Seeing Shen Xihe so resolute and unyielding, Liu Sanzhi glanced at the indignant Lady Xie, "Your Highness, please wait. This servant will return to the palace to seek instructions."
After Liu Sanzhi left, Shen Xihe turned and sat in the sandalwood carved armchair behind her. She picked up a cup of light tea and drank it gracefully, her demeanor so composed it seemed as if she were the host, leisurely sipping her tea.
Yuan Shi was so enraged she felt a sharp pain in her chest. This time, she was genuinely on the verge of fainting and had to be supported by her maid to remain steady.
Shen Xihe didn't even glance at her. After taking a sip of tea, Duanming was brought back by Moyu. Shen Xihe gently stroked its fur.
It crouched contentedly beside Shen Xihe, nuzzling against her.
Liu Sanzhi returned shortly, accompanied by the Duke of Xie and an imperial decree authorizing the search of the Duke's residence.
"My lord!" Yuan Shi's expression changed as she rushed toward the Duke of Xie.
The Duke of Xie steadied her and glared coldly at Shen Xihe. "Your Highness, I will remember today's humiliation."
"Duke Xie, I never humiliate others unless they bring it upon themselves," Shen Xihe replied with a faint smile.
"Your Highness, this servant will lead the Golden Guard to conduct the search. Do you have any objections?" Liu Sanzhi asked.
"Anyone may conduct the search," Shen Xihe replied generously in this regard.
Liu Sanzhi was taken aback by Shen Xihe's composure. After all, if nothing was found during this search, she would lose her head!
Shen Xihe remained perfectly calm. She and the members of the Duke of Xie's household waited in the main hall while Liu Sanzhi led the Golden Guard to search the residence. Yet, nothing was found.
Liu Sanzhi's expression revealed no emotion. "Your Highness, nothing was found."
"Impossible," Shen Xihe refused to believe it.
"Is Your Highness trying to evade responsibility and deny the facts?" Xie Ji questioned with a dark expression.
"Eunuch Liu, did you truly search every corner?" Shen Xihe ignored Xie Ji.
"Does Your Highness suspect this servant of shielding the Duke of Xie?" Liu Sanzhi's expression also turned unpleasant. "The inner quarters were searched by this servant and the eunuchs, while the outer courtyard was searched by General Qi and his men. Not an inch was overlooked—chests, cabinets, even vases were overturned. No Golden Decree was found."
"I will go and inspect it myself," Shen Xihe declared.
"Does Your Highness intend to plant evidence and frame us?" Xie Ji shouted.
Shen Xihe glanced at him. "Eunuch Liu may accompany me, and Duke Xie may do the same."
Liu Sanzhi looked at Xie Ji, who sneered, "The Northwest King holds great power. How dare we refuse to satisfy Your Highness? Lest we be accused of colluding to slander you and plotting your death!"
Unfazed by his sarcasm, Shen Xihe carried Duanming and, accompanied by Liu Sanzhi and Xie Ji, made her way to the inner quarters of the Duke's residence. As they passed a courtyard, Duanming leaped down and dashed inside.
Shen Xihe followed, but guards outside reached out to stop her. Xie Ji hurried forward. "This is the Xie family ancestral hall!"
Shen Xihe asked Liu Sanzhi, "Eunuch Liu, was this place searched?"
"This..." Liu Sanzhi hesitated. "Your Highness, this is a place dedicated to the ancestors of the Duke's household."
"Precisely for that reason, it is the safest place," Shen Xihe replied, taking Duanming from the guard who had caught it.
"Does Your Highness intend to disturb the peace of my Xie ancestors? Are you trying to drive me to my death?" Xie Ji's eyes were as sharp and cold as icy arrows.
"There is no need to send others to search. Let Eunuch Liu, Duke Xie, and I enter to take a look," Shen Xihe said calmly. "If nothing is found here, I will personally apologize before the ancestors of the Duke of Xie's household."Xie Ji was so enraged he laughed instead. He raised his hand to signal the blocking guards to step aside, gritting his teeth: "Your Ladyship, please."
As she stepped into the hall, Duanming leaped from Shen Xihe's arms and scurried onto the incense table enshrining the ancestral tablets. Everyone's faces turned pale.
Shen Xihe shouted sharply: "Duanming!"
The agile cat stretched its neck toward one tablet and meowed loudly.
Before Xie Ji could move to catch Duanming, Shen Xihe strode over and spotted a palm-sized golden token gleaming behind the tablet. Holding Duanming, her gaze turned cold: "Eunuch Liu, please come here."
Liu Sanzhi approached and his expression changed slightly upon seeing the token. He glanced solemnly back at Xie Ji, whose forehead was turning purple with rage: "Duke Xie, my apologies." After speaking, he walked before the incense table, bowed three times, then reached behind the tablet to retrieve the imperial Golden Decree.
The Golden Decree had originally been carried in by Duanming at Shen Xihe's instruction - she had intended for the cat to casually drop it somewhere. Only after Duanming returned did she knock on Duke Xie's mansion gate. To prevent anyone from having time to react, she had opted for a swift resolution.
Even if someone had found and picked it up, they wouldn't have dared discard it outside the mansion - who knew if it might hit someone? She had scented the Golden Decree so that no matter who hid it, Duanming could track it down.
Unexpectedly, this mischievous creature had dropped the token in the Xie family ancestral hall. But this coincidence worked in her favor, making everything that followed more justified.
"This is impossible!" Xie Ji looked as if his eyes might pop out.
Shen Xihe had arrived so quickly that there was no time for tampering. His mansion's guards were far from ordinary - how could anyone place the imperial Golden Decree in the ancestral hall without alerting anyone?
Humans couldn't, but...
Xie Ji immediately fixed his stare intently on Duanming in Shen Xihe's arms!
"Meow!" Sensing the hostile gaze, Duanming bared its teeth at Xie Ji.
"What does Duke Xie mean by this?" Shen Xihe turned Duanming's head toward her. "This cat of mine is particularly attached to my belongings. Are you greatly surprised that it could locate the Golden Decree? You were quite clever, hiding it in such a place. Had I not brought my cat, I might have come in vain today without finding it."
Even Liu Sanzhi had to admit this - who would dare disturb the Xie ancestors' tablets in such a place?
At that position, they might not have found it without careful examination.
"Your Ladyship, what skillful methods!" Xie Ji calmed down, his gaze toward Shen Xihe growing more hostile.
"Heh." Shen Xihe let out a soft laugh. "If Duke Xie feels wronged, go appeal to His Majesty. While my cat did run around your mansion, it never came this way. Your servants can testify - surely you won't claim I had the cat bring the Golden Decree into your mansion?"
Wasn't that exactly what happened?!
Duke Xie tasted blood in his throat, forcibly swallowing back his fury.
"As a first-rank duke, how can you dare act but not dare admit it?" Shen Xihe spoke with some mockery. "I bear no recent grudges or past grievances with Duke Xie's household. Why would I go through such trouble to frame you? Just to perform another act of arrogance for the capital's audience?"
"Your Ladyship knows very well why you scheme against me. How dare you swear so confidently, even staking your life?" Xie Ji pressed.
Actually, ever since Liu Sanzhi returned to the palace conveying Shen Xihe's message, Xie Ji had known things weren't simple. But at this point, if he refused or evaded, it would be a confession of guilt!
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