Chapter 36: Volume 1, Chapter 36: The Broken Leg Was No Accident

Rong Luoge was truly somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected Rong Ling Shan to actually have leverage over Di Yue Nu. She thought for a moment and asked, "Does the Duchess of the State know?"

Rong Ling Shan shook her head. "Mother doesn't know."

"Then why didn't you tell her?" Rong Luoge asked, somewhat puzzled.

Rong Ling Shan slightly lowered her eyes, and after a long pause finally said, "Eldest Sister, Mother used to have a good relationship with Father and didn't have much hostility toward Rong Dai and her brother or their birth mother. Even if I had brought it out, it wouldn't have been of any use."

Rong Luoge understood then. She just hadn't expected Rong Ling Shan, at such a young age, to be this clear-headed. No wonder she hadn't bullied the original owner when she returned to the manor.

"What leverage?" Rong Luoge asked directly.

Rong Ling Shan took out a palm-sized pouch from her sleeve, placed it directly on the table, and gently pushed it over.

Rong Luoge glanced at Rong Ling Shan, then reached out and picked it up. When she opened it, a green jade seal fell out.

"Di Yue Nu's seal?" Rong Luoge picked it up and examined it carefully, but she didn't recognize the characters on it and could only ask Rong Ling Shan.

"I don't know if it's hers, but it was indeed left behind by her," Rong Ling Shan said softly. "When I was still young, one time I went out with Father. They probably thought I was too young to understand, so they didn't avoid me when they met in private. It was that time, when Di Yue Nu left in a hurry, that she dropped this seal. I only thought it looked nice at the time, so I secretly kept it. It was only after I grew a little older that I vaguely felt something wasn't right."

Rong Luoge: ……

She just hadn't expected this was how it came about.

The Protector Duke really wasn't careful. Back then, he probably wanted to see Di Yue Nu but didn't want Chu Ke to find out, so he used taking his daughter out as an excuse to meet her. Who would have thought that Rong Ling Shan, though young in age, had a cautious nature, and she inadvertently picked up a major leak.

That was truly good luck.

"You're giving me something this important—what do you want me to do?" Although Rong Luoge didn't recognize the characters on it, she had a feeling this item was very important, probably related to finding out Di Yue Nu's true identity.

Rong Ling Shan pressed her lips together and spoke somewhat timidly, "I don't know how to explain it to you, Eldest Sister. I just want Rong Dai and her brother to move out and not be entered into the clan registry. I want to know whether Eldest Brother's leg was really their doing. Eldest Sister, can you help me?"

Rong Luoge looked at Rong Ling Shan, who looked so aggrieved she was about to cry—truly pitiful. But wasn't the original owner pitiful too?

She suppressed the pity in her heart and said with a straight face, "You know that Rong Dai has Prince Qi behind her. This isn't something I can interfere with. What matters most is the Protector Duke's stance."

Rong Ling Shan heard her eldest sister address their father as the Protector Duke and knew she truly had no feelings left for the family. For some reason, she felt very sad.

"Eldest Sister is right. I'm the one putting you in a difficult position. I just… just don't want to watch Rong Dai and the others bully us so recklessly."

When Rong Luoge heard this, she couldn't hold back a retort, "When they were bullying me like that back then, I didn't see you feel aggrieved on my behalf. Besides, the Duchess of the State had a hand in it too."

Rong Ling Shan's crying caught in her throat, and she immediately pressed a handkerchief to her face. "I know. We have all wronged you, Eldest Sister."

Rong Luoge: ……

Looking at the young girl crying so genuinely, she somehow felt like she was bullying her.

"I can help with the matter of Rong Dai, but I can't help much. I can only get the Duchess of the State to act. As long as she doesn't relent and let Rong Dai and her brother into the clan registry, it can be delayed for a while."

Rong Luoge indeed didn't want Rong Dai to get what she wanted and then turn around to deal with her. Given that what Rong Ling Shan brought out carried significant weight, joining forces with Chu Ke wasn't out of the question.

"Rong Yan's fall from his horse indeed wasn't an accident. I don't have all the evidence in hand yet. Wait for it, or the Duchess of the State can obtain it herself."

Rong Ling Shan looked up sharply. "So it really wasn't an accident. I said it was too much of a coincidence—Rong Dai and her brother are about to enter the manor and Eldest Brother has an accident."

This young girl was rarely clever. Rong Luoge glanced at her. "You'd best not make this known. The evidence is hard to obtain. Tell your mother that the matter has something to do with the son of the Chief Minister of Ceremonials."

"The son of the Chief Minister of Ceremonials… Lin Gao Xuan? How is that possible? He's Eldest Brother's good friend." Rong Ling Shan couldn't believe it. She had met him before when following her eldest brother; he was a very gentle person. How could he do such a thing?

"That's all I know for now. Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter." Rong Luoge stood up. "It's best not to let anyone know you've been in contact with me. If you want to see me in the future, send a message through Cang Yun." At this point, Rong Luoge thought of the person Chu Ke had placed in the old manor, and her expression turned cold. "Tell your mother: if she truly wants to cooperate with me, she'd better pull back the hand she's extended. Otherwise, if I chop it off one day, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Rong Ling Shan gave a start, about to ask what she meant, but Rong Luoge had already strode away.

She hadn't expected her mother to have actually made a move against her eldest sister behind her back. For a moment she was both angry and frustrated, feeling that her mother couldn't distinguish between what was important and what wasn't. She could only hurry back to the manor to deal with things first.

Rong Ling Shan rushed back and asked her mother about the matter as soon as she saw her.

Chu Ke was taken aback, her expression involuntarily changing.

Rong Ling Shan felt a chill in her heart when she saw this. It seemed her eldest sister was telling the truth. She couldn't help saying angrily, "Why did you still do this? Our situation is already very bad. Why do you still have to make an enemy of Eldest Sister?"

Chu Ke of course couldn't say that she simply didn't want Rong Luoge to live well. Seeing her daughter cry like this, she couldn't help feeling heartbroken and said, "That was done a long time ago. I'll call the person back right now. Don't cry. How did your talk with Rong Luoge go?"

Rong Ling Shan instinctively felt she shouldn't mention the seal, so she only said, "Eldest Sister said Eldest Brother's fall from his horse wasn't an accident and that it's related to Lin Gao Xuan, the son of the Chief Minister of Ceremonials. She said you'd best look into it."

"The Lin family? We've never had any grudge with the Lin family. Why would Lin Gao Xuan harm your brother?" Chu Ke's first reaction was disbelief.

Rong Ling Shan shook her head. "That's exactly why we need to investigate. Mother, whether it's true or not, we'll only know if we look into it. I'll go ask Eldest Brother indirectly about his dealings with Lin Gao Xuan. You'd best ask Grandfather to help investigate the Lin family."

Hearing her daughter's words, Chu Ke didn't know whether to be angry that she believed Rong Luoge's words so readily, or angry that her own son had been schemed against by Lin Gao Xuan.

After thinking it over and over, she still needed to investigate. What if it were true?

Chu Ke then said, "You go ask your eldest brother. I'll go to your maternal grandfather's house."

Rong Ling Shan immediately nodded, and the mother and daughter went their separate ways.

On her way to the front courtyard, Rong Ling Shan unexpectedly ran into Rong Dai. Seeing her looking hurried as she walked out, not even noticing herself coming from the side path, Rong Ling Shan recalled Rong Luoge's words and subconsciously followed her.