"Young master, why don't you return to the carriage?"

Outside the gates of the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness's residence, Xue Huai'an stood tall and elegant, his snow-white robe making him appear like a god descended to earth. However, this god's face was too ugly, pale and bloodless, with only a slight touch of color on his lips.

At first glance, he appears to be a sickly beauty, but with a closer look, one can see that he is wearing lip rouge.

The sickly beauty gently shook her head at Xue Qi.

Xue Qi went up and knocked on the door, and soon returned, full of resentment.

"What did the servant say?" he asked gently.

Xue Qi was filled with rage. "He said the young mistress wouldn't see us and told us to get out."

Xue Huai'an didn't say anything, but a dark look flashed across his bright eyes.

Time passed by, flowing through the bustling streets, and before we knew it, half an hour had gone by.

Xue Qi advised again, "Your wound has just scabbed over, and it's really not advisable to overexert yourself. Why don't you go back first, and I'll stay here and watch over you?"

Xue Huai'an fell silent, seemingly hesitant. After a long while, he shook his head at Xue Qi, "No."

"The stage is already set up, but the play isn't over yet. How can you leave?"

...

Lian Tao dismissed the servants and quickly entered the courtyard, where she bumped into Qin Su who was coming out.

She carefully observed Qin Su's expression, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Miss, Xue Huai'an has been standing in the sun the whole time."

Qin Su adjusted the soft whip wrapped around her waist. Upon hearing this, she paused slightly, her voice displeased, "If you're worried about him, then go and persuade him to go back."

Lian Tao quickly waved her hand, "That's not what I meant, miss, you've misunderstood me."

She felt wronged and guilty for making Qin Su unhappy.

She then looked at Qin Su's abdomen, hesitated for a long time, and said awkwardly, "The person who came out at the Spring River Banquet was indeed Xue Huai'an."

"So what?"

She didn't care even though Nannan was Xue Huai'an's child; a child doesn't necessarily need a father.

"From now on, don't side with Xue Huai'an in front of me."

Lian Tao chased after her, saying, "I will only side with you, Miss. Don't worry, Miss, I will never say such things to test you again."

Qin Su understood Lian Tao's current state; even a clay figure has some temper, and she was very unhappy that others kept mentioning her and Xue Huai'an.

"Where are we going, young lady?" Lian Tao asked, her arms full of snacks.

"Moon Tower".

She stopped speaking as well. Above her head hung a dark brown plaque with the three large characters "Dengyue Tower" prominently displayed.

"What would you like, young lady?" The waiter immediately bent down and stepped forward when he saw her.

"I'm looking for your manager."

The waiter hesitated for a moment and asked, "Miss, is there something important? The manager is currently entertaining guests and it's not convenient for him to come."

"Then let's get a private room, I'll wait for him."

The waiter looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, bent down and stepped forward, suppressing his playful smile, and asked, "May I ask what business you have with our manager, young lady? And from which family do you come?"

Qin Su's gaze fell on the waiter. He looked quite young, but his figure was too thin, and his eyes were slightly shrewd. "Qin Su from the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence."

Seeing that Qin Su didn't mention what it was about, the waiter immediately understood. He quickly went to open a private room, had tea and pastries served, and took good care of her.

When the waiter closed the door to the private room, his smile vanished, and he felt a sense of unease.

Could it be that the young lady from the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness came to Dengyue Tower to investigate the woman on the 18th who had a secret rendezvous with the eldest son of the Duke of Cheng?

Never mind, this is not something he can interfere with.

Soon after, the waiter knocked on a wooden door.

"Shopkeeper, the young lady from the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion is looking for you. She says she has something important to discuss." He was only responsible for relaying the message; he didn't care about the follow-up.

Inside the room.

The middle-aged man with a small mustache looked at the man in black robes sitting opposite him, paused for a moment, and said, "Understood."

There was no sound from outside the door.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will investigate the clues to the massacre of the Wang family as soon as possible." The middle-aged man spoke respectfully, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

He picked up the teacup with his long, powerful hand, took a sip of tea, and said, "You also believe that the Wang family died in a revenge killing?"

The shopkeeper dared not draw a conclusion hastily. "Similar cases occurred in the eleventh and ninth years of Jinghe, and the families that were wiped out were all wealthy merchants. The case in the ninth year was concluded to be a crime of passion, and the case in the eleventh year was a revenge killing. No matter how you look at it, it is exactly the same as what the Wang family is going through now."

The man tapped his hand lightly on the table. "Why choose a merchant?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "I don't know either."

He added, "It's very strange. If it were for money, the Li family, the Qian family, and now the Wang family, all had their businesses operating normally after they died. But if it wasn't for money, then their wealth simply vanished."

"Could it be a revenge killing, with theft as an afterthought?"

Upon hearing this, he immediately wanted to slap himself. It wasn't a small amount of money; the families that were wiped out were all wealthy merchants, and large sums of money that disappeared without prior arrangements would be difficult to transfer.

The other party must have made a detailed and meticulous plan in advance, and they are confident that they will succeed.

The man opposite remained silent, and the shopkeeper dared not speak either; a silence fell between them.

"Isn't the young lady from the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion looking for you?"

"Huh?" The shopkeeper was taken aback, not understanding why the topic had jumped to this point.

Surely His Highness wouldn't even consider the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness a figure of concern?

"Go and see what's going on."

The shopkeeper still didn't quite understand why His Highness would pay attention to the people of the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion, but he knew that as a subordinate, there were many things he couldn't ask so clearly.

A slender, pale hand caressed the rim of a jade teacup: Shouldn't the person in charge of Dengyue Tower be replaced?

...

"Miss Qin." The shopkeeper pushed open the door and entered, nodding slightly to Qin Su before sitting down.

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