CHAPTER 130: CHAPTER 128 STIRRING TROUBLE SHEN ZHAOZHAO

Shen Yinning twisted her ankle and was being supported by Lu Jiazhe as they walked through the flower path toward the gate of the Duke Mansion.

However, halfway there, they were stopped by Lu Qianqian and Shen Xinglei.

Shen Yinning knew they didn’t come with good intentions.

Shen Yunxi’s previous scheme had failed, so these two likely came up with another plan, coming here specifically to exact revenge on her.

She smiled as she scrutinized the pair and spoke first, "The Third Princess and Second Cousin really are affectionate. It wasn’t long after you two revealed your feelings, yet you’re already moving in unison. I was blind before and didn’t realize how deeply the two of you were in love. When might we expect to drink at your wedding banquet?"

Lu Qianqian’s face darkened as she snapped, "Stop spouting nonsense! I stopped you because I just lost a golden hairpin, and I suspect you stole it!"

"Lu Qianqian!" Lu Jiazhe frowned in displeasure. "Sister Shen is so beautiful and of such noble character—she would never stoop to stealing!"

Lu Qianqian rolled her eyes. "Lu Jiazhe, when will you grow up? A person’s morality isn’t measured by their appearance! Shen Yinning is of low standing now, merely the wife of an eighth-rank minor official. She can’t afford a golden hairpin. Being envious and secretly taking mine isn’t outside the realm of possibility!"

"Ridiculous!" Lu Jiazhe scoffed in disgust. "A golden hairpin? Sister Shen could have ten pounds of such things if she asked me! Why would she ever steal yours? Stop here with your baseless accusations!"

Shen Xinglei shielded Lu Qianqian behind him and spoke darkly, "Whether or not Princess Qianqian has framed someone will be clear simply by searching Shen Yinning’s belongings. Shen Yinning, do you dare to let us search you?"

Shen Yinning adjusted her white fox fur cloak.

Meeting Lu Qianqian’s smug gaze, she instantly knew there was something hidden in the secret pocket of her cloak.

Earlier, when they were entering the Warm Pavilion, everyone had hung their cloaks or capes downstairs on wooden racks. It must have been during that moment when Lu Qianqian had tampered with her belongings while she had gone out through the window.

She remembered the hairpin Lu Qianqian had worn today.

It was a pomegranate-red, filigreed-glass golden hairpin from her mother’s dowry. Lu Qianqian had once asked her for it, but since the full set of ornaments had been passed down from her maternal grandmother through the generations, carrying special significance beyond ordinary jewelry, she had declined Lu Qianqian’s request back then.

Reflecting on it now, aside from this one refusal, Shen Yinning had always indulged Lu Qianqian when it came to other jewelry or clothing. She had treated Lu Qianqian like a lovable, willful younger sister, showing her utmost generosity, as would befit future sisters-in-law.

And yet, in the end, she hadn’t managed to tame the ungrateful wolf.

When her family was seized, Lu Qianqian hadn’t lifted a finger to help. Instead, she had cozied up to Shen Yunxi, likely even playing a role when bribing prison guards to humiliate her.

Shen Yinning genuinely couldn’t understand why Lu Qianqian would favor Shen Yunxi as a sister-in-law over her.

Someone as miserly and petty as Shen Yunxi, who couldn’t even put on a decent front—could she truly gift more freely than Shen Yinning?

Or was it that some people, by nature, are base—like insatiable dogs that you cannot afford to treat kindly?

A cold gleam, like ice pellets in winter, flashed in her almond-shaped eyes. However, her face retained its calm smile. "What if I said that I didn’t steal it?"

Lu Qianqian arrogantly raised her chin. "If you didn’t steal it, this Princess will apologize to you! But if you did, I’ll have you strip off your cloak and outer skirt, walk out of the Duke Mansion wearing only your undergarments, and shout three times on the main street, ’My father and brother are treacherous rebels, and I, Shen Yinning, am a shameless thief!’ Shen Yinning, do you dare to wager?"

