Lin Aiguo filled with rage from Lin Yue's direct mocking tone. Before he can scold Lin Yue for her behavior, Bai Mei Ling snort coldly and rush to Lin Yue's room.
The furious search of Lin Yue's room begin. Bai Mei Ling, along with Bai Lian, turned Lin Yue's room upside down but yielded nothing but Lin Yue's modest possessions.
Lin Yue watched the humiliation of her accusers, offering slow, mocking applause once they had returned downstairs.
"Are you satisfied, Father? Aunt Mei Ling? Bai Lian?" Lin Yue asked, her voice laced with venomous triumph.
"I was accused of being a malicious thief and vandal without a shred of evidence, and my private space was invaded.
Since you have set the precedent for invasion of privacy based on mere suspicion and malicious accusation,
I request, as a matter of justice, that we now search every room in the mansion."
Lin Aiguo tried to intervene, "Lin Yue, enough! The matter is settled, you are cleared."
"Cleared?" Lin Yue cut him off, her voice suddenly sharp and commanding. "I was accused by Aunt Mei Ling and Bai Lian baselessly!
Do you think I will walk away with this lingering grievance? The thief, whoever they are, is clearly not me but Aunt Mei Ling and Bai Lian still accused me for theft.
Father, I demand a full, thorough search. I refuse to bear the stain of Bai Lian and Aunt Mei Ling's baseless suspicions."
Lin Aiguo was now seathed in fury, he didn't like Lin Yue's snapping back to him. He always a proud man, the head of the Lin Family, but now Lin Yue's changed behavior is not he can allowed to be swallow.
In the end, he had no choice. He ordered the senior servants to conduct a full search of every room.
A long, anxious half-hour later, a high-level steward rushed in, utterly shocked. "Master Lin! We found the stolen goods!
The jade bracelet and the silver pins, along with other small items belonging to Second Miss and Madam, hidden in a wooden chest in… in Nanny Wang's quarters!"
Lin Aiguo, his face red with a mixture of confusion and explosive rage, ordered Nanny Wang to be brought forth immediately.
Nanny Wang was dragged into the hall, tears streaming down her face, screaming hysterically. "Master, I didn't! I didn't steal anything! Someone must have framed me!"
"Second Miss, I swear I didn't take the bracelet!" She clung desperately to Bai Lian's dress, her denial absolute.
Bai Lian, realizing the catastrophic turn of events, panicked, but quickly assumed her innocent, merciful guise. She threw herself dramatically at Lin Aiguo's feet.
"Father, please, spare her! She is old and confused! She has served us for so long!
Please, I beg you, don't call the authorities!
She is just a silly old woman, please show her mercy!" Bai Lian cried, trying to protect her secret pawn while simultaneously showcasing her great kindness and her own pure heart.
Lin Yue watched the sickening display, then delivered the final, crushing blow. "How truly inspiring, Bai Lian,"
Lin Yue remarked, her voice dripping with the sweetest sarcasm. "Just moments ago, you accused me, your own sister, of being a vicious thief, demanding my imprisonment without a shred of evidence.
Now, when the true culprit is found—a woman deeply loyal to you and Aunt Mei Ling—you beg for mercy for her?"
Lin Yue's voice dropped to a cold whisper "If the words go out, how the people saw the Lin Family, the Second Miss of Lin family, who didn't have any sense of justice and accuse anyone without any evidence?"
Lin Yue stepped forward, her cold eyes locked onto Bai Lian's frantic face. "And let us not forget, Father, that Nanny Wang was found with the stolen goods after a coincidence exposed a strange stain on Bai Lian's ripped dress.
The same stain the maid found on her jewelry box. The maid reported the stain before the theft was even known."
Lin Yue surveyed the room, her voice hardening. "The one person who had motive, access, and now, the stolen goods, is Nanny Wang."
Then Lin Yue's sharp gaze fell on Bai Mei Ling and Bai Lian and continued, "A loyal servant whose loyalty is tied directly to this side of the family.
But unfortunately, her greed was exposed by a stain left on the very items she was handling.
I was wrongly accused, but Bai Lian now pleading for Nanny Wang, who was the one with the means, the access, and now, the stolen goods."
Lin Yue concluded, delivering the indirect reprimand to her accusers. "Father, if your family insists on throwing around accusations of theft and sabotage without evidence, they risk destroying their own credibility. I was cleared.
Now, perhaps you should decide what to do with the servant whose loyalty clearly extends beyond the bounds of law, and whose actions led to the initial discovery of tampering."
Lin Aiguo's head reeling, from the implications that Nanny Wang had ruined the dress, possibly on her own initiative or at someone's hidden command, could not risk further scandal. This insolent servant had been proven a thief.
Lin Aiguo, realizing the extent of the chaos and manipulation, could no longer tolerate the sight of the sniveling servant and the manipulative daughters. His reputation was already in tatters.
"Enough!" Lin Aiguo roared, his voice final. "Lin Yue, what do you mean by 'your family'? This family is yours too."
Lin Yue sneered, her tone is filled with sarcasm "Yes Father, this family is mine too, who accused their family member without any proof."
Lin Yue looked at the trio and scoffed "I sometimes wondered that if I'm actually your daughter father, and the part to the Lin Family to actually targeted everday by my so called family."
Lin Aiguo becomes speechless, and shift the conversation back to Nanny Wang. "Nanny Wang, you are dismissed immediately!
You will be handed over to the authorities for questioning, and you will never set foot in this house again!"
"As for the rest of you," he fixed a cold, furious look on Bai Mei Ling and Bai Lian,
"Lin Yue is cleared of all suspicions. Both of you owe an explanation and solution to silence the Chen Family!
Go, both of you! I want to hear no more of your accusations, and I want this entire mess cleaned up by sunset or you will answer to me!"