Hanyue's sword, already at the gatekeeper's throat, pressed till a thin line of blood formed beneath the trembling man's jaw. He said in a cold voice, "Only because he said Madam Luo invited him? How could you let him in so easily?"
The gatekeeper screamed, "I-I let him in because... because it wasn't the first time Madam Luo asked me to allow strangers inside!"
Master Lin's eyes went bloodshot. "You-what did you say?!" He lunged forward and struck the gatekeeper so hard the man collapsed sideways, blood spilling from his nose and lips. Master Lin grabbed him by the collar, dragging him upright. "Do you know what you are saying?! Do you dare spit nonsense about my wife in front of me?!"
Blood dripped from the gatekeeper's chin. His breath quickened with every word; "Master-I'm not lying! Madam... Madam told me... if she ever sent a servant to bring in a man... that this servant should allow it...They were... her brother's men."
Master Lin's fingers clung harder and harder; he turned to look straight at his wife.
Madam Luo's entire body rocked. She tried to shout, "I-I never-! My brother never-!" But facing Master Lin's bloodshot eyes, her voice cracked and couldn't form complete sentences.
Bairan glanced at the mother and daughter tightly holding hands, their fingers trembling nonstop. She raised her eyelashes and softly asked Madam Luo: "Madam, please tell Father why your brother's men entered the Lin household. That way, no one's thoughts will run to other things."
Madam Luo's tears froze on her cheeks. Staring into Bairan's eyes, a thought formed in her heart: Did she already know what I had done? Is she telling me the way out?
Her gaze swept across the servants' faces; some looked at her with wide eyes, some already whispering. Lu Yichen glared at her, and Ruoyu lowered her head. Finally, looking at her daughter pale face, Madam Luo lowered her head. Ruomei tried to speak up again, but Madam Luo shook her head.
Then she raised her eyes, looked toward Master Lin, and spoke slowly, "Master, I told the gatekeeper to allow certain men in..." Her fingers trembled hard. "But it wasn't... it wasn't for anything improper."
Master Lin's face twisted, and he gritted his teeth: "Then what for?!"
Madam Luo's eyelashes trembled. "It was for my brother... he... he was in need. He asked me to lend him some money for saving his business... I... I used part of the monthly allowance you gave me... to help him."
Master Lin froze.
Madam Luo's new row of tears slid down her cheeks; she bowed her head hard to the ground.
"He said... when his business grew, he would hand it back. I hid this only because I feared you would be angry and think wrongly of me. Master! I never invited an unfamiliar man into this house for any dirty purpose! I wanted to support my brother's business. That was all."
Master Lin threw the gatekeeper away. He was furious about the breach of trust and the misuse of his money, but Bairan spoke before him. "So, Madam, you allowed your brother's men to enter this household..." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "...to deliver papers and fetch documents, isn't that right?"
Madam Luo nodded hard, her tearful face lit up a little. "Yes! Yes, exactly! Nothing else-and they came on the first of each month, in the daytime, never at night!"
Bairan tilted her head. Her gaze shifted toward the paralyzed man. "Not at night."
The paralyzed man shuddered, his foot still unable to bear his weight. He bowed his head quickly. "Miss, I don't know this madam's brother. I'm not working with anyone from here. My master from the capital sent me to this town to deliver some goods for him. Tonight I thought I was invited for... for..."
But facing Bairan's eyes, he swallowed the word "fun."
Master Lin's eyes sharply swept from Madam Luo's tear-stained face and the fresh bruise on her forehead to the paralyzed man, then to the gatekeeper.
Seeing this, Hanyue put a foot on the gatekeeper's neck, pinning the man down: "You said you let strangers in at Madam Luo's order. Yet this man claims he is from the capital, not her brother's man. Who truly commanded you tonight? Who paid you to lie?"
The gatekeeper, now realizing he was stuck between a lie and the truth he didn't know about, sobbed wretchedly. "Master!This servant didn't know! It was the same maid who always told me when to let a man in by Madam's order!"
"And who was that maid?" Master Lin thundered. He thought he was master of this household, but it looked like so many things were happening behind his back without his knowledge.
The gatekeeper shuddered at Master Lin's roar.
A voice sounded like thunder to everyone's ears. "It was I."
Everyone turned.
Qing'er stepped out of the shadows. Her voice was low, trembling, as she repeated, "It was this servant."
Ruoyu's grip on her sleeves tightened sharply looked toward her.
Bao'er's eyes widened; she murmured, "Qi...Qing'er you."
Bairan glanced briefly at her, her lips faintly curved.
Hanyue felt she already knew about her maids' betrayal.
Qing'er bowed her head toward Master Lin, her eyes downcast, and her shoulders shaking nonstop. "This servant was the one who always went to the gatekeeper. Madam would give me small rewards every month because her brother's men needed to come and go without bothering anyone. She told me it was only to avoid trouble." Qing'er's tears fell; still didn't raise her head."I... I should buy herbs for my mother's treatment. Madam's reward is something I really need. And I thought it wasn't a bad thing..."
Hanyue interrupted her in a cold voice: "Did she ask you to give the order to the gatekeeper tonight?"
Qing'er raised her head a little. Her breath hitched. "No."
Master Lin's face twisted. He roared as he rushed toward her. "So who was that?"
His act made Qing'er flinch.
But Bairan took a step forward, getting in Master Lin's way. She rolled her eyes inwardly. Why did Master Lin keep beating the tail instead of waiting for the snake's entire head to show up? Too impatient.
Master Lin froze mid-step, his fist still raised, his veins bulging. He roared, "Are you trying to protect her?"
Bairan stood straight in front of Qing'er, blocking him without hesitation. She said, "More than protecting, Father, I want her to have the strength to tell the truth."
She touched the side of her injured cheek with two fingers and continued softly, "Father, she is only a young girl. She may not survive your powerful fist."
Master Lin's breath hitched.
Hanyue also spoke up: "Miss Lin is right, Master Lin. Since this maid wants to confess by herself, there's no need to use violence."
Master Lin put down his fist and nodded his head, but his eyes still glared at Bairan.
Qing'er let out a choked sob behind Bairan. "Y-Young Miss... you still..."
Bairan didn't turn to her, but her voice softened in a way that made Qing'er break completely.
"Qing'er, Tonight, the man you let in almost ruined my reputation. Why did you do that? Who asked you?"
Qing'er inhaled shakily. "Miss... this unworthy servant has brought harm to you. I... I deserve to die..."
Bairan finally turned her head, meeting Qing'er's eyes with a slight, "Harm? You truly harmed your young miss badly, but if you die without revealing the mastermind behind today's plot, doesn't that mean you harm your young miss again? Do you want that?"
Qing'er shook her head hard, tears clinging to her lashes as she bit her trembling lips until blood seeped through. Her voice quivered, "This servant will say it." She turned toward Ruoyu, her finger pointing straight at her, trembling slightly, "It was her, the Third Miss."
Ruoyu immediately yelled, "Nonsense!"