Hearing Yan Shouyi's reply, Lin Zhitong’s suspicions were confirmed.
Everyone was intelligent. If anything unusual happened around them, they would surely notice some details and deduce the truth, making concealment meaningless.
"Second Uncle knew we were at a disadvantage, and the sect representatives were leaning more towards Lu Xin. Therefore, when Sun Liuying attacked you tonight, he noticed it early but deliberately aided Sun Liuying, only waking me at a crucial moment. This was to give Lu Xin an excuse to anger the Tianhai Association representative."
"And that Sun Liuying was controlled by the red embroidered shoes. A powerful vengeful spirit, a Ghost King realm, resided in those shoes, though not very strong."
The day’s various accidents had left Lin Zhitong with no advantage over Lu Xin.
What was initially a certainty had a turning point due to Sun Liuying’s self-sacrifice.
Consider this: the Tianhai Association could switch allegiance to Lu Xin for profit, that much was undeniable. But if Lu Xin were a ruthless villain, willing to harm those loyal to her just to compete with Lin Zhitong, how would the Tianhai Association members think?
They would only feel that while Lu Xin was powerful, if they followed her, not only might they not get ahead, but they might even be sacrificed by her and lose their lives!
No matter how great the benefits, one needed to be alive to enjoy them.
If Sun Liuying had been rescued by Wei Changqing immediately after being controlled, preventing her subsequent actions, the effect would certainly not have been as good as it was now.
Sun Tangzhi, upon learning of the incident, would inevitably be furious. Whether he could directly support Lin Zhitong or not, he would absolutely not support Lu Xin.
The representatives of other sects would also re-examine Lu Xin and seriously consider whether to stand with her.
However, in this scheme, the only one who suffered was Sun Liuying.
Lin Zhitong frowned, "Lu Xin actually intended to harm our child."
Yan Shouyi’s eyes also showed a trace of uncontrollable anger.
Whatever grudges existed were between adults, but Lu Xin’s direct targeting of a child was too despicable.
"With such tactics from Lu Xin, we will no longer owe sect leader Lu Jingsheng any favor," Yan Shouyi said in a deep voice.
Lin Zhitong nodded slightly and got up to dress.
At this moment, Yan Gui had already retrieved Sun Liuying from the lake.
Sun Liuying’s legs were broken, her foot bones shattered. She was soaked and utterly pathetic, her condition miserable. The intense pain turned her lips purple, and her body shivered uncontrollably.
The sect representatives, notified by Ye Chengfu, lit their lanterns and soon arrived at the scene.
When Sun Tangzhi arrived and saw Sun Liuying’s tragic state, his expression changed drastically.
He scanned everyone present and asked Lin Zhitong with a questioning tone:
"Miss Lin, what is going on! If you cannot provide a reasonable explanation, our Tianhai Association will not let this matter rest!"
Anyone seeing their junior in such a pathetic state would lose their composure, and even Sun Tangzhi, who had previously favored Lin Zhitong, was no exception.
Lin Zhitong was not angry at being misunderstood and patiently explained:
"Sun Liuying sneaked into my bedroom in the middle of the night and intended to harm the child in my belly. Fortunately, my husband noticed in time and stopped her."
Hearing this, Sun Liuying, enduring the pain, wailed, "I didn't! I didn't!!!"
Her mind was in chaos, and she couldn't remember what had happened. Coupled with the immense physical pain she was enduring, her thoughts became jumbled.
But Sun Tangzhi calmed down, as he couldn't explain why Sun Liuying was even here.
"Where is the evidence?" Sun Tangzhi asked in a deep voice.
Without evidence, it couldn't be proven that Sun Liuying had tried to assassinate Lin Zhitong. Sun Tangzhi even suspected that Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong were hysterically setting a trap to sow discord between them and Lu Xin.
"The evidence is here."
At this moment, Second Uncle Wei Changqing appeared.
In his hand, he carried a pair of red embroidered shoes.
Compared to when they were worn on Sun Liuying's feet earlier, the embroidered shoes now looked dull and lifeless, devoid of any eerie aura. However, everyone could still sense a faint trace of ghostly energy from them.
A powerful vengeful spirit had resided in these embroidered shoes before, but she was no longer as strong, because she had encountered Wei Changqing.
Wei Changqing had gone to capture the embroidered shoes precisely because he knew they were the greatest evidence that Lu Xin had used Sun Liuying. Thus, he had to capture them no matter what.
He had tormented the vengeful spirit within the shoes until she was half-dead, and now he threw them directly before everyone, unafraid of them escaping.
Sun Tangzhi picked up the embroidered shoes and immediately sensed the spirit’s aura. His hand trembled, and he directly threw the shoes to the ground:
"This, this pair of embroidered shoes housed a Ghost King?!"
Everyone was shocked. Although they were all outstanding in their respective sects, their strength was far from being able to deal with a Ghost King.
"This Ghost King is on its last breath," Second Uncle reminded them.
Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and seriously consider the truth of the matter.
Sun Tangzhi looked at the embroidered shoes, then at Sun Liuying's feet, which had been battered beyond recognition. He had made up his mind.
Sun Liuying also finally came to her senses, recalling the painful and fearful scene when she had been awakened earlier.
She immediately showed a look of terror, instinctively backing away, trying to put distance between herself and the embroidered shoes.
"It was it, it was it!!" Sun Liuying exclaimed in fear, "It controlled me!"
With Sun Liuying’s direct confession, the truth was revealed.
The embroidered shoes had indeed controlled Sun Liuying, making her assassinate Lin Zhitong in her bedroom!
Sun Tangzhi’s face darkened. He had originally intended to reprimand Lin Zhitong, but it turned out his own people were in the wrong.
"Miss Lin, I apologize!" Sun Tangzhi immediately apologized.
A true man corrects his mistakes without hesitation. Yan Shouyi felt a bit more favorably towards Sun Tangzhi.
Others frowned, however, and posed two questions.
"How do we prove that Lu Xin sent these embroidered shoes?"
"Why was Sun Liuying controlled and not someone else?"
These two questions were sharp. If the truth was not as everyone imagined, delving deeper might lead to a reversal.
But Lin Zhitong, with a clear conscience, said coldly:
"The vengeful spirit within the embroidered shoes still has consciousness. Summon her and interrogate her, and the mastermind behind this will be revealed!"
The truth was clear, and Lin Zhitong was confident. Seeing her demeanor, everyone's doubts were dispelled.
There was no need to interrogate the spirit further; Lin Zhitong's reaction explained everything.
"As for the second question."
Lin Zhitong paused, looked at Sun Liuying, and her tone became colder: "I also want to know, why Sun Liuying!"