Chapter Six: She Doesn't Believe Him

The carriage was moving along, and Jiang You’an struggled to stay steady on Lu Xuanheng’s lap, so she had no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck.

Lu Xuanheng buried his face in the side of her neck and inhaled deeply.

“You rarely go out. What made you decide to attend the banquet today, and dress up so beautifully?”

Jiang You’an turned her head slightly. “I didn’t dress up on purpose. I look the same today as I usually do.”

Lu Xuanheng’s large hand rubbed her side through the fabric. “You’d better not be hiding any other intentions from me, You’an.”

Jiang You’an’s heart skipped a beat, but she feigned anger, looking at him with a hint of grievance in her eyes. “What? Other girls can wear bright colors, but I’m not allowed?”

Lu Xuanheng frowned slightly. He couldn’t stand hearing her say that about him and fell silent for a moment.

Seeing this tactic worked, Jiang You’an relaxed a little.

After a while, Lu Xuanheng changed the subject. “What’s going on with Yun Zhu today? Does it have anything to do with you?”

Jiang You’an’s heart tightened.

After all, Lu Yun Zhu was Lu Xuanheng’s cousin and a member of the Lu family. If he found out she was the one who caused Yun Zhu to lose face, how could he ever let her off?

“I don’t know either. She and Shen Heping were already discussing marriage. Maybe they met today, and the two of them couldn’t control themselves.”

Lu Xuanheng fixed his gaze on her pale face. “Then why did she say you were the one who set her up?”

Feigning anger, Jiang You’an replied, “Of course she’s lying to save face after her scandal was exposed. She’s always hated me, you know that.”

“Is that all?”

“If not, then what?”

Lu Xuanheng stared at her for a while, then let her go, his expression hard to read—part anger, part something else.

Jiang You’an thought she had gotten away with it and temporarily relaxed.

Back at the Lu residence, she had just sat down to rest when the old lady’s maid came in, saying that the matriarch wished to see her.

With such an incident, the Lu family’s reputation was tarnished; they wouldn’t let it pass lightly.

Earlier, at the Marquis’s mansion, the matter couldn’t be made a big deal in front of so many people. But now, back at the Lu residence, Lu Yun Zhu could behave as wildly as she wanted. Jiang You’an already imagined how Yun Zhu would twist the facts before the elders.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the Hall of Longevity.

At Lan Yue Residence, Lu Xuanheng sat high on a chair, looking down at two burly men kneeling on the floor.

“Young master, we’ve investigated thoroughly. Miss Yun Zhu paid these two twenty taels each to sneak into the Marquis’s mansion. After the young lady took the medicine, they were supposed to go in... but for some reason, the person who took the medicine turned out to be Miss Yun Zhu herself.”

Xiu Zhu spoke as he observed Lu Xuanheng’s expression. Seeing the cold and terrifying look on his face, he dared not say more.

The two men on the floor cried out, “Master Lu, we’re just mercenaries. It was Miss Yun Zhu who paid us and told us to ruin that girl’s reputation. But we waited a long time and never saw Miss Yun Zhu call us in. We never even touched that girl. Please release us... ah!”

Before the man could finish, Lu Xuanheng kicked him squarely in the face.

Xiu Zhu quickly covered their mouths and pinned them down.

Lu Xuanheng clenched his fists, trembling slightly.

He dared not imagine what would have happened if Jiang You’an had been careless and truly fallen into this trap.

Yet when he questioned her, she remained tight-lipped, refusing to reveal anything.

She didn’t trust him—not to stand up for her, not to take her side.

Meanwhile, Jiang You’an was brought to the main hall of the Hall of Longevity.

“Grandmother, it was her! She drugged me and made me disgrace myself, bringing shame to the Lu family!”

Lu Yun Zhu knelt before the matriarch, her eyes filled with hatred as she glared at Jiang You’an who had just entered.

Lady Zhao, the matriarch, stood coldly to the side.

The matriarch scrutinized Jiang You’an and spoke with authority, “Our Lu family kindly took you in, yet you would do such a thing! And you come from a respectable scholarly family!”

“Grandmother, believe me, even with a hundred courage, I wouldn’t do anything to harm the Lu family!”

Jiang You’an knelt as well, looking wronged as she addressed Lu Yun Zhu. “Sister Yun Zhu, earlier at the Marquis’s mansion, in front of the Marchioness, didn’t we clarify everything? Are you going to lock me up and let me suffer in silence?”

Lu Yun Zhu’s eyes blazed, but Lady Zhao cut in coldly, “We didn’t want to make a scene outside, so we hurried back. Now before the matriarch, you still want to deny it? Yun Zhu says the last person she saw before falling ill was you. Only you had the chance to drug her. Confess!”

Jiang You’an glanced at Lady Zhao, a cold laugh in her heart.

Although living in the Lu household as Lady Zhao’s cousin, they were not close at all. She could tell Lady Zhao disliked her, and now it was clear she was taking Yun Zhu’s side.

Unhurried, Jiang You’an said, “Is Yun Zhu’s accusation enough to convict me? Sister Yun Zhu, if you say I drugged you, do you have any proof?”

Lu Yun Zhu naturally had no evidence, but she had to pin this crime on Jiang You’an—to vent her anger and to prevent the matriarch from learning of her own foolish schemes.

She argued stubbornly, “I was drugged and disgraced. Isn’t that proof enough? You were nearby, so naturally, you drugged me.”

“That’s not right. Shen Heping was also nearby and took advantage of your being drugged. By that logic, he is the prime suspect.”

Jiang You’an suddenly gasped. “Grandmother, could it be that Shen Heping, eager to marry into the Lu family, deliberately drugged Sister Yun Zhu to force the marriage and make it a done deal?”

The matriarch sat at the head of the room, her brow slightly furrowed.

Lu Yun Zhu glanced nervously at her grandmother, afraid she would misunderstand her beloved, and quickly said, “You’re lying! Shen Heping is not that kind of person!”

Jiang You’an, however, spoke with conviction, “Sister Yun Zhu, don’t underestimate people. After today’s incident, many know you and Shen Heping are already intimate, and your marriage is inevitable. This must be his scheme! Marrying such a man could ruin the entire Lu family!”

Her voice grew louder as she spoke. Lu Yun Zhu, desperate, stood up. “That’s not true! He didn’t drug me!”

Jiang You’an continued, “But I didn’t drug you either. Could it be that you drugged yourself?”

“Impossible! Am I insane?”

“Then how did you get drugged?”

“You clearly switched the wine cup!”

Lu Yun Zhu’s face turned pale as she realized what she had just blurted out.

Jiang You’an slowly stood, looking at her with mocking eyes. “Switched the wine cup?”