened it; inside was a short knife.

The ebony scabbard has the royal family's totem—a black bird with outstretched wings—carved on the hilt.

"Where did it come from?"

"It was hidden deep in the crack in the back wall of Qiluan Pavilion, covered with oilcloth."

Xi Lingxian closed her eyes.

Just as she thought.

"Fanfan?" Xi Jian's voice trembled.

"Father, I knew nothing about this. Someone is framing me."

Xi Jian looked at Wang Jue, "Second Brother, what do you think?"

Wang Jue picked up the short knife and examined it closely in the candlelight.

The scabbard, the handle, the patterns... they were indeed exactly the same as the murder weapon.

But something still feels off.

Everything went too smoothly.

From Xiao Jing's assassination attempt to Xi Gui's capture and interrogation, and then to the discovery of the murder weapon, everything unfolded as if it were a pre-arranged play.

Wang Jue suddenly looked up at Xi Lingxian, "Have you seen Xi Gui?"

"All I know is that he was my second uncle's servant."

"Qing'an Temple, have you seen him?"

"...I felt that a figure looked familiar, but I didn't know it was Xi Gui, and we didn't say a word to each other."

Even if she did recognize him, how could she possibly take the initiative to speak to the servants of the second wife?

"Young master, the culprit has been caught red-handed, should we...?" the guard whispered a reminder.

Wang Jue raised his hand to stop them and looked at Xi Lang.

Xi Lang slumped in his chair, his face ashen.

"Second Master Xi," Wang Jue asked, "you said Xi Gui asked for leave to return to his hometown half a month ago. To your knowledge, where did he go back to?"

"Wu... Wu County," Xi Lang stammered. "His hometown is Wu County."

Where is Wu County?

"I don't remember. How could I possibly remember the ancestral home of a servant?"

Xi Lang almost burst into tears as he said to Xi Jian, "Brother, I... I really didn't know. I've been wronged."

Xi Jian had no energy to care about him at this moment. "Your servants framed my daughter, and you still have the nerve to come to me crying?"

"It's best if this has nothing to do with you, otherwise I will personally deal with you."

Wang Jue cupped his hands to Xi Jian and said, "Uncle, this matter is strange. I'll take the knife with me for now and make a decision after we find out the truth."

The captain of the Prince of Huainan's mansion behind him interjected, "Your Highness, the murder weapon was found in Miss Xi's courtyard, regardless of whether it's real or not..."

Wang Jue gave the other person a deep look.

The captain wisely kept quiet.

Wang Jue: "Uncle."

Xi Jian understood: "Don't worry, I won't let Fanfan leave the manor these next few days."

Wang Jue nodded and left with his guards.

After everyone had left, Xi Jian pondered the matter and found it all very strange.

Xi Rui: "Father, what did Wang Jue mean just now? Does he believe us or not?"

"You can't see into someone's heart. Who can say they completely trust someone else?"

"But our family has absolutely no reason to frame or harm the Wang family."

Xi Jian closed his eyes wearily and said, "In this kind of thing, it's better to kill a hundred innocent people than let one guilty person go free. Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will only keep taking root and sprouting."

Xi Lingxian clenched her fist.

She framed Wang and fabricated charges against Xi, and coupled with her repeated refusal of Wang's marriage proposal, she seemed quite ungrateful.

This was used to sow discord between the two parties and create rifts between them.

Their malicious intent is self-evident.

……

Langya Prince's Mansion

Dungeon

The dungeon was filled with a heavy stench of blood and the musty smell of decay.

Xi Gui was chained to the rack, his body covered in blood.

Wang Jue sat opposite him, his figure half in the light and half in the shadows.

"Say it again, how did the knife end up in Qiluan Pavilion?"

Xi Gui, barely alive, said, "It was the eldest young lady who gave the order."

"What were her instructions?"

"I owed a gambling debt, which the eldest daughter found out about. She then used this to coerce me into doing things for her. A few days ago at Qing'an Temple, that was the first time she gave me such an order. She said she wanted a short knife engraved with the Wang family totem, and the sooner the better."

Wang Jue stared into his eyes. "Continue."

Xi Gui spoke haltingly, "The young lady also gave me a hundred taels of silver and threatened me that if I dared to tell anyone, my whole family would be in danger."

"You are a servant of the second branch of the Xi family, how could you be so easily coerced by the eldest branch's daughter?"

"Second Master is born out of wedlock and has no outstanding talents. He only relies on the patriarch's influence in court. The patriarch's doting on the eldest daughter is unparalleled. Not to mention Second Master, who is born out of wedlock, even the eldest son cannot compare. I, I really dare not disobey, and the gambling debts are pressing us hard..."

"What clothes was she wearing at Qing'an Temple that day?"

"...I am of lowly status, how dare I look my master in the eye?"

"You should at least remember what color it is, right?"

"Red, a red cloak."

……

郗府

Xi Lingxian barely slept a wink that night, racking her brains trying to figure out who would harm her.

The first family that came to her mind was the Xie family. Apart from the Xie sisters, she had no enemies with anyone.

Could two young women possess such extraordinary abilities? Unless other members of the Xie family were also involved.

She sat in front of her dressing table, her eyes dark and swollen.

Knowing the outcome of her past life but unaware of the variables in this life, Xi Lingxian felt that God was playing a joke on her.

The door was pushed open from the outside.

She mistook her for a maid and said, "Comb my hair."

There was no immediate response from behind, but after a moment, a warm, broad hand gently gathered her long, sleek hair that hung down her back like a sculpted braid.

The force was completely different from what the maid usually used. Xi Lingxian's heart tightened, and she suddenly looked up, only to be met with a pair of familiar, cold eyes in the mirror.

"Why is it you?"

Wang Jue remained calm, seemingly unaware that his words and actions had gone too far. "Xi Gui insists that he was acting under your orders."

"So you're here to arrest me?"

Wang Jue stared into her eyes in the mirror, the corners of her eyes upturned, and whispered softly, "Caught red-handed, I don't see any reason to protect you."

Xi Lingxian clenched her fists. "If you can be fooled by such childish tricks, you might as well just take a rope and end it all."

Wang Jue was somewhat convinced.

She seems to be in a disadvantageous position now, so how can she still have the audacity to scold him?