A person's growth often happens in the blink of an eye.

Xu Di stood in the courtyard, looking at the devastation caused by the fire. He felt a pang of heartache for his younger sister, who had been pampered by her parents, brothers, and younger brother since childhood. After experiencing such a crisis, she had suddenly matured.

Xu Di was happy that his sister knew what she wanted. But people only move forward on the path they have chosen without hesitation after they know what they want, even if the road is full of thorns and disapproval from all kinds of people. Sometimes, they are willing to suffer bloodshed to get what they want.

The courtyard was rented, and now it's in this state. Xu Di has sent someone to Ganzhou to find the owner and ask him to come back and see if he needs to repair it or pay compensation.

Granny Wang had already taken inventory of the household items. Xu Zhi's dowry had been sealed in the backyard. Fortunately, the fire was put out in time, and the fire did not spread to the back courtyards. As for the everyday items stored in the rooms, some of them had been destroyed by the men in black.

It was already broad daylight, and the streets were bustling with people. Xu Di's father-in-law, Magistrate Li of Hexi County, arrived with his men to put out the fire not long after Xu Di arrived, and did not return until dawn. Not long after, Xu Di's mother-in-law arrived with her men to bring him food.

Freshly steamed meat buns were placed in front of the hanging flower gate, and large buckets of porridge were available for the helpers in the courtyard to take as they pleased. After Xu Di thanked Madam Li, Madam Li took Xu Zhi's hand and said, "These damned bastards deserve to be torn to pieces. The house is in such a state now. Ninth Miss, please take Miss Zheng to stay at our house for a while."

Xu Di said, "Mother-in-law, the nanny has already prepared the jewelry and other items. After the landlord returns, we will complete the handover and then return to Ganzhou together."

Madam Li nodded upon hearing this and said, "That would be best."

After seeing Madam Li off, the guards came over and said that someone had already confessed.

Upon hearing this, Xu Di turned and walked in that direction, with Xu Zhi following behind. Xu Di said, "Don't go over there."

Xu Zhi said, "Brother, I need to know who is trying to harm me."

Xu Di was planning to use torture to extract a confession, employing extremely brutal methods, which he feared would frighten Xu Zhi. However, Xu Zhi now felt that she had already faced life and death; what was so frightening about blood?

Before even entering the door, a strong smell of blood filled the air. Xu Zhi stood at the doorway, took a deep breath, and followed Xu Di into the house.

The officers in charge of taking statements were several veterans who had retired from Yanmen Pass. When they saw Xu Di enter, they bowed and greeted him. Then, seeing Xu Zhi behind Xu Di, one of the veterans said somewhat awkwardly, "Young Master, why did the young lady come in with you?"

Xu Di waved his hand and said, "Brother Wu, it's alright, let her come in and listen."

The leader was called Wu Erzhu. He had been in Yanmen Pass for twenty years. Later, he trained with Xu Di. He was injured in the Battle of Hexi and was sent to Xu Di by Wei Lang after he retired. Xu Di assigned him to the estate to be in charge of all matters there.

Wu Erzhu said, "They interrogated the men separately. One of them couldn't take it anymore and confessed. When the others saw that things were going to be exposed, they also confessed."

Xu Di nodded, and Wu Erzhu said, "These people are assassins from the Duke of Ming's mansion, sent by the heir of their household."

Xu Di was slightly taken aback when he heard the name of the Duke of Ming's Mansion, and said, "Why is it their family?"

Wu Erzhu said, "They confessed that the fifth daughter of the Duke of Ming's family, born out of wedlock, was a concubine of the third prince."

Xu Di nodded after hearing this, sneered, and said, "It's not really that strange that their family would do something like this."

Xu Zhi followed behind Xu Di, listening to Xu Di's words, but her mind was preoccupied with the affairs of the Duke of Ming's mansion.

Of the four great ducal mansions in the capital, the Li family of the Ming Duke's Mansion was the most impoverished. After their family was granted the title of ducal mansion, none of their descendants amounted to anything after the death of the first ducal lord.

The descendants of the Duke of Mingguo's family are unworthy. They rely on their family's wealth and the girls in the mansion to maintain the name of the Duke. It is not surprising that they can send their daughters to the Third Prince's mansion as concubines. No respectable family in the capital wants to have close ties with the Duke of Mingguo's family.

Xu Di asked, "Second Brother Wu, what else did you say?"

Wu Erzhu said, "There is another group of people on their way to Yuezhou."

Upon hearing this, Xu Di sneered and said, "This really is the Third Prince's good lackey. He's afraid that his master won't be able to get over his anger."

Xu Zhi was thinking that from this moment until the new emperor ascended the throne, the struggle between the princes became increasingly fierce. The four dukes' mansions were eventually implicated and were uprooted by Emperor Liang Cheng before the new emperor ascended the throne. The Duke of Dingguo's entire family was exiled to Lingnan, which was actually a relatively good ending. As for the Duke of Mingguo's mansion, all the adult males were beheaded, and the women in the family were either sold or strangled.

The Duke of Ming's family must have done a lot for the Third Prince, otherwise the whole family wouldn't have been treated like this by Emperor Liang Cheng. Emperor Liang Cheng isn't a mean person, but the fact that the Duke of Ming's heir sent his family's assassins to do such a disregard for human life shows that the Duke of Ming's family is no good family.

Wu Erzhu said, "Young master, is there anything else you would like to ask?"

Xu Di said, "It's always good to know yourself and your enemy. Let's ask them how many assassins the Duke of Ming's mansion has trained and where they are trained."

Wu Erzhu said, "Young master, please wait a moment, I will go and ask right away."

Xu Zhi watched as Wu Erzhu turned and went back into the inner room. Then she heard a suppressed scream coming from the inner room. Judging from the sound, she knew that someone's mouth had been covered.

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