The jewelry and scrolls were placed on Mrs. Ji's desk.
Everyone sat down on both sides.
Madam Ji touched the painting with trembling fingers, but then quickly pushed it away, calling out to her trusted maid: "Take it away, take it away, it's so unlucky!"
A maid came hurriedly and placed all these things on a table a little away from Madam Ji.
"Madam, it is indeed an offering to the First Madam." The old woman reported after taking a quick look.
"Xiao, what do you say?" Madam Ji's face showed a bit of embarrassment. In this kind of thing, even if it was Xiao's fault, she, the madam of the inner courtyard, would also lose face.
"Mother, I really didn't use these as betrothal gifts for my elder brother and sister-in-law, and I didn't want to..." Xiao looked around and saw only disbelieving eyes. She shouted anxiously. She felt really wronged. When did she offer betrothal gifts to the Xiao family? She never wanted to marry her own niece as her daughter-in-law.
Her niece was going to enter the mansion, but at most she would be a concubine. Xiao didn't know how much her niece knew about some things, so it was definitely not possible to let her marry someone else. She could only lock her up by her side, but she had to leave the position of the main wife to someone who was more helpful.
The situation around my daughter is not as good as I imagined, so she needs my help even more at this time.
"Sister, how can you say such a thing? You were the one who came to propose marriage in the first place. You said that you were busy recently and had to help Her Majesty deal with some affairs of the Eastern Palace. The Crown Princess was about to marry in. After the Crown Princess married in, Her Majesty would be free, so Her Majesty could ask someone to propose marriage. The two families are now in a relationship, so you can give some betrothal gifts first, which is a simple way to settle the matter of having two children."
Xiao Haitang's mother interrupted Xiao directly and looked at Xiao in shock, as if Xiao had said something incredible.
Xiao Haitang whimpered softly and threw herself into her arms and started crying.
"Originally we didn't want these things from you, but you said they were good, so we kept them first, and when we officially get engaged, we'll include these in the list. This is also a token of your kindness as your aunt, so why... why don't you acknowledge them now?"
The lady of the Xiao family looked at Xiao with deep sorrow.
"I have proposed, I... When did I propose, and use these things?" Xiao was so angry that she almost laughed. She spread her hands and didn't care about her face at this time, and directly tore the matter out.
"Sister, why do you have to say such things now? What you did was wrong. I found it strange at the time. Given the relationship between our two families, and you really wanted Haitang to be your daughter-in-law, you taught her everything by hand. She has been with you since she was a child, even longer than she has been with us. So, we understand that you are busy now and can't take care of your son's marriage. You don't need to give a betrothal gift first, but you insisted on giving it. Now that I think about it... it turns out... Sister, you are confused!"
The lady of the Xiao family said this with some reprimand in her tone.
This means that the offerings in front of the Da Yue clan's ancestral tablet were indeed taken by the Xiao clan.
Her words made several ladies of the Ji family nod their heads repeatedly. This was true. Xiao Haitang was indeed raised in the Ji Mansion since she was a child. Other members of the family had long said that the Xiao family was raising a daughter-in-law and educating her since she was a child, and that the daughter-in-law would be close to them in the future.
This sounds true!
"Brother, look at this
What did the eldest sister-in-law say? "Mrs. Xiao wanted to slap her sister-in-law twice to wake her up. "Is she crazy? What nonsense is she talking about? When did I bring these things to propose marriage?"
"Sister, please stop talking. Now that things have come to this, you should apologize to Madam Duan and return all the things." Xiao's eldest brother sighed sadly, "It was because of your father and mother that you were spoiled since you were young and raised your character too much. Not only is you arrogant, but you also want to be the first in everything. Madam Bo has passed away for such a long time, and you are still upset and actually did such a thing. Forget it, let's settle the matter and forget about it from now on."
Xiao's eldest brother, who looked like a good old man, seemed to downplay the matter, as if the reason Xiao took the things away was because of the dispute between sisters-in-law when Dayue was alive.
"I didn't..." Xiao was filled with grief and hatred, and shouted loudly. Seeing that no one paid attention to her, her voice became sharper, "I didn't, I didn't take..."
"Xiao, kneel down! You took the offerings from the Yue family's coffin, which was a big mistake. And you sent these unlucky things to the Xiao residence, which was even more wrong. You made a mistake on top of a mistake. The facts are there, and you still refuse to admit your mistakes?"
Looking at the chaotic scene, Madam Ji suddenly became angry and shouted loudly.
Xiao was startled, and she looked back at the suspicious faces of the crowd, and then at her eldest brother and sister-in-law who were righteous and stern. Although she gnashed her teeth in hatred, she knew that the situation was hopeless, so she had to kneel down slowly and said in a choked voice: "Mother, I really don't know about this. It's not just about these offerings, but also about the betrothal. It might have been done by someone around me."
This means pushing what you have done onto the people around you.
