The people from Shuntian Prefecture ultimately found Ling Chuhan’s corpse first.
The mountain stream’s current was swift. The moment Ling Chuhan fell into the water, he had already suffered a heavy impact, injuring his head. After that, he lost consciousness. By the time they found him, his body had already been soaked beyond recognition.
And this had only been half a day.
Old Master Xiang only took one glance before looking away, then handed over to Shuntian Prefecture the servants from his own residence who had accepted bribes from Ling Chuhan.
This time, he had truly been frightened badly enough that he decided he would not host any banquets again for the next few years.
When seeing Second Madam Qi and Qi Yuan off, he even specifically mentioned it: “Miss Qi, the corpse has already been found.”
Second Madam Qi blanked for a moment before reacting.
Qi Yuan merely gave a calm “Mm,” not taking it to heart at all.
In her view, the dead were already dead.
What mattered more was what the living would do next.
She was very much looking forward to seeing how the Crown Prince and Xiao Jingzhao would react.
At this moment, the Crown Prince was raging furiously in the palace. No matter what, he had never expected that while matters concerning the Lu family were progressing smoothly, problems would arise on the Wen family and Duke Cheng Manor’s side.
“Trash!” he roared angrily. “The people of Duke Cheng Manor are all useless good-for-nothings! The Wen family are equally a bunch of wastes! They can’t even handle such a small matter, what use are they?!”
The people beside him did not even dare breathe loudly.
The Crown Prince closed his eyes, calming himself down, before raising a brow. “The Embroidered Uniform Guard went?”
Qingyan replied softly, “Reporting to Your Highness, Lai Chenglong personally led men there. He said the investigation has already made things clear, the massacre of the Wen family was committed by Duke Cheng. There is a blood letter and bandit testimony as evidence.”
The Crown Prince sneered.
He did not believe for a second that Duke Cheng had done it.
That old fox was the most shrewd and cunning of men. If he were truly someone capable of going all out, he would have acted long ago. Why wait until now?
The most likely culprit in this matter was that rebellious b*stard Wen Mingfeng.
Who would have thought he would instead be seized and used to frame Duke Cheng?
And who else could be behind it?
Of course it was Qi Yuan!
The Crown Prince had long known this girl was no easy character.
It was just that in the past, the people she killed were all from the Liu family faction, and the one she helped was him, so he had always turned a blind eye and pretended not to see it.
But as time passed, he increasingly realized that this little girl was even more troublesome and ruthless than he had imagined.
Most importantly, the person she was helping was not him at all, but Xiao Yunting.
A truly grave threat.
He coldly curled his lips. Thinking of Qi Yuan suddenly made his teeth ache with irritation.
What a pity, if only this girl had taken a liking to Jingzhao instead.
Then she would have become a treasure of the Eastern Palace.
Unfortunately, her judgment was poor. Of all people, she had chosen Xiao Yunting.
The Crown Prince’s gaze darkened as he coldly asked, “Where is Wen Mingfeng?”
That b*stard knew too much, and his mind was exceptionally deep. After so many years, he undoubtedly had things in his possession.
Moreover, Wen Mingfeng had personally handled the matter of involving Duke Cheng in the Lu family affair.
He absolutely could not be allowed to fall into someone else’s hands. Otherwise, who knew what he might reveal?
Qingyan bent down and whispered several sentences into the Crown Prince’s ear.
The Crown Prince immediately frowned. “Kill him.”
Kill him before he entered the capital.
Qingyan did not hesitate in the slightest. He softly acknowledged the order and departed.
The Crown Prince, meanwhile, stared coldly at his teacup, then suddenly raised his hand and smashed it heavily onto the floor.
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 20+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
