The Eldest Daughter is Delicate and Pretty, How Can She Be a Malicious Supporting Character - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Xiao Yan

This matter was neither big nor small. After all, the lost item belonged to the royal family, and although it had been given to someone else, it was found on a noble young lady.
If it were an ordinary maid or servant, they could be dealt with easily. However, the person being accused, Xue Yiran, was the daughter of a high-ranking official, and it was her sister who had discovered the theft.

The people present were all noble young ladies and masters, and with a little thought, they could understand the ins and outs of the situation.
It seemed that the current situation was either Xue Baohua framing Xue Yiran or Xue Yiran turning the tables and accusing Xue Baohua.
This matter involved County Lord Changle, and if the truth wasn’t uncovered, it would likely be the talk of the capital city tomorrow.

Xue Baohua wanted to use the princess’s influence to make a big deal out of this. If she could successfully pin the theft on Xue Yiran, not only would Xue Yiran’s reputation be ruined, but it would also drive a wedge between Pei Yangyang and Xue Yiran.
However, she hadn’t expected that her spoiled and foolish younger sister had changed. In reality, Xue Yiran refuted her calmly and confidently, proving her innocence.
Not only did she fail to frame her, but she also damaged her own reputation and inadvertently gave Xue Yiran some fame in the capital city.
How foolish…
“Since everyone trusts me so much, I will definitely give both of you an explanation. What do you two Miss Xues think?”

Pei Lingyi stood beside County Lord Changle, with Pei Yangyang behind her. After they arrived, the noble young ladies who had been watching the commotion almost all flocked over.
She glanced at the two Xues, and Xue Baohua couldn’t help but look away, as if she was disgusted and didn’t want to make eye contact.

On the other hand, Xue Yiran pretended to be innocent and unafraid, even saying intentionally,
“Miss Pei is a true noble young lady. I naturally believe she can clear my name.”
“Since both of you have spoken, let’s take a look at the evidence,” Pei Lingyi suggested.

Xue Baohua sneered, “The evidence is this maid. Before you arrived, she confessed that the bracelet was stolen on the orders of my third sister.”

Xiaotao, seeing herself mentioned again, lowered her head and didn’t dare to make any movements. She just kept saying, “Yes… yes, it was my miss who instructed me.”
Pei Lingyi seemed thoughtful and then turned to Pei Yangyang, saying, “Yangyang, please tell everyone again about the entire sequence of events.”

Pei Yangyang, realizing she had been deceived by Xue Baohua, carefully recalled the whole process and said, “I wanted to play the ball game, and Miss Xue told me that there was a special place to change clothes in the princess’s mansion. Then her maid led me there.”
“When I arrived, I unexpectedly ran into Miss Xue’s third sister, who also wanted to change clothes, so we went in together.”

“After we changed, I thought the bracelet was too valuable and might be inconvenient during the game, so I took it off and wanted to give it to Lamei for safekeeping.”
“However, it was the maid of Miss Xue who told me I could store the bracelet in the room. I saw that other ladies had left their jewelry there, so I agreed.”
“But when I went back to change clothes, I discovered that the bracelet was gone.”

“I asked the guard at the door, and he said no one had entered later. At that time, only Miss Xue’s third sister was in the room, and she left after us.”
“I was anxious about losing the bracelet and told Miss Xue about the situation. She immediately accused her third sister, and later the bracelet was found on her maid. That’s the situation.”

“Based on what you’re saying, it must have been the third Miss Xue who did it, since no one else entered the room later,” a young lady in the crowd couldn’t help but say.
Xue Baohua felt more confident when she heard someone agreeing with her. “Yes, the evidence is conclusive. My third sister, being a concubine-born daughter, must have seen the value of Miss Pei’s bracelet and had ill intentions.”

She casually adjusted her hair, but her words were sharp. “After all, concubine-born daughters aren’t used to seeing valuable things.”
“Xue Baohua, you’re being too much! This whole thing was planned by you alone!” Xue Yiran was shocked by Xue Baohua’s shamelessness.
When she heard this, Xue Baohua’s expression darkened. “How dare you! Is this how you speak to your older sister?”

Pei Lingyi watched the scene unfold, a fleeting smile in her eyes that quickly disappeared. It was amusing to see them fight like cats and dogs, but unfortunately, this scene wouldn’t be repeated in the future.
“Enough, enough. They’re all sisters. Finding the real culprit is what’s important. We can’t let this go on in my princess’s mansion,” County Lord Changle said, her tone slightly displeased.
She had managed to get a pot of snow-red plum blossoms from her imperial uncle and had convinced her mother to visit her grandmother in the palace, only to have this happen. It was really unlucky.

Seeing that County Lord Changle’s tone had turned slightly unpleasant, Xue Baohua didn’t dare argue with Xue Yiran anymore. Xue Yiran, seeing that Xue Baohua had fallen silent, didn’t feel like arguing either.
The vicious supporting character was indeed born with a bad heart.
Thinking about having to share a room with Xue Baohua in the future, Xue Yiran already felt overwhelmed.

“Is this matter really that simple? I think Yangyang’s words left out many details,” Pei Lingyi said gently, her voice like water. Unlike the heated argument between the Xue sisters, her words made the crowd feel more favorable towards her.
Pei Lingyi continued calmly, “First, no one else entered the changing room later, which rules out the possibility of someone else taking the bracelet. It must have been one of the people who were in the room at the time who stole it.”

Xue Baohua was about to say something, but when she met Pei Lingyi’s gaze, she felt at a loss for words. Pei Lingyi continued, “At that time, wasn’t there a maidservant of the eldest Miss Xue in the room? Where is she now?”
As soon as Pei Lingyi spoke, everyone looked at Xue Baohua.

“I… I…” Xue Baohua’s mind went blank, and she couldn’t even speak.
“I’ll take a guess. Isn’t this maidservant named Xiaotao already under the eldest Miss Xue’s control? Otherwise, how could the third Miss Xue’s maidservant find the location of the bracelet so easily?”
“Yes, the box for storing valuable jewelry in the room was placed by a specific maidservant from the princess’s mansion. If she didn’t know the location in advance, how could she find the exact box among so many things?” County Lord Changle chimed in at the right moment.
The fact that Xue Baohua didn’t have any maidservants by her side now was already suspicious.

“Ha ha ha! What a good show we’ve just witnessed. Indeed, the famous Miss from the prime minister’s mansion lives up to her reputation. Changyu, it seems we’ve arrived just in time,” a voice said with a lazy tone, like a noble prince.
When everyone turned around, they bowed and said, “Greetings, Prince Huai and Crown Prince Changyu.”
“Fourth brother! Brother Changyu! Why did you come?” County Lord Changle’s eyes lit up with surprise when she saw the two princes, and she immediately ran over to them.

“Since you’ve set up a banquet, how could we, as your brothers, not come to support you?”
As soon as the princes arrived, the crowd parted to make way. Pei Lingyi bowed respectfully, her head lowered.
However, one of the princes paused for a second when passing by her, and then said in a playful tone, “Playing the part.”
Pei Lingyi didn’t move, her gaze following the moon-white robe as it walked away.
Xiao Yan, it’s been a long time…