Huo Nanchi also left the courtyard, and from behind a pine tree stepped a delicate and charming figure, none other than Qin Ruowei.
She had come looking for Huo Nanchi, only to accidentally witness Shen Xuejin crawling ashore, see Huo Nanchi hand over his cloak, and watch the two of them step inside together.
She had also seen Huo Nanchi chase away Shen Wanya and the others.
Had this been done by Eldest Young Master Huo, Qin Ruowei perhaps wouldn't have thought much of it, but coming from Second Young Master Huo, it was rather intriguing.
Qin Ruowei's pretty face gradually darkened with malice, and she murmured a few words to her maid, who quickly hurried away.
Back in her courtyard, the first thing Shen Xuejin did upon returning, completely drenched, was to swiftly change into a dry set of clothes. Placing her dripping garments into a wooden basin, she gazed somewhat abstractly at the cloak that had already been soaked through.
Today, she had been so close to Huo Nanchi. He hadn't said a word, yet Shen Xuejin felt as though she were living in a dream.
Especially when he gripped her waist—the heat of his touch felt as though it could instantly consume her.
Just as she sat there in a daze, Nanny Wang suddenly barged in, leading a group of people.
"Where are the clothes the Shen girl changed out of?" Nanny Wang asked Bizhu bluntly.
Bizhu's mouth opened with a trace of hesitation.
Without a word, Nanny Wang raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap across Bizhu's face. "Whose servant are you, and who is your true mistress? Have you forgotten just after a few days here?"
Kneeling on the ground and clutching her face, Bizhu pointed toward the wooden basin behind her.
"What is the meaning of this, Nanny?" Shen Xuejin asked.
Turning a deaf ear, Nanny Wang signaled the maids behind her to collect the garments, then searched the room and found the damp cloak.
"Miss Shen, the Madam requests your presence," Nanny Wang stated unceremoniously.
Zhuo Garden.
The opera performance had already stopped, and Madam Huo sat in the seat of honor with a displeased expression.
Glancing at the wet clothes and Huo Nanchi's cloak, she said to Shen Xuejin standing before her, "Miss Shen, someone claims to have seen you drenched and rendezvousing with a man outside. Is this true?"
Though Madam Huo recognized Huo Nanchi's cloak at a glance, she chose not to expose the fact.
Not far away, Huo Nanchi stood tall and straight like a pine, his hands clasped behind his back, his cool expression entirely devoid of ripples.
Qin Ruowei walked up to Huo Nanchi. Having already learned who Shen Xuejin was, she deliberately lowered her voice and asked, "Brother Nanchi, who on earth is she? She looks so unfamiliar, I've never seen her before."
Withdrawing her gaze, Huo Nanchi replied indifferently, "The eldest daughter of the Shen family, betrothed to my elder brother."
"To be living here before even marrying into the family hardly seems proper," Qin Ruowei sighed softly. "Madam and Brother Nanchi are simply too kindhearted, I just fear that kindness might be taken advantage of."
Huo Nanchi did not take up her remark.
Qin Ruowei's fingers nearly tore her handkerchief to shreds.
Her probing just now had failed to reveal any particular sentiment Huo Nanchi might hold toward Shen Xuejin, especially since the girl was practically her future eldest sister-in-law.
Yet, with such a remarkably beautiful woman residing in the Huo Residence, Qin Ruowei could not rest easy.
After all, the Huo Residence was a prestigious aristocratic family, and Huo Nanchi was exceptional in both appearance and prospects.
Shen Xuejin recounted the cause and effect of the incident from beginning to end, concluding with, "When I climbed ashore, I saw a cloak and some handkerchiefs on the bank. In my urgency, I put on the cloak. I had no idea whose it was."
To reveal at this moment that the cloak belonged to Huo Nanchi would only invite greater trouble.
After all, a lone man and woman had been shut in a room together, and her clothes were thoroughly soaked.
"Elder Sister, you must not behave so recklessly before Madam Huo," Shen Wanya said with a heartbroken expression. "It was one thing to deceive Father and us on ordinary days, but how could you possibly hope to fool someone as astute as Madam Huo?"
Shen Wanya's remark was rather clever, simultaneously highlighting Shen Xuejin's habitual dishonesty while indirectly flattering Madam Huo.
Standing her ground, Shen Xuejin replied unyieldingly, "It is precisely because I know Madam to be astute that I dare not conceal or deceive her in the slightest."
She bowed to Madam Huo. "My original intention was to change into clean clothes and immediately seek out Madam. I know not who the villain behind this is, daring to commit such an act within the Huo Residence—their audacity is truly boundless."
"If their intent was merely to take my life, my humble existence matters little, and dying would be no great loss. But what if the perpetrator's actual target was one of the many noble female guests visiting today, and I was merely pushed by mistake?"
"Among today's guests, aside from my younger half-sister, every other young lady is the legitimate daughter of an aristocratic household, possessing noble status. No matter who met with disaster, it would spell no small trouble for the Huo Residence."
Madam Huo furrowed her delicate brows.
"I implore Madam to thoroughly investigate this matter. My innocence and reputation can be set aside for the moment, but the safety of the Marquis Manor is at stake, and Xuejin cannot afford to lower her guard. After all, it is thanks to Madam's favor that Xuejin and her mother are able to live in peace within the Huo Residence."
Shen Xuejin's words were equally skillful. They subtly pointed out that her stay at the Marquis Manor was driven by a mortal threat to her life within the Shen family, while positioning the safety of the manor above her own chastity and reputation. Crucially, before the aristocratic young ladies, she exposed Shen Wanya's status as a half-sister, completely stripping away the pride of Shen Wanya, who always fancied herself a legitimate daughter.
Sure enough, stung at her most vulnerable spot, Shen Wanya looked ready to leap forward and tear her to pieces on the spot.
Reclining against the soft cushions, Madam Huo fixed her gaze on Shen Xuejin. "You claim someone intentionally pushed you into the water. What proof do you have?"
Shen Xuejin nodded. "Although I did not see the face of the person who pushed me, she should be wearing a bracelet on her wrist. My changed clothes were snagged, and the threads of my garment are likely still tangled in her bracelet."
"If Madam asks the distinguished guests present and their maids to show their wrists, the truth will be clear."
At a signal from Madam Huo, Nanny Wang stepped forward, instructing all the young ladies and their personal maids to extend their wrists for inspection.
Her face turning pale, Shen Wanya never expected that she would leave behind evidence. In a panic, she tried to slip off the bracelet on her wrist, finally managing to remove it and shove it into her sleeve just as Nanny Wang approached her.
Glancing around the room, Nanny Wang reported to Madam Huo, "Madam, none of the bracelets show any signs of snagged threads."
With a smug expression, Shen Wanya looked at Shen Xuejin and said, "Sister, I told you not to lie before Madam Huo. Isn't this just lifting a stone to drop it on your own feet?"
Instead, Shen Xuejin retorted, "Madam Huo, the culprit has already given herself away." Striding quickly up to Shen Wanya, she seized her wrist and raised it for everyone to see.
Not only was the wrist blazing red, but a bracelet fell out from the sleeve—clearly reddened from the struggle of hastily removing it just moments before.
Pulling back her swollen, red wrist, Shen Wanya protested, "My wrist has been red for a long time; it didn't just turn red now."
Shen Xuejin let out a cold laugh. "I merely grasped your wrist and said nothing at all. How did you know I was referring to your red wrist rather than discovering other evidence?"
At that very instant, the sword in Huo Dao's hand suddenly whistled through the air, plunging straight into the floor right in front of Shen Wanya, a mere inch from the tip of her shoes!