The sky gradually shifted from pitch-dark, where one could not see their own hand, to faintly bright. This entire night, the villa and all the neighboring households nearby had not slept at all.
Watching one charred corpse after another being carried out from the alley, most people’s faces were extremely grim.
Too many people, too many people.
So many people had died in this narrow alley, it was simply unheard of.
The air was filled with a strange smell.
No one spoke; they only silently watched those people carrying out the bodies, their faces showing a mixture of fear and heaviness.
Among this group, only Qi Yuan remained calm from beginning to end. Seeing that Babao and the others were helping, she even had the leisure to exchange a few words with the women beside her.
The women were full of worry. So many people had died, this was never a good thing.
Although this noble lady had acted in self-defense and to protect them, could the authorities really let this go?
Moreover, they had just heard the neighbors mention that among the dead there was also a County Lady.
A County Lady, for people like them, was like clouds in the sky, untouchable.
Yet now she had died here among them.
Finally unable to hold back, one of the women saw Qi Yuan teasing the children and swallowed before softly asking, “Noble lady, there really won’t be any trouble, right?”
Qi Yuan gave a light smile. “There won’t be any trouble. If there is trouble, it will be someone else’s trouble.”
As soon as her words fell, the sound of galloping hooves came from the distance, rushing over with a howl.
The soldiers leading the group were fully armored, imposing without anger. From atop his horse, the leading officer pointed with his whip at the pile of corpses stacked like a mountain not far away and sternly asked, “What happened?!”
It was still early morning. Everyone had stayed awake all night, and fatigue now showed on their faces.
Hearing the question, no one spoke for a moment.
It was someone from Jinchuan Marquis Manor who finally pointed at County Lady Luochuan lying on the ground, pursed his lips, and said, “County Lady Luochuan of Zhou Wang’s Manor is dead.”
What?
The leading general froze, not expecting to encounter such an enormous matter as soon as he arrived, and for a moment could not react.
County Lady Luochuan of Zhou Wang’s Manor, hadn’t something major just happened involving her?
How could she appear here and be killed?
He dismounted and walked over to County Lady Luochuan. After one glance, he frowned and turned back to ask, “What exactly is going on?”
Liu Zhong hurried forward to reply, “Reporting to this lord, we only arrived at this estate yesterday. At night, a large group of people of unknown identity attempted to break into our residence. They even used weapons and climbed over the walls…”
As he spoke, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still seemingly shaken. “With so many people breaking into the residence, how could we have any chance of survival? We had no choice but to rise in resistance.”
Rise in resistance, was that how the phrase was used?
The general’s expression turned somewhat strange. After a pause, he asked, “How many casualties did you suffer?”
Seeing that the other side had died in such large numbers, logically this side could not have been completely unscathed.
But Liu Zhong hurriedly shook his head. “None. We didn’t dare come out. It just so happened that there was fire oil in the storehouse, so we could only bring it out and use it temporarily.”
Just so happened. Temporarily.
What a coincidence, and what a temporary solution.
The general did not want to waste more words and directly asked coldly, “Then who exactly are you people?!”
Liu Zhong immediately handed over the calling card of Yongping Marquis Manor that had long been prepared and introduced himself, “My master is the eldest young lady of Yongping Marquis Manor. This villa was gifted to our young lady by Her Highness the Eldest Princess. She had only just arrived, and who would have expected such a thing to happen?”
Yongping Marquis Manor, the general’s right eyelid twitched.
He wanted to ask more, but Qi Yuan had already glanced at Babao.
Babao immediately understood. Pretending to carry a corpse, he quickly pulled open the trousers of the little eunuch and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Eh? Why is there a eunuch here?”
Everyone hurried over and indeed saw the abnormality of that corpse at a glance. For a moment, they looked at one another.
It really was a eunuch.
Then who exactly were these people?
Babao scratched his head again. “Isn’t this dagger the same as the one on County Lady Luochuan?”
The general’s expression finally turned grave. This matter was too serious, it was no joke.
Not only had so many people died, but among them were also a eunuch and a County Lady. It was truly bizarre.
He immediately gave the order, “Quick, report to the prefectural office!”
This matter was no longer something they could handle.
Qi Yuan’s expression was indifferent, not even giving the general an extra glance.
She only waited coldly for Babao beside her.
Babao hurried over and softly said, “Miss, rest assured, someone has already gone to report it.”
What a good show!
So many people, it was absolutely impossible they had appeared out of nowhere.
Where had so many people come from?
What were their identities?
Why had they rushed to the villa, and why had they set fires and killed?
How had County Lady Luochuan and this eunuch gotten mixed up with them?
All these matters would need to be interrogated clearly and thoroughly.
Thinking this, he could not help but glance at Qi Yuan again.
Miss Qi was truly formidable!
No wonder she hadn’t killed anyone earlier at the Eldest Princess’s residence, so she had been waiting for today.
If she didn’t kill, fine, but once she did, it was a whole swath.
Before long, people from the Tongzhou Prefectural Office came rushing over.
From afar, upon seeing the dense crowd of people and the rows of corpses lying on the ground, Magistrate Wang’s vision went dark!
What sin had he committed?
Such a once-in-a-century major case had landed squarely on his head just like that.
He had only just been transferred from Shuntian Prefecture to the Tongzhou Prefecture office, how had such a huge incident suddenly occurred?
Only when he saw Qi Yuan did he involuntarily let out a burp.
Alright, everything was clear now.
He waved his hand, then turned to his subordinates. “Arrest people. See if there are any survivors, arrest them all! Also, search the bodies. Search everything thoroughly and see if there’s anything that can prove their identities!”
The people below quickly acknowledged and went about their work with pounding hearts.
While the outskirts of the capital were surging with unrest, the city itself was likewise filled with the sense that a storm was coming.
Old Madam Qi clutched her abdomen somewhat nervously, took a sip of water, and then asked worriedly to Old Marquis Qi beside her, “Well? Is there any news?”
When a son travels far, the mother worries; here, it had become, when a granddaughter travels far, the grandmother worries.
How could she not worry?
That girl Qi Yuan always seemed ready to poke a hole in the sky at any moment.
Old Marquis Qi took a sip of tea and glanced at Old Madam Qi. “Look at you, why are you so unable to stay calm? If anything happens, Yuan Jie’er will naturally send someone back with news.”
He always felt that this time the matter being stirred up was not small, there would certainly be a big disturbance.
Seeing the room steaming with warmth, he rubbed his eyes and was just about to drink his tea when Li Zhong rushed in in a flurry. The moment he entered, he dropped to his knees with a thud:
“Old Marquis! Old Madam! The young lady’s villa has been stormed by bandits!”
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