"Second Young Mistress, isn’t it a bit too much to smear a student about to take the college entrance exam in front of everyone without a shred of evidence? Think of the lasting psychological shadow this will cast on her..."
Ji Wanyun also stepped forward to intervene, her words dripping with feigned concern for Xinxin. She deliberately mirrored the tactics used against her last time, looking to settle the score. Li Qianqian was foolish enough to think she could frame a student on the verge of finals; if this got out, the public backlash would surely drown her.
The Old Madam also despised such behavior, which made Ji Wanyun feel a thrill of excitement.
"Exactly! Xinxin’s grades are good enough for a top-tier university. It’s all my fault for introducing her to this part-time job, only for her to be humiliated like this!"
Wang Chunhua threw herself onto the floor and started wailing, slapping her thighs in frustration. After her fake crying, she couldn't help but hurl a vicious threat at Li Qianqian: "If this affects her college entrance exam, I’ll fight you to the death!"
Li Qianqian watched their performance with a calm gaze and said slowly, "There is a security camera in my room."
At these words, panic flickered through the hearts of Ji Wanyun and Wang Chunhua. They both instinctively glanced at Xinxin. Having trusted her completely, they now felt a ripple of doubt—Xinxin was such a well-behaved girl, could she really have stolen something?
Xinxin’s heart hammered against her throat, nearly jumping out of her mouth. *No, that’s impossible.* She had meticulously checked every corner of the room; there was definitely no camera. Li Qianqian was bluffing! If there were actual footage, she would have produced it immediately instead of wasting time arguing.
Gathering her composure, Xinxin said with newfound confidence, "Then please, show it to us. Otherwise, I will sue you for framing me!"
"I don't actually have a security camera," Li Qianqian replied, a faint smirk playing on her lips.
The hearts of Ji Wanyun and Wang Chunhua dropped back into place. Wang Chunhua, fearing that the young woman might be too stupid to settle for anything less than a mere apology, immediately chimed in: "All jobs are equal. Even if we are servants, we shouldn’t be slandered by you like this. Think of the psychological damage—the cost of follow-up therapy alone will be huge!"
"Steward Ji, you are the only one here who isn't afraid of power, a truly upright and kind person. Li Qianqian has humiliated us; you must testify for us!"
"Of course, Second Young Mistress. If you cannot resolve this reasonably, I’m afraid it will damage the reputation of the Fu Group. Why don’t we go and consult the Old Madam?"
Though her words were phrased as a question, Ji Wanyun was itching to rush to the backyard and drag the Old Madam over right this second.
"No need. Although my room doesn't have a security camera, I do have a video."
Li Qianqian tapped the video on her phone, connected it via Bluetooth, and cast it onto the large screen television. The video showed Ji Wanyun sneaking around the doorway of the room, looking left and right before slipping inside. She stayed for quite a while before emerging with a bag. Further along in the footage, Xinxin appeared, picking through the jewelry box, pocketing several pairs of earrings and necklaces, before heading straight to the second wardrobe to pull out a few shirts.
Upon seeing this, the faces of all three turned ashen.
"You..." Ji Wanyun felt the fury of being played. She felt as though Li Qianqian had become an entirely different person, someone who had held all the cards from the very start. She had the evidence all along, yet she chose to watch them act like clowns, waiting until she had finished enjoying the show before slowly revealing it. Ji Wanyun clenched her fists, feeling deeply unsettled; she felt that she, not Li Qianqian, was the one who had been made a fool.
The atmosphere in the living room turned bizarre. Wang Chunhua was the first to lose her temper. Realizing that the astronomical settlement money had just flown out the window—and that she had made a complete mockery of herself—she glared at her niece.
"You actually stole things? Did you have sticky fingers?"
"I… I didn’t mean to…" Xinxin stammered, her face flushed with shame and anger. She had originally calculated that the family would be too busy dealing with the scandals involving the eldest son and his wife to notice the jewelry. By the time they did, she would have already quit and left, making it impossible to pin anything on her. She hadn't expected this mistress to have such sharp eyes, nor that there would be a video. She had no idea who could have recorded it; there hadn't been a soul in the room at the time.
"Don't intend to return it?" Li Qianqian asked, her lips curling in a silent urge.
"How can you be so shameless as to act innocent and even threaten to sue someone while you’re the one stealing? Don't be so ridiculous."
"With a character that thick-skinned, will you really be affected by a few words of humiliation and fail your college exams? Pfft."
The other servants couldn't help but chuckle as they whispered to each other. Xinxin felt even more mortified and began to resent this mistress. *She’s already so rich; why be so petty over a few pieces of jewelry?*
She turned, walked to the stairs, and pulled her bag out. She took out a small, palm-sized coin purse, opened it, and handed over the earrings and jewelry. She didn't want to stay here for another second, and her tone was no longer gentle. "Can I go now?"
"You haven't returned everything. What do you think?" Li Qianqian looked down at her from a height, challenging her.
"There’s nothing else! I only took this jewelry. You can't cheat me!" Xinxin said, growing anxious.
Li Qianqian reminded her, "There is still a shirt."
Xinxin suddenly remembered. Her expression soured, and she slowly looked up at Ji Wanyun. Ji Wanyun felt her hair stand on end. From the moment she saw the video, she had felt nothing but disgust for this sticky-fingered girl. The girl had caused her to be caught on camera, too; although she hadn't taken anything, if she couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation, Li Qianqian would surely make her life difficult.
Now that Xinxin was looking at her, Ji Wanyun instinctively felt that it was both a plea for help and a threat. *An incompetent fool who ruins everything, and now she wants to drag me down with her?*
Ji Wanyun’s face darkened. "Return whatever you stole! Master Fu’s shirts are all custom-made. If you’ve lost one, you won’t be able to afford the compensation!" She added, "I respected your aunt for her hard work and trusted you completely, but you? You’ve made me suffer such a huge misunderstanding with the Second Young Mistress. You’ve disappointed me so much!"
Ji Wanyun’s words stung Xinxin deeply. It was clearly Ji Wanyun who had wanted to harm the mistress, yet now she was trying to wash her hands clean of everything. Xinxin had even kept a shirt back for her, knowing about Ji Wanyun’s secret crush on Master Fu.
Xinxin stopped caring about her. "Say whatever you want, but that won't change the fact that the shirt is in your room."
Ji Wanyun was horrified, instantly losing her composure. Her first thought was that this wretch was trying to pull her into the abyss. "How is that possible! For someone with a higher education, have your books been eaten by dogs? I thought you were innocent and even spoke up for you, but instead, you turn around and smear me!"
Hearing these harsh words, Xinxin decided she didn't want to help clarify things either. She intentionally cast doubt by saying, "I saw it with my own eyes, how could I be wrong?"
"Steward Ji, is that true?" Li Qianqian raised an eyebrow, a playful smile on her face.
To Ji Wanyun, that smile was blinding. She had seen all types of people and dealt with many such framing incidents, which was why she was always vigilant. Her room had always been locked; no one could enter but her. There was no way Li Qianqian would use Xinxin’s slander to drag her through the mud!
"Second Young Mistress, I am loyal to Master Fu. How could I possibly steal his shirt? My room is spotless. You can go search it—once you’ve finished, you can prove my innocence!"