No matter how eloquent Su Yue was in trying to clear her name of pretending to be her elder sister, she couldn’t escape accountability for the poems.

After all, she had confidently admitted with her own mouth that she was the author.

What she couldn’t figure out was where things had gone wrong. Could someone have coincidentally written the exact same three poems as her? Surely, that was impossible.

Seeing her rendered speechless, the Empress raised her hand.

"Guards, take her away and give her fifty lashes!"

"Your Majesty, have mercy! I was momentarily foolish—I won’t dare to do it again!"

The Empress coldly replied, "To speak broadly, this is an act of deception toward me. Considering Su Shangshu's (Minister Su’s) reputation, I’ve already shown leniency!"

Su Yue cried and screamed as she was dragged away.

The incident dampened the mood of the gathering to some extent. Although a few other young ladies came forward to perform afterward, everyone’s enthusiasm had waned.

Naturally, the blue ribbon of this Qionghua Banquet belonged to Lan Yu.

When Su Li returned to her courtyard, she heard that Su Yue had been carried back. Concubine Xia almost fainted with fright upon seeing Su Yue brought in, covered in blood.

Hearing this, Su Li merely chuckled and turned to look out the window.

"Su Yue, in the previous life, those poems brought you glory. In this life, they bring you misery! What you and your family inflicted upon me, I will return tenfold—no, a hundredfold!"

As her emotions surged, Mo Hua walked in.

"Miss, your cousin has arrived."

Su Li turned and saw Wei Yuanyao enter with a displeased expression.

"Cousin, what’s troubling you? Who upset you?" Su Li asked with a smile.

Wei Yuanyao furrowed her brows and said, "Did you give the Jadeite Twelve-Piece Set that Grandmother gifted you to Su Yue?"

Su Li froze momentarily, then took her cousin’s hand and led her to sit down. Zhi Shu served tea and refreshments.

"Cousin, I didn’t give her the set. She came to borrow it, and I didn’t want to refuse."

Wei Yuanyao scolded, "Why didn’t you just refuse? Now that the Qionghua Banquet is over, let’s go and get it back. Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll be too soft-hearted to ask for it!"

Seeing her cousin’s determination, Su Li smiled inwardly. She now had an excellent chance to escalate the situation.

With her cousin present, it would be the perfect time to reclaim not just the set, but everything else Su Yue had taken.

The two headed to Su Yue’s courtyard. At the entrance, they encountered a maid escorting a physician out.

Seeing the pair, the maid quickly bowed.

"First Miss, Cousin."

Su Li nodded. "How is my sister?"

The maid, Liu’er, replied, "Not very well. The physician said she’ll need one or two months to recover."

"Is she awake?"

"She is. The madam is with her."

Su Li nodded and led Wei Yuanyao inside.

Inside the room, Concubine Xia was seated by the bed, comforting Su Yue, who was lying there crying miserably.

"Sister, what happened? How did you leave in good health and return in this state?"

Su Yue’s sobbing abruptly stopped, and she looked up at them.

"What are you doing here!" she snapped, directing her anger at Wei Yuanyao.

If not for her, people wouldn’t have discovered Su Yue’s impersonation!

Anyway, Su Li’s reputation was already bad enough. What did adding one more scandal matter?

Now, everyone mocked Su Yue as a talentless fraud who couldn’t even compose her own poems!

Su Li had already heard about the day’s events from Wei Yuanyao on the way over. Seeing Su Yue’s malice, she knew Su Yue was still plotting to smear her name.

Wei Yuanyao sneered. "Do you think I wanted to come? I only came to help my cousin reclaim her belongings."

Concubine Xia frowned. "What belongings?"

Wei Yuanyao looked at Su Yue and said flatly, "The Jadeite Twelve-Piece Set. You’re done using it, so it’s time to return it to my cousin."

Su Yue looked at Su Li with an aggrieved expression. "Sister, didn’t you say you were giving me this set? How can you take it back now?"

Su Li widened her eyes in mock shock. "Sister, when did I say I was giving it to you? This was a gift from my grandmother. How could I dare to give it away without permission?"

Just as Su Yue was about to argue, Su Mother entered with her attendants.

As Su Yue’s stepmother, it was only proper for her to visit Su Yue after she was injured.

"Yuanyao, you little troublemaker! You came and didn’t even stop by my courtyard. I only heard from the servants that you were here," Su Mother chided gently.

Wei Yuanyao rushed over to take Su Mother’s arm, playfully pouting. "Aunt, I just didn’t have the chance. But Aunt, you came at the perfect time. Please help my cousin get her belongings back."

Su Mother looked puzzled. "What belongings?"

"The Jadeite Twelve-Piece Set," Wei Yuanyao replied.

Su Mother was taken aback and turned to Su Li. "Li’er?"

Su Li hesitated, then said, "Sister said she didn’t have suitable accessories for the Qionghua Banquet and wanted to borrow it, so I…"

Su Mother’s expression darkened as she turned to Su Yue. "You didn’t have suitable accessories? Am I not providing enough for you? How dare you demand the Jadeite Twelve-Piece Set from Li’er? Return it immediately!"

Su Yue protested tearfully, "The set was a gift from Sister. She said she didn’t need it. How can she take it back now?"

Concubine Xia stood up and said, "If the First Miss gifted it, then we thank her on behalf of the Second Miss."

Su Li feigned shock. "Gifted? But I clearly lent it to Sister. How did it turn into a gift?"

Su Yue, lying on the bed, looked as if she had suffered a great injustice, ready to burst into tears again.

"Sister, you clearly gave it to me. Why…"

Su Li inwardly sneered at Su Yue’s petty behavior. Already beaten to this state, yet still clinging to the jewelry.

Su Li pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her mother. "Mother, this is the note Sister wrote when she borrowed the set."

Su Yue’s face instantly fell. She had forgotten about that note! She had never needed to write one before when taking Su Li’s things.

Concubine Xia glanced at her daughter suspiciously. Seeing Su Yue’s grim expression, she realized the set would have to be returned and felt a pang of regret.

Wei Yuanyao, meanwhile, was pleased. With the note, there was no way Su Yue could avoid returning the set.

After reading the note, Su Mother’s face darkened further. "Su Yue, return Li’er’s belongings at once."

Su Yue scowled and barked at Liu’er, "Bring the set back and return it to my sister."

She then turned to Su Li and said through gritted teeth, "Sister, I’m sorry. I must have remembered wrong and thought it was a gift like before."

Why does Su Li have so many nice things? Why must she take them back?

Su Li smiled sweetly. "Sister, you do have quite the memory. You always said those past accessories were borrowed too."

Su Mother’s gaze sharpened as she looked at Su Yue. "If that’s the case, let’s return everything you’ve borrowed from Li’er today."

She glanced around the room. What she saw made her angrier.

"That’s the jadeite screen I bought for Li’er, isn’t it? And the Eight-Treasure Makeup Box on the dressing table—plus that painting of a court lady from the storeroom—all of it belongs to Li’er. How did it end up here?"

Su Yue paled, biting her lip.

Su Mother was truly furious now. It was as if Su Yue had emptied out Su Li’s room!

"Servants! Take the screen, Eight-Treasure Makeup Box, painting, white jade vase, and everything else that belongs to the First Miss and return it to her courtyard!"

[--------------------------------------------]

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