Chapter 226

Xie Qingzhao was stunned. He didn’t expect Wei Yuewu was able to deal with the situation so calmly. Shouldn’t she be panicked and helpless?

Wei Luowen had been watching coldly aside. At this moment, he suddenly opened his mouth and forcefully slapped the table. He angrily said, “Xie Qingzhao, you are just an Imperial Academician, how dare you slander my daughter in my mansion? Are you courting death?”

“Lord Marquis, open it and take a look. There is a letter in it I wrote to the Sixth Young Lady.” Xie Qingzhao was so anxious that he presented the brush in front of Wei Luowen.

Wei Luowen took the brush with a sullen face and examined it carefully.

“The letter is in the tip of the brush. Use force…” Xie Qingzhao prompted. But before he could finish his words, he saw Wei Luowen easily took off the tip of the brush. After examining it, he stared at Xie Qingzhao expressionlessly.

When he saw that there was nothing in Wei Luowen’s hand, Xie Qingzhao’s forehead was covered in sweat. He subconsciously turned to look at Wei Yuewu.

Her clothes were always plain and simple. There was a winter plum embroidered at the corner of her skirt, carrying a pink aura that made her pure and childish. But it formed a strong contrast with her icy face at this moment.

Xie Qingzhao could even feel the disgust in her clear and beautiful eyes!

Yes. There was a sense of deep disgust that almost made his heart skip a beat.

“Father, why did you ask me to bring my brushes here?” A tender voice broke the serious atmosphere in the room.

Wei Yuejiao walked in with Yuzhu who held a brush container in her hand.

Seeing that Wei Yuewu had arrived before her, Wei Yuejiao glared coldly at her and continued, “Father, what happened to you? Why did you suddenly want to see my brush container?”

Wei Luowen was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to say something, Wei Yuewu said. “Third Elder Sister, this Imperial Academician Xie said that he wanted to see our brush containers. He said that there was something wrong with them. Since he has reported to Father, you and I are obligated to bring our brushes over and let this Imperial Academician Xie have a clear look.”

“Isn’t it just a brush container? Is this a big deal? Father, look, I brought this here just now. When I heard that Father wanted to see my brush container, I even had someone find a few more brushes.” Wei Yuejiao had provoked Wei Luowen before. At the moment she was still being punished with copying the scriptures. How could she dare to disobey Wei Luowen’s orders?

Her brush container was surely full of brushes, and the big brush was placed in it. Compared to the other brushes, it looked much more conspicuous.

Everyone couldn’t help but land their gazes on the brush. Judging from its appearance, this brush was almost identical to Wei Yuewu’s.

Xie Qingzhao suddenly had a bad premonition. His fingers trembled slightly. Could this… this be his brush? Marquis Hua Yang took off the tip of Wei Yuewu’s brush a moment ago with great ease. Wasn’t that his brush?

Wei Yuejiao didn’t know what had happened. She only felt that after she finished speaking, everyone looked at her brush container. Thus, she generously placed it in front of Wei Luowen and said, “Father, do you want to take some brushes from me? Father, look!”

“Father, since we are both your daughters, please take off the tip of the brush and examine it!” Wei Yuewu turned her gaze to Wei Luowen and bowed respectfully.

However, the meaning behind her words made Wei Luowen feel as if he had received a heavy blow. She was her daughter and his daughter whom she had given birth to with all her might. How could he underestimate her?

Reaching out to Wei Yuejiao’s brush container, he picked the brush and examined it carefully. If no one told him, he wouldn’t be able to see that the small crack in the tip of the brush. He forcefully pressed down on the tip of the brush and pulled it out. As the tip was removed, a thin piece of twisted paper fell out from inside.

Although Xie Qingzhao was very thoughtful, he was only a young man in his twenties. The corners of his lips twitched and he subconsciously said, “This… how is this possible…”

“Why is it impossible? Is Imperial Academician Xie sure it’s me? I remember that there was a letter from the Fifth Elder Sister before. Then it was sent to Grandmother. I guess that letter was Imperial Academician Xie’s real private letter, right? I don’t know how I offended Imperial Academician Xie or someone related to you. Why did you try to harm me again and again?”

Wei Yuewu smiled coldly. Her gaze fell on the piece of paper. Wei Luowen unfolded it and carefully read it. He looked more and more serious as he read it. In the end, he almost couldn’t control his anger.

He clapped his hands heavily on the table. Then he bypassed the desk and grabbed Xie Qingzhao by the hand. “Come, let’s go into the Palace now. You are just an Imperial Academician. Why have you repeatedly tried to ruin my daughters’ reputation? What’s your goal?”

Wei Luowen was really furious. Over the years, he had to ignore his daughter, and his negligence had become an excuse for others to bully her. Now this daughter he loved so much was slandered by someone to have an affair with a man. How could he not be angry? That letter indeed contained a recipient’s name that read “Wu’er.”

The signature below was of course Xie Qingzhao. However, the recipient’s name Wu’er was clearly added by someone else and the original name had been erased. Apparently, someone wanted to frame her.

