Chapter 10: Framing Someone

Those who curry favor with the First Madam are nothing more than seeking a good marriage or a peaceful life within the manor. Su Jin knew her days would never be peaceful, nor did she care who she married; there was no need to play the flatterer.

At noon, she was admiring the lake by the rockery.

Ruobing came to deliver a message. "The Madam is calling for you." Before leaving, she added a bit more information, "Someone just went to the First Madam to complain, saying the real Fourth Young Lady is dead and that you are an impostor. Miss, please be careful."

Su Jin gave her a grateful look and walked toward the main courtyard.

As soon as she entered the room, she found the atmosphere to be quite eerie.

The room was crowded with people; some wore expressions of schadenfreude, while others acted as if it had nothing to do with them.

Since the tide was against her, Su Jin did not try to force her way.

She bent her knees and knelt.

The Left Prime Minister remained silent.

Kneeling beside Su Jin was a middle-aged woman heavily adorned with makeup. "Her real name is Cuihua, an orphan. I thought she was pitiful and had decent looks, so I kept her at Qingmeng Pavilion. Who could have expected that a few days ago, when it was time to receive guests, she took the opportunity to flee?"

The woman wiped away tears.

She tucked her scented handkerchief back into her sleeve and continued, "To improve business, I specifically hired people to teach her the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I poured a lot of money into it, but I never thought that in the end..."

The Left Prime Minister's face betrayed no emotion as he spoke indifferently, "Continue."

Su Jin straightened her posture slightly.

She waited quietly for the next part.

The madam wailed in grief. "I am but a lowly commoner; how would I dare come to the Left Prime Minister to demand justice? It was only by chance that I bumped into her outside the manor yesterday and discovered she was so audacious as to impersonate a young lady. I couldn't bear to see others being deceived, so I..."

The First Madam looked at Su Jin. "Do you have anything to say?"

Su Jin looked up at her father.

Then she looked at the predatory First Madam and the scheming Third Aunt.

She pointed to the middle-aged woman beside her. "This daughter does not know her. This is purely a frame-up."

The middle-aged woman, who had come to spout nonsense, widened her eyes and looked at Su Jin in disbelief. "How can you say that? I remember you had a butterfly-shaped birthmark on your sleeve. It seems it doesn't look like that; you must have intentionally carved it into that shape!"

Third Aunt chimed in, "Just test it and we'll know."

Su Jin hadn't originally known about the birthmark.

It was only because the Master had accidentally mentioned it once while drunk. Now, it served as perfect corroborating evidence; let's see how this brat would wiggle out of her palm. The First Madam had summoned a trusted maid to forcibly pull up Su Jin's sleeve, and sure enough, it was there. Su Jin looked back at the Left Prime Minister. "Master..."

The Left Prime Minister did not speak.

In his heart, he had long wanted to drive Su Jin out of the manor.

But he still put on an act, finding a tattoo master to investigate. It was confirmed that the butterfly on Su Jin's arm indeed had parts that were carved on. He spoke coldly, "You are a fake. Tell me, who sent you? What is your ulterior motive for infiltrating the Prime Minister's manor?"

Su Jin felt a chill in her heart.

How were these people any different from bandits?

They had already judged her to be Cuihua from the brothel? The pattern on her arm had been there since she was born; it was ancient. How could it be the same as something carved recently? Could they really not figure this out? Or did the Left Prime Minister believe she had resolved to be an impostor since she was in swaddling clothes?

A flash of ruthlessness erupted in the First Madam's eyes. "You wretched girl, to dare impersonate a lady of the Su Manor and keep the Master and me in the dark, playing us for fools! If you refuse to reveal your purpose, I will have no choice but to hand you over to the yamen to face severe punishment."

By then, she would be beaten until her skin was torn and bloody...

It would be very satisfying.

