Chapter Thirty-Two: Framed

"This set of hair ornaments is fake," she lowered her gaze. "These are not mine."

For a moment, the crowd fell silent.

Madam Liu was the first to speak. She asked, "Second Miss Jiang, what do you mean by this?"

Jiang Li smiled, handing the ornaments to Madam Liu, and said coolly, "I spent four hundred taels of silver at the Auspicious Pavilion in Yanjing to purchase a set of ruby hair ornaments. There are only three such sets in the entire Auspicious Pavilion, precisely because the rubies are of exceptional quality and vivid color." She paused before continuing, "But the ones in my hand now are crudely made and dull in color. They aren't worth four hundred taels—not even forty."

"What do you mean, Miss?" Tong'er couldn't help but ask.

"Even if I truly wished to curse my third sister, I would never use such paltry trinkets," Jiang Li replied with contempt. "These are not my ornaments. Someone took mine and replaced them with this shoddy imitation."

Someone had taken her ornaments!

The situation turned abruptly; suddenly, everyone understood. Yet after a moment, confusion settled in even deeper.

Old Madam Jiang spoke: "Li girl, someone took your ornaments—what does that mean?"

Jiang Li turned and offered a gentle smile to the old lady. "Madam, there's no need to rush. I will get to the bottom of this right now."

The old lady was startled. In front of the guests, Jiang Li called her "Madam" instead of "Grandmother"—the distance between them was clear. Was this resentment because she had not taken Jiang Li's side when she was in trouble?

A flicker of surprise passed over Jiang Youyao and Ji Shuran's faces. Things were not developing as they had planned. Ji Shuran, seeing her scheme unravel, quickly said, "Li'er, how could these be fake? Perhaps you are mistaken?"

"Impossible!" Madam Liu declared resolutely. "The Auspicious Pavilion would never sell anything of this quality. All of you are regular patrons there—you can see for yourselves." She handed the ornaments to the ladies beside her. They examined the pieces and nodded in agreement.

Madam Liu's words were confirmed.

Ji Shuran's brows furrowed. She looked at Jiang Li and suddenly realized that, from the moment the crack on the ruby ornament was discovered, regardless of the accusations and suspicious glances, Jiang Li had never lost her composure.

There was confusion, puzzlement, regret, even apology on Jiang Li's face—but never panic, anger, helplessness, or despair.

Even now, Jiang Li's lips still wore a gentle, soft smile, exactly as she had at the beginning.

At a time like this, why was she still smiling? What could possibly be amusing?

Ji Shuran grew increasingly uneasy. She subconsciously followed Jiang Li's gaze downward and saw Xiangqiao, who was kneeling and seemed nearly ready to collapse.

Xiangqiao was trembling.

Jiang Li crouched down and reached out to support her, her eyes kind and gentle, her voice as warm as ever.

She said, "Xiangqiao, was it you who stole my hair ornaments?"

"No, no!" Xiangqiao stubbornly denied it. "This servant did no such thing."

"How strange," Jiang Li murmured with a hint of puzzlement. "You claimed you saw me use a knife to scratch those ruby ornaments. But now it's clear that the ornaments have been switched. What you saw—could it have been... a ghost?"

The final word was spoken softly, but to Xiangqiao, it sounded chilling and ghastly.

"Third sister, do you have any evidence Xiangqiao took your ornaments?" Jiang Yu'e asked, unwilling to let the matter drop.

"Evidence?" Jiang Li straightened and, turning to Ji Shuran, said with a smile, "Mother, as the head lady of the main house, please send someone immediately to search Xiangqiao's room for the missing ruby ornaments. All the ladies and sisters are here as witnesses, so that after I clear my name, I won't be unjustly blamed."

At these words, some of the guests felt a pang of guilt.

Jiang Li was, in fact, reproaching them for watching the drama from a privileged vantage point, judging her without hesitation.

Ji Shuran forced a smile, her teeth clenched. She was no fool—she realized her scheme had failed. She was astonished that Jiang Li, who had neither connections nor wealth in the Jiang household, could turn things around. Yet she also feared Jiang Li might have further tricks up her sleeve, and instinctively glanced at Xiangqiao.

When she heard Jiang Li ask for a search, Xiangqiao visibly relaxed, which did not escape Ji Shuran’s notice. She quickly calculated that Jiang Li probably would not find anything, and so she instructed a few people to conduct the search. As expected, they left to search Xiangqiao’s room.

The main hall fell silent once more.

At last, Jiang Yuanbai returned to his senses, realizing he might have been in the wrong. He looked at Jiang Li, who stood not far from Jiang Youyao—Jiang Youyao was elegantly dressed with ornate hairpins, while Jiang Li wore a simple outfit, so plain that, if not for her natural grace, she might have been mistaken for a mere maid.

Jiang Yuanbai felt a pang of discomfort.

He was a man who prized reputation and protected his own. Even if he disliked Jiang Li, he did not wish for the Jiang family to lose face before the guests. Now that the truth of the ornaments was emerging, he wondered if he had spoken too harshly to Jiang Li earlier.

But Jiang Li cared nothing for the guests’ thoughts, nor for Jiang Yuanbai's regret or Ji Shuran’s and Jiang Youyao's disappointment. Standing in the courtyard, she watched the tense Xiangqiao with amusement, nearly wanting to laugh.

She had long seen through the ploys of Ji Shuran and Jiang Youyao. But her aim was not simply to clear her name.

Man may not intend to harm the tiger, but the tiger intends to harm man. Ji Shuran’s people lurking in Fragrant Blooms Pavilion were a hidden danger; her tragic past life had taught her to nip trouble in the bud.

Before long, those sent to search Xiangqiao’s room returned. To ensure fairness, the old lady sent her own trusted nursemaid along.

Nurse Zhang came back to stand beside the old lady, glanced at the kneeling Xiangqiao, and reported, "Madam, the ruby hair ornaments were found in Xiangqiao’s room. There are no knife marks—they appear genuine."

Xiangqiao’s body went limp. She murmured, "Impossible."

Jiang Youyao was stunned. Ji Shuran, seeing the smile widen on Jiang Li's lips, felt a chill run down her spine.

Sure enough, Nurse Zhang hesitated, then announced before all the guests, "We also found a number of valuable pieces of jewelry in Xiangqiao’s room—most likely gifts from the main house to Second Miss."

For the first time, surprise flashed across Jiang Li’s face and her voice held a trace of anger—though, on closer listening, that anger carried an undertone of mockery.

"So it was greed that drove Xiangqiao to frame me!"