"Wait!"
Jiang Ning quickly spoke up to stop them. Bowing to the people outside through the screen, she said hurriedly,
"Father, the identities of the two celestial maidens are still unclear. All we have are one - sided statements. How can you be so sure that this celestial maiden is fake?"
"What are you talking about!"
Ye Jueyao immediately flew into a rage. Staring venomously at Jiang Ning, she shrieked,
"You just can't stand to see me happy, can you? You insist on recognizing this liar who slandered my innocence out of thin air as the real celestial maiden?"
"Oh—" Ye Jueyao pointed at Jiang Ning as if suddenly enlightened, "I know, I know..."
"It's you! You colluded with this fake Taoist nun! You've been jealous of my talent and beauty since childhood, thinking you're inferior to me in every way. So you deliberately found this nun to ruin my innocence!"
"No wonder she knows so many private matters between us sisters. Half true and half false. It turns out it was all you who told her!"
As she spoke, her eyes filled with tears. Sobbing hysterically, she cried,
"I'm your elder sister... Xi Mei, I'm your own flesh - and - blood elder sister! How could you... how could you..."
Jiang Ning was just an ordinary commoner. Her parents had always doted on her. She had never seen such a scene before. Afraid of delaying Ye Xi's matter, she immediately knelt down with a "thud" and vowed,
"Father, please make a fair judgment. Your daughter would never..."
"Xi'er!" Qian Fangxue directly interrupted Jiang Ning's defense, looking extremely disappointed and incredulous.
"How could you do such a thing? You've really let your mother down."
The Ye family was singing in harmony. There was no room for others to speak. It was obvious that they were determined to convict Jiang Ning of secretly colluding with Ye Xi and impersonating Man Ping to slander Ye Jueyao.
Sai Xing's back and the back of her clothes were soaked with sweat. But as a servant, she had no right to speak. She could only keep stealing glances at Ye Xi. Thousands of thoughts flashed through her mind, all converging into one final determination—she would fight to the death to protect the young lady and get her out of here today!
Sweat was pouring down Jiang Ning's forehead. Just as she was about to swear that what she said was true, Ye Xi had already come up with a decisive solution in a flash of thought.
"Lord Ye!" Ye Xi raised her voice, temporarily drowning out the noisy arguments in the hall.
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Ye Xi sneered,
"This celestial maiden has remained silent since she came here. She hasn't provided any evidence to prove that she is Man Ping, nor has she 'inquired into physiognomy' to prove her ability. Lord Ye and your daughter are so eager to identify me as the fake celestial maiden and punish me. Isn't that a bit too hasty?"
Grand Tutor Cao also thought it was very inappropriate. But the people had been arguing so fiercely just now that he hadn't found a chance to speak. Now that he finally had an opportunity, he quickly said in a deep voice,
"What this celestial maiden said is right. How can we draw a hasty conclusion without any proof? Lord Ye, is this how you usually manage your subordinates?"
With a prestige comparable to that of the emperor, Ye Pengcheng dared not even breathe loudly, nodding submissively.
"Grand Tutor Cao may not know," seeing the situation was about to change, Qian Fangxue immediately stepped forward and said respectfully,
"My daughter and I have both met Celestial Maiden Man Ping. Her figure and build do match those of this celestial maiden. Secondly, there is a disciple beside Celestial Maiden Man Ping, called Celestial Maiden Xing'er. The two have always been inseparable. Many people in the capital can testify to this."
"But the person following this Celestial Maiden Man Ping today... is very different in figure from the usual Celestial Maiden Xing'er. I felt something was wrong earlier, but out of trust in Celestial Maiden Man Ping, I didn't think much of it. Who would have thought that someone would be so bold as to impersonate a celestial maiden's name and deceive court officials."
"Yes," Ye Jueyao immediately echoed, "I've seen both of these celestial maidens. They always cover their faces with veils. No one has ever seen their real faces. But I would never mistake their figures."
Exchanging a look with Ye Jueyao, Qian Fangxue continued,
"Therefore, I'm sure that the later celestial maiden is the real Man Ping. If Grand Tutor Cao doesn't believe it, we can immediately find someone to come and testify."
"Hmm..."
If there was really no way to prove it, Grand Tutor Cao thought this method was feasible.
"Heh~" Ye Xi sneered mockingly, "Why make it so complicated?"
Turning to look at the fake Taoist nun, Ye Xi's words were like a knife,
"Since you claim to be the real Man Ping, I'm sure you're proficient in the skill of 'inquiring into physiognomy'. Now that Grand Tutor Cao is here, inquiring into Grand Tutor Cao's physiognomy would be the most just. Dare you compete with me in public?"
"Amitabha," the fake Taoist nun finally spoke, "Fake is always fake. Who doesn't know that my 'inquiring into physiognomy' consumes a great deal of my cultivation? Every time I do it, my vital energy is severely damaged."
"You're so casual, asking about this person and that person at will," the fake Taoist nun's voice turned sharp as she shouted,
"You're talking complete nonsense. How can you not be a fake!"
Ye Xi:...
She never thought that her pretense back then would one day backfire on her.
"So, according to you, the 'inquiry into physiognomy' can only be done on Miss Ye?"
Cao Dexiu, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.
"Of course," the fake Taoist nun said proudly.
"I was invited by Lady Ye to 'inquire into the physiognomy' of Miss Ye. Naturally, I should use my precious cultivation on the right person. As for others, no matter who they are, I won't inquire."
Such determination. No wonder the Ye family dared to find someone to impersonate her even though they knew she had the skill of "inquiring into physiognomy". As long as this fake Taoist nun insisted on only inquiring into Ye Jueyao's physiognomy, then they could say whatever they wanted.
"You're just making things difficult for us,"
Jiang Ning had been helped up by Sai Xing and was sitting back on the wooden chair. She said,
"Because this celestial maiden said something unfavorable to elder sister, elder sister has now decided that you're the real one and she's the fake one. If we only 'inquire into elder sister's physiognomy', wouldn't that be unfair?"
"Shut up!" Ye Jueyao glared at Jiang Ning hatefully, "You still haven't cleared your suspicion of secretly colluding with this fake Taoist nun to ruin my reputation. How dare you excuse her!"
"Elder sister,"
Jiang Ning quickly learned how to find loopholes in Ye Jueyao's words:
"Your words are also baseless. Isn't that also slander?"
"Enough!"
Ye Pengcheng slapped the table and scolded.
"We have honored guests here. What kind of sight is it for you two sisters to argue like this!"
Then, clasping his fists at Grand Tutor Cao, he said respectfully,
"Grand Tutor Cao, since we can't reach an agreement now, how about finding some people who were 'inquired into physiognomy' by Celestial Maiden Man Ping before to identify. Multiple opinions are always more trustworthy. Then we'll know the truth."
"Okay," Grand Tutor Cao nodded, "This is the only way for now."
"Xiu'er, you'll have to work hard and go with Lord Ye's people. Make sure to bring the people who were 'inquired into physiognomy' here."
Grand Tutor Cao wasn't stupid. With the Ye family acting like this, he couldn't just let the Ye family handle the matter of finding witnesses alone.
"Yes, Father,"
Cao Dexiu wasn't stupid either. He immediately understood what his father meant. Responding, he was about to go with Ye Pengcheng's confidant.
A smile appeared on Ye Xi's lips. Calmly, she said,
"Lord Cao, there's no need to trouble yourself. I have something else to prove my identity."
Her trump card hadn't been played yet.