"I have seen the Sixth Young Lady before. She didn"t look like this girl."

"I saw the Sixth Young Lady too. She looked completely different from this person when her maternal grandmother asked her to come over."

Another two maids stood out and murmured in a voice that was just audible to the Madam Dowager and the other people in the room.

"Fake... she... she is a fake..."

"Well... how odd it is that someone should pa.s.s off as the Sixth Young Lady!"

"No wonder she doesn"t look like the Sixth Young Lady as was said. She is a fake!"

Suddenly, gossip burst out among the maids and old maidservants in the room. The sharp contrast between this pretty Sixth Young Lady in front of them and the Sixth Young Lady who was said to be untalented and ordinary-looking, plus the testimonies by the maids who had seen the true Wei Yuewu before, would naturally arouse suspicion in anyone.

The words "This Sixth Young Lady is a fake" were soon spreading…

Hearing the servants" gossip, Lady Li was thoroughly gratified. She cast a cynical glance at Wei Yuewu, thinking that Wei Yuewu was no more than a little naive girl who had only been lucky to escape from the first two death traps.

Holding her handkerchief in her hand, Lady Li walked a few steps forward to the Madam Dowager and put on a look of anxiety. Then she remarked in a lowered voice, "Mother, Yuewu is the daughter of my elder brother-in-law. He will soon return to the capital. We can"t make any mistake regarding her ident.i.ty! You know his temper..."

Her words sounded very earnest. She specifically mentioned Marquis Hua Yang, as if she was considering the matter completely for the good of the Madam Dowager.

The Madam Dowager could hardly retain her composure at the thought of her eldest son who was about to return to the capital to report his work to the emperor. She looked around, frowning her eyebrows. Nurse Hong had waited on the Madam Dowager for many years and knew her likes and dislikes very well. She immediately glared at the servants around her, and the room soon quieted down.

"You … are you really Yuewu? Did you come back to the capital alone? Don"t you have anyone around to prove your ident.i.ty?"

The Madam Dowager asked in a slightly cold tone after all the voices quieted down in the whole room. In the meantime, she looked at Wei Yuewu from head to foot.

Someone who could prove her ident.i.ty? A trace of chilling hatred flashed in Wei Yuewu"s bright eyes. Of course she was not alone! She had the companion of Qin Ruo and other servants and they set out for the capital together.

After the a.s.sa.s.sination she asked Yan Huaijing to let his guards escort her to the scene of the murder.

Qin Ruo was stabbed to death by a sword in the carriage. Judging from her ghastly look before death, Wei Yuewu could easily imagine how brutal and ruthless the a.s.sa.s.sins were. They did not give Qin Ruo any chance to escape. And now the Madam Dowager asked her why there was no one to prove her ident.i.ty! Wei Yuewu simply did not believe that the Madam Dowager, who looked so shrewd, really knew nothing about the a.s.sa.s.sination.

"Grandmother, Marquis Jing Yuan has an affair with my second elder sister. They attempted to murder me and they killed all the people who escorted me. I entreat you to do justice for me."

Wei Yuewu lowered her eyes respectfully. Her eyes were as cold as ice under her long lashes.

Since she had decided to announce her existence in the mansion with a high profile, she would not bear any insult or injustice. Instead, she would definitely seek opportunities to go on the offensive. She did not care about whether the Madam Dowager was really kept in the dark or not. Since they dared to commit the crime, she dared to expose them. Wei Yuewu knew clearly that the Madam Dowager could not turn a deaf ear after she made an accusation.

Her words were so shocking that all the people in the room stared at her in astonishment. The room became utterly quiet all of a sudden.

All looked at Wei Yuewu, who appeared as fragile as a delicate flower before them. They couldn"t believe that she made such an affirmative accusation against Mo Huating and Wei Yan for having an affair and conspiring to murder her without any direct evidence.

The face of Lady Li, who was confident with her victory, suddenly changed color. She half opened her mouth, only to find the rhetoric she had prepared beforehand useless. Wei Yuewu"s words simply made it impossible for her to speak from the point of view of a bystander and eliminated all the possibilities of her speaking as a person not involved in the matter.