Xie Qingzhao did not expect Wei Luowen’s temper to be so fierce. He pleaded anxiously, “Lord Marquis, listen to me. I still have something to say!”

“Father, let Imperial Academician Xie explain. He won’t come for no reason. If it wasn’t for something, why would he ask for an audience with you late at night?” Wei Yuejiao was the one who enjoyed Wei Yuewu’s misfortune most. She didn’t know what was going on at this time. But from the tone of Marquis Hua Yang, it was clear that something disgraceful happened between Xie Qingzhao and Wei Yuewu.

When she recalled that Wei Yuewu had said that her father and grandmother wanted her to marry Xie Qingzhao, she couldn’t help but be angry. She rolled her eyes and immediately felt that it was best to get Xie Qingzhao involved with Wei Yuewu. Therefore, she tried her best to speak in favor of Xie Qingzhao.

However, Yuzhu, who was standing behind her, felt that something was wrong. She reached out and pulled her sleeve. She pointed at the brush on the desk, motioning to her to look at the paper that fell out of the brush.

“Third Elder Sister, do you think what Imperial Academician Xie said might be very reasonable?” Wei Yuewu smiled coldly and turned to Wei Yuejiao.

“He… since he came late at night, it is clear that the thing cannot be known by others. We must let him finish. Father, do you think so?” At this moment, Wei Yuejiao didn’t have the mood to care about Yuzhu. She waved her sleeve and hurriedly explained to Wei Luowen.

“Third Elder Sister, although we don’t have the same mother, we are at least sisters in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. But today… you and Concubine Dong have both shown me what true family is!” After saying these words with a sad expression, Wei Yuewu put on a long face. With the support of Shufei’s hand, she sat down on a chair aside and silently waited for the situation to develop.

These words reminded Wei Luowen of everything that happened at the city gate today as well as what Concubine Dong had said and done to defend Wei Yuejiao. His look became serious.

“Xie Qingzhao, what is all this about?” Wei Luowen picked up the brush and smashed it fiercely at Xie Qingzhao. Xie Qingzhao subconsciously stretched out his hand to receive it. But he was just a scholar and was not a match to Wei Luowen. The brush knocked on his forehead before he could grab it. The force was so strong that it made him stagger a few steps and he almost fell down.

However, he still reached out to catch the small piece of paper that was thrown over with the brush. When he saw the words on the small piece of paper, he found that there were obvious signs of it being altered. Although the recipient’s name was still “Wu’er”, its writing style was different from the characters below. Everyone could figure out that the characters “Wu’er” were added to cover up the original recipient’s name.

He was stunned for a moment!

“Who… who changed this?” He said this subconsciously. Because this brush was from Wei Yuejiao, he asked Wei Yuejiao subconsciously as if he was questioning her.

Wei Yuejiao was furious. She was still angry with Wei Yuewu’s mentioning the matter at the city gate a while ago. When she saw Xie Qingzhao staring at her blankly, she glared at him and berated, “Does it have anything to do with me? Why do you look at me? Could it be that I’m the one who changed it?”

Today, she suffered a lot in Wei Yuewu’s hands. In the end, she was reprimanded and punished in front of everyone. She was just looking for a chance to vent her anger on someone. When she heard Xie Qingzhao’s words, she immediately lost control and started to vent her anger!

“If it’s not you… who is it?” These words were almost spoken unconsciously. Only after saying these words did Xie Qingzhao realize that he had made a mistake. He turned to look at Wei Luowen and saw that he had already taken his seat behind the desk again. His cold gaze landed on him, reminding him of a rumor that Marquis Hua Yang once killed a thousand people in one night. His entire body got stiffen.

He could no longer hold the paper in his hand, which dropped and fell to Wei Yuewu’s feet.

Shufei squatted down and picked it up. She brought it to Wei Yuewu. Wei Yuewu reached out and took it. She looked at it for a moment and sneered. No matter what, Xie Qingzhao would never have thought that the brush was not in her hands but was found in Wei Yuejiao’s brush container.

Perhaps none of the people who framed her expected that this brush wouldn’t end up in her hands. Although it was addressed to her, she obliterated the original name and added her name. Such an obvious sign would only let people believe that her name was added by someone with a special purpose…

“Lord Xie, is this the evidence that you and I have an affair? Please tell me who was so intent on removing the original name and replacing it with mine? However, perhaps the person who wrote it didn’t realize that the handwriting of a weak girl is different from that of yours.”

The handwriting was just in the ordinary small seal style. It could only be seen that the name was written by a woman. But no one could tell who had written it. There were too many people who could write in this style. So it was impossible to find the writer.

Almost all young ladies of the aristocratic families could write in this kind of small seal style. There was nothing special about it.

“Lord Xie, there should be a name in the letter that the Fifth Elder Sister sent to my grandmother, right? How about getting the letter now?” Wei Yuewu mercilessly pressured him steadily. Her beautiful eyes shone even more shockingly.