Chapter 44: Foolishness

After hearing Jiang Jin’s words, Fourth Miss felt somewhat reassured and immediately recounted the entire incident of the “falling into the water” event from the previous day.

When she mentioned that Jiang Yun had intentionally fallen into the water to frame her, the maid kneeling on the ground immediately retorted, “Fourth Miss, you are lying! Why would my young lady deliberately fall into the water to frame you for no reason?”

“Before this, although my young lady had some disagreements with you, it has been so long since then. Are you still holding a grudge now? If that were truly the case, it should be you who harbored resentment toward my young lady and deliberately pushed her into the water!”

Fourth Miss was quickly angered by these words. She stood up, walked over to the maid, and slapped her across the face.

“You wretched girl, how dare you slander me!”

As the slap landed, Jiang Jin’s expression turned displeased.

Foolish!

In the eyes of others, this behavior was nothing but sheer embarrassment and anger after being exposed for wrongdoing.

It wasn’t her fault to begin with, but now she was being pinned down as the culprit.

“Nonsense!” Old Madam was also losing patience and scolded Fourth Miss.

Fourth Miss was first stunned by the reprimand, then, after recovering, looked at Old Madam with grievance, tears still hanging at the corners of her eyes.

But now she had learned her lesson and dared not cry openly here.

After waiting for Old Madam’s emotions to calm down somewhat, Jiang Jin asked the maid, “Since you claim that Fourth Miss pushed Second Miss, do you know when she made her move? Which hand did she use, or which hand moved first?”

How could the maid know such details? She was momentarily confused before replying, “It was already very late at the time, and this servant is not entirely clear about the exact moment. Fourth Miss moved too quickly, and this servant did not have time to see which hand she used.”

“Oh.” Jiang Jin raised her voice slightly and chuckled lightly. “Since you didn’t see clearly, how can you be so certain that Fourth Miss pushed her? Moreover, it rained for a while yesterday, the grass was wet, and the stones were slippery. How can you be sure that Second Miss didn’t accidentally slip and fall into the water herself?”

“Only the three of you were present at the time. Fourth Miss’s words cannot be fully trusted, and your words are even less credible!”

Seeing that the maid was gradually losing the ability to refute, Zhao Shi quickly put on a sorrowful expression and tearfully pleaded to Old Madam, “Mother, Ruer fell into the water and is still lying in bed. She even had a fever yesterday. She loves her sisters in the family the most. If she knew that Eldest Miss spoke of her in such a way, she would be heartbroken when she wakes up!”

“Mother, I have been in the Jiang family for so many years, always keeping to my duties, neither contending nor competing. Even if I have no merit, I have put in hard work! Now that Ruer has suffered such great injustice, my heart aches.”

“Mother, you must stand up for Ruer!”

Both are flesh and blood. No matter how fond Old Madam was of Jiang Jin, faced with Zhao Shi’s heart-wrenching words, she could not show favoritism to anyone.

“You are all sisters of the same bloodline. What is there to stand up for?” Old Madam said earnestly.

Just as Zhao Shi thought she would side with Jiang Jin and Fourth Miss, Old Madam continued, “If Fourth Miss truly made a mistake in this matter, have her apologize to her Second Sister. Punish her by forbidding her from leaving the house for three months and having her copy Buddhist scriptures three hundred times in her room to accumulate blessings for her Second Sister!”

This punishment might not mean much to others, but for the Fourth Miss, who had always loved lively gatherings, it felt like having half her bones broken—agonizing and unbearable!

She quickly cast a pleading glance at Jiang Jin, who signaled with her eyes for her to stay calm.

Then, Jiang Jin turned to the Old Madam and said, “Grandmother, your granddaughter has one more thing to say.”

The Old Madam gave her a meaningful look before nodding in agreement.

Jiang Jin knew the Old Madam wanted to downplay the matter and let it pass quietly, but if it were brushed aside so easily, her efforts would have been in vain!

“Yesterday, Fourth Sister came to my courtyard to sit with me for a while. At the time, I noticed she had painted her nails with rouge, and she was taking great care to avoid damaging them,” Jiang Jin said, glancing at the Fourth Miss as she spoke.

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao sneered disdainfully, “Eldest Miss, why are you bringing up such an unrelated matter? Do you think a few extra words from you can change anything? Fourth Miss pushed Ru’er—that’s a fact witnessed by everyone.”

Madam Zhao’s words grew increasingly absurd, almost as if she were trying to seal the outcome.

After she finished, Jiang Jin smiled in response, “Second Aunt, please hear me out. If Fourth Sister truly pushed Second Sister, the rouge on her nails would not have remained intact. In a struggle, some part of it would inevitably be damaged.”

“Moreover, if she had reapplied some later, the color would appear brighter than before. To confirm whether Fourth Sister pushed Second Sister, we need only check if the rouge on her nails shows any damage or signs of reapplication!”

Although Jiang Jin’s argument sounded reasonable at first, it carried significant risks.

Even if the Fourth Miss had not pushed anyone, ordinary daily actions could still have damaged the rouge.

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao secretly rejoiced and quickly chimed in, addressing the Old Madam, “Mother, I think Eldest Miss’s method makes sense.”

Since both of them had spoken up, the Old Madam could no longer try to gloss things over.

She nodded to the maidservant standing nearby, who then approached the Fourth Miss and asked her to extend her hands, carefully inspecting the rouge on her nails.

Afterward, the maidservant turned to the Old Madam and reported, “Old Madam, the rouge on Fourth Miss’s nails is completely intact.”

“Impossible, impossible!” Madam Zhao muttered under her breath, shaking her head repeatedly.

But the matter was now settled, and there was no way for her to argue further.

Once she had calmed down slightly, Madam Zhao shot a venomous glare at Jiang Jin, as if she wanted to devour her whole!

“Mother, Ru’er has yet to regain consciousness, and I am deeply concerned. I must take my leave now,” Madam Zhao said, rising to leave.

But before she could receive the Old Madam’s response, Jiang Jin spoke up again, “No! Second Aunt, you cannot leave just yet.”

“Eldest Miss, since the matter has been resolved, why are you stopping me from leaving?” Madam Zhao asked impatiently.

Time and again, this Jiang Jin truly knew no bounds!

Jiang Jin smiled lightly, “Second Aunt, although the matter between the two sisters has been resolved, the matter between you and me has not!”

With that, she turned to the Old Madam and called out, “Grandmother.”

The Old Madam quickly understood her meaning and dismissed everyone else, leaving only Jiang Jin, Madam Zhao, and herself.

As for the Fourth Miss who wanted to stay and listen, she was also taken out by the nanny without mercy.

“Say what you want to say!” Old Madam’s tone carried a hint of helplessness.

She had never realized before that this eldest girl had such a stubborn temperament. If she didn’t grant the girl’s wish now, she feared the girl might stir up trouble again later!