She trembled with rage. “My lord! It must be the young miss! She must’ve dug up the dolls and hidden them somewhere else! It must be her!”
Madam Wang turned to look at Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan’s expression was full of mockery. She sneered as she asked Madam Wang, “Mother, surely you’re not still taking her word for it? I just got here—not even long enough to remember the names of all the servants—and I didn’t even know you were going to search. Where could I have possibly hidden anything?”
Her words made Madam Wang’s face twitch in embarrassment. Treating her own daughter like this—it was hard to justify.
Qi Zhen also looked a bit ashamed.
In a fit of anger, he kicked Zhang Mama hard in the chest.
He was a seasoned soldier, someone who had been to war and taken lives. That kick made Zhang Mama vomit blood on the spot and nearly pass out.
Qi Zhen shouted furiously, “I’ll ask one more time—what the h*ll is going on?!”
Zhang Mama’s mind was reeling.
But no matter how confused she was, she knew one thing clearly—she absolutely couldn’t admit to having falsely accused Qi Yuan. If she did, she was finished.
She threw herself to the ground and wailed, “My lord! I swear I don’t know what happened! What I saw before was all true! Absolutely true!”
Suddenly, as if grasping at straws, she added, “The young miss—maybe she… maybe she moved the things…”
Qi Yuan gave a light chuckle. “I’ll say it again: if you’re accusing a thief, then show the stolen goods. Zhang Mama wants to condemn me based on nothing but her mouth? Even the yamen doesn’t try cases like this.”
Qi Zhen’s eyelid twitched violently. He’d lived long enough—if he couldn’t see something fishy was going on here, he’d have lived all these years for nothing.
His eyes turned cold as he stared at Zhang Mama. “If you still won’t tell the truth, I’ll kill you right here!”
Zhang Mama sobbed and cried injustice.
Qi Yuan suddenly spoke. “It looks like Zhang Mama’s mouth is tightly sealed. She probably won’t say anything. But maybe… we should ask her daughter, Putao.”
Zhang Mama jerked her head up in disbelief and stared at Qi Yuan.
This woman—she was a demon!
How could she be so vicious?!
Qi Yuan didn’t even glance at her and calmly addressed Qi Zhen. “That girl Putao often comes around here because her mother works here. She might know something.”
No! Putao didn’t know anything! That girl was timid as a mouse—if the marquis questioned her, she’d be scared out of her wits!
Zhang Mama scrambled forward and clutched at Qi Zhen’s robes, wailing, “My lord! No, please! Putao is just a child! She doesn’t know anything—really, she doesn’t know anything…!”
Qi Yuan spoke lightly. “So Zhang Mama does love her daughter after all? Then when you framed me, did you ever think that I, too, have parents?”
That one sentence made both Madam Wang and Qi Zhen look deeply uncomfortable.
Yes, they were Qi Yuan’s parents.
But they had chosen to believe a servant instead.
Now that the servant had no evidence, what were they going to do—stand by and let their daughter be humiliated?
Qi Zhen kicked Zhang Mama aside and shouted, “Bring Putao here!”
Zhang Mama went into a frenzy of fear. She knelt and knocked her head against the ground. “No, no, no! Please, my lord! It wasn’t my daughter! It really wasn’t her…!”
But Qi Zhen remained unmoved.
Soon, Putao was brought in. The moment she appeared, Zhang Mama completely broke down.
Her whole body sagged, her voice like a whisper. “My lord… it was the young master… It was the young master who ordered me to do it…”
Qi Zhen’s face went dark.
Madam Wang immediately snapped, “What nonsense are you spouting?!”
Zhang Mama sobbed on the floor. “Madam, it’s true… It was the young master who told me to do it… everything… he instructed it all!”
Qi Yuan gave Qi Zhen a slow, pointed smile. “Father, looks like it’s time you started investigating the people around eldest brother.”
Madam Wang’s mind was in turmoil.
What did that mean?
Did it mean Qi Yunting’s illness… was all an act?
He wanted to frame Qi Yuan on purpose?
Had he gone mad?!
Qi Zhen didn’t say another word. He simply turned to Liu Zhong and ordered, “Tie her up and take her to Changqing Garden!”
Liu Zhong glanced at Qi Yuan and made a mental note—he would never provoke the eldest miss again.
This was not someone to cross.
After giving the order, Qi Zhen turned to Qi Yuan and said, “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Then he strode off toward Changqing Garden.
Madam Wang wanted to scold Qi Yuan, but seeing her husband like this, she was afraid he might lose control and cause a scene—so she rushed after him.
In Changqing Garden, Qi Yunting was lounging on his couch eating a banana.
Qi Jin asked in a soft voice, “Brother, are you feeling better?”
Qi Yunting lazily crossed one leg over the other and laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m fine! Just wait—I’ll make sure you get justice this time. That ugly freak will be driven out for good!”
Qi Jin was just about to speak when a chilling voice echoed through the room.
“Who exactly are you trying to drive out?”
The voice hit like thunder, and Qi Yunting jumped off the bed in shock.
When he saw Qi Zhen standing there, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly slumped and pretended to be weak. “Father… I-I meant that Qi Yuan tried to hurt me… She should be expelled…”
Madam Wang came in right behind, glancing from Qi Yunting to Qi Jin, not knowing what to say.
Qi Zhen’s voice was cold. “Really? Was it her who tried to harm you… or you who tried to harm her?”
Qi Jin instantly felt uneasy. She had no idea how Qi Yunting had planned this.
Qi Yunting panicked. “Father, what… what are you talking about? I don’t understand…”
“You don’t understand?” Qi Zhen sneered. “Bring them in!”
Liu Zhong immediately came in with several guards, dragging a bound Zhang Mama and throwing her to the ground.
She whimpered and squirmed, terrified, having wet herself in fear.
Qi Yunting’s face changed dramatically.
But it didn’t end there. Liu Zhong then dragged in two more bound men and threw them in front of Qi Yunting.
Qi Yunting took one look and instantly slid off the bed to kneel.
Those two weren’t strangers—they were his wet nurse’s son Zhao Liang and his personal servant Changshun.
He stared at Qi Zhen, his heart racing. “Father, I—”
Before he could finish, Qi Zhen kicked him hard in the shoulder.
Qi Yunting flew backward, slamming into the bed frame, curling up in pain like a shrimp.
Madam Wang screamed and flung herself over him to shield him. “My lord Marquis! Please! He’s our son! Our son!”
Qi Zhen was so furious he could barely breathe. He pointed at Qi Yunting and roared, “I have no such son! Not one who bites the hand that feeds him and frames his own sister!”
