The guards of the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion and the yamen runners of the Dali Temple arrived at the gate of the Marquis of Anchang one after the other.

The gates of the Anchang Marquis's residence were deserted, as if the gates were tightly shut, for they seemed to foresee an impending storm.

The constable mustered his courage and went to knock on the door.

No matter how hard they knocked on the door, there was no sound from inside the Anchang Marquis's residence, and the gatekeeper seemed to be fast asleep.

Three bailiffs, each wielding a large knife, stood in a circle, unsure of what to do.

The former yamen runner said, "Has the Marquis of Anchang heard something and is deliberately refusing to open the gate for us?"

The bailiff leading the group said, "The Dali Temple has sent someone to relay the message. Even if they hear rumors, they must pass the information on."

"Then, you two go back and find some men, and we'll call out outside the Anchang Marquis's residence."

Upon hearing this, Zhao, the constable, gave him a thumbs up, saying, "You're so smart; you've thought of everything so thoroughly."

"You two stay here and keep watch. I'm quick on my feet. I figured the brothers haven't gone far. Let me call a few more men over."

Before the two could answer, Zhao, the constable, ran away as if his feet were greased.

When Lu Qiqi arrived, she saw Zhao the constable running away.

After Zhao, the constable, ran away, two constables outside the Anchang Earl's mansion continued to knock on the door knocker, as if they would not leave until the door was opened.

Upon seeing this, Lu Qiqi immediately asked the Shadow Guards guarding outside the Anchang Marquis's residence.

"Has anyone come to the Marquis of Anchang's residence to deliver a message today?"

The Shadow Guard thought for a moment and said, "Today, after Qu Zikun's carriage left the Anchang Marquis's residence, he hurriedly returned home."

Therefore, it seems that Qu Zikun learned the news and specially returned to his residence to report it.

This further proves that the Anchang Marquis's family has a guilty conscience.

Otherwise, Qu Zikun wouldn't have learned the news and, instead of going to the Dali Temple to find someone to verify the story, would have run back to his residence and locked the gate tightly.

Even if the Dali Temple came to their door, they would try to turn them away.

Seeing the yamen runners rushing over, Nineteen stepped forward and approached Lu Qiqi, saying, "Does the county magistrate's yamen runners dare to go all out and charge in?"

As Lu Qiqi watched the people from the Dali Temple arrive, she remained calm and composed. "Lu Changping was arrested by the Dali Temple for swindling money and murder, but the case has not yet been filed for trial."

If the Marquis of Anchang insists on denying it, it will take some time before the dowry can be recovered.

They stood at a distance and watched.

Before long, the yamen runners from the Dali Temple stood in two rows outside the gate of the Marquis of Anchang's mansion.

"The Dali Temple has come to the Marquis of Anchang's residence to report that the fourth young mistress, Lu Changping, is suspected of murder and arson in Luzhou Prefecture and defrauding the Marquis of Lin'an's residence of money."

We request that Young Master Qu leave his residence and go to the Dali Temple to assist in the investigation.

After one person finished shouting, someone else took over.

Lu Qiqi finally understood why the Dali Temple had summoned so many yamen runners; it turned out they were there to take turns shouting at the top of their lungs.

She said, "The Marquis of Anchang is a third-rank official. How dare these lowly yamen runners from the Dali Temple shout at the gate?"

This was unexpected.

Upon seeing the people among the yamen runners, Shijiu suddenly understood and explained to Lu Qiqi, "The officials and yamen runners in the capital are all related by blood or marriage."

The tall man standing at the very front is Bao, the nephew of Madam Qian, the Minister of Rites.

No wonder he dared to shout at the door. Even if some unpleasantness was caused, the Minister of Rites personally came to the door and gave him some face, so that the Marquis of Anchang would not take it too seriously.

After all, the Minister of Rites was a first-rank official, two ranks higher than the Earl of Anchang.

If this constable surnamed Bao were to perform meritorious service at this time, he would likely be promoted to a higher position.

Nothing makes climbing a mountain easier than having someone pave the way.

On the other side, in the front hall of the Anchang Earl's Mansion.

After Qu Zikun brought the news back to the manor, the entire Anchang Marquis's manor was like ants on a hot pan, with everyone restless and uneasy.

Qu Ziyang had just lost two hundred taels of silver at the gambling den and was still thinking about how to recoup his losses when Anchangbo sent men to drag him back.

When he heard what his fourth brother Qu Zikun said, and learned that his sister-in-law was actually an imposter who had committed murder and arson in Luzhou Prefecture, he immediately realized that he had gotten himself into big trouble.

His breath still carried a hint of alcohol, but his words sounded like he was about to breathe fire: "I told you to find a rich and stupid girl, but you ended up finding a living devil!"

Now that they're embroiled in a murder case, it would be better if that ugly monster just died.

If the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion doesn't let this go, our whole family will suffer!

Qu Zikun was also seething with anger; he hadn't expected Lu Changping's identity to be fake.

He initially thought that he could use his looks to lure Lu Changping into a relationship with him, and even have her bring a generous dowry.

Looking back now, it turns out he was fooled by that shrew!

Judging from the timeline, Lu Changping must have already known by then that the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion had found the real cousin.

This imposter, wanting to escape from the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion, sought out a sucker.

He was actually quite pleased with himself, thinking he had received a generous dowry from the Marquis of Lin'an.

Who would have thought he was the sucker!

At this moment, the gatekeeper ran into the front hall to report, relaying word for word the message from the Dali Temple yamen runners outside.

Qu Zikun's face was so gloomy it was almost raining. He gritted his teeth and said, "How dare a mere bailiff from the Dali Temple run wild in the Anchang Marquis's mansion?"

"Men, throw them all out!"

Just as the gatekeeper was about to leave the front hall to receive his orders, he heard a voice that had been silent for a long time, "Wait!"

Everyone turned their attention to Anchangbo.

Qu Zikun said, "Father, what's there to hesitate about? If we don't teach these yamen runners a lesson, anyone will dare to step on our heads in the future!"

An Changbo looked at Qu Zikun with a look of disappointment in his eyes.

He said, "How dare a lowly yamen runner act wildly? The person leading the team must have someone with a higher official position than your father."

Qu Ziyang said dismissively, "So what? You are someone who followed the late emperor in his campaigns. Even a high-ranking official of the first rank would have to give you some face."

An Changbo looked at his two youngest sons, completely helpless. With his hair turning white, he could only turn his gaze to his second son, Qu Zifu.

Qu Zifu, the only one sitting, received his father's gaze, pondered for a long time, and then said, "For now, the only thing to do is to stay home and postpone this matter."

Even if the Dali Temple presents evidence of the wrongdoing committed by the fourth sister-in-law, they can only arrest her alone.

As for the dowry, we'll delay it for as long as possible.

The Marquis of Lin'an's residence couldn't possibly come knocking on their door every day to demand payment.

"Have my elder brother take sick leave tomorrow, and Father should also refrain from attending court for the time being until things calm down."

Anchangbo pondered for a while, "Zifu is right, although this method is a bit insidious."

The dowry brought by the Marquis of Lin'an has all been used to cover the losses; there's no other way now but to do this.

As he spoke, the Earl of Anchang instructed his men to leave the mansion and deliver the message to his eldest son when no one was guarding the outside.

After instructing the servants, he added, "I don't want anyone in our Anchang Marquis's mansion to be in deep trouble."

"You two brothers, stay quiet these next few days and don't leave the manor!"

The two brothers, upon hearing what Anchangbo said, were still able to distinguish between what was important and what was not.

Although I felt very frustrated, I still obediently agreed.

"Um."

"knew."