Chapter 206 Encountering an Assassin? Luo'er Bravely Blocks the Sword!

Doctor Du: "Your Highness, this is a rare poison that came from the Western Regions. It can make a person suffer pain before death, but their face will never show the slightest sign of pain."

"Moreover, the most vicious aspect of this poison is that even though the body is in extreme pain and on the verge of collapse, the person cannot utter a sound. It is as if the five senses are paralyzed, yet the pain of the poisoned person is still clearly retained."

"Because those who are poisoned by this poison always have a calm and compassionate smile on their faces, it is called the Maitreya Poison."

Li Qingluo's heart skipped a beat.

"What a vicious poison."

"So, the Twelfth Sister was dismembered alive before she died?"

"Is it because of the poison that she didn't make a sound, and that's why she had such a calm expression on her face?"

Dr. Du: "What this young lady said is correct. According to the coroner's deduction, the 12th young lady was indeed tortured to death by being dismembered before she was born."

Li Qingluo took a half step back, but was supported by Que'er and Granny Deng to prevent her from losing her composure.

On the other side, Aunt Guan vomited blood upon learning the truth.

She let out a mournful cry: "My Jia'er—Jia'er—who on earth is it that would torture you like this, making your death so gruesome—!!"

After shouting that, she was exhausted after staying up all night, and she fainted as soon as she closed her eyes.

"Auntie!!"

The maidservant, supporting the unconscious Aunt Guan, shouted, and Pei Yuan rushed forward and picked her up.

His face was filled with sorrow and pain, clearly his inner pain was no less than that of the person in his arms.

But he can't fall down yet...

Pei Yuan stepped forward, embraced Consort Guan, and knelt down before Prince Su.

"Your Highness Prince Su, if you can clear Jia'er's name and uncover the truth behind my only daughter's tragic death, my life, Pei Yuan's life, will belong to you until the very end!"

After saying that, he got up, picked up his 'wife', and strode away.

The Pei family members quickly made way for him, and only after Pei Yuan had completely disappeared from sight did the murmurs of discussion begin.

"What exactly happened? How could there be such a strange and unusual poison?"

"This came from the Western Regions, what's so strange about it? I've heard that the Ten Great Poison Kings of the Western Regions are the most vicious, this is nothing compared to that..."

"But who could be so cruel to this illegitimate daughter? Could it really be someone from our household?"

Duke Pei roared, "Absolutely impossible! Is there anyone in our household who could obtain this poison? Moreover, who would hate a concubine's daughter so much?"

Duan Rongshi saw them arguing but did not stop them.

Instead, he got up and went into the main room, where he stared at Nan Jia's body in silence for a long time.

So long that Li Qingluo began to wonder if he already knew the truth.

Duan Rongshi's face remained expressionless, but his eyes were extremely cold.

He suddenly let out a cold laugh: "Poison from the Western Regions."

"I do not believe in coincidences."

"Kill Thunder, Cold Lightning, go investigate!"

"Investigate every single person in this mansion thoroughly, from the Duke and the various masters to every single servant!"

"Those who refuse to confess honestly will all be severely punished."

He was never a kind-hearted person.

Upon receiving their orders, Sha Lei and Leng Dian immediately led their men to take all the people from the Duke Pei's mansion away.

There was a cacophony of shouts outside. The servants had never been treated like this before, let alone their masters.

One by one, they were pushed and dragged away like criminals. Duke Pei roared a few times, and Sha Lei personally stepped forward to ask him: "Duke, the ones who died today are the young ladies of your household, not the servants who were dealt with quietly in the past."

"If you want to clear your name and have some peace in your household, you'd better cooperate with the investigation honestly today. Otherwise, who knows which master will be the next one to be tortured to death by Maitreya's poison?"

"Otherwise, if the whole city of Jinling knows about it, it won't be a good thing for your always low-key and secretive Duke Pei's mansion."

Every word that Sha Lei uttered made Duke Pei's face darken even further.

But he didn't utter another word and swallowed his anger as he was taken away with Sha Lei.

Seeing this, the other masters also became obedient.

Moreover, there are dozens of servants who came to the Pei residence today, and none of them are afraid of trouble under the command of Prince Su.

Duan Rongshi, however, took Li Qingluo alone to the old Duke's courtyard.

Li Qingluo: "Your Highness intends to see the old Duke in person? Do you really think he is also a suspect?"

Duan Rongshi: "The Duke Pei's mansion appears to be in a state of decline and humiliation, but do you really think so?"

He couldn't believe she was such a stupid girl.

They will be deceived by the appearance of the Duke Pei's mansion.

Li Qingluo forced a smile: "Of course not!"

This Duke Pei's mansion is by no means as mediocre as it appears on the surface.

Since the war ended thirty years ago, three sons of the Duke of Pei's family have left, and one son has returned.

From then on, Duke Pei voluntarily relinquished his military power. In recent years, Duke Pei has been erratic and irritable, and he has almost never left his home.

As a result, the entire Pei State Duke's Mansion declined rapidly. The descendants of the Pei State Duke's Mansion no longer pursued martial arts. Even if there were young men who studied literature and participated in the imperial examinations, apart from Pei Yuan, who had two wives and two courtyards, almost none of the others were outstanding.

