“Tell me everything you know truthfully,” said Prefect Jiang.

Chu Yuning knelt on the ground, performed a full kneeling ceremony, and then raised her head to look at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan's heart sank instantly. She and Chu Yuning had completely broken off relations. She knew that Chu Yuning would not let go of this opportunity to take revenge on her, so she quickly thought of a response in her mind.

Mother Hua gritted her teeth, a hint of smugness creeping into her heart.

She can't escape tonight, but with so many sins, this brat has to take the blame for her!

If she doesn't let her have an easy time, she won't get away unscathed either!

Just as she was feeling smug, Madam Hua heard Chu Yuning say, "Lord Jiang, this junior did not...see her kill anyone."

Shen Yuan was stunned.

Chu Yuning continued, "I only saw Madam Hua trying to kill her. The wounds on my body were inflicted by Madam Hua's men when I was saving her."

Mother Hua's eyes were bloodshot as she glared at Chu Yuning with resentment.

Has this kid gone mad? She's been taking such good care of him these past few days because of Aunt Zhao, and he actually dares to betray her!

Shen Yuan was somewhat surprised; Chu Yuning was indeed behaving very strangely tonight.

Even though she had turned her sword against him, his attitude towards her was completely different from before. Could it be that he has masochistic tendencies?

Chu Yuning's lips curled up almost imperceptibly, her smile hidden in the night.

Although this was an excellent opportunity to get revenge on Shen Yuan, it was more important for him to make a good impression on Lord Jiang than to do so.

Lord Jiang has already discovered the shady business of Zuichunlou. If he speaks in favor of Madam Hua, it will only be detrimental to him.

Moreover, this flower mother dared to disregard his life just now, so she should taste what it's like to be betrayed!

After hearing Chu Yuning's words, Magistrate Jiang ordered that Mama Hua and everyone else at Zuichunlou be detained.

What bothers him most right now isn't how Magistrate Li's grandson died.

He knew from the first moment he met Magistrate Li's good-for-nothing grandson that he would one day drink himself to death by indulging in debauchery.

His biggest worry right now is that someone is trafficking people and forcing them into prostitution on his turf. If he doesn't discover this himself, but someone else does, it will inevitably become a stain on his political record. If a political enemy takes advantage of this and deliberately impeaches him in court, he will probably have no hope of being promoted in the future!

Therefore, Prefect Jiang was very angry about the behavior of Zuichunlou.

He ordered his men to arrest Madam Hua and all the thugs from Zuichunlou and hand them over to the authorities.

Shen Yuan followed behind Prefect Jiang as they emerged from the Drunken Spring Pavilion.

Murong Jin and others were waiting at the entrance of Zuichunlou. Upon seeing Shen Yuan, they immediately came to greet her.

"Yuan...Yuan, what are you doing here?"

A few days ago, Shen Yuan went to Doctor Jiang's house to ask Old Master Murong to bring Prefect Jiang to Zuichunlou, but she did not tell Old Master Murong and Doctor Jiang about her plan.

Upon seeing Elder Murong, Shen Yuan bowed deeply to him, saying, "Thank you!"

If it weren't for the help of Elder Murong, she would never have been able to bring down Madam Hua so easily today.

Old Master Murong stopped Shen Yuan's actions. At this moment, he understood why Shen Yuan had asked him to bring Prefect Jiang here, and he also knew the effort Shen Yuan had put into saving these children.

He helped Shen Yuan up and said in a low voice, "Although I am older than you, I am not worthy of your great gift in this matter."

Those nearby reacted in various ways upon hearing this.

The old gentleman Murong once served as the Crown Prince's tutor and taught for more than ten years. Among the students who had to bow to him were princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials in the capital. Yet he said that he was not worthy of the bow of a little girl.

Who exactly is this little girl?

Prefect Jiang couldn't help but glance at Shen Yuan a few more times and memorized her name.

Although Shen Yuan had already been questioned by Prefect Jiang in the backyard, as a matter of routine, she, as a witness to the whole affair, was still taken to the yamen for questioning.

However, since Elder Murong had intervened, the officials didn't make things too difficult for Shen Yuan. After clarifying the situation, they released her.

When Shen Yuan came out of the yamen, she saw Xiao Ling and others waiting on the street.

As dawn broke, a man dressed in black stood amidst the pristine white snow, creating a striking visual impact, like bold strokes of ink on white paper, unrestrained and elegant.

Xiao Ling held the oil-paper umbrella firmly and handed the rabbit fur cloak in his arms to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan was still wearing the courtesan's dress from Zuichunlou. Her face was red from the cold in the wind and snow. She took the cloak and wrapped herself up tightly. She whispered to Xiao Ling, "They didn't find out. When those people arrived, Young Master Li's body had already been burned beyond recognition by the furnace fire. Even the marks of the arrow wounds were erased. I also broke your two arrows and threw them into the furnace. No one will know."

Xiao Lingmo lowered his eyelids silently. After all the people from Zuichunlou were taken away, he took advantage of the darkness to climb into the burning room and removed and destroyed the unburned arrowheads from the stove.

They coordinated their murders, arson, and destruction of evidence flawlessly.

"That young master Li even mocked me, saying that when others play the pipa, it's like pearls falling onto a jade plate, but when I play it, it's like throwing stones into a big iron pot." Shen Yuan crossed her arms and said angrily, "That idiot! He would never have guessed that what I was playing wasn't the pipa, but a signal for you to fire your arrows!"

In this life and the next, Shen Yuan has never learned to play any musical instrument, whether it be the pipa or the guzheng; she knows absolutely nothing about them.

So before entering the Drunken Spring Pavilion, Shen Yuan and Xiao Ling agreed to communicate by playing the zither. Her unusual and jarring zither playing was unique in the entire Drunken Spring Pavilion, and Xiao Ling could determine her room by her playing.

Now that things have come to fruition, Shen Yuan feels even more strongly that using the music as a signal was the right decision.

She proudly raised her head, only to meet the gleaming smile in Xiao Ling's eyes, and immediately became displeased: "Even you are laughing at me?"

Xiao Ling stopped smiling and shook her head in denial.

Shen Yuan snorted and continued walking. Xiao Ling realized this wasn't the way back to the pharmacy and tugged at the hood of her cloak.

Shen Yuan was stopped by being strangled. She turned to look at Xiao Ling, who winked at her, and Shen Yuan understood what he meant.

"I won't go back to the pharmacy yet; I need to see someone first!"

"I was able to protect myself at Zuichunlou this time, all thanks to her!"

"She has helped me a lot! I have to go and thank her in person."

Xiao Ling followed Shen Yuan through three streets and finally met the "great benefactor" Shen Yuan had mentioned in a drafty bamboo shed.

She was a little girl named Tian Tian, ​​about seven or eight years old. She was small in stature, with sparse, yellowish hair, but her big eyes were exceptionally bright, like two shining black pearls.

Xiao Ling had been in Jian'an City for many days and had questioned many beggars of similar age, but he had never seen this face before.

Thinking of that tiny, insignificant possibility, Xiao Ling reached out and grabbed Tian Tian's arm.

"Big brother, what are you doing?" Sweetie exclaimed in surprise.

Xiao Ling didn't answer, but instead reached out and rolled up the sleeve of Tian Tian's right arm—