Qu Moying looked at Xiao's trusted maids and servants with sarcasm. The hands that were about to be extended by them suddenly froze, and their faces turned pale and their whole bodies trembled.
One of the maids was so frightened that her legs went weak and she knelt down as well.
"You mean... a servant is deceiving you?" The old lady breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want such a big incident to happen to the Xiao family.
This matter cannot be let off with more than a superficial reprimand.
"Brother, tell me, did I come here to say this in person?" Xiao turned her head and looked at her brother pleadingly, crying, "I... If I really dare to do this, there will be no place for me in this mansion!"
These words frightened Xiao's eldest brother so much that he trembled and turned to look at his wife. They wanted to force their sister to recognize their daughter, but they didn't want their sister to get into trouble.
Xiao's sister-in-law pretended to cry twice with a handkerchief. She didn't want anything to really happen to Xiao. After all, it would not be good for them. Now that the matter was made clear and pushed onto Xiao, the Ji family would have to give an explanation to their family anyway. They would eventually marry their daughter off.
Even for the sake of his daughter, he couldn't push Xiao too hard.
"Sister, now that you mention it... this is really... someone close to you who did it..." Xiao's eldest sister-in-law cried twice, then rolled her eyes and looked at the maid who had just knelt down in fear. This maid was originally a senior maid close to Xiao, who had helped Xiao deal with some things in the past. She pointed and said, "It's her!"
“Slave… your servant…” The maid was shaking so much that she couldn’t speak clearly, and her face was pale without a trace of blood.
"Okay, so it's you who is involved in this. I said... I don't know anything.
Why did the altar incident happen first, and then the betrothal incident? Someone, take her down and torture her severely. Ask her who came up with this idea. I don't believe a maid would dare to do such a thing, and how could she conceal it from the world. Who let her put the blame on me? Who can't tolerate me? "
When Mrs. Xiao heard what Mrs. Xiao said, she immediately came back to life and pointed at the maid and cursed her angrily.
There was something behind the words, and several ladies from the Ji family looked at Madam Duan who was listening quietly on the side.
If there is anyone in this mansion who is Xiao's enemy, and if there is anyone else who would frame Xiao, it would be no one else except Madam Duan!
Could it be that this Madam Duan was really the one behind all this? Judging from Xiao's previous behavior, it really seemed like that!
"Someone, come and question this maid!" Madam Ji also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she was not the second son's wife, it would be fine. As for the matter of one maid or several maids, it was all a trivial matter.
"Wait!" Qu Moying sneered and spoke slowly. She certainly didn't come here just to watch the fun. In the Ji Mansion, the Xiao family was the home court. Madam Duan would never be able to defeat the Xiao family who were in cahoots with Madam Ji. With Madam Ji protecting the Xiao family, she came here today to make up for this shortcoming.
The plot of Xiao Haitang's family was just an inducement.
"Miss Fourth Qu, if you have something to do, please wait until our family has investigated and dealt with the matter thoroughly before we talk about other things!" Madam Ji looked at Qu Moying with a gloomy face. At this time, she didn't care about offending the future Princess of England.
"It's not something else, it's just what's happening right now." Qu Moying didn't bother to be polite anymore and hinted to Yu Dong who was standing beside him. Yu Dong then took out a pair of hairpins from the sacrificial basket beside him.
The gorgeous hairpin, the ample amount of gold, and the gems on it all indicate that the hairpin is of great value. Moreover, everyone from the Ji family here feels familiar with it.
"Isn't this... isn't this what we checked before?" After taking a look, Mrs. Ji suddenly screamed.
"Yes, it is that pair. It was the Crown Princess who checked it out at that time. They were also offerings at that time, placed in front of the spirit tablet of Madam Bo." Another wife of the Ji family nodded.
The next few people also remembered and nodded.
When Dai Yue passed away, they had more or less seen the pair of hairpins when they were paying tribute. Later, they also heard vaguely that the pair of hairpins were missing. Ji Hanyue even checked the servants in the mansion from inside to outside, but in the end, nothing was found.
It is said that they searched everywhere but still couldn't find the answer.
But what is the matter with this pair of hairpins? Why did they appear in the hands of the fourth young lady of the Qu family? At that time, the fourth young lady of the Qu family was still a very pitiful girl. She was thrown into the farm by the Qu family and left to fend for herself. It was impossible for her to have obtained the pair of hairpins.
There is no way this hairpin could be related to this Fourth Miss Qu
"This is an offering in front of my sister-in-law's spirit tablet. Miss Qu Si, please explain why it is in your hands?" Xiao was overjoyed when she saw it, and immediately asked righteously, "Could it be that this hairpin was... taken from my sister-in-law's spirit tablet by Miss Qu Si? Just like the things this time?"
With the previous cause, Xiao seemed to have found his backbone, and his back straightened up.
In Qu Moying's eyes, there was a strong sense of ridicule...