The head maid stepped forward, her hands trembling slightly as she began to rough search Li Mei’s wide sleeves and the heavy layers of her uniform robes.

"I am innocent! I swear it!" Li Mei cried out, tears instantly streaming down her pale cheeks. She didn’t look at the head maid; instead, she fixed her tearful, wide eyes directly on Wenzhe.

Her gaze was completely desperate, pleading for him to step in and save her from this public humiliation like he always used to do. "Master Wenzhe, please believe me! I would never touch the Young Madame’s things! Someone is trying to ruin me!"

Su Yueqing, however, didn’t show an ounce of mercy. She took a step down the stone stairs, looking down at the crying girl with absolute coldness.

"Ruin you? You are the one who ruined your own hands by being greedy!" Su Yueqing snapped, her voice dripping with sheer venom.

She looked every bit the cruel, heartless tyrant at this moment, completely unbothered by Li Mei’s pathetic tears. "Keep searching! Check her waist pouch, check her boots! A thief will always try to hide their prize where the sun doesn’t shine!"

The older family members watched in a tense silence. The cruelty Su Yueqing was displaying outwardly was terrifyingly real, matching the perfect image of a wicked master tormenting a helpless servant.

Down in the courtyard, the younger girls huddled closer together, away from the harsh tone of Su Yueqing’s voice.

"Sister Lanyin, Sister-in-law is becoming so terrifying," Qianqian whispered, her shoulders tensing as she watched the head maid aggressively shake out Li Mei’s outer sash. "I’ve never seen her look so mean before. It’s like she wants to swallow Li Mei alive."

Gu Yue nodded rapidly in agreement, keeping a protective hand over little Anran’s shoulders. "She looks like a real monster right now. It makes my skin crawl just watching her."

But as the girls gossiped and the rest of the family waited for the chaotic inner commentary that usually accompanied Su Yueqing’s dramatic outbursts, a strange, heavy silence fell over their minds.

Su Yueqing’s thoughts had suddenly gone entirely blank again.

The Old Madame’s eyebrows knitted together, and Wenzhe’s gaze sharpened. This was incredibly weird. Just a moment ago, her mind had been a roaring stadium of cheers and calculations about her "villain points." By all accounts, they should have been hearing her gloat or panic right now at this exact moment of the search.

Instead, it was just an empty, unreadable void as if the system block had slammed shut again, leaving them completely unable to guess what her next malicious move would be.

The heavy silence in Su Yueqing’s mind didn’t last long. While it lasted, she just kept a cold, mean look on her face.

Suddenly, a bunch of sharp, robotic sounds only she could hear started popping off in her brain.

[Ping! Scared reactions from the maids. Villain points +10.]

[Ping! Disgust and fear from the young girls. Villain points +15.]

[Ping! Big tension created in the house. Villain points +20, +25...]

Inside her head, Su Yueqing was cheering.

[Hahaha! Yes! Look at those points go up! They all think I’m a crazy, mean bully. Nine, we are doing great today!]

But right then, the courtyard gates rattled. A breathless guard marched inside, looking completely shocked. In his hands, he held a small, silk-wrapped bundle.

The whole family stared at him.

The Old Madame and Duchess Lin Meiyun were completely jaw-dropped. Up until this very second, the family thought Su Yueqing was totally lying. They thought she hid the hairpin herself just to make trouble and annoy Wenzhe. They did not believe it was actually stolen!

"Reporting to the Duchess! Master Wenzhe!" the guard said, bowing down. He looked like he couldn’t believe it himself. "We found it."

Duchess Lin Meiyun looked sharply at the guard. "Where?" she asked loudly. "Where did you find it?"

The guard swallowed hard and looked at the crying girl on the floor. "Replying to the Duchess... we found it hidden deep inside the mattress, under the bed belonging to the maid, Li Mei."

Li Mei’s eyes went completely wide. She shook her head wildly, her pale face turning totally white.

"No! That’s a lie! Someone put it there!" Li Mei screamed, crawling on her knees toward Wenzhe. She grabbed the bottom of his boots, looking up at him with begging, crying eyes. "Master Wenzhe, you know me! I have been here for years! I would never do this! Please save me, the Young Madame is trying to kill me!"

Wenzhe didn’t move. He looked down at Li Mei, then he looked up at the guard holding the hairpin. His face was like stone. Even though he liked Li Mei and trusted her before, finding the stolen hairpin under her mattress was hard evidence. The rest of the family stood in total shock, unable to say a word.

Su Yueqing stood on the steps, looking down at the scene like a proud queen. She looked incredibly mean and evil. But right at that moment, her silent mind exploded with loud thoughts again, and the whole family heard everything.

[OH MY GOD, IT WAS ACTUALLY STOLEN?!]

Su Yueqing’s inner voice screamed in pure shock.

[Wait, Nine! I didn’t frame her! I just made up a random lie about a missing hairpin this morning to pick a fight with Wenzhe! How did it actually end up in her bed?! Is Li Mei really a thief in this story?!]

[Host,] Nine’s robotic voice replied in her head.

[It appears your random villain drama has accidentally uncovered a real crime. Your villain luck is high today.]

[Holy crap!] Su Yueqing thought, quickly trying to keep her mean face from cracking.

[Okay, okay, look natural. Keep acting evil! Wenzhe is definitely going to hate me if I push to punish her now. Come on, Wenzhe, look at your crying favorite! Yell at me! Tell me I set her up!]

Wenzhe heard every single word of her panic.

’So, she didn’t even know it was there,’ Wenzhe thought, looking at his wife’s fiercely smug face that hid a totally confused brain.

He kicked his foot back slightly, pulling his boots away from Li Mei’s grasp. He looked up at Su Yueqing, his voice completely calm and smooth. "Since the item was found in your quarters, Li Mei, the rules must be followed. Guards, take her away and lock her in the woodshed until the Duchess decides her punishment."

Su Yueqing’s jaw almost dropped in real life.

[WHAT?!] her mind shrieked.

[WHY ARE YOU LOCKING HER UP?! DEFEND HER, YOU IDIOT!]