Li Shiyue stopped and looked at her seriously, saying, "Then think it over carefully, don't make things difficult for yourself. In the past, you were my companion, and even if there are other people by my side now, the bond between us is still different."

Chunling raised her head, revealing red-rimmed eyes, and burst into tears: "This servant is so fortunate to have met the mistress and the young lady."

Li Shiyue couldn't help but laugh out loud. She picked up a handkerchief and covered her mouth, leaving only her round eyes with tears welling up in them.

“If you cry again, I will have Lian Dong send all your favorite pastries to Qiu Fan and Cui Xia.”

After the mistress and servant had walked away and disappeared from sight, a woman dressed as a maid emerged from the other side.

She was extremely cautious, looking back every few steps, which made Chang Shun, who was following far behind, dare not let his guard down.

It's a pity, I didn't hear what Chunling said, she cried so unceremoniously. Seeing the maid come out, he quickened his pace.

He's quite nimble, though his skills are rudimentary; he can still tie up a person, though.

Songyuan.

As Xu Yunci left Shousong Hall, Li Shiyue's figure gradually disappeared into the distance, and the gentleness in his eyes visibly vanished.

The incense burner on the table had been burning for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Xu Yunci sat in a rosewood chair, looking out the window, seemingly intently staring at the open book on the table.

In reality, with Chang An serving inside, Xu Yunci didn't read a single word and didn't even move the pages of the book.

Finally, a commotion came from the corridor. Chang Shun entered with a sack on his shoulder. Not only Chang An, but even Xu Yunci's expression became somewhat stiff.

Chang Shun hadn't noticed anything yet when he threw the sack on his shoulder directly to the ground. Something inside was twisting and turning inexplicably, making no sound except for a dull thud when it hit the ground.

When the sack was untied, the person inside struggled to get out; it was the unfamiliar maid who had been following Li Shiyue and her servant earlier.

"Didn't the young master send you to Chengyu Pavilion to deliver something? Why did you bring someone back with you?"

Chang'an was somewhat puzzled, but he was afraid that his silly younger brother had done something wrong and displeased the young master.

Chang Shun slapped his forehead, as if he had just remembered something important: "Oh dear, I forgot. It's not my fault. Miss Biao wasn't walking fast, and I caught up with her a long time ago, but I discovered that someone was following her."

"I was afraid of alarming and frightening Miss Biao, so I waited until she and Chunling had gone far away before bringing her back. Brother, you are not often at the manor, so I have never seen this person before. Moreover, I asked Grandma, and she said that the manor has not bought any maids this year. She is definitely not from the manor. Following Miss Biao in broad daylight, who knows what kind of evil intentions she is harboring."

"I was in such a hurry to bring him back to the young master that I forgot about delivering the things." Chang Shun scratched his head, but fortunately, Xu Yunci did not seem angry.

Even Xu Yunci's gaze wasn't on him; he kept staring at the maid on the ground and glanced at Chang An.

Chang An was different from Chang Shun. He often accompanied Xu Yunci to the Jingzhao Prefecture and had witnessed the interrogation methods used by the Jingzhao Prefecture.

He stepped forward and lifted the maid, who was tied up like a rice dumpling, from the ground with one hand, and took out the rag that she had stuffed in her mouth.

"Speak, who are you? Who sent you?"

The maid was young after all, and seeing Chang An's cold expression, she felt her collar tighten painfully around her neck.

With a struggle in his eyes, he shouted at Xu Yunci, "You have completely betrayed my young lady's feelings. You were praised by her and she has been interested in you for many years!"

Oh, so this is someone I know.

Chang Shun covered his mouth in shock with one hand. This maid wasn't from the Xu family? How dare this maid yell at the young master?

He had to tell his grandmother that the maids in the mansion needed to be managed more strictly.

"Snap!"

As soon as Chang An let go, the maid could only fall back down, but she could no longer speak. Because as soon as she finished speaking, Chang An had already broken her jaw.

Unable to breathe from the pain, the maid opened her mouth but could not speak, only making "ah ah ah ah" sounds, her body writhing in agony.

"I'll ask you one more time, are you going to tell me or not?"

Chang An squatted down, turning slightly to face the maid. In an instant, the maid saw the dagger at his waist and the killing intent in Chang An's eyes.

Ignoring the pain, she nodded hastily, fearing that the dagger would pierce her body at any moment.

"Snap!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch—"

The moment her jaw was turned back, the maid cried out in pain. However, Chang An lifted her up again: "Speak, who are you? Who is your young lady? What are you here for? If you don't speak, I'll send you to see the King of Hell right now."

The maid trembled, but was being held by Chang An and couldn't dodge. She looked at Xu Yunci, who was sitting on the wooden chair, but the coldness and killing intent in his eyes were even more terrifying than Chang An's.

She softened her body and suppressed her fear: "My name is Hongshao. I, my young lady, my young lady is the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Changping... My young lady told me to infiltrate the Duke's mansion and watch the Princess of Yichang perish."

Chang An was startled and glanced at Xu Yunci, who had a cold expression. Xu Yunci was pointing a finger at his forehead and tilting his head to look at them.

He understood that the young master's actions showed signs of murderous intent.

"How dare you! How dare you curse the county princess!" He flung the maid aside and raised his dagger, the maid's eyes filled with fear.

“I’m telling the truth. I don’t know why, but the girl just let me sneak in. She told me when to leave the palace and then to find an old man in the back alley outside the Rongguo Duke’s mansion. He could help me get into the mansion.”

"He said if anyone asked, she was his distant cousin's granddaughter who had come to the capital seeking refuge after fleeing famine. As for what the girl had done, he didn't tell me anything, he just said..."

The maid cautiously looked up at Xu Yunci's expression and the dagger in Chang An's hand: "She said that I don't need to ask any more questions. As long as the Princess of Yichang breathes her last, I should return to the palace to report to her."

"Why would your daughter be so certain that the county princess is so young... she must have done something, otherwise why would she have summoned you?"

Xu Yunci stood up, walked to the maid, and took the dagger from Chang An's hand.

"You'd better tell the truth and tell me what you know, or I'll let you experience the Jingzhao Prefecture's torture of 'beauty bones'."

“Shave your bones out bit by bit and send them to your daughter.”

"Smack!"

Xu Yunci released his grip, and the dagger fell to the ground in front of the maid. It was only an inch from her face, the sharp blade aimed directly at her terrified eyes.