Perfect Plan of the Detective

The first half of the morning quickly passed as Yujia gave Lianye as much support as she could. When Lianye had finished her bath, and gone out, she had asked Yujia what happened to A'Yan.

This question stumped Yujia. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to soften the truth or tell Lianye about the reality of things. In the end, she decided that cushioning facts wouldn't go well, so she simply told Lianye about what really happened.

Lianye was silent for a few moments, but then she nodded. They did not talk about things after that.

… 

While Yujia did her daily tasks of watering plants, she realized that she needed a new plan.

She originally thought that if Lianye owned her a favor, she could do some manipulation and dig up some more facts about the thieves. However, that was clearly not an option anymore, especially considering how much it guilted her.

Thus, Yujia had to formulate a new plan in her mind. 

She tried to piece together the clues in her mind, weaving together her old plans with her new discoveries to see if she could figure anything out.

As her thoughts spun in her mind, she absentmindedly poured water over the white flowers underneath her hands.

The North Courtyard was a quiet one. Only three maids, other than Yujia, worked in the courtyard, with one of the maids being Xiaoyi's personal maid and the other one spending most of her time in the kitchen anyways. Lianye had gone to do something, so Yujia was pretty much alone in the yard.

She liked the silence— it helped her think— but she could see how Yang Xiaoyi might have been lonely. What was serenity to Yujia must have been isolation to the Fifth Miss. 

When footsteps sounded near the courtyard, Yujia was alerted. She lifted her head up, seeing who it was. 

It was the First Miss.

Yujia hadn't seen the face of Yang Qingxia in a long time, but it didn't mean that Yang Qingxia would not remember her face. Thinking back to the last time Yujia had a long discussion with Qingxia— where Qingxia revealed the animosity she held towards Hui'er— Yujia quickly ducked her head down, bowing in an inconspicuous manner. 

She could trust Xiaoyi with her identity, but the First Miss was a different matter.

The First Miss passed by, not even sparing an extra glance at Yujia. She headed in the direction of the main room in the courtyard, where Xiaoyi was at, likely reading a book or painting a picture. As Qingxia walked by, Yujia let out a breath of relief and sneaked a glance up at this half-sister of hers. 

She noticed a pair of earrings on Qingxia, earrings made of a few glossy, earth-toned beads. They weren't too marvelous, something that would be easily skimmed over by the eyes, but the way that the warm morning sunlight reflected off of the earrings caught Yujia's eyes.

The earrings looked familiar, except Yujia couldn't recall, off the top of her head, where she had seen them before. She narrowed her eyes, thinking about it, before she got back to scheming her plans.

…

A half-hour of chatting later, Yang Qingxia departed. Xiaoyi's personal maid, A'Ling, also left to go buy some more paper and ink for the Fifth Miss in the marketplace. A maid brought over some pastries from the kitchen, which Yujia took to deliver to her sister, since A'Ling, who usually did these things, was gone.

She entered the room to see Xiaoyi sitting at her vanity table, looking through her jewelry box. Seeing that it was just Yujia, Xiaoyi commented, "The summer season is getting hot, and Father says that he will buy some new, lighter silks. I'm thinking about what jewelry might match them."

Yujia set the plate of pastries down and walked over, leaning her hands on the table as she looked at the various bracelets, earrings, and necklaces Xiaoyi had in her jewelry box. 

"Jade always works well," Yujia suggested, "Especially green jade like this." She lifted a light-green jade bracelet, holding it up to the light. "Besides, jade stays cold to the touch, so it should be nice to wear during warmer weather."

"Right!" Xiaoyi nodded, taking the bracelet from Yujia and slipping it on her wrist. She held it in front of her and looked at it, smiling.

Yujia looked at the necklaces Xiaoyi had, noticing a familiar one. It was a necklace made of woven string, and at the bottom of the necklace, a smooth, circle of jade hung. She lifted the necklace up, a grin spreading across her lips. It was the same necklace Yujia had bought Xiaoyi a long while back, during a festival. She could still remember that festival— it was an eventful evening where Yujia got both a master and an investor in her pencils. 

"You still have this?" Yujia exclaimed in delight.

Xiaoyi took a glance at what Yujia was talking about. "Of course!" she turned to face Yujia. "Give me— I want to put it on." As Yujia handed it over and Xiaoyi draped it around her neck, Xiaoyi explained, "It's a gift from my older sister. Of course I will keep it."

"Looking at all your other jewelry, I was afraid you might have found it too rustic," Yujia said with a laugh.

Xiaoyi took a look at it in the mirror, tilting her body to get different angles. "I don't think it's too rustic. It's charming. You know, right now, necklaces like these are in style. Extravagance isn't too good. But even if it wasn't, I still wear it all the time. How could I not like a necklace picked by you?"

"You honor me," Yujia joked, bowing in a teasing manner.

With a giggle, Xiaoyi patted the box and looked at Yujia. "Here. You should pick anything you want from here." 

Yujia ran her fingers along the edges of the box, but she shook her head. "That's very generous of you, but a maid shouldn't be seen with too many precious things." 

