The Double

Chapter 31: Framing

"This headdress is fake," she lowered her gaze. "This isn't my headdress."

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

Madam Liu was the first to speak, asking, "Second Miss Jiang, what do you mean by this?"

Jiang Li smiled, handing the headdress to Madam Liu as she said calmly, "I spent four hundred taels to purchase a ruby headdress from Jixiang Pavilion in Yanjing City. There were only three such ruby headdresses in the entire Jixiang Pavilion, precisely because the gems were of exceptional quality and vibrant color." After a pause, Jiang Li continued, "But the one I hold now is crudely made with dull coloring. It's not even worth forty taels, let alone four hundred."

"Miss, you mean..." Tong'er couldn't help but ask.

"If I truly wanted to curse my third sister, I wouldn't use such shabby trinkets," Jiang Li's tone was disdainful. "This isn't my headdress. Someone took mine and replaced it with this worthless thing."

Someone had taken her headdress!

The situation took a sudden turn, and the crowd suddenly understood, but moments later, they fell into deeper confusion.

Old Madam Jiang said, "Li Yatou, what do you mean someone took your headdress?"

Jiang Li turned and smiled gently at Old Madam Jiang. "Old Madam, there's no hurry. I'll clarify what exactly happened right now."

Old Madam Jiang was taken aback. Before all the guests, Jiang Li had addressed her as "Old Madam" instead of "Grandmother"—the distinction between closeness and distance was immediately clear. Was this resentment? Because she hadn't stood by Jiang Li's side when she was in trouble earlier?

Jiang Youyao and Ji Shuran both showed flickers of surprise on their faces—this wasn't how things were supposed to unfold. Ji Shuran's heart stirred; she didn't want Jiang Li to disrupt her plans and said, "Li'er, how could this ruby headdress be fake? Perhaps you've mistaken it?"

"Impossible!" It was Madam Liu who spoke, her tone firm. "Items from Jixiang Pavilion could never be of this quality. All of you are regular customers of Jixiang Pavilion—you can tell with just a touch." Madam Liu passed the headdress to the ladies beside her. Several of them felt it and nodded in agreement.

This confirmed Madam Liu's words.

Ji Shuran frowned deeply. She looked at Jiang Li and suddenly realized that from the beginning until now, from the moment the crack in the ruby headdress was discovered, whether facing accusations or strange looks, Jiang Li had never shown any signs of panic.

Jiang Li had appeared puzzled, confused, regretful, and apologetic—but never flustered, angry, helpless, or despairing.

Even now, there was still a gentle smile at the corner of Jiang Li's lips, exactly as it had been from the start.

What was there to smile about at a time like this? What could possibly be funny?

Ji Shuran thought, growing increasingly uneasy. Subconsciously, she saw Jiang Li lower her head to look at the person on the ground and followed her gaze. She noticed Xiang Qiao kneeling on the ground, looking as if she were about to collapse.

Xiang Qiao was trembling.

Jiang Li crouched down and reached out to help Xiang Qiao up. Her gaze toward Xiang Qiao was kind and gentle, her tone still as amiable as before.

She said, "Xiang Qiao, it was you who stole my headdress, wasn't it?"

"N-no, it wasn't," Xiang Qiao insisted firmly. "This servant didn't do such a thing.""That is strange indeed," Jiang Li murmured with a hint of bewilderment. "You claim to have personally witnessed me carving the ruby headdress stroke by stroke with a knife, yet that very headdress has clearly been replaced. What you saw must have been... a ghost?"

The last two words were uttered with exceptional softness, but to Xiang Qiao's ears, they carried a chilling, spectral dread.

"Third Sister, if you accuse Xiang Qiao of taking your headdress, do you have any proof?" Jiang Yu'e interjected unwillingly.

"Proof?" Jiang Li rose to her feet once more, smiling at Ji Shuran. "As the primary wife and mistress of the household, I request that Mother immediately dispatch someone to search Xiang Qiao's room for the ruby headdress. With all the noble ladies and sisters present, they can serve as witnesses. This way, after I clear my name, I won't be unjustly burdened with false accusations."

The guests felt a pang of guilt upon hearing this.

Jiang Li's words implicitly criticized them for positioning themselves as lofty spectators earlier, remaining aloof while hastily casting her as the instigator.

Ji Shuran maintained a smile on her face but clenched her teeth tightly. She was no fool and realized that today's scheme against Jiang Li had failed. She was astonished that Jiang Li could turn the tables despite having no connections or silver in the Jiang residence. Fearful of further countermoves, she instinctively glanced at Xiang Qiao.

When Xiang Qiao heard Jiang Li's request for a room search, she visibly relaxed. Noticing this, Ji Shuran quickly assessed the situation and concluded that Jiang Li likely wouldn't find anything incriminating. She assigned several people to search Xiang Qiao's room accordingly.

The main hall fell silent once more.

It was then that Jiang Yuanbai finally grasped the situation, sensing he might have erred. He looked at Jiang Li, noticing her standing not far from Jiang Youyao. While Jiang Youyao was exquisitely dressed with ornate hairpins, Jiang Li wore plain, simple attire. Were it not for her innate grace, her modest appearance would have rendered her as inconspicuous as a maid.

Jiang Yuanbai felt another wave of discomfort.

Proud and protective of his family's reputation, even if he despised Jiang Li, he didn't want her to embarrass the Jiang household in front of guests. Moreover, given the emerging evidence that the headdress incident was more complicated, he began to regret his earlier harsh tone toward her.

Jiang Li paid no mind to the thoughts swirling among the crowd—Jiang Yuanbai's regret, Ji Shuran and Jiang Youyao's disappointment. Standing in the central courtyard, she watched Xiang Qiao's forced composure with amusement, feeling an urge to laugh.

She had long been aware of Ji Shuran and Jiang Youyao's schemes, but her goal extended beyond merely proving her innocence.

Though one may harbor no ill will toward a tiger, the tiger may still seek to harm. Leaving Ji Shuran's people in Fragrant Garden Courtyard would only invite future trouble. Having learned from the tragic experiences of her past life, she believed in preventing problems before they arose and eradicating threats at their roots.

Soon, the group sent to search Xiang Qiao's room returned. To ensure fairness, Old Madam Jiang had dispatched her own attendant to accompany them.

Zhang Momo returned to Old Madam Jiang's side, glanced at Xiang Qiao on the floor, and reported, "Madam, we found the ruby headdress in Xiang Qiao's room. It bears no knife marks and appears to be genuine."

Xiang Qiao went limp, muttering, "Impossible."

Jiang Youyao was stunned, while Ji Shuran, seeing Jiang Li's smile widen, felt a sudden chill of dread.Sure enough, Zhang Momo hesitated for a moment before declaring in front of all the guests, "We also found many valuable pieces of jewelry in Xiang Qiao's room, which were likely the gifts from the First Madam to Second Young Lady."

Jiang Li was taken aback for an instant. For the first time, her voice carried a trace of anger, though upon closer listening, it seemed tinged with a hint of mockery.

She said, "So it was Xiang Qiao who coveted the treasures and tried to shift the blame onto others!"

(End of Chapter)