Chapter 32: Shifting blame
“This set is a fake,” she lowered her eyes, “this is not my head ornament.”
The crowd was silent for a moment.
Madam Liu was the first one to open her mouth and ask: “second miss Jiang, what do you mean with this sentence?”
Jiang Li smiled and handed the head ornament in her hand to Madam Liu. She spoke faintly: “I spent 400 taels of silver to buy a ruby head ornament in Yanjing’s Ji Xiang Lou. There are only a total 3 sets of ruby ornaments available in Ji Xiang Lou, precisely due to the excellent quality of this gem and its bright color.” Jiang Li paused for a while before continuing, “however, the workmanship of the head ornament in my hand was crude, the colour dull. Don’t even mention it being 400 taels of silver, it’s not even as good as 40 taels of silver.”
“What the young lady means is …….” Tong’er couldn’t help asking.
“If I really wanted to curse third sister, I wouldn’t use such an unpresentable small thing.” Jiang Li’s tone was filled with disdain, “this is not my head ornament, someone else took away my head ornament and exchanged it with this broken thing with the idea to make me a joke.”
Someone took her head ornament!
In a split second, the matter changed dramatically. Everyone suddenly realized, but for a short moment they fell into deeper doubt.
Old Madam Jiang asked: “Li girl, saying someone took your head ornament, what’s the meaning of this?”
Jiang Li turned her head around and smiled slightly to her and said: “Old Madam, no need to be anxious. Right now I’m here to make things clear, in the end, what actually happened?”
Old Madam Jiang was startled. In the presence of guests, Jiang Li called her “Old Madam” and not “grandmother.” Once heard, it was soon evident of their close or distant relation. Was this complaining to her because a moment ago she didn’t stand by Jiang Li’s side when she was trapped in predicament?
A trace of astonishment flashed across Jiang You Yao and Ji Shuran’s faces. The matter shouldn’t develop like this. Ji Shuran’s heart trembled, not wanting Jiang Li to break her plan, she quickly said: “Li’er, how could this head ornament be fake? Perhaps you’ve made a mistake?”
“Impossible!” Madam Liu spoke up. She resolutely said: “It’s impossible for the items coming out from Ji Xiang Lou to be of this quality. Everyone is a frequent visitor of Ji Xiang Lou, once you look at it you’ll know.” Madam Liu handed the head ornament in her hand to the madam at her side. A few madams touched and felt the head ornament together and everyone nodded.
They verified Madam Liu’s words.
Ji Shuran frowned and looked at Jiang Li to suddenly discover that from the beginning until now, since the cracks were discovered on the head ornament, no matter whether anyone criticized or looked at her peculiarly, Jiang Li wasn’t anxious in the face of all these.
Jiang Li was puzzled, suspicious, remorseful, but against reason she wasn’t anxious, angry, helpless and desperate.
Even now, the corner of Jiang Li’s mouth still carried a warm and gentle smile, exactly the same as how she was initially.
With this situation, how can she still smile, what’s so funny?
Ji Shuran was thinking and felt more and more there was something wrong. She subconsciously caught sight of Jiang Li lowering her head to look at Xiang Qiao on the ground, and followed Jiang Li’s gaze to discover that Xiang Qiao who had been kneeling all along on the ground seemed paralyzed.
Xiang Qiao was shaking.
Jiang Li crouched down and reached her hand out to help Xiang Qiao up. Her eyes as she was looking at Xiang Qiao were amiable and gentle, her tone was also still as good-natured as before.
She said: “Xiang Qiao, it’s you who took my head ornament away, right?”
“It, it’s not.” Xiang Qiao stuck to her statement, “this servant didn’t do that.”
“Then it’s strange.” Jiang Li muttered puzzledly, “At the beginning you said you’ve personally seen me use a knife to cut the ruby head ornament, but now the head ornament has clearly been exchanged by others. What you saw, could it probably be a ……. ghost?”
The last two words, Jiang said them in a particularly soft voice. Yet in Xiang Qiao’s ears, those words sounded particularly gloomy and disastrous.
“Third sister, you said Xiang Qiao took the head ornament away. Is there any evidence?” Jiang Yu’e wasn’t reconciled and asked.