"Oh come on, it would make you more of a target. Wouldn't the thieves want to steal from you more, if you're wearing a pretty necklace?" Xiaoyi looked through the necklaces, pulling one from the bottom of the pile with glossy gemstone beads, the color of a pale, blue egg. "This one. Do you like it? I think it suits your complexion well."

Yujia picked up the necklace, staring at it. It looked familiar.

And then, it hit her.

Seeing the necklace jogged her memory. She recalled last night, how during her explorations of the villa, she saw a similar necklace, with the same-shaped beads, in the jewelry box of a maid. She didn't think much of it before. The colors of that necklace were neutral colors, but the shape and texture of the beads were exactly the same as the necklace Yujia held in her hand now.

That necklace… 

Yujia thought about the colors. They were the exact tone as the earrings she saw on Yang Qingxia today. That was why she thought the earrings Qingxia wore looked oddly familiar.

"Where is this necklace from?" Yujia asked, her tone suddenly serious.

Xiaoyi noticed the shift in Yujia's attitude, hesitantly replying, "I think it was from a business trip Father took last summer. He bought me this necklace with these matching earrings." She pulled a pair of pale-blue earrings out. 

"Did the First Miss also get a set?" Yujia continued to ask.

"Yes, I believe so," Xiaoyi answered, "She was even wearing the earrings today, if I remember correctly."

"Would she give the necklace, by itself, away?"

"No. I would imagine that she would give away the entire set, if she was going to give it as a gift."

"Would you be able to buy this set anywhere else?"

"Father went all the way to the far north, near the border of Northern Zhou, I believe. I don't think you would find a similar craftsmanship anywhere near here."

Yujia set the necklace in her hands down, pursuing her lips together. "Interesting," she murmured. 

"Why?" Xiaoyi questioned, her eyebrows knitted.

A large, excited smile growing across her face, Yujia responded, "Little sister, I believe I have discovered a thief."

…

With a little more investigation, Yujia soon discovered that the jewelry box with the necklace belonged to a maid called Zhu'er. She was a hard-working and friendly maid, always willing to lend her good will to others. Her job was just a maid that carried out daily tasks in the East Courtyard. But more importantly: her name was on the list of suspects.

Yujia also discovered, with even more investigation, that Zhu'er had a distinct daily schedule. The only part that Yujia was interested in was that every evening, Zhu'er went over to the back of the South Courtyard for a bucket of water. This was for the First Miss to wash her face and the like.

At this discovery, Yujia's plan finally clicked into place.

With a few requests to Xiaoyi, Yujia launched the start of her next major plan.

This evening, she voluntarily went out to fetch water right before the time that Zhu'er went to fetch her water. As a result, whenever Yujia came back, under the setting sun in the sky, she came across Zhu'er, holding an empty basin. 

"You're here for the water?" Yujia asked, placing the bucket on the ground. 

"Ah, yes," Zhu'er answered. She set the basin on the ground, and Yujia helped her pour water from the bucket into the basin. Zhu'er took a closer look at Yujia. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?" she brought up.

Yujia nodded with a small smile. "Yes. I came here around a week ago."

Zhu'er smiled back. She lifted the full basin up, saying, "I hope you're finding life serving in the villa comfortable."

"It is a good place," Yujia lied through her teeth. She unwittingly glanced at the shed and the place where A'Yan used to chop wood at. 

"I am Zhu'er," the girl greeted.

Although already knowledgeable of this fact, Yujia still greeted back, "You can call me Ling'er. Hoping that Sister can guide me in the future."

"Of course!" Zhu'er cheerfully responded.

She then went on her way, and Yujia headed back to her own courtyard soon enough, knowing that the first part of her plan was executed flawlessly.

…

The next day, Yujia specifically asked to be given a task that would send her to the marketplace, and sure enough, Xiaoyi gave her a task. She was asked to fetch some candied fruits from a newly opened shop in the capital.

Yujia walked a certain distance to the shop, but halfway, she spun and took a dramatic turn in the direction of the Yu Villa. 

This time, however, she was not paying a visit to Young Master Yu Zixu.

…

Shen Li, the First Young Master's servant, was just preparing tea for his young master when he received news from a servant. 

"Your cousin is looking for you."

Shen Li paused, setting the teapot on the table. His dark brows furrowed. "But I don't have a—"

Suddenly, his young master coughed by the side. For a moment, Shen Li thought that his young master's illness from a while back had returned, and he had a sore throat again. Except then, he realized that the cough was very purposeful.

"Shen Li," his young master said, tapping a closed fan against his chin, "I remember your cousin. Wasn't that the… what's her name again? Shen Yuling? She was a nice girl."

The name echoed in Shen Li's mind.

How could he forget? That was the name of the junior sister of his young master, who for some reason, his young master brought all the way over to the villa to teach her how to become a good maid. Shen Yuling was the identity that she held.

"You should go see her," his young master went on, "see what she wants."

Shen Li nodded slowly, full of hesitation. "Yes… I suppose… I should?"

"Send her my greetings," his young master mused, then went back to reading.