For some reason, even though the weather was so cold, Shang Ruyi felt her ears heat up a bit under his flickering gaze.
Before her face turned red, she stood up: "I, I need to go back and rest."
Yu Wenye glanced at her: "Go ahead."
Shang Ruyi nodded, then turned and left the dining hall with Tushere and Wo Xue.
As soon as they stepped out of the dining hall, a gust of cold wind cleared her mind, and she found it strange why she had suddenly blushed just now. She couldn’t help but rub her cheeks.
At this moment, Tushere behind her said, "Miss..."
Shang Ruyi ignored her and simply said to Wo Xue: "Quickly go back and make my bed ready."
Wo Xue smiled and said, "I understand, Miss."
After speaking, she quickly walked ahead and soon disappeared into the night.
Only then did Shang Ruyi turn around to see Tushere with a face full of hesitance. She smiled faintly and said: "If you have questions, just ask. You look like you can’t hide your words."
Tushere hurriedly leaned in closer and whispered, "Why did Miss get involved in this matter?"
Shang Ruyi had a faint smile: "Shouldn’t I?"
Tushere lowered her voice even more: "But didn’t Miss say before that now isn’t the right time for you to manage things?"
"This matter is just about a theft in the tea room, which isn’t really related to you, getting involved ..."
Shang Ruyi said: "Although it’s a theft in the tea room, the one being framed is Chang Wan, who is connected to Jinyun, and Jinyun is directly tied to my mother-in-law. This is a case of using something small to achieve something big, and I absolutely can’t sit by and do nothing."
Tushere’s expression grew more tense: "Miss means—"
Shang Ruyi didn’t speak further but walked straight ahead. When they returned to the room, the fire brazier was already burning hot, the room was warm, and the bed was made. Wo Xue placed a cup of hot tea by her hand before leaving, and Tushere closed the door, then returned to Shang Ruyi’s side, looking at her intently.
As Shang Ruyi drank her tea, she said: "On the surface, it seems Uncle Gui hid the cup to frame Chang Wan, but if you look at the result, the cup didn’t end up in his hands. Instead, he had to pay Hu Hua to clean up the mess. He would only do something without any benefit for one reason: his target was to frame Chang Wan."
"But he has no enmity with Chang Wan, no reason to spend money for no gain, so he’s acting under someone’s orders."
"And the person directing him—"
Tushere whispered: "Aunt Hui?"
Shang Ruyi chuckled: "Not bad, you’re not slow."
Tushere frowned: "But what’s Aunt Hui’s intention in doing this?"
Shang Ruyi said: "Didn’t I just say, Chang Wan is connected to Jinyun, who is linked to Madam. Causing a scandal about Chang Wan stealing a cup, especially during Madam’s funeral, would certainly lead to blame on Jinyun for improper management. With Madam gone, her support is lost. Without anyone to help, she can’t remain in the Duke Mansion."
"If she can’t stay, neither can the others around Madam survive."
Tushere inhaled sharply: "So, Aunt Hui is using Chang Wan to completely cleanse all of Madam’s people!"
Tushere sighed: "How cruel. She always looks so pleasant, yet when she acts, it’s so ruthless!"
Shang Ruyi smiled faintly: "No one died or got hurt, so it’s only just starting, nothing much really."
"But it does show her depth of scheming and methods are indeed unusual."
Tushere, increasingly worried, said: "Then I don’t understand. Why does Miss intervene? Didn’t you say you didn’t want to face off against her?"
Shang Ruyi said: "Not wanting to confront her doesn’t mean I won’t. In reality, from the moment this marriage was arranged, she would have to be my adversary, as I must be hers."
Tushere pondered, then said: "Because Miss refused the marriage with the eldest son?"
She said solemnly: "The conflict between Aunt Hui and me can’t be reconciled. As long as I don’t provoke her, things are peaceful. But this time, I can’t remain inactive because I said before, I’m just not taking the authority of the household now, not never. But if I do nothing now and let her remove everyone useful to me—especially the people my mother left behind—I might not be able to take that authority even if I want to in the future."