Is it necessary to lie when asked by someone who has been backbited, "Did you backbite me?" to avoid discord, or should one confess despite the consequences?

Many scholars hold that the expiation for backbiting is by supplicating for and seeking forgiveness for the one who was backbitten, in order to avoid the harms that might result from informing him of what happened. Thus, it is permissible not to tell the questioner that you backbit him, and to use allusions to avoid lying, such as telling him that you did not backbit him at a specific time, or that you did not do so after your repentance.