"What? How could this happen?!"
Yun Xi looked utterly confused. She cast a glance at the trio kneeling on the ground, baring their teeth at her as if they could devour her. Frowning, she said indignantly,
"You've gone too far! It's bad enough that you bullied me, but you even tried to frame me?"
"One would think that you've always been obedient and flattering to Xue Ming, but behind her back, you act so differently! You've really let down the painstaking teachings of the princess and shamed our women's academy!"
Yun Xi spoke righteously, each word resounding with conviction. Her words left the princess and Yu Xue Ming stunned.
They couldn't help but think that the girl who was always regarded as a disgrace by the students of the women's academy could actually say such things.
It was really a moment of vindication for her!
The trio looked stunned for a moment, and one of them immediately retorted,
"What nonsense are you talking about? We would never damage Xue Ming's things! It's all because you pointed at Xue Ming's food box and claimed it was yours. That's why we did what we did."
Yun Xi scoffed and sneered,
"This is the first time I've seen someone so brazen after doing something wrong."
"Also, when did I ever tell you that the food box was mine? I clearly only said it to Zhen Bao. I didn't realize I had made a mistake until later. Who would have thought that you sneaky people would overhear it!"
After saying that, Yun Xi paced over to the long table in the center. She searched carefully for a while and then took out a food box from it. She lifted the lid, revealing the glistening sweet rice balls inside.
"This is the one I made."
The food box was very similar to Yu Xue Ming's in both color and appearance.
Since the women's academy prohibited students from putting their names on the outside of the food boxes to ensure fairness, it was impossible for others to tell them apart.
The trio stared in disbelief, instantly looking like defeated hens. They slumped their shoulders and plopped down on the ground.
With the truth out in the open, Yun Sheng, who had always doted on his daughter, immediately stepped forward with a grim face.
"Your Majesty! I used to think that the women's academy was a place for learning and cultivating virtue. I never expected my daughter to suffer such grievances here! I implore Your Majesty to seek justice for her!"
Under normal circumstances, the trio would have only been scolded by the princess and that would have been the end of it. They would probably continue to cause trouble in the future. However, with the emperor and the empress dowager present, and with the prime minister putting pressure on them, it would be difficult for the trio to get away with it.
Seeing this, the fathers of the three girls immediately showed great distress. They stepped forward to scold their daughters and lamented their own failure in discipline.
They were doing this not only for their daughters but also for their own futures!
The emperor was very disappointed that the originally well - organized charity event had turned out like this. He immediately ordered the trio to be expelled from the academy, and their fathers were fined three years' worth of salary, to be executed immediately!
One could only imagine the treatment the trio would receive when they returned home.
With a simple scheme, Yun Xi had easily solved the problem of the three troublemakers without any effort.
Afterward, whenever Zhen Bao talked about this, she would be full of admiration for Yun Xi. She no longer laughed at Yun Xi for being a coward. She even boasted that she would hold firmly to the position of Yun Xi's "best friend"! She showed off to her mother, father, and brothers that she had made a bosom friend!
After that, although there were still many people in the women's academy who disliked Yun Xi, they only dared to sneer at her behind her back.
For example, they would form a poetry club and deliberately exclude Yun Xi from joining; they secretly made a "Ranking of Kyoto Women", in which Yu Xue Ming was undoubtedly at the top, while Yun Xi was at the bottom.
Even Yun Ni always looked down on Yun Xi and laughed at her, saying that her own ranking was much higher than Yun Xi's!
However, even so, no one in the women's academy dared to openly bully her.
Because none of them wanted to end up like the trio!
Without the trio constantly annoying her, Yun Xi's life in the women's academy gradually became more peaceful, and she could focus on sorting out her mother's dowry.
It was really difficult to check the missing items after so many years, but she wasn't completely without results.
Jiang was cautious, cunning, and on high alert. Her inner circle was like an iron - clad fortress.
When Yun Xi found that there was no way to get through to her, she began to turn her attention to Jiang's cousin, Jiang Da.
Jiang Da was greedy and a gambler. Even the death of his own son didn't seem to bother him much. He had been bribed with more than a dozen shops.
However, after Jiang lost her power and the shops were taken back, and Jiang Da didn't get any other benefits from her, he had long been dissatisfied but didn't dare to show it.
So, as long as there was a profitable bait, there was no need to worry that he wouldn't take the hook.
One day, after being scolded by his shrewish wife for being a good - for - nothing, Jiang Da went out for a stroll to calm down. When he passed by a gambling house, he suddenly picked up a bag of silver from the ground. Immediately, his heart was filled with greed.
He thought to himself: Anyway, this silver was picked up. If he lost it, so be it. If he won a fortune, he could go home and show off to that shrew and finally gain some dignity.
Having made up his mind, Jiang Da threw the warnings from Jiang and his family to the wind and turned into the gambling house.
At first, Jiang Da was lucky and won three games in a row. He wanted to quit early, but he couldn't resist the great temptation. He put all his winnings into a bigger bet!
In the end, he lost everything and even owed a huge debt to the gambling house.
Because he was still stubborn and wanted to borrow more money, he was directly thrown out of the gambling house. He was given ten days to pay off the debt, or else one of his hands or feet would be chopped off!
Frightened of death, Jiang Da rushed to the prime minister's mansion to seek help from Jiang. However, Yun Xi was well - prepared.
She had someone inform the old lady of the mansion early in the morning. Before the messenger could reach Jiang, Jiang Da was beaten out of the mansion by the servants with sticks!
Jiang Da begged for several days in a row but was always driven away like this. He didn't even get to see Jiang.
During this period, Yun Xi unexpectedly obtained some unexpected information!
It was about Jiang's past and some unknown secrets, which even the old lady of the prime minister's mansion didn't know.
Just as Yun Xi was thinking about how to give Jiang a "surprise gift", an unexpected event broke the calm of the prime minister's mansion.
One noon, when Yun Xi had just returned from the women's academy, she heard Hong Luo report,
"The old lady and the master are furious in the main hall. The reason is that a man came to the mansion today and insisted on seeing her mother. He said that he wouldn't leave until he saw her!"
Yes, the person the man was referring to was her biological mother, Su Yun.
Everyone knew that her mother had been dead for more than a decade, so it was impossible to see her.
Moreover, even if her mother were still alive, as a married woman, it would be extremely disgraceful if a man came looking for her. The news would surely spread and bring shame on the family.
But this man was so insistent. Even when he was held down, he still didn't change his mind. That's why her father and grandmother were so angry. They temporarily locked the man in the wood - shed of the prime minister's mansion to prevent him from spreading rumors and ruining her mother's reputation!
Hearing this, Yun Xi immediately frowned. Without asking her father for the details, she headed straight for the wood - shed where the man was being held.
"Miss, you can't go!"
Yu Zhu grabbed Yun Xi's sleeve and advised kindly,
"Just now Hong Luo said that the man might be crazy, and the master has ordered that no one is allowed to get close to the wood - shed!"
Yun Xi paused slightly. Her calm black pupils stared directly at Yu Zhu and said,
"Yu Zhu, things are not as simple as they seem. I won't be at ease until I find out the truth!"
Not to mention that the prime minister's mansion didn't have the right to detain outsiders without permission. It was already very strange that the man dared to come to the mansion!
It was obvious that he was being instigated by someone, but was there anyone so reckless?
Even if he had received a large amount of benefits and silver, he still had to be alive to spend it!