Zhu Yan's attitude toward Wang Yuan made everyone very dissatisfied with him, but because of his status as the son of a military governor, they could not say anything more.

The huge courtyard was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Shi Lan quickly glanced at the silent crowd with their heads down, then slowly stepped forward. "Ayan, the warlord got into trouble after drinking the soup Xiangxue brought. Aunt Yuan is the prime suspect. Uncle Zhang was indeed a bit hasty just now, but are you protecting her like this to shield her?"

Zhu Yan's face darkened, and the hand that was resting on Wang Yuan's shoulder froze.

Wang Yuan's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly said, "You're talking nonsense. I never sent Xiangxue to deliver the soup. It was you. You must have ordered someone to impersonate Xiangxue to frame me. The warlord is always extorting money from the Shi family. You must be holding a grudge and want to kill the warlord."

Shi Lan glanced at her disdainfully, then looked at everyone with her upright posture. "I've been eating light meals these past few days and haven't made any soup. Even if I wanted to send something, I wouldn't have anything to send. If you don't believe me, you can have someone check. Anyway, every small kitchen in the manor has a record of its rations."

The steward turned his head and instructed the servant beside him, who quickly brought out the account book.

After quickly glancing through the document, the steward nodded. "Indeed, the young mistress has only been eating vegetarian food these past few days, and the small kitchen hasn't even had any meat."

Wang Yuan stared wide-eyed at the steward in disbelief. She didn't know if she was surprised that the Zhu family compound even recorded such a small matter, or if she couldn't believe that the person who told her that Shi Lan drank nourishing soup every day was lying to her.

The steward lowered his eyelids, turned two more pages, and said, "But Aunt Yuan's place is always getting nourishing soup."

Upon hearing this, everyone present stared coldly at Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan's mind raced. Seeing that there was no turning back, she glared at Xiang Xue, her pearly white teeth clenched tightly, her face contorted with extreme rage. "You, Xiang Xue! I treated you like my own sister, yet you secretly plotted this. Tell me, why did you poison the warlord?"

Xiangxue opened her eyes wide in surprise, her rosy lips opening and closing as if she wanted to speak.

Zhu Yan glanced at her indifferently, then raised his hand and fired a shot.

Xiangxue clutched her bleeding chest, swayed weakly a few times, and before she could even utter a word in her defense, she collapsed and died. Her lifeless eyes stared intently at Wang Yuan, as if accusing her of something.

Shi Lan's heart tightened, and anger suddenly rose within her. She sneered coldly and retorted, "How does Aunt Yuan know that the warlord was poisoned? If I remember correctly, there was never any mention of how the warlord died. Did the brother who escorted you here tell you?"

Several soldiers holding long spears immediately exchanged glances and all shook their heads in denial.

Wang Yuan was stunned, her mind flashing back to everything that had happened since she entered the room.

Zhu Yan gave Shi Lan a cold look, then turned to stare at the stunned Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan looked at Zhu Yan pleadingly, her gentle, spring-like eyes glistening with tears.

“Brother Yan…”

Zhu Yan shook his head almost imperceptibly, knowing that things had reached a point where there was no turning back, but he hesitated to raise the pistol he was gripping tightly.

Zhang Tieguai was always straightforward. Seeing that Zhu Yan was unwilling to make a move, he shouted angrily, "What are you dawdling for? How dare you kill your father-in-law in public! This kind of vicious woman deserves to be killed a hundred times over."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuan smiled sadly. For some reason, she thought of the days in her previous life when she sang in nightclubs every night. Although it was hard work, she lived a fulfilling life, and every penny she spent was earned through her own hard work.

Unlike now, she is just a lowly singer in such a chaotic world, and can only rely on this unreliable man. She tries her best to please him every day, just hoping for his occasional acts of kindness so that she can live a little better.

Zhu Yan slowly raised his gun, and Wang Yuan slowly closed her eyes, gently touching her flat stomach.

Perhaps she should take her baby and leave, leave this world that doesn't welcome her.

Shi Lan looked at Wang Yuan gently stroking her abdomen. Although she deeply hated her, she still felt a little soft-hearted and said, "Wait a minute, I have something else to say."

Zhu Yan paused, his hand already poised to strike. If he withdrew, he would have to bear the possibility of Wang Yuan betraying him. Zhu Yan quickly flicked his finger.

Shi Lan took a step forward, trying to stop him, when a pebble suddenly flew out from her side and hit Zhu Yan's finger, which was on the trigger, with a 'thud'.

The stone was quite powerful, but it was too late. Zhu Yan cried out in pain as he pulled the trigger, dropped the pistol, and retreated hastily.

After a near-silent sound, Wang Yuan swayed, her slender white fingers clutching her abdomen, and streams of blood flowed from between her pale fingers.

Shi Lan rushed forward to help her up, but Wang Yuan, with a sad smile on her lips, tilted her head and fell to the ground.

Shi Lan felt a pang of regret; that life, which had never even seen this world, had ultimately vanished.

The others were already used to bloodshed, and Wang Yuan's death only made them feel gratified.

The unexpected pebble that flew by startled them, and they all turned to look around.

At some point, the courtyard was filled with soldiers in dark blue uniforms, and just as everyone was looking around, the soldiers guarding the gate were also captured.

Zhu Yan stared in astonishment at all this, while Shi Lan smiled knowingly.

At the entrance of the compound, a group of soldiers stood in formation on both sides, and a man in a crisp military uniform walked in leisurely.

"Young Master Zhu, it's been a long time. How have you been since we last met?"

Zhu Yan's face turned ashen. He wanted to say something tough, but he lacked the confidence to do so, and could only move his lips.

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