“Evidence?” Jiang Li once again stood up and smiled at Ji Shuran. “As the big madam of the main house, Jiang Li requests mother to immediately send people to go to Xiang Qiao’s room and search for the whereabouts of the ruby head ornament. By coincidence, all the madams and sisters are here and can be the witnesses. It will also save Jiang Li from having to prove my innocence and clear the accusation.”
Hearing what Jiang Li said, the guests had a somewhat guilty conscience.
Jiang Li’s words were actually criticizing them for just watching a play just now, arranging themselves in a high position and staying out of the matter. Without explanation, they immediately treated Jiang Li as the villain.
Ji Shuran had a smile on her face, but her teeth were clenched. She was not stupid. She knew her plan today to scheme against Jiang Li would not bear any result. She was surprised that Jiang Li, in spite of everything, was able to control people behind their back. In the Jiang residence, a person without any connections and any silver actually had the ability to change her fortune. She was also afraid that Jiang Li still had another maneuver afterwards and subconsciously looked at Xiang Qiao.
Hearing that Jiang Li requested for people to search her room, Xiang Qiao’s breath immediately loosened. Xiang Qiao’s action fell into Ji Shuran’s eyes and in a flash a plan formed in her mind. Knowing Jiang Li probably wouldn’t find anything, she appointed a few people to go and search Xiang Qiao’s room.
The entire courtyard regained its peace.
At this time, Jiang Yuan Bai finally came around, feeling he seemed to have made some kind of error. He looked at Jiang Li and saw this daughter of him standing not far away from Jiang You Yao. Jiang You Yao was clothed exquisitely, her hairdo gorgeous, but Jiang Li’s unadorned clothing was simple. If it wasn’t due to her lovely look and gracefulness, relying on just the clothing, she truly was not any more remarkable than a servant girl.
Jiang Yuan Bai suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable again.
Jiang Yuan Bai was p.r.o.ne to having a good reputation, of defendingfamily and friends even when knowing they were in the wrong. Even though he hated and was angry at Jiang Li, he didn’t wish for Jiang Li to lose Jiang family’s face in front of the guests. Moreover, in the present circ.u.mstances, it was a fact that there was something strange with the matter of the head ornament. Once again, Jiang Yuan Bai felt that his tone towards Jiang Li was a bit too harsh just now.
Whatever everybody had in their thoughts, Jiang Yuan Bai’s regret, Ji Shuran’s and Jiang You Yao’s disappointment, Jiang Li didn’t care about them in the slightest. She stood in the middle of the courtyard, staring full of interest at Xiang Qiao who was trying to keep calm and suddenly had an urge to laugh.
Whatever plan Ji Shuran and Jiang You Yao made to scheme against her, she understood it already. However, what she was going to do wasn’t as simple as merely clearing her name like that.
The people had no intention to harm the tiger, yet the tiger had the idea to hurt the people. There would eventually be a disaster if Ji Shuran left her people at Fang Fei Courtyard. She had once gone through the tragic experience and learnt her lesson: to nip it in the bud, to eliminate all harm completely.
Soon, the people who were sent to search Xiang Qiao’s room returned. In order to show fairness, Old Madam Jiang also a.s.signed a momo by her side to go together.
Zhang momo brought the people back to old madam Jiang’s side. After a quick glance at Xiang Qiao who was on the floor, she said: “Answering to old madam, after a search, there was a ruby head ornament without any knife marks in Xiang Qiao’s room. It should be the real one.”
Xiang Qiao’s body turned soft and she mumbled: “impossible.”
Jiang You Yao was also stunned. Ji Shuran saw the smile on Jiang Li’s face become bigger and her scalp immediately tightened.
Sure enough, Zhang momo hesitated for a while and in front of all the guests, she said: “in Xiang Qiao’s room, the servants also found many precious jewelry. Those were the things that the madam from the main house sent to second miss as gifts.”
Jiang Li was surprised for a while. At first, there was anger in her voice, however, when listening carefully, her voice seemed to carry three parts of ridicule.
She said: “So as it turns out, Xiang Qiao covets money and valuables yet blames others ah!”