The two surviving assassins cried out their innocence with all their might. When they heard Jiang Yanzhen shouting about having them flogged thirty times, they couldn’t care about anything else anymore—everything they should and shouldn’t say came spilling out.
For example, this wasn’t the first time Jiang Yanzhen had ordered them to kill someone.
There was a previous time when Jiang Yanzhen even wanted them to kidnap the eldest daughter of the Qi family…
…
Xing Min gave a discreet cough, and the writing hand paused for a moment.
They hadn’t expected that Lord Jiang had done something like that too?
Good thing it didn’t succeed—otherwise, Jiang Yanzhen wouldn’t even be standing here now, arguing over canings.
Jiang Yanzhen was fuming, pointing at the two and stomping in rage: “Utter nonsense! Complete and utter nonsense! When did I ever order you to do something like that?!”
But things had already come to this—each of them was trying to survive.
The assassins couldn’t be bothered with any master-servant loyalty anymore.
After all, they knew Jiang Yanzhen’s methods too well. Even if he wanted to spare them, the tigress at home—his wife—was vicious to the bone. Whether they talked or not, their families were unlikely to meet a good end. Since that was the case, why not talk?
So the assassins spelled everything out in full detail—how Jiang Yanzhen had ordered them to kill Hu Yichuan and silence him.
Many people already sympathized deeply with Hu Yichuan’s case, so under Xing Min’s suggestion, the Prefect of Shuntian, eager for political merit and to curry favor with Xiao Yunting, decided to move the courtroom outdoors—right outside the yamen.
Any citizen who wanted to could come and watch the trial.
The whole thing instantly caused a sensation across the capital.
Everyone who needed to know, now knew.
Madam Jiang, of course, found out too. She immediately stormed into the Shuntian yamen to make a scene.
And in that moment, everyone at the yamen saw firsthand just how fierce and shrewish this Madam Jiang was.
But none of this mattered to Madam Lu.
All she could focus on was the steward kneeling before her, and she asked in a low voice, “Still no word from master?”
Lu Minghui had been gone the whole night.
That single night had thrown the capital into complete chaos—rumors and upheaval everywhere.
But none of that concerned Madam Lu.
All she worried about was whether Lu Mingan would return.
If Lu Mingan came back, it meant that everything in Fujian and Jiangxi would be exposed—and when that happened, their good days would be over!
The more she thought about it, the more hatred boiled up inside her.
Eldest Madam Lu couldn’t stop herself from cursing Qi Zhen, the one who brought back Liu Wangfei and Lu Mingan.
And not just Qi Zhen—Qi Yuan too!
The Lu and Jiang families had long been tightly connected to Duke Chu’s household.
So of course they were well aware of the situation there.
Duke Chu’s household had previously sent word that the chaos stirred up by Hu Yichuan was caused by Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan had even been standing outside Duke Chu’s residence, watching the spectacle that day.
That wretched girl!
From the moment the Qi family brought her back and held a recognition banquet, Eldest Madam Lu had felt nothing but disgust toward her.
What was she anyway? Back when her identity was still unclear, she was just the daughter of a countryside butcher, yet she managed to win the Eldest Princess’s favor.
What a joke.
After her true identity was revealed, Eldest Madam Lu hated Qi Yuan even more.
A low-born brat who didn’t know her place—trying to stick her nose into everything.
As Eldest Madam Lu grew more anxious waiting for Lu Minghui, she lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly looked at the servant below and said in a cold voice, “Go deliver a letter—for the eldest daughter of the Qi family.”
The servant looked confused, not understanding why she suddenly wanted to send a letter to Qi Yuan.
After all, the girl hadn’t even married yet.
But Madam Lu’s nature had always been one of absolute authority—what she said, went.
The servant had no choice but to agree and quickly turned to go carry out the task.
Eldest Madam Lu then turned her head and instructed her own old maid, “You go and tell…”
Tian Momo looked uneasy. “Madam, she is the eldest young lady of the Marquis’ household, after all.”
“What eldest young lady? Don’t you know what kind of background she really has? A worthless wretch wrapped in gold and jade on the outside, but rotten to the core!” Madam Lu clenched the orange in her hand so tightly that the juice spilled out. Only then did she slowly pick up a handkerchief and wipe her hand clean with force.
She said coldly, “I just want to see—will the Qi family still protect a spoiled and ruined young lady like her?”
At that moment, Qi Yuan was playing with Ah Huang when she received the letter.
After handing Hu Yichuan’s matter over to the Shuntian Prefecture, she had returned home to await updates.
This time, Old Marquis Qi and Qi Zhen came by after a brief wait. Both looked like they had something to say but were hesitating.
Qi Yuan took one look at their expressions and understood. She said in a low voice, “Duchess Chu is dead.”
The Old Marquis and Qi Zhen exchanged a glance. Neither of them looked particularly shocked.
Oh, she just now died? Nothing surprising about that.
They had thought she’d cracked her skull and died from yesterday’s fall.
Thankfully not. Thankfully.
The Old Marquis then asked her, “So… for New Year’s Eve dinner, what do you want to eat? Dumplings, or sweet rice balls?”
…
Qi Zhen felt his old man could really be weird sometimes.
They were talking about something so serious, and he suddenly brought up New Year’s Eve dinner?
The Old Marquis smacked the back of Qi Zhen’s head and scolded him coldly, “What do you know? Because of Duke Chu’s household mess, all the government offices can’t close this year—no holidays for the New Year! Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve, and you’re saying we shouldn’t at least eat something decent?”
What could Qi Zhen say?
If the old man said it’s fine, then it’s fine!
Qi Yuan thought for a moment and then answered quite seriously, “Dumplings. I’ll mix the filling and wrap them myself tomorrow.”
…
Qi Zhen felt a chill run down his spine.
He couldn’t help but tremble inwardly—was Qi Yuan planning to chop up Duke Chu and use him for dumpling filling?
But just then, a letter was delivered. The gatekeepers, seeing that it was for the young lady, didn’t dare delay for a moment and brought it in directly.
Qi Yuan opened it, glanced over it, and then shut it again with an indifferent expression.
Qi Zhen had long stopped trying to manage her business—mainly because even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. So he didn’t ask.
But Old Marquis Qi asked with concern, “Who is it from?”
At a time like this, there were only a handful of people who might send a letter to Qi Yuan.
If not the Crown Prince’s son, then likely the Eldest Princess.
Qi Yuan let out a faint scoff. “Someone looking to die.”
She pressed the letter closed, and her expression suddenly turned cold.
Even Qi Zhen couldn’t help but shiver a little.
If Qi Yuan said someone was looking to die… then chances were, that person was as good as dead.
He coughed a few times and asked, awkwardly, “Who is it? Should we… should we help out?”
They were in the crucial stage of dealing with Duke Chu. Could it be him?
That didn’t seem right—the Duke had just lost his wife. Logically, he should be deep in grief.
Everyone knew they had a close and loving marriage.
At a time like this, how could he have the time or energy to come stir up trouble with Qi Yuan?
Qi Zhen watched as Qi Yuan inserted a hairpin into her hair and fell silent.
Whoever it was, they were probably doomed either way.
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