Seeing his subordinates' guilty and timid appearance, Zhang Chengzong's bad premonition reached its peak, but he didn't want to think that things were so bad.

He could only urge loudly, "Idiot, answer my question honestly!"

The subordinate, like a turtle hiding its head, nodded and replied, "Yes, I was also arrested, but luckily I'm smart. Two days ago, I escaped when they weren't paying attention."

Zhang Chengzong's expression changed drastically, his eyes blazing with anger as he stared directly at his subordinate. "Are you sure they didn't let you go on purpose?"

His subordinate's pupils constricted sharply, his mouth gaped open, and his whole body began to tremble. "No...it can't be!"

Zhang Chengzong was greatly alarmed, and then roared, "What do you mean 'impossible'? You idiot! Don't you see anything strange about it?"

"I...I...I..." The subordinate trembled all over and couldn't say anything more.

He certainly found something strange, but he was so focused on escaping that he didn't think about it seriously until the young master reminded him, at which point he realized something was terribly wrong.

"Young master, I...I didn't know they let me go on purpose. What should we do now?"

"What should I do? You're asking me? Who should I ask?"

Enraged, Zhang Chengzong smashed the fruit plate on the table at his subordinate, seemingly having completely lost his mind.

Luo Xinkai, who was standing nearby, quickly put on his clothes and offered a reminder.

"Brother Zhang, we should leave this place quickly. If we are too late, we may be caught by Sheng Lingwei's men."

"Yes, you're right!"

Once Zhang Chengzong regained his senses, he hurriedly ordered his men, "Quickly order the people in the manor to pack up the gold and silver treasures. We need to leave here immediately."

The subordinate hurriedly nodded and replied, "Yes, young master, I'll take care of it right away."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his subordinate let out a shrill scream, for a tree branch was stuck in his chest.

In less than three seconds, his subordinate, his eyes wide with pain and disbelief, collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.

He died with his eyes wide open in disbelief!

Luo Xinkai and Zhang Chengzong were startled by this sudden scene. Their hearts raced, and they looked around warily.

"Who's there? Who's here? Come out right now!"

"Who is it? Get out here right now and stop acting so arrogantly in front of me."

"Hahahaha...Trying to escape? That's impossible! Hahahaha..."

Sheng Lingwei's arrogant and contemptuous laughter instantly enveloped the entire manor, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

Everyone's face was pale, their veins bulged all over their bodies, and they covered their ears tightly, feeling their heads throbbing, their ears ringing, feeling nauseous, and their hearts pounding violently.

That feeling was so painful, so unbearable, I even felt like dying.

"Ouch...it hurts! Stop laughing! Stop laughing! My head hurts so much!"

"Aaaaaah, it hurts so much! My head and my heart are about to explode! Please stop laughing, please stop laughing!"

"Help! I feel so bad, I'm in so much pain! Someone please help me!"

"Waaah... Please stop laughing, I don't want to die."

"..."

Pleading and wailing echoed throughout the manor; those who couldn't bear it any longer were rolling on the ground in agony.

Some banged their heads against the wall, wanting nothing more than to die; some bled profusely from their mouths and noses; and some with weak constitutions went insane...

Fifteen minutes later.

All fifty-odd people on the manor died horribly. They deserved to die; they were all filthy, beasts in human form, and not one of them was innocent.

Of the vast manor, only Zhang Chengzong and Luo Xinkai remained alive.

But their situation wasn't much better.

They lay on the ground like people who had suffered a stroke, their eyes wide open like copper bells, filled with countless red veins, and their mouths twitching uncontrollably.

At this moment, Sheng Lingwei's figure slowly appeared in front of the two.

"Aaaaaah!" Zhang Chengzong screamed in terror, his eyes wide with fury. "Sheng Lingwei, you're Sheng Lingwei?"

He wanted to cry, he wanted to run away.

But he couldn't move his body at all.

Apart from his eyes and lips, he couldn't move the slightest part of his body.

What exactly happened?

Who exactly is Sheng Lingwei?

Why is her skill so formidable?

Anyway, he didn't believe that Sheng Lingwei was the Holy Maiden's daughter. That useless woman, the Holy Maiden, couldn't possibly have given birth to such a powerful daughter.

If she were truly capable, she wouldn't have allowed her father to seize power and be imprisoned for a full ten years without any power to resist.

He even suspected that Sheng Lingwei was a celestial being descended from heaven.

"Sheng Lingwei?"

Luo Xin's pupils dilated in shock, and he felt an uncontrollable sense of panic and chill.

"No, no, no, Princess Chang Le, please spare my life! I was coerced into doing all this by Zhang Chengzong!"

"Bullshit!"

Zhang Chengzong retorted directly, "Luo Xinkai, it's obvious that you coveted the Yuezhi behind me. You shamelessly approached me for cooperation because of your wealth and glory."

Luo Xinkai's expression changed drastically. He stared intently at Sheng Lingwei, afraid that she had overheard him, and hurriedly explained loudly.

"No, Princess Chang Le, don't listen to Zhang Chengzong's nonsense. It's clear that he took a liking to my power, which is why he came to me and threatened me to work for him, to help him amass wealth, and to provide him with food, drink, and entertainment. Even this manor was built for him by me."

Sheng Lingwei gave a cold laugh, her stunningly beautiful face covered with a layer of frost.

"Oh? What about the people who built this manor? Are they still alive?"

Luo Xin's heart skipped a beat.

I wish I could slap myself to death.

He really knows how to bring up the most sensitive topics; I should have known better than to say so much.

Now look what's happened; they've handed over a charge against them.

Zhang Chengzong's eyes darted around, and he quickly said, "Princess Sheng... Princess Chang Le, you don't know this, but Luo Xinkai took the initiative to build this manor for me, but I didn't know about it at the time."

As for the workers who built the manor, they were all killed by Luo Xinkai. There were more than a thousand of them, all of whom were powerless and ordinary people. Even though he killed them, no one dared to seek justice from him.

Because those who sought his redress were also secretly dealt with by his men.

After a slight pause, seeing that Sheng Lingwei's aura had become even more domineering, Zhang Chengzong decided to add fuel to the fire and push all the blame onto Luo Xinkai.

“Princess Chang Le, as you can see, this manor is decorated with dragons and phoenixes. Only royal palaces of various countries can have dragons and phoenixes. It is basically not allowed in other places. It is tantamount to rebellion.”

Therefore, fearing that the workers would leak information about what was happening in the manor, Luo Xinkai decided to go all the way and killed them all.

Also, I know that you came here mainly for the matter of Gancao County, and I can tell you the reason for it.

But I have a request, and I hope Princess Chang Le can agree to it!

Before he could finish speaking...

Zhang Chengzong was slapped across the face by Sheng Lingwei from a distance, turning his head into a pig's head, and all his teeth were smashed into pieces.

"Ahhhhh..."