Chapter 5 Evidence

"Abbot, she is lying… her phoenix hairpin is clearly on her… when I was being indecently assaulted by her, she even used her hairpin to threaten me!" Monk Yihan quickly made excuses, but Hua Qiyue was waiting for this. She was as calm as water, leisurely saying, "Master Hanming, the phoenix hairpin isn't on me. If you don't believe me, please ask a female pilgrim to do a body search!" Her words were like a clap of thunder, scaring both Hua Mengshi and Lanzhu. Lanzhu blinked and whispered to Hua Mengshi. Her pale face slowly regained its calm expression. Master Hanming was the abbot here, and Hua Qiyue's suggestion was the only way to determine who was telling the truth. The abbot asked one of the female pilgrims in the crowd to search on Hua Qiyue's body. Youshui returned with a bowl of warm water in a panic. The young miss had been framed many times, but if she was found guilty this time, no one would dare to marry her, and knowing Hua Qiyue, she would likely commit suicide. Hua Qiyue took the bowl of water and drank to ease her parched throat. After a while, the pilgrim who had personally searched on Hua Qiyue's body groped around in confusion, shaking her head and said, "Master, I couldn't find the phoenix hairpin." Hua Mengshi's expression did not change as she indifferently looked at Lanzhu who was standing beside her. Lanzhu's eyes were widened as she looked at Hua Qiyue in disbelief. Monk Yihan screamed, "Impossible, impossible!" Master Hanming frowned. Hanyue Temple was a famous temple in Changjing City, and there was an endless stream of pilgrims every day. Until tonight, there hadn’t been a single disgraceful incident in two hundred years! Moreover, the situation was not as simple as it appeared to be. Abbot Hanming asked his men to search Monk Yihan, but a cold voice stopped him. "There's no need to search him, abbot. I know who took my phoenix hairpin away. It was my second young sister's maid, Lanzhu!" Hua Qiyue pointed at Lanzhu, her eyes like ice, her face like frost, her body emitting an invisible cold and prideful aura of extreme confidence. Lanzhu's face was deathly pale, but after receiving Hua Mengshi's comforting look, she calmed herself. "Eldest Miss, why would you slander me! How would dare I to steal your phoenix hairpin? " Lanzhu lowered her eyes to avoid Hua Qiyue’s icy stare. "Abbot Hanming, please search Lanzhu immediately. My phoenix hairpin must on her!" Hua Qiyue was too lazy to talk nonsense with Lanzhu and directly asked the abbot. She knew that Abbot Hanming was a righteous leader. Anyone who made trouble here was courting death. "Miss, may I trouble you to search Miss Lan? This matter happened in my temple, so I must uphold justice. If I offend the Second Miss, I hope that she will forgive me," Hanming said to Hua Mengshi in a low voice. Hua Mengshi immediately shook her head, " Not at all, abbot, let your people search. Lanzhu is innocent; she has nothing to be afraid of." While she was speaking, the pilgrim began searching Lanzhu and cried out as she took out the phoenix hairpin from Lanzhu's belt! That phoenix hairpin shone with a cold light under the light of lamp. Everyone gasped, and Lanzhu's face turned deathly pale! She had never thought that she would have the hairpin on her! Lanzhu had put the hairpin back on Hua Qiyue when she and Monk Yihan had knocked her out. "Lanzhu, you… how dare you do such a thing!" Before Lanzhu could regain her senses, Hua Mengshi took the initiative, pointing at her in shock. Lanzhu was so frightened that she got down on her knees, "Second Miss, please help me! I have never done such a despicable thing … It must be that when the Eldest Miss told me to go over and help her, she put it on me! " Everyone looked at Lanzhu, then at Hua Qiyue. They didn’t know who to believe. Hua Qiyue smiled, and Hua Mengshi's heart trembled. Why did it seem like Hua Qiyue had changed into another person after she woke up? She was clearly a cowardly person. In the past, whenever she was in trouble, she would tremble and shrink away! But now, Hua Qiyue's eyes seemed to be alive with electricity! "It's not just the hairpin, I happened to see the thief's face when I was chasing them. That person's face was as white as a dead man's, and there was even some powder on the ground. Look!" Hua Qiyue pointed with her finger, and everyone looked down at a smudge of white powder.