Proofread by Yin Jing

Mrs. Yan remains silent for a moment, then she looks at Yan Shuang with disbelief and frowns involuntarily.

Although Mrs. Yan doesn't know why Yan Shuang hit Qinghe directly, but as the daughter of the prime minister, she shouldn’t have beaten her maid in the presence of so many people, which frustrated the people in the House and damaged her reputation as well.

Yan Shuang senses her mother’s stare, and then she notices the strange eyes of other people. Suddenly she is at a loss, but she still manages to hold on.

"Sorry I didn’t discipline my maid. Please forgive me, dear mom and sis." Yan Shuang awkwardly forced a smile.

"You should teach your undisciplined maids privately. Why did you do that in public?" The deep frown on Yan Ling’s face shows his disapproval.

Although what Yan Ling said is what Mrs. Yan thought, Mrs. Yan still feels that something is wrong. Did Ling say that deliberately?

Although Mrs. Yan has doubts, she cannot say anything in this situation. So she has to change the topic.

"According to Shuang’er, what happened to Liyi?" Mrs. Yan pretends that she doesn’t know.

Yan Shuang goes back to her seat, thinking that her chance have finally come. She hurriedly pretends to be a little hesitant but still says: "In fact, I just heard that from other people."

Yan Ling looks at Liyi, who is next to her, with her head down and looks helpless. In addition to feeling pity for her, she feels more helpless.

However, in any case, Ling believes that Liyi wouldn’t do anything harmful to her. It doesn't matter when she thinks like that.

"It doesn't matter. Just say it, sister. I believe that the clean hand wants no washing." Yan Ling is full of integrity.

"In fact, someone saw the servant girl named ‘Liyi’ burning something in the bamboo forest last night. Moreover, those filth appeared outside your yard this morning." Yan Shuang says innocently.

Yan Ling is shocked and frowns involuntarily. The reason is beyond his expectation. It seems that Yan Shuang is sure that Ling cannot defend herself, so she behaved so arrogantly. “But even so, I’m afraid that she will be disappointed” Yan Ling thinks.

"Bold girl, what else can you say!" Mrs. Yan scolds Liyi immediately.

"No, My Lady. I didn’t. I just..." Liyi kneels on the ground and says, trembling all over.

"If you are telling the truth, what on earth did you burn last night?" Yan Shuang says triumphantly, and raises her eyebrows to look at Yan Ling, whose head is lowered.

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"It’s… just some old clothes." At this time, Liyi suddenly calms down.

In fact, it suddenly dawned on Liyi that someone deliberately wants to frame Miss Ling. If she flusters at this time and gets caught by others, the situation will be more unfavorable for Miss Ling.

Thinking of this, Liyi forces herself to calm down.

"Liar! All the clothes we don't wear anymore will be collected and disposed of by specially-assigned people. You don’t have to burn them yourself!" Qinghe, who was quiet for a while for she had been slapped, cannot control herself any longer.

Yan Ling looks at the one who seems to have failed in learning her lessons. She clenches her teeth hard and thinks that Qinghe will no longer stay in the House. She needs to find an excuse to kick her out.

"Emmm..." Although Liyi has calmed down, she also knows that she can’t let others know about those clothes, she hasn’t got the faintest idea of how she should reply at this moment.

"Is there anything shameful about your clothes?" Qinghe continues with a meaningful smile.

She specially stressed the words "your" when she speaks. It seems to remind people that the so-called "shameful" does not only refer to Liyi, but also includes Yan Ling.

"What do you mean by that? Which one of us do you think is shameful?" Yan Ling squints, and Qinghe does not dare to speak again.

"Mother, in fact, I asked Liyi to burn those clothes. I don’t think it’s appropriate to let others see those intimates." Yan Ling turns around and says softly.

Yan Ling's statement is naturally reasonable. Even if Mrs. Yan and Miss Shuang are meant to find fault, it’s unreasonable to continue in front of so many people.

Even so, those rumors about "dead insects and the eldest daughter refining poison" will not stop in the Prime Minister’s House.

Tortured by the harassment of Mrs. Yan and Yan Shuang for a whole morning, Yan Ling is really in a bad mood.

In the afternoon, Yan Ling is bending over the windowsill alone, looking at the setting sun and thinking about what happened in the morning.

“Yan Shuang took advantage of my negligence.” Yan Ling thinks. But in the morning, she successfully defended herself.

However, Yan Ling has a hunch that this is not the end. The best proof is the increasingly wide-spread rumor in the Prime Minister’s House.

If Yan Ling is not wrong, the "evidence" would have been placed in her yard.

However, the rumor about Ling has already been going the rounds. If she puts more guards in her yard at this moment, it will be another opportunity in the eyes of the scheming people.

For a while, even Yan Ling was stuck in a dilemma.

"Nan Yan is asking to see you, My Lady." Liyi comes in and says to Ling.

"Nan Yan?" It was beyond Yan Ling’s expectation.

Yan Ling is suddenly curious. Nan Yan has been practicing martial arts in his room these days. She has not seen him for several days. Now, why does he ask to see her?

In fact, Liyi has some doubts as well. After all, from the beginning, Nan Yan has always been almost invisible except the times when Miss Ling orders him to do something, not to mention that he will take the initiative to see her.

"Let him in." Yan Ling is confused, but she doesn't think it’s abnormal.

Nan Yan enters with a cage in his hand. The cage is covered with black cloth, which cuts people off from what is inside, which arouses Yan Ling’s curiosity.

"You came to me at such short notice. What's the matter?" Yan Ling cannot help wondering after looking at Nan Yan who has been standing there silently after a curtsy.

Nan Yan is a little stiff. He puts the cage on the ground, then squats down and slowly lifts the black cloth.

Yan Ling and Liyi involuntarily stretch their necks and widen their eyes with Nan Yan's movements as if they could see what’s in the cage earlier.

However, since it needs to be kept in a cage, it is probably a living creature.

Sure enough, when the black cloth is completely lifted up by Nan Yan, their speculation is proved.