As soon as the old maid removed the towel from the steward's mouth, he began to cry foul.
"Oh? You're wronged?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang's face was extremely calm.
The steward couldn't quite grasp what the Princess Consort meant.
"Your Highness, this lowly one just wanted to catch the person who placed the storybook."
"Unexpectedly, this Nanny Ni actually framed me on purpose."
"Nonsense! I only saw you alone in the flower shed, there was absolutely no one else!"
Nanny Ni accused the steward.
"There was someone before I went in, but by the time I got there, they had already run away!"
"You had me tied up without a word of explanation, and locked me up for half the night. You are simply audacious!"
"And now, you are talking nonsense in front of our master, trying to frame me!"
The steward spoke with self-righteous indignation.
"Steward, why did you go to the flower shed in the middle of the night?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang asked with a good-tempered expression.
The steward felt a surge of joy in his heart.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang usually trusted him the most; she definitely wouldn't believe Nanny Ni.
"Answering Your Highness, after this lowly one went back today, I felt very guilty."
"Therefore, I swore that I must root out the person who hid the storybook!"
"I kept watch outside the flower shed, and when that person went in, I followed them inside."
"As a result, when that person saw me, they immediately took to their heels!"
"I originally wanted to give chase, but worried they might come back and destroy the evidence."
"So, I took out the things they had hidden."
"Unexpectedly, Nanny Ni had people tie me up."
"Your Highness, I suspect that the storybook might have been hidden by Nanny Ni!"
"Oh? So you mean you clearly saw that the person who hid the storybook was Nanny Ni?"
The steward sized up Nanny Ni.
"Yes, the build was similar to hers, and the clothes were the same. She hasn't even changed!"
Nanny Ni wanted to speak, but the Princess Consort of Pingyang waved her hand.
"Nanny Ni, is what the steward said true?"
Nanny Ni was terrified.
"Your Highness, this servant is wronged. I have been with the old maid who plants flowers and trees all along, she can testify for me!"
"Steward, Nanny Ni has a witness." The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at the steward again, seeming troubled.
"Your Highness, those old maids must have been bribed by her."
"You both stick to your own stories, which makes it very hard for me to judge!"
"By the way, you said you got the storybook. Bring it for me to see."
After the Princess Consort of Pingyang spoke, she signaled the old maid to search the steward.
The steward grew anxious.
Usually, whatever he said, the Princess Consort of Pingyang would listen.
Why was it different today?
"Your Highness, it's a booklet."
The old maid pulled a booklet from the steward's chest.
"Bring it to me."
Lianxin stepped forward, took the booklet from the old maid's hand, and handed it to the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang flipped through it.
Initially, she looked casual, but suddenly her face hardened.
Then, she flipped faster and faster, until finally, with a "smack," she threw the booklet in front of the steward.
"Steward, why is this full of the estate's ledgers? And they are different from what you told me?"
The steward's eyes darted around.
"Your Highness, this must have been left behind by the person who just escaped!"
"But you just clearly said that person was Nanny Ni."
"Nanny Ni is illiterate. How could she forge an account book to frame you?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked entirely unconvinced.
"Your Highness, perhaps this lowly one saw wrong!"
"That person just looked like Nanny Ni in build, but it wasn't Nanny Ni; it was someone else!"
The steward found an excuse.
"But just now, you firmly insisted it was Nanny Ni!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang appeared very angry.
"Your Highness, it was dark, and it is only human to not see clearly."
"Your Highness, whether anyone went to the flower shed or not, we just need to call the night watch guards over to ask, and it will be clear," Lianxin suggested from the side.
"Right! Someone, go and call the guards who were on duty last night."
The steward's heart skipped a beat.
Since when were there guards keeping watch at the flower shed?
Why didn't he know?
Before long, a guard walked in and bowed.
"Tell me exactly what happened yesterday, in full detail."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Yesterday, your subordinate was guarding inside the flower shed all along. In the evening, she came back and lingered at the door for a moment."
"Then, until the early hours of the morning, the steward came in."
"Not long after, she brought a few old maids over and tied up the steward."
The guard answered very concisely.
"Did anyone else go in halfway through?"
"Answering Your Highness, no!"
"Did Nanny Ni enter the flower shed?" the Princess Consort of Pingyang continued to ask.
"Answering Your Highness, Nanny Ni didn't at first; she came in later with the old maids."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang waved her hand, and the guard left.
"Steward, what do you have to say now?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang's face darkened.
The steward opened his mouth, unable to defend himself.
"The Prince and I trusted you so much, yet you actually betrayed your masters!"
"Speak, where did you put all that silver?"
As the Princess Consort of Pingyang said these few words, the steward immediately realized what was going on.
All of this was nothing more than a trap set by the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
Starting from the storybook, it was all to lure him into stealing the account book, and then catch him red-handed, leaving him unable to deny it.
Otherwise, how could Nanny Ni have returned and brought the old maids to catch him right on time?
And there were even guards to testify!
Once the steward figured it out, he immediately wanted to flee.
He could not stay here.
"Your Highness, I am innocent!"
"I don't know what silver you are talking about!"
"Your Highness, I have diligently managed the Prince's estate. Even if I have no merits, I have worked hard."
"You cannot shift the blame onto me just because of poor management."
As the steward spoke, he crawled a few steps forward on his knees toward the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
Hearing the steward's defense, the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face instantly turned cold.
"You actually dare to shift the responsibility onto me?"
"Guards!..."
As soon as the Princess Consort of Pingyang spoke, the steward suddenly sprang up from the ground, thrusting a gleaming dagger straight at her.
Everything happened so fast that Lianxin and the others standing by didn't even have time to react.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang never expected that the usually honest and simple steward would actually be carrying a deadly weapon.
And in the brief moment he was talking to her, he had actually cut his ropes!
Looking at the dagger closing in on her, the Princess Consort of Pingyang reflexively grabbed the teacup next to her and splashed it at the steward.
The steaming hot tea instantly blinded the steward's eyes.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang raised her foot and kicked the steward in the crotch.
Unable to see, the steward naturally couldn't dodge.
He fell to his knees on the ground.
Xu Jinxin, who had been at the door the whole time, rushed over and snatched the knife from the steward's hand.
Xu Jinxin unceremoniously dislocated the steward's arm.
The steward cried out twice in pain.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang shot a glance at Xu Jinxin, and Xu Jinxin froze for a moment.
She let go, and the steward took the opportunity to flee outside.
Xu Jinxin threw the dagger in her hand straight out.
"Spare his life!" the Princess Consort of Pingyang hurriedly shouted.
