Inside the garden of her courtyard, Li Rui was silently sitting at one place. Around her, there were many girls sitting of her age as they chatted with each other.
Although all of them were young, they were taught by their mothers not to say anything about whatever happened in front of Li Rui as it was something General Li himself had talked to their parents about.
So no one started that topic no matter how much they were curious about it.
"Rui, should we play your favorite game? Hide and Seek."
The young Yi Huiqing who was sitting beside Li Rui said suddenly.
All the girls didn't find anything wrong with this suggestion and nodded their heads.
Li Rui didn't say anything. She just stood up from her place and went to hide somewhere when a girl started counting with her eyes closed.
The garden was now very silent.
The girl who had been counting opened her eyes and looked around the garden to search for others with a smile on her face.
In a few minutes, she had found everyone else except Li Rui. Now, everyone started to wonder where exactly Li Rui was.
At this moment, Li Chen suddenly stepped inside the garden and said to everyone.
"Are you looking for Jiejie?"
Everyone nodded their head together. Li Chen smiled a little ad patted his chest proudly.
"Only I know about Jiejie's hiding place."
The girl whose task was to find everyone had her eyes brightened when she heard Li Chen's words and she instantly pleaded with him to show Li Rui's hiding place.
Li Chen didn't say anything but he stepped forward in a particular direction and all the girls silently followed him. A whole minute later, everyone finally found a group of bushes in a corner of the garden.
Li Chen ran ahead and first jumped behind the bushes.
"Jiejie, Chenchen found you."
The sound of loud laughter sounded in the garden.
Everyone recognized that it was Li Chen who was laughing and couldn't help but smile.
Soon Li Rui came out from the bushes with Li Chen holding her hand.
Although her face didn't have any usual smile from the past, her eyes were soft when she looked at Li Chen.
"What is that?"
Li Chen shouted suddenly and then ran behind the bushes again.
A moment later, he came out but he had a hairpin in his small hand.
All the other girls didn't take it as anything as they thought that the hairpin belonged to Li Rui and it must have fallen down from her hair when she was hiding behind the bushes. However there confusion got cleared when Li Chen shouted suddenly.
"Jiejie, doesn't this hairpin belongs to Third Younger Sister? She had been looking for it for so many days."
After saying these words, Li Chen looked confused as he said in a voice that was completely audible to everyone else.
"But how did this hairpin reach here?"
Li Chen pretended very well or perhaps he was just a child so everyone believed his words in a moment.
Everyone looking at Li Rui had suspicion in their eyes.
How did the hairpin reach behind the bushes? This was something that only Li Rui could tell. After all, it was she who was hiding there.
And according to what Li Chen said to them, it was her usual hiding place.
Could it be that she stole the hairpin and hid it there?
Whispers started to follow through the small crowd of girls while Li Rui stood there silently looking at the hairpin in Li Chen's hands in a daze.
A maid who had followed Li Chen inside the garden suddenly left from there and just a minute later, she came back with Li Na and Li Caihong following her.
It was Li Caihong who first stepped forward and snatched the hairpin from Li Chen's hands.
Looking at hairpin from here and there, she said to herself but again in a voice that was audible to everyone else also.
"This is my hairpin."
After saying this, Li Caihong raised her head and looked at Li Rui with wide eyes that were full of disbelief.
"Elder Sister, the maid told me everything. How could you do this? First, you did the same thing in the Imperial Palace, and now also...Elder Sister I had thought that Li Zhan's death might have taught you something but..."
Li Caihong sighed heavily and she looked at Li Rui.
She was waiting for her to speak something so that she(Li Caihon) could cut in between and then say her own words.
But Li Rui never said anything. She continued to stand there like a statue.
Her mind was already somewhere else since Li Caihong had mentioned Li Zhan and the Imperial Palace incident.
When Li Rui didn't say anything, Li Caihong looked towards Li Na who signed her to continue so she did the same.
"Elder Sister, If you liked me hairpin so much, you could have asked me for it. I would have given it to you without any complaint. After all, in this Manor you receive everything before us because you are elder than us."
Li Caihong's words were very well said at least they achieved the purpose that she wanted to achieve.
Everyone's gaze looking at Li Rui became a little strange.
According to what Li Caihong said, Li Rui was given everything before her sisters in Li Manor but she was not satisfied with that. Instead, she was eyeing even the leftovers that her sisters got.
Not only that, she indirectly also applied that the matter from the Imperial Palace was very true.
Li Rui really stole the Princess's hairpin and then her maid came forward to take all the blame on her head and hence was killed during her punishment.
And she was still stealing things of her sisters in her own manor.
Just how shameless she was!
No wonder she had been banned from entering the Imperial Palace.
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on (f)reew𝒆(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