Because the commotion grew bigger, guests soon whispered to each other about the situation.
"What is it? Did something happen?"
"I'm not sure. I think Ye Yiyi's engagement ring is missing or something."
"No way! Something as important as the engagement ring must be ready in advance, right? How could it suddenly disappear?"
…
With a solemn expression, Huang Mingkun headed for Ye Wanwan and the other heiresses who went upstairs earlier.
"Apologies for the disturbance, miss. I wanted to ask whether you saw Miss Yiyi's engagement ring when you were in Miss Yiyi's room earlier?" Huang Mingkun asked politely.
A few of the heiresses shook their heads. "I didn't notice it."
Liang Shihan spoke up, "I saw it. Wasn't it on Miss Yiyi's table earlier?"
"That's right, I saw it as well! It was a gorgeous jade ring!" an heiress wearing a yellow gown also said.
Liang Shihan's gaze shifted. "It was still there earlier. How could it suddenly have gone missing? It couldn't have been stolen, right?"
The heiress in the yellow gown said, "Stolen? Everyone here today is a distinguished guest! So why would they do such a sneaky thing?!"
"Heh, all distinguished guests? That's not necessarily true, is it?" Liang Shihan glanced at Ye Wanwan bitterly.
Then Liang Shihan asked Huang Mingkun, "Steward Huang, have you searched everywhere already?"
Huang Mingkun nodded. "That's right, we've searched everywhere, but we didn't find it. The banquet is about to start, which is why I rushed over to ask you about it. If you've seen it, please inform me at once."
Then Huang Mingkun purposefully adopted a troubled tone and said, "I've searched all the servants in the family with an in-depth search of the servants who entered Miss Yiyi's room, but I haven't found anything. It's like the ring disappeared into thin air."
Liang Shihan screamed at once, "How could a ring just disappear into thin air? Since it was still there when we left, then it must've disappeared when we were helping Sister Yiyi choose her jewelry earlier."
"It's only us who entered Sister Yiyi's room earlier. Since Steward Huang didn't find it anywhere, why don't we simply hand over our purses and allow Steward Huang to check them? If it's not there, then Steward Huang can hurry and look for it elsewhere!"
Upon seeing that Liang Shihan was successfully steered by him, Huang Mingkun secretly revealed a smug smile and covered it with an apologetic expression. "We're truly sorry for inconveniencing you noble ladies. In truth, I shouldn't be asking this, but today's a big day for Miss Yiyi. If such an important thing remains missing, I truly don't know how to tell Miss Yiyi…"
Liang Shihan knew Huang Mingkun was a favorite of Ye Yiyi, so she immediately echoed his words to curry his favor, "That's right, that's right! It would be unlucky if we delayed Sister Yiyi's engagement banquet! I'll go first!"
Liang Shihan handed her handbag over. "Steward Huang, you can search mine first!"
Everyone was wearing a gown today, so the only possible hiding place for a ring was their handbags.
The other heiresses all handed their handbags over upon seeing this.
"My apologies!" Huang Mingkun immediately ordered the servants to check it.
Obviously, Huang Mingkun only had the servants superficially check those heiresses' handbags and didn't shuffle through them. The handbags were quickly returned to their respective owners.
"Ah, it's still missing…" Huang Mingkun sighed anxiously.
Upon hearing this, Liang Shihan said contemptuously, "Hold on, Steward Huang, isn't there still someone who hasn't been searched yet?"