"Fine." Li Qianqian maintained a faint smile on her lips, observing every subtle expression on their faces.
Ji Wanyun took the lead, guiding everyone to the servant's quarters at the end of the first floor. She pulled a key from her pocket to unlock the door. The moment she pushed it open, she was stunned; a high-end shirt was resting right beside the pillow.
The group’s gaze toward Steward Ji turned disdainful.
Ji Wanyun’s expression shifted dramatically. She spoke up urgently, "I didn't take this! Someone is trying to frame me!"
"Steward Ji, your room is locked all day. Who else could have gotten in?" a servant remarked coldly.
"It was you! You framed me!" Ji Wanyun immediately grabbed Xinxin from the crowd, her eyes burning with rage.
"I don't even have the key to your room. Besides, today is my first day on the job. How would I even know which room is yours?" Xinxin muttered, showing no concern for her collar being gripped in the other woman's hand.
"You're still slandering me, you bitch! I never should have hired you!" Ji Wanyun was going mad with fury. How could she have hired such a backstabbing wretch?
"You're the bitch—a two-faced, vicious woman. No wonder the person you have a crush on doesn't like you." Xinxin didn't show any weakness and fought back immediately. The two were soon tangled in a brawl.
"Enough, both of you! What is this nonsense?" Li Qianqian’s voice dropped, carrying an air of authority.
Ji Wanyun had no intention of stopping; if Xinxin didn't clarify things now, she would be left taking the fall!
Seeing this, some servants stepped forward to forcibly separate them. Xinxin’s hair was a mess, and Ji Wanyun was in no better state, with her skin-toned camisole exposed beneath her blouse.
Li Qianqian addressed Xinxin and the others first: "You have no further part in this. You may leave with your aunt."
Wang Chunhua, who had been behind the crowd, was extremely displeased. To make matters worse, the massive sum she had expected for "mental distress" had vanished into thin air, and she was even less willing to leave like this. "I recall there’s some kind of compensation for being fired?"
Li Qianqian replied, "Don't worry, everything will be handled through the proper channels."
"I’m a long-time employee of the Fu family. You’ll have to pay me a significant amount." Wang Chunhua was seething. She increasingly saw Li Qianqian as a spendthrift who was just being stubborn by firing her, only to then have to pay her three months' wages. Hiring someone new would cost money too—what a waste. It would be better to just keep her on.
"I wouldn't be so sure. Someone will be settling accounts with you regarding the kickbacks you took," Li Qianqian said with a light chuckle.
Wang Chunhua’s face turned ghastly pale. She shouted in a panic, "You’re spouting nonsense!"
"No need to rush. Someone will go over the books with you." Li Qianqian raised her eyelids and tapped her phone with a fingertip.
Wang Chunhua felt a surge of panic. She had indeed taken some small kickbacks, but they were subtle. Li Qianqian had only been married into the family for a few months; how could she possibly know? She opened her mouth to say something more, but Li Qianqian raised a hand to cut her off.
"If you have any questions, go talk to Xiao Zhang outside."
Wang Chunhua had no choice but to suppress her panic and leave. Before she did, she shot a suggestive glance at Steward Ji. She had lost her job and might even have to pay damages; if Ji Wanyun didn't give her some extra compensation, she wouldn't let it slide.
Ji Wanyun read the look perfectly, which only made her more furious. Such a pair of idiots, that aunt and niece—yet she was the one forced to suffer in silence!
After they left, Li Qianqian turned her attention to Ji Wanyun. "Steward Ji, you hid my brother-in-law’s shirt and even planted it in my room to frame me. You can go upstairs and explain this to him yourself. Whatever punishment he deems fit for you, I will leave entirely to him."
"I didn't! The shirt was clearly..." Ji Wanyun reacted violently, but she had no evidence. If she accused Li Qianqian, she might just get bitten back.
Li Qianqian laughed. "You were seen sneaking into my room with such a large bag. If it wasn't you, who could it be?"
Ji Wanyun’s expression soured. At first, she had indeed intended to put Master Fu’s shirt in Li Qianqian’s room to secure the frame-up, but she hadn't expected Li Qianqian to be so bold as to hang the stolen shirt right in her closet. So, she had turned back, but who would have thought someone had recorded her? She knew the difference between being caught for putting a shirt in a room and being caught for unauthorized entry.
She gritted her teeth. "The bag contained trash. I only entered your room to help you take it out."
Li Qianqian seemed to have anticipated that she would deny it, and continued with a smile, "But you also entered my brother-in-law's room today and took clothes from his closet. The bag went from flat to bulging. I have the video."
Ji Wanyun turned pale upon hearing this, realizing immediately that there must be servants in the house who were on Li Qianqian’s side. She felt extremely resentful. "You actually had people spying on me?"
"How could you call it spying? It was just a coincidence," Li Qianqian said with a curl of her lips.
Seeing that Li Qianqian was determined to smear her, Ji Wanyun regretted it to the core. If she had known, she wouldn't have gone to the trouble of taking the shirt. She knew well that Li Qianqian would never stand by her or clear her name, so she had to pin her last hopes on Master Fu.
"If that’s how the Second Young Mistress feels, then nothing I say will make you believe me. Let’s let Master Fu decide. I believe the innocent will clear themselves!" With those words, Ji Wanyun didn't even look at Li Qianqian and headed upstairs alone.
Li Qianqian followed unhurriedly. She hadn't originally intended to dump the blame on Ji Wanyun; she had only wanted to dispose of the shirt and buy a new one to compensate her brother-in-law. But since Ji Wanyun insisted on dragging her down with her, she certainly wouldn't just stand there and be slaughtered.
***
In the study, as soon as she went up, Ji Wanyun proactively explained the ins and outs of the incident clearly—including her entry into his room to take the clothes for cleaning, and entering Li Qianqian's room to take out the trash. After all, Li Qianqian had the video; if she tried to cover it up, it would look like she had a guilty conscience. It was better to confess proactively.
After finishing, she didn't forget to look at the man in the leather chair with a pitiful expression, playing the emotional card. "Master Fu, we were classmates for four years in college. You should know my character; I would never commit such an obsessive, stalker-like act!"
Master Fu slowly raised his eyes and glanced at the calm and collected Li Qianqian standing to the side.
Li Qianqian returned the look with a smile and said politely, "I believe my brother-in-law is capable of making his own judgments."
Master Fu nodded slightly, then slowly shifted his gaze to the teary-eyed Ji Wanyun. "She has always made it clear that she doesn't allow others to enter her room. You have high emotional intelligence, and you aren't exactly a warm-hearted person."
Ji Wanyun stiffened. She knew Master Fu wasn't so easily fooled. She gritted her teeth and said, "I admit I deliberately wanted to make things difficult for the Second Young Mistress because she made me look like a fool in front of the Old Mistress last time. But I truly didn't do anything else to wrong her."
"This is the last time. Do not let it happen again. You are clearly no longer fit for the position of steward. Starting tomorrow, someone else will take over your position."
Master Fu’s simple words shattered all of Ji Wanyun’s hard work over the years. Her eyes reddened further. Although he had believed her story, he had demoted her. She had spent a full year climbing from a servant to a steward!
For now, she could only comfort herself by thinking that Master Fu had always been strict and impartial. If she was being punished this severely, Li Qianqian’s end would only be worse.
Ji Wanyun adjusted her state and asked, "Understood. Should I inform the Old Mistress about the Second Young Mistress taking your shirt?"