The chaotic noise of the courtyard gradually faded, swallowed by the hushed murmurs of the servants.
Master Lin stood there, the weight of Hanyue's words paralyzing him. Only now did he understand: His eldest daughter had not been disobedient to him-she had been trying to protect his name, all by herself. If she hadn't intervened, everyone would have discovered all his secrets.
His gaze fell to the thin trace of blood at the corner of her lip, the bandaged hand she held stiffly against her chest.
When he finally spoke, his rough voice trembled; "A'Rou... my daughter... you endured all of this for me?"
Bairan stepped out of Bao'er's arms, ignoring the dull throb of her mending bones and the fresh sting on her cheek.
In the pale moonlight, she looked like a fairy who had wandered wrongly through dust and shadows.
But her eyes were nothing like a gentle fairy's; they were cold, sharp, and far too calm.
She faced her father, her unwavering voice sounding, "Father, I endured it all as your daughter. But it seems you lost trust in me long before tonight."
Master Lin lowered his head; his daughter's cold words didn't anger him. "I... I was wrong to doubt you. I punished you before learning the truth. Ruolan, I apologize."
Bairan's lips curved into a mocking smile. "For what times do you apologize, Father?"
Master Lin's brows tightened. "What do you mean?"
Bairan's gaze swept briefly toward Ruoyu before returning to him. She continued in a calm voice: "I mean the accident from one month ago. Father, you heard about it-but you never saw it with your own eyes, did you?"
Ruoyu stiffened. That glance-was it just coincidence? Or... did her sister already know everything?
She rushed forward, her voice shaking as she caught Bairan's uninjured arm.
"Sister, you mustn't speak to Father like this! You're in pain! We should call the best doctor immediately!"
Bairan pulled her arm free. "The doctor has already treated my hand, Sister. And as for this slap-no need for a doctor; time can heal it."
After that, she turned gradually to Lu Yichen, who stood there, taut and quiet, awaiting the reality of her "accident."
Her voice was steady as she spoke: "Young Master Lu, I did not lose my memories because of a carriage accident. I woke up in a cave at the bottom of a cliff to find that I had fallen from it without knowing why. And as for my Lin family..." Her eyes swept across every face. "... they all believed that I had tried to run away with a man."
Large beads of sweat trickled down Master Lin's temples while he listened to his daughter's statements, looking toward Yichen, then Hanyue. He thought, "Tonight, he would lose either his head or his face."
Lu Yichen's bloodshot eyes widened, a muscle twitching violently in his jaw. He turned to Master Lin and roared;
"A cliff? You lied to me! You told me her carriage's had an accident!"
Master Lin's breath hitched-the lie had been so easy, so convenient, Yichen had never questioned it. His gaze darted between Madam Luo and Bairan before returning to Lu Yichen. His lips trembled.
"Yichen... I-"
But before he could finish, Lu Yichen's voice thundered again: "Who was that man?"
His voice cracked, rough with all the questions he had held inside these past two days flooding back into his mind.
With whom had she run away? Was the purity he once guarded already destroyed? Why was she saying this to him now? Had she suffered something unforgivable?
If only he had met her a month ago instead of seeing Ruoyu... would anything have changed?
He looked at Bairan, hoping she'd ask him to believe and protect her, but she just stood there, staring straight at him, not even blinking. In her eyes, he saw no pain, no begging-not even sadness. He couldn't figure her out anymore.
She was like a totally different person, not his A'Rou, who always got teary-eyed whenever he said "goodbye."
Silence pressed on everyone like a heavy stone. The only sound was the muffled struggle of the paralyzed man, his mouth sealed by the servants.
Madam Luo swallowed, fingers trembling around her handkerchief.
Ruoyu's knees nearly buckled. It was Bao'er who blurted out the truth: "No one saw a man. There was no name. No description. Only... rumors. One day, we woke up, and she was already missing."
Lu Yichen's face drained of all color.
Rumors.
Just like tonight.
"So you condemned her over rumors?" These words didn't come from Lu Yichen's mouth-they came from Hanyue, who looked at Master Lin with a tense expression.
Master Lin lowered his head further.
Lu Yichen forced out in a low voice, "A'Rou, you fell from a cliff... you almost died. Why didn't you tell me first?"
Bairan smiled.
"Why would I say anything to someone who wasn't there?"
Lu Yichen froze.
"Someone who... wasn't there?"
Bairan's eyes sparkled, her lips curving into a small smile.
