The next morning, the ladies arrived as agreed and headed to the gate of the Wu residence.

Their bold appearance was thanks to the Lord of Kang Le Township, who sent his Shadow Guards to personally escort them.

Yesterday, Wu Guangping promised to return the money in full.

As a result, the number of people gathered at the gate of the Wu residence to watch the commotion was twice as many as yesterday!

The main gate of the Wu residence was opened.

A startled cry rang out from somewhere: "The door is open!"

"They're out, they're out."

The first to emerge from the Wu residence were the Wu family's servants.

These servants all carried large knives at their waists, looking fierce and not to be trifled with.

The ladies, standing at the foot of the steps in front of the Wu residence, took a few steps back upon seeing this display and moved closer to the ladies beside them.

It would be impossible not to be afraid. Although these ladies had servants in their homes, they had never seen such a large-scale commotion before.

Just as they were at a loss, they turned their heads and saw that the people guarding them on both sides were the Shadow Guards.

In just a moment, it was enough to calm their hearts.

The Shadow Guards existed since the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty, and every citizen of the Great Jin Dynasty knows them.

The Shadow Guards are not only highly skilled in martial arts, but even high-ranking officials of the court dare not offend them easily.

Before long, large wooden boxes were carried out of the Wu residence.

They filled the entrance to the Wu residence so completely that there was almost no room to step.

The ladies were completely bewildered by this situation. The silver they had sent to the Wu family was less than half of what was before them.

What exactly happened?

Madam Qiao was the first to react. She leaned close to Madam Zhang's ear and whispered, "Sister Zhang, it seems that the four ladies from yesterday did not come today."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhang looked around and carefully examined the face of the person behind her.

Not only were the four ladies absent yesterday, but even Madam Wan, with whom they had always been on good terms, was not present.

They're already in a bind; after yesterday's incident, the die is cast. Whether they accept the money today or not, they've already offended the Wu family.

Since that's the case, it would be better to accept the hard-earned money and cut off all ties with the Wu family from now on.

Just as Madam Zhang was about to step forward, she heard the voices of those around her.

"Have you heard? The wife of the wealthy tea merchant in the border town died last night!"

"Who is the wife of the wealthy tea merchant?"

"Who else could it be! It's none other than Madam Wan from the Wan family mansion in Yongling Lane!"

"Really? You can't just say things like that!"

"Why would I lie to you! When I arrived, I saw the officials from the yamen had already gone to the Wan residence, and the white banners were already up there. How could this be fake!"

In an effort to prove their words were true, these men spoke without any attempt to conceal their voices, and the entire conversation reached the ears of the ladies.

At first, these ladies were smug about getting their money back.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing such chilling news, they were immediately terrified, like fledglings that had not yet grown wings, filled with dread about the unknown world.

Madam Qiao was the most timid. At this moment, her legs were out of control, and she was holding onto Madam Zhang's arm with both hands, wishing she could hang her whole body on Madam Zhang.

Hearing the whispers of these people, Madam Zhang's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.

She had noticed before that Madam Wan was not present, and now that she heard this news, it was hard not to suspect that it was General Wu's doing, in order to make them back down.

The steward of the Wu family walked out of the room, glanced at the items on the desk, and after confirming that everything was correct, announced loudly, "Ladies, here is the money and jewelry to be returned to you."

Overnight, the Wu family was unable to raise a large sum of money, so my eldest mistress offered her own dowry to offset the cost.

After thinking for a moment, the steward of the Wu family added, "Ladies, rest assured, these pieces of jewelry are all top-quality goods. You are welcome to open the boxes and inspect them on the spot."

My wife said that the Wu family would never default on payments, and the value of these jewelry pieces would be significantly more than the silver they were exchanged for.

These words sparked a flurry of discussion among those around them.

"Why didn't Madam Wu do this yesterday?"

"Hey! What do you know? I heard that Madam Wu is seriously ill, which is why she put a concubine in charge of the household."

Now that such a scandal has occurred, it's only thanks to Madam Wu that this has been dealt with.

If you ask me, when it comes to choosing a wife, it should be a virtuous one, and Madam Wu is a woman of great understanding and righteousness.

It's a pity that she used her dowry to cover up the mistake made by a concubine.

Various voices kept reaching the ears of the ladies, but unfortunately, they were all terrified by the death of Madam Wan and dared not step forward.

Looking at the steward's forced smile, Madam Zhang was at a loss for how to react, and even she herself dared not step forward.

She feared that Madam Wan would be her fate.

The manager urged them again.

The Shadow Guards had taken a step closer to them without them noticing. Seeing this, Madam Zhang took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and took two steps forward.

"Sister Zhang!" Mrs. Qiao said anxiously.

The ladies behind him all held their breath and dared not move.

Madam Zhang did not turn around, but said softly, "With the Shadow Guards here, the Wu family dares not make a move."

Even if we get the money back later, General Wu can't possibly kill us all!

The ladies quickly understood and hurriedly followed in Madam Zhang's footsteps.

"Yes! Sister Zhang is right. We're in the right, so what's there to be afraid of!"

Although they were merchants, which merchant in the Great Jin Dynasty wasn't related to an official of the court? Thinking this way, they weren't so afraid.

Once the money was distributed, the Shadow Guards immediately and safely escorted all the ladies, along with the money, back to their residences.

And as instructed by the head of Kang Le Township, they were told not to move their entire families at this time.

The implication was that once outside the border town, there would be no more Shadow Guards to protect them.

Upon hearing this, the ladies immediately abandoned their idea of ​​leaving the border town and relocating their entire families.

At the same time, Lu Qiqi received a message from the Shadow Guard that the madam of the Wan family had been assassinated last night, and she went to the scene of the crime immediately.

At this moment, the entire Wan family was filled with grief, white banners and black cloths hung all over the gate, and the sounds of sobbing and weeping never ceased.

Led by the Shadow Guards, Lu Qiqi headed towards the North Garden of the Wan Mansion.

It's obvious from the North Garden that few people come and go here, and a thin layer of moss covers the ground.

The Shadow Guard who led the way arrived at a house and respectfully said, "Reporting to Lord Kang Le, the crime scene is inside, and Judge Xing is already investigating the case."

Lu Qiqi was somewhat curious about why Xing Zhi was not in the Dark Prison, but instead in the Wan Mansion.

However, she quickly realized that the case that had alarmed Xing Zhi must be related to the Tatars.

In these days, the only Tartars they dealt with, besides Tadar, who was still recovering from serious injuries outside the border city, were Sudiya, who had just disappeared from the Wu residence.

As soon as Lu Qiqi stepped into the house, she smelled a strong floral fragrance.

She had heard Song Yanqing mention this fragrance before.

Plum blossom scented powder!