Although the Pei State Duke's Mansion remains one of the most prestigious and prominent mansions in Jinling City, it seems to have become merely a facade, rapidly declining and disappearing from the center of power in Jinling City...

But is that really the case?

The death of a young woman could make them so indifferent.

Li Qingluo could never forget the way they stood at the courtyard gate looking at the remains of Nan Jia, pointing and whispering among themselves, their expressions numb, without a trace of pity or pain.

It's as if... Nan Jia's death was all part of their plan.

The old woman who was gossiping back then said that there were eyes everywhere in the Pei residence.

Looking around at the snow-white and gloomy surroundings, Li Qingluo felt that this was not a home at all.

It's a veritable den of monsters that devours people!

Stepping into the old Duke's courtyard, one sees a scene of desolation, decay, and ruin everywhere.

It's hard to believe that this is where the old Duke used to live!

Li Qingluo followed behind Duan Rongshi. As soon as they entered the room, a woman in white drew her sword and attacked.

"Who dares to trespass into this courtyard?! You're asking for death!"

Li Qinglu rushed forward with lightning speed, shielding Prince Su behind her, and quickly pulled down the hidden arrow.

"call out--"

The woman in white raised her hand to deflect the hidden arrow with her sword, but it still grazed her arm and tore her clothes.

"I'm going to kill you—"

Li Qingluo did not retreat an inch, her small frame still blocking Prince Su's way, and she shouted loudly: "This is His Highness Prince Su, and also the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, why don't you step back at once!"

"stop!"

A shout followed immediately from inside the house, and the woman in white, who had been about to come forward again, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

But the coldness and anger in his eyes were fixed on Li Qingluo.

Li Qingluo knew it was impossible not to be nervous and scared.

However, with Prince Su behind him, he was full of confidence.

Pei Sanlang came out from inside.

"Yun Yi, this is His Highness Prince Su, why don't you step back immediately!"

As he spoke, he quickly stepped forward and knelt down to greet Prince Su: "Pei San greets His Highness Prince Su."

Li Qingluo was not surprised that Pei Sanlang would be here.

Because we hadn't seen him in the crowd.

But Pei Sanlang was probably the one in the Pei family who had the best relationship with Pei Nanjia and her brother.

I wonder what he felt about Nan Jia's death?

Li Qingluo sized up Pei San, and Pei San naturally saw her as well.

He didn't know the identity of the masked woman; he just felt that her features were vaguely familiar, but he didn't think much of it.

Duan Rongshi didn't even lift his eyes.

He was still looking down at the little girl who had just bravely and recklessly stood in front of him.

"Why are you shielding me?"

Only then did Li Qinglu realize that Pei Sanlang was kneeling in front of her, while Prince Su was asking her a question.

This was clearly not the time to reply, but knowing Prince Su's temperament, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I heard from Princess Nanping that Your Highness was recently afflicted with a complex and difficult-to-treat poison, which is why..."

Duan Rongshi snorted: "Am I not even capable of dealing with a female assassin now?"

She thought to herself, "Oh no! Could it be that my flattery has backfired?"

But she hadn't really thought too much about what she was doing when she acted; she was just concerned about the debt she owed him, so she wanted to do her part...

Who knew I'd upset him?

Li Qingluo: "Your Highness, please forgive me. If my meddling just now displeased Your Highness, I will not dare to do so again..."

Duan Rongshi sighed almost imperceptibly.

Next time!

What a foolish and reckless woman.

With a blink of an eye, Duan Rongshi drew his sword and pierced Yun Yi's chest with a single thrust.

Blood droplets continuously fell from the long sword, landing on the snow and sand.

Pei Sanlang almost couldn't hold back and rose up, but in the end he held back again.

Li Qingluo was also startled by Prince Su's actions.

It has to be him... He never gives those who offend him a chance to breathe.

Thinking back to their first meeting at the foot of Qingsong Temple, Li Qingluo knew that this was the style of Yama, the God of Slaughter.

Duan Rongshi drew his longsword, splattering blood all over the ground. Yun Yi stared wide-eyed as he fell straight down.

"This woman dares to assassinate me, who gave her the audacity? Was it you—Pei San?"

With the entire Duke Pei's mansion in such a state, it's impossible that Pei Sanjue hadn't heard a single word.

Therefore, he knew that people from the Dali Temple would come.

Yun Yi still charged out with his sword. Who gave him the order?

He probably just didn't expect Duan Rongshi to make this trip in person.

Pei Sanlang appeared very alarmed: "Your Highness Prince Su, please be discerning. This woman, Yunyi, is the maid of my grandfather. She usually acts on my grandfather's behalf, guards the courtyard, and is the only one in the entire Pei State Duke's mansion who can command or control her. That is why this misunderstanding has occurred."

"However, she did indeed offend and assassinate His Highness Prince Su today. Her crime deserves death, and she should die."

"Your subject has nothing to say."

Duan Rongshi did not believe a single word Pei San said.

He wiped his longsword clean in the snow before looking at Pei Sanlang.

"All the men in the Pei household have been summoned for questioning, so why are you still here?"