Not to mention the significance of the tea towel to Zhang Sipei, even if it were a priceless treasure, it would be worth a considerable sum of money.
When the tea towel was lost, the female teacher also frowned. "Miss Zhang, did you perhaps misplace the tea towel somewhere and cannot recall?"
"Impossible!"
Zhang Sipei stated with absolute certainty, "I had it in my hand just before class! I merely placed it on the desk for a moment, then went to speak with the third young lady of the Song family for a few words. When I returned and sat down, I discovered it was gone."
"Yes, I can attest to that!"
As she finished speaking, Miss Zheng, from the Kyoto Prefecture's granary and transport household, who was sitting beside her, also stood up. "We have all seen that tea towel, it is truly beautiful. I saw it just now, Sister Zhang holding it in her hand!"
She turned and deliberately asked Song Yanrou, who was sitting far behind them, "Third Sister Song, you saw it too, didn't you? I even heard you praising the tea towel just now!"
"Yes, I saw it."
Song Yanrou also stood up and bowed to the female teacher. "To the teacher, I also saw it. Thinking how beautiful that tea towel was, I assumed Miss Zhang had put it away. I didn't expect it to be missing!"
The female teacher surveyed the classroom, not wishing to offend any of the young ladies. She said, "Never mind, Miss Zhang can use my tea towel for now. Let's not delay everyone's class. It won't be too late to look for it after class. This classroom is not that large, it won't be lost."
"I know who took it!"
However, Miss Zheng suddenly turned her head and looked at Song Chaoyu, who was sitting in the farthest corner. "It's her! I just saw her lurking suspiciously by Miss Zhang's side. Besides her, no one else would want to steal Miss Zhang's tea towel!"
Steal? The word was truly unpleasant, and it seemed to instantly define Song Chaoyu.
Song Chaoyu's eyes grew cold, and she let out a cold laugh.
Miss Zheng, however, acted as if she had solid evidence, pointing at the drawer of Song Chaoyu's desk. "She put it in there! I saw it! I initially thought I might be mistaken, but I didn't expect her to have actually stolen the tea towel! Thief, hand over the item!"
She had intended to say a few words, but at this moment, as Song Chaoyu looked down at her drawer, she discovered that the drawer beneath the desk was slightly ajar!
She always checked everything carefully before leaving the classroom and then closed the drawers tightly.
She hadn't touched this drawer since arriving at the classroom today. But the drawer being ajar could only mean someone had tampered with it!
If she wasn't mistaken, the tea towel with the hundred butterflies pattern was likely in her drawer right now.
Recalling that she had gone to the upper side just a moment ago, she surmised that it must have been then that they placed the tea towel into her drawer.
Everyone looked at Song Chaoyu. Miss Zheng, unwilling to let the matter go, pressed on, "If you have nothing to hide, then open that drawer and let us see if there's anything inside!"
The female teacher also walked towards Song Chaoyu. "Fourth Miss Song, please open your drawer. If you accidentally put Miss Zhang's tea towel in there, you can return it and apologize to her."
The female teacher intended to mediate, and Song Chaoyu knew that this group of people would not let her off easily today.
She lowered her gaze and finally pulled open her drawer—
Indeed, the tea towel with the hundred butterflies pattern lay precisely in the center of her drawer!
"A thief indeed!"
Miss Zheng was the first to accuse Song Chaoyu. "If you liked this tea towel, you could have asked Sister Zhang to give it to you! Instead, you resorted to such vulgar and despicable behavior. Truly an illegitimate daughter, unfit for polite society!"
Others chimed in, but even those who saw that Song Chaoyu was being framed would not speak up for a daughter of illegitimate birth.
Song Chaoyu stared at the tea towel for a long time, then suddenly smiled. "If I truly wanted to steal this tea towel, wouldn't I keep it on my person, close to me? Why would I openly place it in the middle of my own drawer without even trying to hide it? I'm not so foolish as to do that!"
In fact, even the female teacher was aware that someone was trying to cause trouble for Song Chaoyu.
But now, Miss Zheng glanced at Song Yanrou and became even more insistent. "Who knows if you were too flustered to hide the tea towel? That's your drawer. If I hadn't seen you take the tea towel today, who would have noticed you sitting in the corner?"
Song Chaoyu nodded but stared at Miss Zheng without fear. "Isn't that right? Since I'm so easily overlooked, why did Miss Zheng specifically see me standing by Miss Zhang's desk and taking the tea towel?"
She surveyed the classroom and then pointed to the door at the back. "I did go out once earlier, and then I re-entered from there. I did not pass by Miss Zhang's desk."
"That's correct."
However, Song Chaoyu hadn't expected that in this vast classroom, someone would stand up and speak for her!
It was the legitimate sister of the Great General of Liaoyuan, named "Wei Feiyan."
She didn't have a very good relationship with Song Yanrou and her group, but her family background was prominent, and she came from a military family, so her personality was very straightforward and cheerful.
She was sitting by the door and smiled gently at Song Chaoyu. "I arrived early today and have been sitting here the whole time. I saw Fourth Miss Song go out through the back door and then return through the back door and sit in her seat, engrossed in reading books on tea ceremony. I never saw Fourth Miss approach Miss Zhang's desk. I fear there has been some misunderstanding; please do not wrongly accuse Fourth Miss."
Song Chaoyu looked at Wei Feiyan gratefully.
Miss Zheng stammered for a while, unable to come up with a rebuttal.
It was Song Yanrou who stood up and sighed theatrically. "But the tea towel is now in Fourth Sister's drawer, so what's going on? Fourth Sister is my sister, and I naturally don't want her to have done such a thing. But at home, she always mentions how she likes Miss Zhang's tea towel. Fourth Sister, why don't you explain yourself properly to Miss Zhang? I'm sure she'll understand your feelings."
Song Yanrou's delicate and affected demeanor made Song Chaoyu lower her eyes and sneer.
She reached out, took the tea towel from the drawer, and asked Zhang Sipei, "Miss Zhang, let me ask you, when did you lose this tea towel? Was it before or after the distribution of the rose juice?"
Zhang Sipei didn't know why she was asking this. She glanced at Miss Zheng and then said, "Naturally, it was before the distribution of the rose juice. I left my desk precisely to distribute the rose juice."
Song Chaoyu nodded and smiled confidently. "Everyone here today can testify that Miss Zhang's rose juice was not distributed to me. Let alone distributed to me, it didn't even come near me!"
Because Zhang Qiouhe's seat next to Song Chaoyu was empty, no one would have bothered to bring the rose juice over.