“How could you, the daughter of the prime minister's mansion, steal? Where can I put my face?” A thunderous roar resounded through the hall, and everyone dared not utter a word.
However, Cheng Xiran looked at the old lady calmly. “Grandmother, don't you even believe Xiran?”
The old lady shook her head disappointedly. “I don't want to suspect you either, but with both the criminal and the stolen goods caught, how can I excuse you? Fetch the family punishment tools.”
Cheng Xiran was speechless. Couldn't they just let her have a couple of peaceful days?
Just as Cheng Xiran was about to ask for a moment's wait, a guard rushed in to report, “The Regent is here.”
Cheng's father looked grim. The family was in a complete mess at the moment, and he had no mood to receive the Regent. Just as he was about to decline, he saw a figure approaching.
“Lord Zuo Prime Minister, am I coming at a bad time?” Helian Duo asked knowingly.
Cheng's father led the whole family to pay their respects to Helian Duo. “Your Highness is joking. It's just that family scandals should not be made public. I'm just disciplining my unworthy daughter. Please don't laugh at us, Your Highness.”
Helian Duo didn't care about Cheng's father's expression. He walked up to the main seat and sat down. A servant quickly served him a cup of hot tea. “It's okay. I'm just here to talk to Miss Cheng about something. Lord Zuo Prime Minister, please continue.”
Cheng's father stood awkwardly at the lower position, unable to figure out what the Regent meant. He had no choice but to bite the bullet. “Fetch the family punishment tools.” Cheng's father roared.
Cheng Zhiyue looked at Helian Duo with infatuation on her face. It would be a good thing for the prince to see clearly that bitch's true features. As long as the prince loathed that bitch, she would have a chance. She was determined to make the prince fall in love with her.
Cheng Xiran glanced at Cheng Zhiyue, who was looking so lovesick that she seemed about to drool. How could Helian Duo stand such a look? She looked seriously at Cheng's father. “Wait a minute, Father. You can't just say I stole something based on this. I could also say that someone bribed the guard to frame me.”
Liu was anxious. “Are you trying to deny it? With both the criminal and the stolen goods caught, how dare you say you're wronged?”
In her previous life, Cheng Xiran was at least a well - known editor. She had read so many stories that she didn't take this kind of framing seriously at all.
A faint smile curled up on her lips. “Why are you in such a hurry, Stepmother? Are you feeling guilty?”
“You... What are you talking nonsense about? You're the one with dirty hands. Don't try to shift the blame onto me.” Liu said with a look of disgust.
Cheng Xiran turned to look at the old lady innocently. “Grandmother, do you really think your granddaughter is a thief? Have you ever heard of your granddaughter stealing anything before?”
The old lady had been so angry that she lost her wits just now. After all this commotion, she was much clearer - minded. She looked at Cheng Xiran with a headache and said, “No.”
Cheng Xiran nodded obediently. “I beg Grandmother to make the right decision for me. I'm out of the mansion every day. How could I steal Grandmother's bracelet? If I really stole it, I should have taken it out. Why would I be so stupid as to put it under my pillow and wait for them to search?”
Cheng Xiran's words woke the old lady up. She glared angrily at the guard who had found the bracelet. “Tell me who instructed you.”
The guard was timid. If he hadn't been caught having an affair with a maid by Liu, he wouldn't have dared to frame the legitimate young lady. That was a capital crime.
Helian Duo signaled the guard beside him. The guard drew out a cold and shining sword and put it on the guard's neck. “Attempting to harm the master, death.”
Liu was stunned. She looked at the guard's eyes viciously, signaling that he would die even if he told the truth. But the guard was too timid to withstand the intimidation of the Regent's guard.
He knelt on the ground with a thud. “Please spare my life, Prime Minister. I didn't wrong the eldest young lady. I really found it under the eldest young lady's pillow.”
Hearing this, Cheng's father got even angrier. “Cheng Xiran, do you have anything else to say?”