Shen Yinning’s lips curved slightly. "If I stole it, I’ll follow the Princess’s instructions. But if I didn’t, I want the Princess to walk out onto the main street and shout three times, ’Shen Yinning, I’m sorry.’ How does that sound?"

Lu Qianqian, as if confident she wouldn’t lose, readily agreed in a crisp voice, "Fine, I’ll wager with you!"

Not far away in the pavilion, Lu Ying stood with his hands folded behind him, silently observing the commotion on the flower path.

Absent from the banquet, Xue Ling sat like a wraith by a small earthen stove, feasting and flipping chicken wings on a grill.

Smirking, he murmured between bites of wine-soaked meat, "When it comes to stirring trouble, no one under heaven can rival Shen Yinning. Even when there isn’t chaos, she can stir up calamity as vast as the skies. For this wager, Your Highness, are you siding with Lu Qianqian or Shen Yinning?"

Lu Ying rubbed the Moyu Ring on his finger.

His gaze fell on a fork in the flower path, where a tall, slender figure was walking toward Shen Zhaozhao.

It was Cui Ji.

His narrow eyes glinted as he turned to descend the stairs.

Xue Ling raised an eyebrow and, while chewing on a lettuce-wrapped slice of pork belly, mumbled, "Whoa, in such a rush to intervene on-site? Can’t you wait for me?"

He got up to chase after Lu Ying.

His peripheral vision caught sight of a plate of plum blossom cakes on the table. Pausing, he scooped up the entire plate and stuffed it into his pocket.

The plum blossom cakes from the Shen Guogong Mansion were truly delicious.

He thought to himself that Xue Mianmian would probably like them a lot.

It wasn’t to cheer up the girl, actually—he just despised how the Shen Guogong Mansion treated the Xue Family. So, he figured he might as well take a few more of their things.

At this moment, on the flower path.

Shen Yinning untied her cloak and casually tossed it on the ground. "Does the Princess wish to inspect it herself?"

Lu Qianqian hurried over to search carefully and quickly found the golden hairpin in the hidden pocket.

Delighted, she raised the hairpin triumphantly. "Shen Yinning, caught red-handed—what more do you have to say?!"

Shen Yinning arched an eyebrow. "How does the Princess prove this is the hairpin you lost?"

Lu Qianqian froze momentarily before scowling. "What are you insinuating? All the guests today saw I was wearing this very hairpin. Do you want me to summon them all back as witnesses before you admit defeat? Shen Yinning, a wager is a wager. I demand you remove your outer dress right now and say those words in the street!"

"Lu Qianqian, you—" Lu Jiazhe was livid. "You’re absolutely intolerable!"

"The Princess Qianqian hasn’t wronged anyone," Shen Xinglei chuckled darkly, lifting his jaw slightly. "If our cousin hasn’t kept her hands clean, she has only herself to blame."

"Sister Shen," Lu Jiazhe urged anxiously, "this hairpin must have been planted by Lu Qianqian to frame you!"

Shen Yinning gently raised her hand, signaling for him to stop.

She fixed her gaze on Lu Qianqian, her delicate face remaining composed and serene. "The Princess claims this is your hairpin. But as far as I can tell, it’s clearly something from my mother’s dowry."

"So what if it is?" Lu Qianqian sneered arrogantly. "Your family was seized, and everything from your residence was confiscated and auctioned off. Even the Shen Garden your father personally designed and renovated is now owned by my royal brother. Your mother’s dowry ceased being yours long ago!"

"Although my family was seized, the Holy Emperor and the Empress Dowager had chosen to spare my mother. Her dowry and private funds weren’t within the confiscated items. While I was praying at Little Kan Temple, I ran into the Empress Dowager, who informed me that my mother’s belongings were temporarily kept in Cining Palace, awaiting their rightful return to me. How is it, then, Princess, that my mother’s things ended up in your possession? Could it be that the Princess... stole them?"