Seeing that the situation was decided, Third Aunt rejoiced inwardly, but maintained a serious expression. "The borders have been unstable lately. Could it be that you are a spy sent by an enemy nation, infiltrating the Yan Kingdom's Prime Minister's manor to gather intelligence?"

The Left Prime Minister hadn't thought that far, but hearing this, his gaze sharpened.

While female family members could not access secrets, an internal thief is hard to guard against. If it were truly like this, this impostor could not be allowed to leave alive.

With this thought, Third Aunt suddenly looked toward the door with purpose. "Isn't that the personal maid of this suspicious girl? What are you holding in your hand? Get in here at once!"

Ruobing hesitated.

She glanced at Su Jin with a hint of guilt.

Her footsteps were unusually slow, acting as if she were reluctant but forced to comply. She handed over the item. "I found this while cleaning Miss's room this morning."

Third Aunt took it without even looking, as if she already knew what was inside, and presented it to the Left Prime Minister.

It was an envelope, addressed: *To Miss Cuihua, for her private reading.* The Left Prime Minister tore open the envelope, took out the letter, and spread it out. After reading for a moment, he slammed the table in anger. "Brazen! I did not realize you harbored such wild ambitions, daring to collude with an enemy nation to frame this Prime Minister for disloyalty and injustice!"

Su Jin pursed her lips.

She had seen through the matter today. Third Aunt was clearly intending to frame her to avenge Su Huangying. Impersonating the daughter of the Left Prime Minister would at most result in dozens of strokes and expulsion from the manor, but if the label of "colluding with the enemy" was slapped on her, it would be hard to survive.

The First Madam was using the opportunity to suppress her with ill intent.

The Left Prime Minister watched the situation unfold with cold eyes.

At this point, everyone expected Su Jin to wail and beg for mercy or kowtow in apology, but to their surprise, she remained calm. "May I have a look at the letter?"

The Left Prime Minister threw the letter at Su Jin. "Read it yourself."

She wasn't angry. She picked it up and read it word by word. When she reached the end, she laughed—a desolate laugh. Third Aunt, as a woman, at most understood petty schemes; what did she know of matters of state? The entire letter had no point; it just rambled about things like agricultural harvests.

Did this even need spying?

One could just send someone to take a tour of the Yan Kingdom to find out.

But the Left Prime Minister chose to believe it, and he also believed that damn enemy nation's seal, which looked like a cheap counterfeit at a glance. Su Jin looked up. "The signatory of the letter is General Feng Lie of the Water Kingdom. I remember his calligraphy is displayed at the Juya Hall in the capital. Why not compare them?"

Feng Lie was a military general.

Yet he had a penchant for literature and calligraphy.

His brushwork was vigorous and powerful, as if a thousand pounds of stone were falling. Not to mention the letter Third Aunt had found, which was written in a sloppy hand that didn't look anything like it; even if one sought a master to imitate it, they could not produce an identical match. A man who spent his years on the battlefield possessed a profound strength in his brush that far surpassed ordinary calligraphy practitioners.

The First Madam remained silent.

Third Aunt, however, panicked. She had simply found someone who understood calligraphy to forge the letter; she didn't recognize the officials of the Water Kingdom and had only heard of Feng Lie's great reputation. She thought that someone so famous would be the one needing an infiltrator, but who knew...

The Left Prime Minister flicked his sleeve. "Leave at once."

It indeed was not Feng Lie's handwriting.

He had known all along.

Juya Hall was a quite representative establishment in the capital, collecting many works of calligraphy and painting by the famous figures of the age. His own works from his younger years were also there, and he visited frequently, having seen Feng Lie's handwriting by chance.

Su Jin blinked. It seemed the chapter on treason was being turned. The rest was trivial. She pointed to the woman who had been haphazardly questioning her identity. "In fact, I did stay at Qingmeng Pavilion for a time, and I even saw a man surnamed Ye there. He was heavily injured..."

She deliberately emphasized the surname Ye.

The implication lingered long after she spoke.