Wei Yan was dumbfounded, with her eyes bulging, her mouth opening, and embarra.s.sment and hatred surging in her heart! If it weren"t for Lady Li who pulled her tightly, she would almost rush out.

"Yuewu, you say that again!"

The Madam Dowager"s face darkened and she remarked with suppressed anger.

"Marquis Jing Yuan attempted to murder me. I entreat you to do justice for me!"

Wei Yuewu remained composed. She was determined to make the plot of Wei Yan and Lady Li public today so that Lady Li would not be able to scheme against her while claiming to be for her good.

"What evidence do you have?"

The Madam Dowager"s face was gloomy, but she had to ask reluctantly.

"Grandmother, Marquis Jing Yuan committed the crime in a very clean way, so it"s true that there was no evidence left on the spot. And anyone who could prove him guilty had been killed!"

Wei Yuewu"s eyes were filled with deep and chilling coldness. Her chest heaved violently as she took a deep breath. Anyone could discern that she was trying to stay calm. "Nevertheless, there are some things that are really suspicious. Grandmother, if you don"t believe in me, you can look into them one by one yourself. You will definitely find out the truth."

"What are they?"

"First, Marquis Jing Yuan was also in town with his guards when the a.s.sa.s.sination took place;

Second, my second elder sister"s maid Shuiyun was beside Marquis Jing Yuan wearing man"s clothes. Later, she told me in front of many people that I should take revenge on my second elder sister."

Casting a glance at Lady Li with her limpid eyes, Wei Yuewu noticed her eagerness for argument. With a snort, she continued her speech without leaving Lady Li any chance to speak.

"Third, when I was on my way to the mansion today, a carriage crashed my carriage into the river. If I hadn"t changed to another carriage before the crash, I would have been dead by now. There was an old woman in the crowd who exchanged glances with the coachman who caused the accident. The woman is a maidservant from this mansion. Later she saw that I was fine and then hurried back to the mansion to send news."

"Grandmother, every single thing I said is true. If you don"t believe me, you can look into them yourself. It has not been long since my carriage was crashed into the river. They are still salvaging it. And many people saw the woman hurrying back to the mansion. You can find some people who were on the spot to come here and identify her."

The carriage accident happened in the capital and there were many people talking about it. Wei Yuewu didn"t believe the Madam Dowager would be indifferent.

Now she had told the Madam Dowager these things as a setup, and Lady Li could no longer take advantage of her seniority to suppress her!

She wanted to let everyone know that Lady Li and Wei Yan were plotting against her. If Lady Li wanted to take actions against her later on, she had to consider whether she was looking for trouble!

Meanwhile, she meant to make the Madam Dowager understand that those things were not merely family scandals. They were already known to many people outside the mansion!

"You... you b.i.t.c.h... What nonsense are you talking about?"

Wei Yan scolded as soon as she figured out what Wei Yuewu implied.

"Second Elder Sister, can you explain why Shuiyun was following Marquis Jing Yuan? When my maid recognized Marquis Jing Yuan before her death, why was Shuiyun standing beside him? Why did Shuiyun disguise herself as a guard of Marquis Jing Yuan after I escaped from death?"

Standing there coldly and staring at Wei Yan, Wei Yuewu bombarded her with a string of questions. Since Wei Yan had raised the question, Wei Yuewu might as well take the opportunity to interrogate her.

The more chaotic the situation became, the more scrupulous the Madam Dowager would be. Now that the drama had developed to this stage, could the Madam Dowager retain her composure?

"You b.i.t.c.hy girl, you... you lied..." Wei Yan burst out with hatred. Anyone who witnessed her shouting like this could see she had a guilty conscience. All eyes in the room were turned to Wei Yan with suspicion.

Lady Li now sensed that things were growing unfavorable to them. She opened her mouth and was going to take over the argument when she heard a teacup cast to her feet with a clang. She was immediately dumbfounded.

The fork-shaped blue veins on the Madam Dowager"s forehead jerked indiscernibly and her face was gloomy. Without a single look at the smashed cup and without any trace of smile in her eyes, she stared fiercely at Lady Li and Wei Yan and asked angrily, "Tell me about Wei Yan"s maid!"

