Ren Shuquan’s mind was in complete chaos, but he still remembered that he needed to get Qi Yuan out of there.
Immediately, he grabbed her arm and said nervously, “Y-you… you saw it wrong! There’s nothing here, do you understand?! Let’s go!”
Who would have thought that the seemingly delicate and frail Qi Yuan would remain as immovable as a mountain despite being yanked so forcefully?
He froze for a moment and instinctively glanced at his own hand.
Qi Yuan casually twisted her wrist, effortlessly breaking free from his grip. “Human lives,” she said flatly.
Ren Shuquan swallowed hard. “This has nothing to do with you! Don’t meddle in other people’s business!”
Qi Yuan smiled faintly. “Really?”
The moment she finished speaking, Ah Huang dug out another pit.
This time, a pale, bluish-white face of a beautiful woman emerged from the soil.
One glance was enough to tell that she had died recently.
Fresh.
Ren Shuquan could no longer endure it. With a cry, he turned and ran.
No, no!
He couldn’t stay here.
Racing outside, he found several guards who had already heard the commotion and rushed over.
As soon as they saw him, they asked, “Fourth Young Master, what’s wrong?”
His face deathly pale and his whole body trembling, Ren Shuquan stammered, “Something happened! Something happened! That dog, that dog dug up a whole bunch of corpses beneath the flower racks outside my eldest uncle’s window! So many corpses!”
The guards’ expressions changed instantly.
Without another word, they abandoned Ren Shuquan and rushed into the courtyard.
Flowers lay scattered everywhere.
The dog was still digging furiously.
Some of the pits contained piles of white bones.
Others held fresh corpses.
A chill shot from the soles of the guards’ feet straight to the tops of their heads.
But even more terrifying was the fact that Ren Shuquan had fled in utter panic.
Yet the young girl who had come with him remained standing calmly where she was, expressionlessly watching her dog dig up corpses.
The scene was indescribably eerie.
A gust of wind blew through, and cold sweat broke out on their backs.
Earlier, when Ren Shuquan had brought her up, he had already identified her as the eldest daughter of Yongping Marquis Manor.
A noble young lady.
But now this noble young lady had discovered Ren Ming’s secret.
So…
How should this matter be handled?
As for this young lady…
Qi Yuan sighed and looked up at them. “It seems we’ll have to report this to the authorities. There must be at least a dozen corpses buried here.”
Her tone was astonishingly casual.
The guards’ faces changed immediately.
Report it to the authorities?
Absolutely not!
They exchanged glances and quickly reached a decision, quietly moving closer to Qi Yuan.
One of them stretched out a hand, intending to seize her shoulder.
But Qi Yuan had already grabbed his wrist.
With a clean, fluid motion, she executed a shoulder throw, slamming him heavily into the ground.
Then she stomped hard onto his chest.
The man spat out a mouthful of blood.
The next moment, he was dead.
Ah Huang turned back to glance at her, tilting its head.
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow. “No need to keep digging, Ah Huang.”
Ah Huang immediately trotted over to her side, wagging its tail happily.
The remaining guards were completely stunned.
They had never imagined that this seemingly fragile young girl could not only uncover so many corpses but also possess such formidable martial skills.
That move alone required more than a decade of training to perform so effortlessly.
No longer hesitating, they rushed forward together.
Just then, Qi Zhen shouted, “Who dares touch my daughter?!”
Bracing one hand on a nearby frame, he vaulted cleanly over it and landed beside Qi Yuan.
His voice rang out coldly: “Have you gone blind? In broad daylight, under the clear heavens, you dare attempt to murder this marquis’s daughter?!”
He stood there radiating authority.
Nothing like the man he was when he was alone with Qi Yuan.
The arriving Babao’s eyelids twitched.
The Marquis really could change faces at astonishing speed.
But this was hardly the time to think about that.
Lai Chenglong arrived shortly afterward.
Looking at the scattered bones and the devastation throughout the courtyard, he turned coldly toward Old Madam Ren and asked bluntly, “Old Madam Ren, what exactly is the meaning of these corpses?”
Her complexion turned ashen.
Ren Ming had repeatedly warned that no one was ever to enter his residence.
For years, she had strictly enforced that rule.
But this time, the visitors were the Imperial Guards and Yongping Marquis.
And the Marquis’s daughter had barged in under the pretext of looking for her dog.
There had been no way to stop her.
No…
Was Qi Yuan really here to look for a dog?
She glanced toward Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan was looking back at her.
Those eyes were filled with icy coldness.
The girl had done this deliberately!
Old Madam Ren’s heart began pounding wildly.
She suddenly found it difficult to breathe, and even her lips started turning purple.
She wanted to argue.
But with so many corpses lying right here…
How could she possibly explain them away?
After a long silence, she gritted her teeth and said, “There must be a traitor within the household! Someone murdered these people and buried them here! I will definitely find the culprit!”
Lai Chenglong let out a mocking laugh. “A case this large, a mass murder on this scale, even in the capital, such a thing is rare over the span of more than a decade. And you still want to investigate it behind closed doors yourself? Old Madam Ren, do you intend to solve the case, or destroy the evidence and clean up someone else’s mess?”
His words were razor-sharp and utterly merciless.
Old Madam Ren nearly collapsed.
Pointing a trembling finger at him, she shuddered. “Y-you… how dare you!”
Lai Chenglong paid her no attention. “Chunsheng! Detain every master and mistress of the Ren family in a single courtyard. Not one of them is to escape! Also, summon another team from the Imperial Guard Office and have them dig up this entire courtyard again!”
Old Madam Ren almost fainted. “You dare?! Our Ren family possesses an Imperial Exemption Token! A death-immunity plaque bestowed personally by His Majesty! How dare you show us such disrespect?!”
Qi Yuan suddenly widened her eyes and asked softly, “Old Madam, does that exemption token protect your entire family, or only one person?”
Old Madam Ren whipped her head around to stare at her.
Qi Yuan showed not the slightest sign of backing down.
Instead, she curled her lips into a faint smile.
The Ren family was one of the Crown Prince’s most loyal hounds.
And what she enjoyed most was tearing out the Crown Prince’s claws and fangs.
Especially this time.
When the Crown Prince framed the Lu family, the Ren family had been the fiercest dog charging ahead on his behalf.
Then she would simply raise her blade and cut off the dog’s head.
Once the Ren family became useless, whether the Lu family was truly innocent or not would no longer matter in the eyes of the public, they would simply be victims deserving sympathy.
When Xiao Yunting reopened the Lu family’s case, there would be almost no resistance.
The Crown Prince was not the only one who knew how to kill with a borrowed knife and hide behind the scenes.
She knew how as well.
Qi Zhen looked coldly at Old Madam Ren. “Old Madam, this matter is of great importance. It must be thoroughly investigated. If you remain dissatisfied, this marquis will personally enter the palace and report everything to His Majesty.”
A sharp pain stabbed through Old Madam Ren’s heart.
Her eyes rolled back.
And she fainted on the spot.
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