"You weren't there, Young Master Lu..."
Then she slowly turned her gaze to Ruoyu.
"But someone else was."
As her words fell, the paralyzed man suddenly bit down on a servant's hand. The servant screamed, and everyone turned toward the sound.
The paralyzed man's eyes bulged, veins standing out on his neck.
"Miss... give me the antidote... please!"
His voice cracked, his lips trembling.
Bairan didn't move.
Hanyue looked toward Dongpo. Dongpo nodded lightly.
The paralyzed man stared at Bairan, his eyes widening further.
"Miss... I beg you... don't let me die like this..."
Bairan finally tilted her head toward Hanyue.
Hanyue stepped forward and said,
"If you want the antidote, then tell us who sent you."
The man shifted his gaze to him and spoke in a hurried tone.
"I'll... I'll tell you everything... Yesterday, I was drinking by myself at an inn. A woman came to me and said her young miss had taken a fancy to me and wanted to invite me to her house."
Hanyue's voice grew colder.
"Who was that woman?"
"I don't know," the paralyzed man rasped. "She was wearing a scarf to hide her face. She just told me the time and said that once I got here, I should tell the gatekeeper that Madam Liao invited me. He would let me in easily. She told me where to wait."
Everyone gasped.
Before anyone could respond, the paralyzed man's body twitched violently. His gaze darted around the courtyard-then suddenly fixed on someone.
"T-That man...!" his breath shaking. "The gatekeeper-he... he's the one who let me in!"
Dongpo forced the gatekeeper to his knees.
The paralyzed man sobbed, voice hoarse and cracking;
"Please... Master... give me the antidote... please... I'm said everything I know...!"
Hanyue gave Dongpo a small signal.
Dongpo reached into his sleeve, took out the red package, and poured a pinch onto his palm.
He held it near the paralyzed man's nose. The man inhaled it sharply.
The moment Lu Yichen and Ruoyu saw the package, both of them froze-their faces turning as pale as paper.
Bairan watched them, the corner of her lips lifting into a smile.
The gatekeeper tried to shuffle backward, but a cold flash of steel stopped him-Hanyue had already pressed her sword to his neck.
The gatekeeper cried, trembling violently. "M-Master! I-I only did what Madam told me to do... I only followed orders...!"
The moment she heard her own name from the gatekeeper, Madam Liao's eyes widened, her lips trembled, her breath choked.
Master Lin roared at her;
"What is he talking about?!"
Madam Liao fell to her knees. All color drained from her face. Using all her strength, she forced out broken words: "Master... I-I don't know... I didn't... I didn't..."
The shift was so sudden that Ruomei needed time to react. She rushed to her mother's side.
"Mother... Mother..."
Madam Liao flinched at the sound of her daughter's voice. Her body rocked. Seeing her daughter's terrified eyes, she lost the little strength she had left.
Master Lin's face had turned dark. He roared again,
"Ruomei, step back. This has nothing to do with you!"
But Ruomei shook her head. Tears welled in her eyes as she clutched her mother's sleeve.
"Father, Mother would never do something like this! She... she wouldn't!"
Her voice cracked. Turning to Bairan, she choked, "Please, Ruolan... she wouldn't harm you - I... I didn't like you because you looked down on me, but... but Mother always told me I should respect you. She... she won't - this man is lying!"
Madam Liao reached out with trembling fingers and grabbed Ruomei's hands, clinging to her as if her daughter was the only thing keeping her alive.
"Meier..."
Master Lin's roar pierced the courtyard again.
"Chunhua! You explain this now, or-"
"It wasn't me!" Madam Liao cried, shaking uncontrollably. "I do nothing! I swear on my son's life, I didn't invite any man - I never harmed Ruolan - Master, please, please believe me!"
"Mother!" Ruomei sobbed as she held her mother's arm. "Father-please-believe my mother!"
Lu Yichen stared at the scene in cold confusion, unable to speak. Ruoyu's face was pale, her fingers digging into her sleeves-yet a strange, faint light flickered in her lowered eyes.
Master Lin's fingers curled into a fist. He wanted to take a step toward the mother and daughter-
But through the chaos, Bairan finally spoke.
"Father..."
Master Lin froze.
Bairan continued softly, "Even if Madam Liao had a reason to harm me..." Her eyes lowered to Madam Liao and Ruomei, then met Master Lin's again. "...why would she be careless enough to use her own name?"