Chapter 37: Diverting the Disaster

Lin Pianran had long anticipated that these people would come looking for trouble, but she had not expected Consort De to be so impatient.

She asked with feigned composure, "May I ask what business Consort De has with me?"

The old matron said impatiently, "Princess Huaian has gone missing. Her Highness heard that you spoke with her today, so she has summoned you for questioning..."

Lin Pianran asked, bewildered, "My maid, Huanxue, went missing, and I have only just found her. Now you want me to go look for someone else?"

"Besides, if Princess Huaian is missing, you should be dispatching people to search for her! What does her disappearance have to do with me? What use is it to bring me in? I have no special ability to help Her Highness find anyone..."

After saying this, she ignored the old matron and her group, stepping past them toward the mourning hall of the Old Madam of the Lin family.

Seeing that Lin Pianran was not cooperating, the old matron became even more arrogant. "Sixth Miss, stop right there! You dare to refuse a summons from Her Highness? Do you have a death wish?"

Lin Pianran, seeing a mere slave daring to shout at her so brazenly, felt her temper flare. "You are just a servant, yet you act as if you own the place. Who do you think you are? You would do well to remember your place as a slave!"

Unexpectedly, the old matron held no regard for Lin Pianran and loudly ordered the palace maids and guards behind her, "Stop those three! Even if you have to drag them, bring them before Her Highness!"

Lin Pianran moved with lightning speed, stepping directly in front of the old matron and landing two sharp slaps across her wrinkled face. The force of the blows caused blood to trickle from the corner of the matron's mouth, and her face swelled instantly.

"You... you dare to strike me? Do you know who I am? I am a senior servant close to Consort De. Aren't you afraid of being punished by Her Highness for treating me this way?"

"I am merely disciplining an insolent dog of a slave who knows no respect for her superiors. I believe that after all these years in the palace, Consort De has the rules of decorum etched in her heart; she is surely a woman of great wisdom."

"She would certainly not blame me for overstepping to discipline a rude and unruly old hag on her behalf..."

The two palace maids and guards following the matron, seeing that Lin Pianran was not only uncooperative but also so audacious, rushed forward to use force.

Lin Pianran did not flinch, meeting them head-on. Her two maids also shielded her, engaging the attacking servants and guards. The three of them kicked and struck with precision, quickly knocking their assailants to the ground.

Looking at the disheveled group on the floor, Lin Pianran clapped her hands with disdain and mocked, "With such amateur skills, you should be ashamed to show your faces."

She had no time to waste on these lackeys; her most pressing task was to contact Crown Prince Huo Yuchen. She needed him to retrieve Wei Zixing and the others immediately. If the delay dragged on and Prince Chang discovered them and recaptured them, all her efforts would have been in vain. This was the most critical matter at hand. However, how she would manage to see the Crown Prince remained a problem that required careful planning.

Ignoring the wailing group on the ground, Lin Pianran led her maids toward the mourning hall. She still had to keep up appearances; she could not allow the label of "unfilial" to be pinned on her.

Upon reaching the hall, Lin Pianran first spotted Zhao Xuerou busy receiving guests. Clutching a handkerchief to her reddened eyes, Lin Pianran rushed over and cried out, "Madame, you must help me! Huanxue was abducted. I searched for a long time, and it was only after receiving a letter that I managed to rescue her!"

"I don't know who the wicked wretch is who would commit such a vile act."

"Tianzhu and I went to that small grove, but we didn't see anyone. We searched for a long time before finding Huanxue unconscious on a slope. She had been beaten, her face was marked with slaps, and her hands and feet were bound tightly."

"Madame, who could be so heartless as to do such a thing?"

"What exactly has our Lin family done to offend others? One disaster after another, *sob*..."

"Madame, you must seek justice for me!..."

Zhao Xuerou’s eyes flickered unnaturally, her guilt evident. Lin Pianran watched her every move closely, taking in her every expression. She suspected that even if Zhao Xuerou did not know the full extent of Princess Huaian’s schemes, she surely guessed at least a part of them.

A lady nearby, seeing the tearful Lin Pianran, couldn't help but offer comfort. "At least the girl has been found safe and sound; that is a blessing!"

Lin Pianran continued to wipe her eyes, sobbing, "But I had only just brought my maid back from the brink of death when, at the front intersection, I was intercepted by Consort De's people, claiming the Princess was missing and demanding I go with them."

"If the Princess is missing, they should send people to search for her. Why come looking for me?"

"I heard that you were the last one to speak with Princess Huaian before she disappeared," Zhao Xuerou interjected.

Lin Pianran covered her face, feigning a sob. "I am sure the Princess spoke with many people today. Does that mean everyone is a suspect?"

"Besides, I recall it was Third Sister Lin Chuyan who was by the Princess's side the whole time. How did this lead to me?"

"This morning, when the snakes appeared and people's belongings were stolen, Third Sister brought the local officials to search my room, and only then was my name cleared."

"Now that the Princess is missing, how can they suspect me again? Who have I offended? How can they slander me like this?"

At this, another lady stepped forward. "Indeed, I also saw Lin Chuyan by Princess Huaian’s side the entire time, and they seemed quite intimate. Why would they implicate the Sixth Miss? This is far too far-fetched."

The crowd began to gossip among themselves.

"Isn't this just bullying the weak? They dump all the blame on the Sixth Miss. She really is unlucky!"

"Exactly, suspecting the Sixth Miss for everything is simply outrageous!"

"I heard the person who planted the snakes has been found—it was the eldest Miss of the Lin family. She sent people to catch snakes and put them in the Sixth Miss's room to cause harm, but the snakes ran wild and ended up biting the Eldest Miss herself and the Second Madame instead. Can you believe it?" one lady whispered to the group.

"That is just retribution! Plotting to harm others, only to end up hurting oneself."

"And then she had the gall to cry 'thief' and claim someone was trying to harm the Lin family. In my opinion, the Eldest Miss is truly shameless!"