As if driven by some unseen force, the man slowly lifted his wrist—only to see the blood-stained dagger still in his hand.
At that moment, because someone had died, the teahouse staff could no longer stand by. They rushed into the street and flagged down officers from the Patrol Department. The officials quickly stormed upstairs.
The thugs were all stunned, staring blankly at their fallen comrade on the ground.
The scene had been so chaotic earlier that none of them could clearly recall what had happened—or how the dagger had ended up in their companion’s stomach.
But one thing was clear: The killer was one of their own.
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile on her lips, but her eyes were cold.
These men had come straight for Shunzi, breaking his leg.
They claimed something had been stolen, but their behavior was nothing like people searching for a lost item.
Especially after she’d revealed her identity—they had still pressed forward, dagger in hand.
This clearly wasn’t just about “picking a fight.”
It was a targeted attack.
But these men were just hired hands. The real culprit was the one who had given the order.
Who could it be?
She gave a cold smile, her eyes casually sweeping across the private rooms nearby, just as the patrol officers loudly barked: “What’s going on here? In broad daylight, who dares to attack someone?!”
Shunzi, enduring the pain, quickly shouted: “Sirs, it’s them! These men baselessly accused us of stealing. We told them we didn’t, but they kept insisting—and then tried to attack our young lady…”
One officer frowned and looked at Qi Yuan, then at the burly man lying motionless in a pool of blood. He hesitated: “If that’s the case, then why is the dead man one of their own?”
The thugs finally snapped out of their daze and all began swearing and yelling—each one louder and more vulgar than the last.
Shunzi raised his voice even more: “Sirs, we’re from Yongping Marquis’s household! Our young lady is the eldest daughter of the Yongping Marquis! Why would she need to steal from these street thugs?! As for the dead man—they were all crowding and attacking at once. It was their own man who killed him!”
He pointed at the still-dazed thug whose wrist Qi Yuan had held earlier: “Look, sirs! The murder weapon is still in his hand!”
At the mention of the Yongping Marquis’s name, the officials’ expressions immediately grew serious.
When they heard this was the eldest daughter of the Yongping Marquis, their expressions changed completely.
After all, ever since Princess Consort Lu had returned, he’d taken charge of the Patrol Department. He was still in his “first 100 days in office” phase—burning with reformist fire. Everyone knew that both Princess Consort Lu and the Eldest Princess were close to the Qi family.
One of the clerks immediately shouted: “Take all of them to Shuntian Prefecture! Investigate thoroughly!”
He turned to Qi Yuan and respectfully cupped his hands: “Miss Qi, are you alright?”
“No serious injuries.” Qi Yuan nodded calmly. Her tone was mild: “Fortunately, my father taught me some self-defense, so I was able to dodge. But these men are suspicious—they attacked in public and were armed. Even after I revealed my identity, they still drew weapons. I suspect I was the real target.”
Now that the situation had escalated, these fools wouldn’t be able to keep the secret. Naturally, they’d give up the person behind it.
And she’d soon know who that was.
Qi Yuan looked coldly at the thug whose dagger had been confiscated. He was still staring at her blankly. She smirked at him with open mockery.
The thug finally came to his senses and yelled: “Sirs! She’s lying! This b*tch is lying—she grabbed my hand and stabbed him! She used my hand to kill someone!”
The officers treated his words as nonsense.
A delicate young lady from a marquis household? Sure, they could believe she knew how to ride and maybe some light martial arts.
But that she grabbed this burly thug’s hand and committed murder?
The officer escorting him smacked him on the head: “Shut the h*ll up! You think you can talk your way out of this? You want me to show you what happens if you keep yapping?!”
He didn’t hold back. One punch later, the thug howled in pain, a large lump already forming on his head.
Just then, Chunlin returned—bringing with him Yongping Marquis.
As a top agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Lai Chenglong’s trusted man, Chunlin couldn’t act directly. But as soon as he left the teahouse, he had rushed to fetch reinforcements.
The old marquis took one glance at the body on the ground. His expression didn’t change in the slightest.
Serves him right.
It had been at least a month since Ah Yuan last got to kill someone. Now, these idiots had shown up like sacrifices for practice.
The moment the old marquis arrived, the officials and clerks became even more respectful.
After a brief exchange, he took Qi Yuan home.
—
On the way back, he asked, “Ah Yuan, who do you think did this?”
Who was bold—or dumb—enough?
Qi Wang was gone. His influence shouldn’t stretch this far anymore.
He truly couldn’t understand who would still try to provoke Qi Yuan now.
He’d seen people robbing for money—but never volunteering to get killed.
These people had really broadened his horizons.
Qi Yuan gave a slight smirk: “They’re just a motley group of thugs. As for who sent them—we’ll know once they’ve been interrogated.”
If they hadn’t attacked in public, she could’ve just interrogated them herself.
The old marquis gave a grunt: “Don’t worry. I’ve sent Li Zhong to follow. He’ll report back as soon as there’s any news.”
Qi Yuan wasn’t worried.
But Feng Jun was.
Furious, he kicked the man next to him and practically spat as he shouted: “Wei Changying, you b*stard, you trying to screw me over?! Look at the garbage you found!”
He’d never seen people so stupid!
They went to cause trouble and failed miserably—now one of their own was dead, and they’d been handed over to the authorities.
If those fools started panicking and naming names, it would be a huge problem!
Wei Changying winced from the kick but didn’t dare complain. He smiled awkwardly and groveled: “Yes yes yes, it’s all my fault, Young Master Jun—please don’t be angry.”
“Not be angry?!” Feng Jun’s head throbbed. “Useless b*stards! I told them to harass a woman, and they couldn’t even manage that. Now someone’s dead! Are you stupid?!”
Wei Changying quickly tried to calm him: “Don’t worry! They won’t talk. Even if they do, they’ll name me first. Don’t you trust me? I’ll never say a word about this.”
But Feng Jun still wasn’t satisfied.
What use was keeping quiet?
The problem was—Qi Yuan hadn’t suffered at all.
He’d wanted to teach that b*tch a lesson, wasn’t he?!
