Danger Abounds, Cleverly Resolving Crises

 Xiaocui, the trusted maid of Liu Ruyan, finally found an opportunity. One day, when Lin Yue was enjoying the flowers in the garden, Xiaocui deliberately splashed a basin of water on her, intending to make her look ridiculous. Lin Yue couldn't dodge in time and got completely soaked, looking extremely embarrassed. Xiaocui pretended to be flustered and said, "Oh dear, this servant didn't do it on purpose. Please forgive me, miss." Lin Yue knew very well that this was Liu Ruyan's revenge. Suppressing her anger, she calmly said, "It's all right. But my clothes are wet, and I'm afraid I'll catch a cold. Go and get me a clean set of clothes." Xiaocui didn't expect Lin Yue to be so calm and was at a loss for a moment. She had no choice but to go get the clothes, while Lin Yue took the opportunity to think of a countermeasure. Lin Yue recalled the psychological knowledge she had learned in modern times and decided to take advantage of Xiaocui's psychological weaknesses to fight back. When Xiaocui returned, Lin Yue suddenly changed her expression and said, "You have some nerve, girl! You splashed water on me on purpose. Were you instructed by someone? If you don't tell the truth, I'll definitely tell the prince and let him punish you severely." Xiaocui turned pale with fright and quickly knelt down to plead for mercy. "Spare me, miss! It was the side concubine who told this servant to do it. I had no choice!" Lin Yue obtained Xiaocui's confession and felt more confident. She knew that in this prince's mansion, just a confession was not enough to completely bring down Liu Ruyan. She needed more solid evidence. After thinking for a moment, Lin Yue said to Xiaocui, "If you want to atone for your sin, tell me truthfully what other underhanded things the side concubine has been doing on a regular basis." Trembling with fear, Xiaocui hesitated for a long time and finally told Lin Yue everything about how Liu Ruyan embezzled the servants' wages and secretly colluded with merchants outside the palace for personal gain. Lin Yue silently memorized this information. She knew that this was not the time to expose Liu Ruyan yet. She had to wait for the right moment to strike a decisive blow. Lin Yue told Xiaocui to go back and pretend that nothing had happened. Xiaocui felt as if she had been granted amnesty and left in a hurry. Back in her room, Lin Yue began to carefully sort out these clues. She was well aware that Liu Ruyan might have the support of other forces behind her. Acting rashly could bring even greater trouble to herself and Li Yi. She decided to consult Li Yi first to see what he thought. In the evening, after finishing the affairs of the prince's mansion, Li Yi came to Lin Yue's residence. Lin Yue told him the whole story. After hearing this, Li Yi's face darkened and he said, "I didn't expect Liu Ruyan to be so bold as to do such things." Lin Yue looked at Li Yi seriously and said, "Your Highness, we can't rush this. We need to find more powerful evidence to completely bring her down, so as not to alert the enemy prematurely." Li Yi nodded, deeply impressed by Lin Yue's composure and calmness. After discussing, the two decided to secretly investigate the evidence of Liu Ruyan's collusion with the merchants outside the palace and at the same time keep an eye on other forces in the prince's mansion that supported Liu Ruyan. However, what they didn't know was that Liu Ruyan had noticed Xiaocui's strange behavior and began to suspect that the matter had been exposed. A bigger crisis was quietly approaching.