Although Wei Yuewu was not able to charge Mo Huating and Wei Yan of conspiring to murder her, the thing about Shuiyun was undeniable.

It was the first time that Wei Yan had seen the Madam Dowager was so angry. She abruptly fell on her knees and said to the Madam Dowager, "Grandmother..."

However, with such great nervousness, she had no idea about what to say!

"Mother, Wei Yan has nothing to do with this. The maid was sent to take Yuewu back to the capital. Somehow she got together with Marquis Jing Yuan. Marquis Jing Yuan had sent her back to us and said she got lost on the way.

Lady Li hastily defended Wei Yan. Meanwhile, she stealthily pushed Wei Yan to remind her to speak after her.

She was regretting that she did not kill Shuiyun when the maid came back. If she had done that, no evidence could be provided by Shuiyun and she would not be too conscience-stricken to answer the Madam Dowager"s question.

However Lady Li had never expected that this cheap girl would be so audacious as to declare war upon entering the mansion and make an accusation against Wei Yan.

"Mother, after coming back, the maid also said that this girl was not Yuewu. The Six Young Lady is well-known for being timid and doesn"t look like her, well..." After all, Lady Li was much experienced and sophisticated. She soon calmed down after a brief flurry. As long as she proved Wei Yuewu was a fake, all the accusations were no big deal.

Just insist that she was a fake!

"That"s right, grandmother. Shuiyun also said my sixth younger sister looked completely different from her. Who knows where this cheap girl came from and how dare she pa.s.sed off as my sixth younger sister. Perhaps she had killed my sixth younger sister."

Wei Yan was not stupid and she immediately understood Lady Li. After uttering those words, she covered her face with her handkerchief and started sobbing.

And she looked really sad.

As long as Wei Yuewu couldn"t prove her ident.i.ty, whatever she said was not credible!

The room fell quiet because of Wei Yan"s words. The two girls standing behind Lady Zhang cautiously budged a few steps away to one side, as if they wanted to distance themselves from Wei Yuewu lest they were inflicted with bad luck.

The Madam Dowager fixed her eyes again on Wei Yuewu. She lowered the corners of her mouth and remained speechless.

"Second Elder Sister, why do you think I want to pa.s.s off as Wei Yuewu?"

Wei Yuewu looked at Wei Yan, her lips curled up and her eyes as limpid as autumn pools. With an air of composure, she did not appear panicked at all. Only a little contempt could be felt from her. She simply did not believe such an experienced and shrewd person as the Madam Dowager could fail to see through the whole matter!

"You... you must covet the engagement with Marquis Jing Yuan, so you killed my sixth younger sister and then pa.s.sed off as her and came to the capital."

Wei Yan was stumped. But when she saw Wei Yuewu"s sarcastic eyes, she was so p.i.s.sed off that she blurted those words out of her mouth. The moment she finished her sentence, she felt she had made a mistake and tried to withdraw her words.

"Is Marquis Jing Yuan so outstanding as to make my second elder sister ignore the sisterhood? Marquis Jing Yuan is an excellent man in the eyes of yours, but he isn"t worth a penny to me."

Wei Yuewu spoke non-stop without leaving any chance for Wei Yan to withdraw her words. A trace of penetrating profoundness flashed in her eyes.

Suddenly she turned her head towards the Madam Dowager. A mix of anger, humiliation and pain filled her eyes and her face shone with cold determination. "Grandmother, please tell me explicitly whether I should go to the court and accuse Marquis Jing Yuan of murdering me. I have told Marquis Jing Yuan that I would break off the engagement. I would rather die than marry a man who attempted to murder me."

Before Wei Yan mentioned the matter of engagement, it was improper for her to raise this topic. After all, she had just arrived, and she must give the Madam Dowager some leeway on this issue. The so-called truths were no more than rumors and speculations that lacked substantial evidence.

That was why she deliberately provoked Wei Yan to bring up the topic!

Because her purpose was more than exposing the malicious intentions of Lady Li and Wei Yan…