The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

Madam Jiang personally wiped away Jiang Yilan's tears and said gently, "Lan'er, your Empress aunt was intelligent from a young age and was chosen by the late Emperor to be the Crown Princess of the current Emperor."

Unfortunately, her health deteriorated after giving birth to the second prince.

He passed away a few years later.

In your generation, the Jiang family has only one daughter, so you are the one who is especially pampered.

We thought that with your second cousin around, our family wouldn't worry about you being taken advantage of if you married into a bad family. So, we've inevitably been a bit lax in our upbringing of you over the years.

You are innocent and carefree, and I don't blame you. You are loyal and righteous, and I am only gratified.

But today, you listened to Qinqin's words and almost dragged others into trouble. This matter must not be let off lightly.

Furthermore, this matter concerns your second cousin's bodyguards. It's a very serious matter. If Guard Pei's words are untrue, do you know how much impact that would have on your second cousin?

All that preamble was meant for the people present. The main point was that her Lan'er was a good girl, but she was too sentimental and loyal, which is why she was deceived by her cousin and ended up doing more harm than good.

The last sentence about the Second Prince was whispered to Jiang Yilan, which really frightened her.

Although Jiang Yilan was a bit willful, she was still young and couldn't withstand her mother's questioning, so she had to step forward and testify.

“What Miss He said is true. I did bring Guard Pei into the Plum Garden. But I didn’t know he was a man in disguise at first. I just thought he was taller than the average girl.”

Furthermore, I didn't intend to tarnish the reputation of the He family's cousin; I initially just wanted to scare her and make her back down.”

Some questioned, "Give up when faced with difficulties?"

Jiang Yilan had already started talking, so she no longer hid anything: "My uncle is not married yet, and I am in love with my cousin who has always been very good to me."

When my uncle returned to Beijing this time, he treated the He family's cousin differently. I was worried that she was after the Jiang family's wealth and wanted to take advantage of his kindness to marry him.

Therefore, seeing that the girl my cousin lent me was tall and imposing, I secretly thought it would be perfect to scare away the ill intentions of the He family's daughter.

Someone muttered under their breath, "What kind of person is she? Miss Rong kindly pointed out that her girl was acting strangely, but Jiang Yilan still suspects Miss Rong of having ulterior motives."

"My God, at first, Jiang Yilan was very enthusiastic towards Hua Sirong, but who knew that she would think of Hua Sirong like this behind her back."

"That Miss Qin was speaking so righteously just now, saying she was doing it to help two people be in love. Turns out, she was just trying to get rid of a rival for her mother's affections!"

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Jiang Yilan's face flushed red. She secretly glanced at Hua Sirong, whose face remained calm throughout. Jiang Yilan pouted slightly and continued to recall under everyone's gaze.

"...Later, after the misunderstanding was cleared up, I wanted to let her and her servant leave, and I even gave them directions...Then I fainted, and I don't know what happened after that."

When I woke up, my cousin was beside me. She begged me that no matter what happened, I should tell her that I was always with her…

The mother and daughter looked flustered and guilty, but Qin quickly found a loophole: "I did nothing wrong. Even if I did something wrong, it was because I wanted to fulfill my filial piety to my mother and Uncle Jiang."

Even if I made a mistake, it was because I couldn't bear to see lovers become strangers, and my good intentions backfired.

Think about it carefully: why didn't Cousin Lan realize at first glance that Pei San was a man, and why didn't the maid beside her question Pei San's figure?

Unfortunately, Miss Rong only glanced at him and concluded that Pei San, disguised as a maid, was a real man.

This can only mean one thing: Hua Sirong and Guard Pei had known each other for a long time, which aligns with Guard Pei's statement that they were mutually in love.

Therefore, Guard Pei wasn't lying, and I only helped because I believed him.

Hua Sirong wanted to applaud Qin Xiaobailian after hearing her sophistry; she really had a good tongue.

But she didn't have time to deal with this pretty boy right now; she continued to question Jiang Yilan.

"My maid should have fainted in the snow like Miss Jiang, but in the end, Miss Jiang went to Miss Qin's side, while my maid got drunk in the main kitchen."

Who arranged this for Guard Pei? That's quite a grand gesture.

Madam Jiang's face turned red and then pale as she listened. She looked at the confidante who had come to report to her first, her face filled with anger.

How wonderful! These two treacherous white lotuses dared to bribe the people serving her. She'll see how she gets rid of these traitors after this.

Madam Jiang immediately called for people to quickly carry Chunyan over, so the claim that she was drunk was probably just a fabrication.

Hua Sirong finally met Chunyan and indeed smelled a strong smell of alcohol. However, after careful examination, Hua Sirong discovered that someone had deliberately poured half a jar of alcohol on Chunyan.

She touched Chunyan's cold hand, her eyes slightly red, and she spoke with resounding conviction.

"My daughter is a bit greedy and has gotten a bit chubby, but she has one good point: she doesn't drink alcohol, not a drop."

She also invited a few other young ladies and maids who wanted to see what was going on, so they could get a closer look.

"Sure enough, although the smell of alcohol is strong, it was sprayed on her body, so the girl is not unconscious because she is drunk."

Hua Sirong gave her a grateful look, "My Chunyan fought with that scoundrel Pei San, and there are signs of a fight on her body. It will be easy to find out if we check."

In addition, it's freezing cold today, and my daughter is soaked in alcohol. She's unconscious, so her whole body is ice cold right now.

I want to ask Madam Jiang for permission to change Chunyan's clothes before you interrogate me.

Her weak, pitiful, yet protective demeanor instantly won her a lot of goodwill.

Madam Jiang was furious, but she couldn't vent her anger on Hua Sirong at this moment, so she had to call the servants for help.

Hua Sirong sighed inwardly, thinking that Chunyan had suffered a great deal today and would likely catch a cold when she got back.

However, she had just examined him closely and found that apart from a bruise on the back of his neck, there were no other injuries on his body. It seemed that the guard Pei had shown mercy.

But judging from the aggressive manner of that guard Pei, it really seemed suspicious.

After settling Chunyan in and having He San accompany her, Hua Sirong returned to the battlefield; she was about to launch her counterattack.

She smiled at Pei San, who already knew she was like an unkillable cockroach, and instantly tensed up, feeling somewhat bewildered and unaware of his mistake.

Hua Sirong said, "Guard Pei, from the moment you said you were a guard by the Second Prince's side, you lost, do you understand?"

Pei San was shocked. All he had done was to protect his position by the Second Prince's side and to solidify the Second Prince's position in the court.

Hua Sirong's lips curled slightly. "What, you don't believe me?"