In the midst of the crowd, the short-haired girl with the anxious eyes almost collapsed to the ground.
Bo Ju was completely unprepared for this sudden accusation.
Her face was pale as paper, her eyes filled with panic and helplessness.
“No, no, it’s not me… it’s not me, it’s not me…”
She trembled, her chubby hands shaking as she desperately denied it, her voice as thin as a mosquito.
A cold, sinister smile surfaced on the face of Zhirus.
It was as if he had already anticipated the result of this investigation.
“What, you still refuse to admit it?” He narrowed his eyes, staring maliciously at Bo Ju, and said, word by word, “I will take you before Lord Huang Erzhi and have you thoroughly judged.”
“Wuwu… Lord! I really didn’t do anything!”
Tears streamed down Bo Ju’s face like broken beads.
She began to sob helplessly.
Standing to the side, Su Ling furrowed her brows, feeling a bit uneasy.
The maids and male servants all lived in the castle, but their living areas were separated.
To protect the maids, men were not allowed to enter the female quarters, so male servants generally didn’t visit the maids’ area.
Yet the Male Servant was able to immediately identify the searched room as Bo Ju’s. No matter how she thought about it, something felt off.
Wait!
Su Ling carefully examined that antique Parrot Conch Goblet and suddenly realized—wasn’t this the very cup she had just planned to clean before leaving the kitchen?
She clearly remembered she had come here from the kitchen just now, and when she arrived, Bo Ju was already in the hall.
There was no way this cup could have been stolen by Bo Ju.
“So it really is a frame-up,” Su Ling felt a sense of déjà vu, “Last time it was me, this time it’s Bo Ju… there really are a lot of tricks in this castle…”
The answer quickly became clear.
The male servant was afraid of being blamed by the butler, so he deliberately played a small trick, taking a cup from the kitchen and planting it in Bo Ju’s room to frame her.
She had to help her.
Looking at Bo Ju’s desperate sobbing, Su Ling felt a pang of sympathy, but didn’t know what to do.
“If you keep being so soft-hearted, there’s no place for you in this castle.”
Xi Bitang’s words echoed in her mind.
When she first arrived at the castle, she still carried some of her past life’s ways, firmly believing one could not ignore others in distress.
But after being shunned by other maids, and set up by the class head, Su Ling gradually realized that compared to morals and feelings, protecting herself was far more important.
Bo Ju’s cries grew sharper.
Su Ling drew in a deep breath of icy air, something flashed across her mind.
“No, I still have to help her.”
Her eyes grew determined.
Helping Bo Ju would surely bring her trouble, but to stand by and do nothing would not be wise for Su Ling either.
Normally, only personal servants had permission to leave the castle. If Bo Ju wanted to smuggle something out to exchange for money, she would have to cooperate with someone who had that qualification.
Therefore, if Bo Ju was convicted of stealing the Parrot Conch Goblet, the person most likely to be her accomplice would be Su Ling herself, with whom she was known to be close.
Stealing was one thing, but at such a critical time in the kingdom, if she were accused of conspiracy, she’d be doomed.
The cold wind cut like a blade, biting Su Ling’s face and clearing her mind.
She took a step forward, summoned her courage, and stood before the fierce-looking new butler.
“Male Butler, please allow me to say something. I think there might be a misunderstanding here.”
Bo Ju was stunned by these words, looking at the girl with tousled hair standing before her, tears shimmering in her eyes. She never would have expected that Su Ling, usually so upright and withdrawn, would step forward for her at such a time.
“Hmph, I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense,” Zhirus said impatiently, “I need to quickly inform Lord of the capture of the criminal.”
“Bo Ju is not a criminal!” Su Ling could no longer hold back and shouted out, her voice carrying a trace of resolve and determination, “Sir, please listen to me!”
“Silence!” Zhirus scolded harshly.
“Sir, if this is all a mistake, Lord Huang Erzhi will surely be displeased,” Su Ling refused to give up, arguing her case.
Hearing the words “Lord Huang Erzhi,” the butler finally relaxed his frown a little, waving his hand impatiently, signaling Su Ling to continue.
Su Ling stepped forward, took the goblet from the male servant’s hands, raised it high above her head, and showed it to everyone.
“Please look carefully—here, between the silver base of the Parrot Conch Goblet and the body, there’s a visible trace.”
As she spoke, she tilted the cup slightly.
Everyone was surprised to see a faint green liquid slowly seeping out from the seam, drop by drop falling onto the snow, then quickly evaporating away.
“Sir, please allow me to explain the cleaning process of this goblet.”
Su Ling wiped up a bit of the green liquid with her finger and continued,
“This greenish substance is a cleaning solution for bronzeware.”
“If any copper utensils in the castle show obvious signs of rust, they must be soaked in this solution to remove the corrosion.”
“Because of the way the Parrot Conch Goblet is constructed, every time it’s cleaned, the solution seeps into the gaps and settles between the base and the cup.”
“But there’s no need to worry—the solution evaporates very quickly. After only half an hour, it will be gone completely, leaving the goblet looking brand new, ready for the Blood Clan nobles to use once more.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?” Zhirus asked, displeased.
“What I’m saying is,” Su Ling drew a breath, her voice even more resolute,
“From the time Bo Ju and I arrived here, it’s already been two hours.”
“If Bo Ju had hidden the Parrot Conch Goblet in her room before that, then after two hours, this cleaning solution would have evaporated completely. It shouldn’t still be lingering in the seams like this.”
As soon as she finished, the crowd fell silent, all eyes turning to the Parrot Conch Goblet.
After a while, their astonished gazes shifted to Su Ling.
None of them had ever imagined this usually unremarkable maid would be able to say something so decisive.
“So you’re saying—?” Zhirus frowned even deeper.
“Sir, this goblet was probably only just taken out of the cleaning solution in the kitchen,” Su Ling exhaled, finishing her sentence at last.
At this point, the horse-faced male servant’s face had gone ashen, looking at Zhirus in terror.
His hands rubbed nervously, as if trying to relieve his inner anxiety.
“No, that’s not it! Sir, she’s making things up!”
“If you have any doubts about the cleaning solution, you can ask the others,” Su Ling said calmly, looking him in the eye. “Or if you still don’t believe me, I can show you the cleaning process again myself.”
Zhirus spat harshly on the ground, shot a glance at the others, and said coldly, “Is what she said true?”
The servants exchanged nervous glances, then nodded cautiously.
“Useless thing!” Zhirus roared, lifting his foot and kicking the male servant hard.
The man yelped in pain, staggering to the side, and fell to the ground with a thud, clutching his leg in agony.
“You dared to lie to me! You actually tried to trick me!” Zhirus said, furious. “I will see that you are punished severely!”
Afterward, the horse-faced servant was dragged up by his collar. No matter how much he struggled, he could not break free from Zhirus’ grip.
Before long, the farce had come to an end.
Su Ling ignored the others’ murmurs, and walked over to Bo Ju, reaching out her hand.
“Are you all right?”
Bo Ju, her eyes still full of tears, slowly raised her head.