Chapter 7 The Secret in the Rosewood Box

The Qin Mansion was relatively small, so it did not take long for Qin Wanru to lead the group to Qin Yuru's room. When she saw Qin Wanru about to let them through the door, Qin Yuru lost her nerve. Casting her other concerns aside, she walked up to Qin Wanru and put out her arms out to block her.

"What do you plan to do in my room, Second Sister?" said Qin Yuru and she glared fiercely at Qin Wanru, her face drained of color.

"Not much. I just want to look at the letters our cousin wrote you!" replied Qin Wanru calmly, staring back at Qin Yuru.

"Letters... what letter?" Qin Yuru was so terrified that she almost bit her tongue. She had no idea how Qin Wanru had found out about the letter.

When Madam Di had first begun trying to set up the match with Duke Yong’s family, Qin Yuru had started corresponding with Di Yan. Their letters expressed their mutual commitment to make their relationship work. It was, in fact, Di Yan who had urged his mother to agree to their engagement.

"Then is it alright if we search your room, Big Sister?" asked Qin Wanru.

"How ridiculous! Your sister's room is not somewhere you can go and snoop around in whenever you like," cried Mrs. Qin in rage.

"How about if grandma sends someone in to search?" Qin Wanru said calmly. She blinked her long lashes.

Qin Wanru's composed manner made Qin Yuru even more anxious and she turned to her mother.

"Mother, Sister Wanru‘s gone mad! She's trying to ruin my reputation."

"Ruin your reputation? How does getting someone to search your room ruin your reputation? What are you afraid they’ll find, Big Sister?” Qin Wanru laughed coldly, turning her sister’s words back against her.

The crowd began to cast skeptical glances at Madam Di and Qin Yuru. Could this be true, considering the looks of panic on their faces?

"Grandma, please send someone into Big Sister's room to search her dresser. There's a rosewood box in the lowest drawer on the right. It contains the letters our cousin wrote to Big Sister. I think the letters contain information on their engagement!" said Qin Wanru, still calm.

The description was so detailed. Would she really make that up? If it was true, it would mean the truth was the opposite of what they’d thought.

This would not be a story of a second sister trying to take a marriage by force. Instead, it would be the story of the older sister deserting the son of the magistrate to marry into a wealthier family. It would be the older sister who had tricked her innocent younger sister into "snatching" the initial marital arrangement.

If this were the case, Qin Yuru was both unfaithful and despicable. She was obviously trying to ruin her own sister's life. Looking at the younger Miss Qin, it was hard to believe she had any knowledge about feelings between men and women.

Qi Tianyu'a eyes turned cold. The entire day had so many shocks he was only now starting to think clearly. He started to think through Qin Yuru’s actions with a new suspicion. Looking over, he saw the determination of Qin Wanru’s tiny face. She really was just a child, not some scheming puppetmaster.

Old grandma nodded and indicated for two maids to enter Qin Yuru's room to search. While Qin Yuru tried to block them, one of the maids held her back while the other searched her room. In a matter of minutes, the maid emerged with the rosewood box.

The crowd outside Qin Yuru's room began whispering.

When Qin Yuru saw the rosewood box, she was no longer worried about letting the maid who held her inside. She pushed free and threw herself at the other maid, snatching the rosewood box, then turned and darted back into her room, slamming the door behind her.

The crowd was stunned into silence, faces leaden.

"Yuru, Yuru, don't be rash. Your little sister is still young and she did not mean to humiliate you. What she says isn't true, so don't do silly things!" Madam Di said, pushing past the two maids. She banged on the door and wailed as if Qin Yuru was trying to take her life.

"Mother, look at how Sister and Grandma doubted me and even took my box. How can I face the rest of the world?" said Qin Yuru from inside her room, quickly picking up on her mother’s tone and starting to wail as well.

She would not allow those letters to be exposed. She intended to imply Grandma Qin was playing favorites again, taking the box out to humiliate her.

Madam Di heaved a sigh of relief. Her eyes were filled with pride for Qin Yuru's wit. She was sure this would put both Qin Wanru and Old Grandma on the defense. No one would be able to bear the consequence if Yuru committed suicide.

Even Old Grandma Qin could not bear driving her own granddaughter to her death.

"You do need me to tell you what you need to do, do you Master Qi?" Qin Wanru retreated a step and shot Qi Tianyu a mocking look. He was frozen.

She glanced at him, then, young face scornful, looked pointedly over to a bystander in a green headscarf. Her meaning was clear. If he stood outside, he was a man “wearing a green hat”. A cuckhold.

The green headscarf was like a sharp blade to Qi Tianyu's pride and cut right through his carefully maintained composure.

Qi Tianyu's face drained of blood, his eyes turning bloodshot. His hands tightened into fists as he strode towards the door of Qin Yuru's room.

Madam Di thought he wanted to speak to Qin Yuru, so she wiped away her tears and moved aside. As she turned away, she heard a loud bang and turned back to find the door to Qin Yuru’s room had been kicked open.