The green grass never expected that one day she would be asked such a question by the young Mr. Henry, and for a moment, she was completely stunned.

She thought for a while about how Mrs. Foster was favored by the Mrs. Sullivan, then about how yesterday Old Master didn’t even ask for details before sending the man who claimed to be Chad Sullivan’s uncle to Ying Tian Prefecture for questioning. But just as she hesitated, she caught sight of the bookshelf that looked full but was actually missing many books, and suddenly realized the mistake she had made.

No matter how awkward Mr. Henry’s status was, at least he hadn’t done anything wrong this time—the one at fault was Emily Reed, who had dared to steal books from Heming Pavilion!

At that moment, she saw Chad Sullivan sitting cross-legged without any decorum, thoughtfully tugging at his hair.

“Mrs. Foster stormed into Heming Pavilion, shouting and making a scene—she really is impressive. Maybe she’ll rush to Qingfen Hall next and stir up a scandal that will rock the whole Yue household. I heard your mother and Mrs. Foster are sisters, both came here with Aunt Martha when she married in, but your mother has a much better temper. Why is there such a big difference in their circumstances?”

Thinking of how her mother was always overshadowed by the shrewd and outspoken Mrs. Foster, the green grass finally made up her mind. She lowered her head and respectfully knelt, saying, “Mr. Henry, this servant just remembered something and would like to return for a bit.”

“Mm, go quickly and come back soon.”

Chad Sullivan looked up, watching the green grass dash away, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Yesterday, Old Master Sullivan had already stepped in to resolve a bandit incident—how could he let the old man get involved again today over a book theft?

Besides, he wanted to see, apart from Mrs. Foster, whether yesterday’s David Brooks was also backed by the formidable Mrs. Sullivan whom everyone in the household feared!

Chapter Six: Killing with a Borrowed Knife

In front of Qingfen Hall, Mrs. Foster had gathered seven or eight servant women and marched over aggressively, but was dumbfounded as soon as she reached the door.

She saw the two black lacquered doors tightly shut, with not a sound coming from inside the walls, as if no one was home.

Faced with this scene, Mrs. Foster sensed the prickling, questioning gazes of the servant women, so she put her hands on her hips and shouted angrily.

“Lauren Smith, why are the doors closed in broad daylight? Are you doing something shameful in there? Hurry up and get out here to open the door!”

However, the usually meek and obedient Lauren Smith didn’t show herself at all this time. Not only did she not appear, but there wasn’t a single response from the entire Qingfen Hall.

Realizing she was now in a dilemma, Mrs. Foster nearly ground her teeth to pieces. She cursed the bastards and sluts a thousand times in her heart, then simply rolled up her sleeves.

“Go get me a stick and smash the door! Closing the door in broad daylight—must be up to no good. These little hussies are definitely doing something shady inside, and I have to catch them red-handed!”

The front of Mrs. Foster’s clothes bulged, hiding a few books she had just found at home, which her son hadn’t had time to sell yet. She only hoped that in the coming chaos, she could toss them somewhere in Qingfen Hall and settle the trouble her daughter and son had caused.

But after her order, the servant women scattered and only returned with two sticks. They took turns swinging the sticks at the door, banging loudly, but even after all the noise, barely any paint chipped off, let alone breaking the door open.

Inside the main room of Qingfen Hall, Lauren Smith and two little maids hid behind the door, unaware that Mrs. Foster outside was now riding a tiger and couldn’t get off.

The oldest among them, Lauren Smith, was not yet seventeen, and the youngest was only twelve—none of them had ever seen such a scene.

One little maid, trembling, burrowed into the usually gentle Lauren Smith’s arms, her voice quivering with tears: “Sister, I’m scared… Should we open the door?”

“No.” Lauren Smith’s pale face now showed a stubborn fierceness, whether given by Chad Sullivan or born from being bullied to the breaking point, it was hard to say.

She took a deep breath and said fiercely, “If they have the guts, let them break down the door and barge into Qingfen Hall.”

At that moment, another little maid suddenly interjected, “Sister, even if they can’t break the door, they can still climb the wall!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lauren Smith heard Mrs. Foster’s shrill voice from outside: “If you can’t break the door, go get a ladder! I don’t believe these little hussies can turn the sky upside down!”

Faced with the commotion outside, the three maids were at a loss, and Lauren Smith’s fingernails nearly dug into her palms.

She didn’t know what kind of trick Chad Sullivan had pulled to make Mrs. Foster so crazy, but after last night, she already saw Mr. Henry as her only lifeline.

On the verge of collapse and despair, she took a deep breath and forced a smile for the two little maids: “If they really break in, just blame everything on me…”

Before Lauren Smith could finish, the banging, footsteps, and shouting outside suddenly stopped, plunging everything into dead silence.

Not knowing what had happened, they looked at each other in confusion. In the end, the older Lauren Smith managed to stay calm, took a deep breath, and said, “You two stay here and don’t move, I’ll go take a look!”

Tiptoeing out of the room, Lauren Smith hadn’t even reached the main door when she heard a stern voice, both familiar and unfamiliar.

“What is going on here?”

“Ma… Madam.”