Grandmother always seemed to dote on her the most on the surface, but in fact, she was extremely selfish. What she truly cared about was only the Prime Minister's Mansion and her own reputation!
Grandmother had always been high - minded and proud. When she was young, her family had declined and she had suffered humiliation. Now that the Yun family had finally risen again, she would surely not allow anyone to disgrace the Yun family! For this reason, Grandmother could even abandon anyone!
As for her father, she didn't dare to hold any hope. Since childhood, she and Yun Xi had been poles apart. One was the sun in the sky, while the other was just a cloud borrowing the afterglow of the sun.
No matter how well - behaved she was, her father never even glanced at her, let alone punish Yun Xi for her!
As for her mother, although in name she was a third - rank gentlewoman, her former self was actually the most despised official prostitute. She couldn't expect her mother to avenge her either...
Realizing the cruel reality in front of her, Yun Ni felt a wave of despair. Thinking of the hooligans outside the door, she was truly scared.
"Yun Xi, I'm your own younger sister after all. You can't treat me like this!"
Tears welled up in Yun Ni's eyes and wet the ground in front of her.
"You remember we're sisters now? Isn't it a bit too late?"
Yun Xi sneered. She managed to prop up the seat that Yun Ni was tied to. Seeing the look of guilt on Yun Ni's face, Yun Xi said calmly:
"I can let you go, but you have to tell me the whole story from beginning to end. If you miss a single detail, I won't let you go safely!"
Staring at Yun Xi's cold and serious expression, Yun Ni broke out in a cold sweat on her back. After a long internal struggle and hesitation, she finally nodded and cried out:
"Okay, I'll tell you everything!"
So, Yun Ni, whom Yun Xi was sure was always blustery but actually timid, immediately confessed everything honestly after being intimidated by her.
From the play she watched with the Eighth Princess in the pear garden, to how she told Madam Jiang about the Eighth Princess's plan and coerced Xiaocui, who served by Grandmother's side, to deceive her. Yun Ni told it seriously, but never mentioned the matter of the incense.
Yun Xi understood. It was obvious that Yun Ni knew nothing about it. It must have been Madam Jiang's doing!
Counting the names of these people one by one, from the Eighth Princess to the young master of the Li family, then to Madam Jiang, Yun Ni, Xiaocui, and even Yu Xueming, Yun Xi couldn't help but sneer.
It seemed that she had really been "wicked" on weekdays! So many people had bothered to scheme against her and spent so much effort on it!
"You said you would let me go."
Seeing that she had told everything she could, Yun Ni started to bargain, asking Yun Xi to keep her promise.
Staring at Yun Ni's outwardly strong but inwardly weak appearance, Yun Xi sneered. She stepped forward and patted Yun Ni on the shoulder:
"Naturally, but not now!"
"What do you mean?!"
Yun Ni opened her eyes in horror and cried out, accusing Yun Xi of going back on her word!
But Yun Xi ignored her and walked straight to the door. She opened the door of the storage room and said to a cold - faced and frowning man who had been standing outside for a long time:
"Lord Liang, I'm sure you've heard everything very clearly just now, right?"
"For those who tried to harm this princess, shouldn't you take them into custody for trial first?"
The man standing outside was none other than Liang Sheng, the magistrate of the capital.
It turned out that after Yun Xi asked Dingxiang to lead Yun Ni to the yard, she ordered Zhao Chunsheng to go directly to the capital magistrate's office to invite Liang Sheng.
At that time, Liang Sheng was about to hold a trial for the case of Zhen Bao injuring Li Ji. He originally wanted to send a subordinate, but Zhao Chunsheng relayed a question from Yun Xi:
If someone tried to harm the life of the Princess of Yongning, would he, Liang Sheng, dare to intervene?
In Liang Sheng's mind, the laws of the Liu Kingdom were above everything else. Even the son of heaven would be punished the same as a commoner if he broke the law.
Therefore, he came to the yard alone as Yun Xi requested. But he was led outside the storage room and heard the whole story. He also learned that Li Ji had only got what he deserved for being beaten!
However, this matter involved a wide range of people, including the Eighth Princess who had just entered the capital. This made Liang Sheng feel troubled.
Facing this somewhat aggressive Princess of Yongning in front of him, he didn't know how to speak for a moment.
The moment she saw Liang Sheng, the magistrate of the capital, hope suddenly ignited in Yun Ni's despairing eyes. She shouted desperately:
"Lord Liang, save me quickly! There are many bandits in the yard. They want to insult me! It's all Yun Xi's idea. She wants to harm me!"
Looking at Yun Ni tied to the chair, Liang Sheng frowned slightly. Yun Xi stood aside calmly and explained:
"It's just a special measure for a special time. Otherwise, Lord Liang wouldn't have heard the truth just now."
The yamen would even try every means to torture criminals to get a confession. What she did was just a little trick and didn't cause any substantial harm. So even Liang Sheng couldn't hold her accountable.
He pondered for a moment and finally stepped forward to untie Yun Ni. Yun Ni seemed to have found a savior. She quickly hid behind Liang Sheng and looked around warily.
The yard was completely quiet. Especially around the storage room, not even a servant could be seen. Where was there any trace of bandits?
Realizing that she had been deceived, Yun Ni was so angry that she gritted her teeth:
"Good for you, Yun Xi. You actually set me up!"
Then she turned to Liang Sheng beside her and said indignantly:
"Lord Liang, you saw it with your own eyes. She tied me up and threatened me! You're so just and selfless. You must stand up for me!"
Facing Yun Ni's counter - accusation, Yun Xi scoffed:
"What did I harm you for? For making you confess how you colluded with the Eighth Princess and Madam Jiang to scheme to defile my innocence? Lord Liang didn't see it, but he heard it with his own ears!"
"Do you think Lord Liang, who has always been just and selfless, will help you, a villain who helped the evildoers and came out unscathed, or will he help me, an innocent person who was almost defiled by you but was luckily saved in time?"
She had threatened Yun Ni, but there was a substantial difference between the two!
They knew very well what chastity meant to a woman, but they still deliberately planned to do such a vicious thing. What was the difference between this and taking someone's life?
Yun Ni was left speechless. She finally understood Yun Xi's purpose and almost regretted it to the core.
"What does the princess plan to do?"
At this time, Liang Sheng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke, his eyes fixed on Yun Xi.
Because he knew that this little girl had the courage to ask him to come in person. Naturally, she wouldn't just sit back and do nothing about this matter. Since the situation was already a mess, it would be better to listen to her opinion first and then make a decision.
Hearing Liang Sheng speak, Yun Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was sure that the other party wasn't intimidated by the people involved and was willing to take care of this matter.
"If I said I wanted Lord Liang to release everyone immediately, you would surely find it difficult. So, I have two requests. I hope Lord Liang can agree."
Since this matter involved the Eighth Princess, it would surely alarm the Empress Dowager. Even if Liang Sheng had nine lives, he wouldn't dare to go into the palace to arrest people.
So, she could only plan step by step!