Lying On A Technicality
A similar example is given in the books about one of our illustrious 4 imams. I forget the name. He asked his wife to point at the circle made on the door by him. Tell his students that he is not here to avoid any disturbance during his studies. This is history and should be taken with a grain of salt. The point is. There is a technicality indeed. Withholding the truth is suppression of the truth and that is not considered untruth in law.