General's Mansion.

Warm room.

Aunt Xu heard that Qiao Yang was dead, and that Qiao Yang's body was now in the main hall of the General's Mansion.

Upon hearing this news, Aunt Xu was stunned for a long time before letting out a long sigh of relief.

Very good.

Qiao Yang is dead.

Once Qiao Yang is dead, there will be no one to suppress his daughter, and his daughter will have a good future.

She immediately sent her maid, Menglan, to find Qiaozhen.

Wang Ma rushed in from outside and saw the maid Menglan leaving. She had just returned from outside and already knew about the wailing in the hall. Now, the more important thing was the young lady's matter.

She rushed over and said, "Auntie, something terrible has happened."

Aunt Xu looked at Wang Ma, an elderly woman she had brought from her maiden home, whom Aunt Xu trusted deeply.

Hearing this, he didn't care. "I already know. Have Menglan invite Miss. We can talk about it when Miss arrives."

"No!" Upon hearing this, Wang Ma became even more anxious; the arrival of the young lady would only make things more complicated.

She quickly stepped forward, glanced left and right to make sure no one could hear, and whispered something in Aunt Xu's ear.

"What did you say?" Aunt Xu exclaimed in surprise.

Wang Ma nodded, "It's all true. Several maids in the manor saw it too." She was afraid when she thought about how the young lady had secretly gone to see men outside under the cover of night several times.

Once this is exposed, the young lady's reputation will be ruined.

Thinking about this makes me even more worried.

I don't know what happened. I didn't notice before, but this time the young lady went to the palace and fell seriously ill after returning. She finally recovered, so why did she act so recklessly?

Wang Ma had always been by Aunt Xu's side and knew what Aunt Xu was thinking.

Aunt Xu was thinking of finding a good marriage for the eldest daughter, so that Aunt Xu's status could also be elevated.

Who would have thought that the young lady would be so bold as to secretly meet with another man?

If it happens once or twice, you can say it's a coincidence, and even if someone sees it, you can find a reasonable explanation to cover it up. But if it happens many times, it becomes difficult to cover it up.

Aunt Xu thought for a moment. She couldn't let things continue to develop, regardless of whether it was true or not, and no one could hinder her daughter's future.

A lowly, worthless man wants to marry my daughter? Dream on!

At this moment, Aunt Xu changed her usual hesitant and indecisive nature and looked at Wang Ma, "I'm leaving this matter to you. You go and handle it."

"Yes," Wang Ma replied and left.

When Menglan brought the young lady over, Aunt Xu reverted to her hesitant, indecisive, and flustered state when faced with problems.

As soon as her daughter arrived, Aunt Xu grabbed her hand and said anxiously, "What should we do? I heard that Qiao Yang is dead. Can it be true?"

Seeing Aunt Xu like this, Qiao Zhen felt a little guilty.

Two days later, she planned to leave the capital with Li Kun and find a place where no one knew them to live their own lives.

The thought of leaving made me worry that my mother, with her hesitant nature, might be bullied after I left.

She really had to leave; if she didn't, she didn't know what awaited her.

She visited Aunt Xu several times and knew that Aunt Xu had begun to look for a suitable husband for her.

Once things are settled, she won't be able to leave.

"Aunt, this... I've heard about it too, but I haven't gone there yet."

"I...we'd better not go." Aunt Xu was so scared that her body began to tremble.

"Auntie, it's alright. Let's go take a look. Maybe it wasn't Qiao Yang?" Qiao Zhen didn't quite believe that someone could have killed Qiao Yang.

Qiao Yang's personality is such that no one in the entire capital city is afraid of anything; who would dare to kill her?

Aren't you worried that General Qiao might knock on their door in the middle of the night?

Thinking about it, Qiao Zhen felt it was unlikely.

Although Aunt Xu clearly wanted to check if everyone was truly dead, she still appeared hesitant.

This is the difference between Aunt Xu and Aunt Guo.

Aunt Guo was methodical and preferred to do things herself, while Aunt Xu deliberately showed weakness, giving her daughter a chance to learn and grow.

She now feels that it's better for Qiao Yang to be dead, so that no one will stand in her daughter's way.

When the time comes, the best husband will naturally fall to the daughter.

As for that thing outside that shouldn't have bewitched her daughter, she didn't need to worry about it with Wang Ma handling things.

Over the years, apart from Qiao Yang, there has been no one she couldn't mess with.

Qiao Zhen, unaware of Aunt Xu's thoughts, accompanied Aunt Xu towards the main hall.

From afar, she heard a wail, and Qiao Zhen couldn't help but tear up.

Could it be true?

Helping Aunt Xu to the main hall, they saw Madam Qiao and General Qiao in tears and went forward to pay their respects.

"Father, Mother."

General Qiao kept staring at the spot on the ground covered with a white sheet.

Mrs. Qiao wiped away her tears and glanced at Qiao Zhen, but ultimately said nothing.

Aunt Guo lay on the ground, crying her heart out.

She had only been away from that place for a few days, and her daughter had been so busy that she had disappeared without a trace. Aunt Guo originally thought that her daughter had gone to see the Third Prince again, so she did not stop her or inquire about it. Who would have thought that when they met again, it would be because they were separated by death.

Aunt Xu seemed frightened by what she saw, and stood trembling to the side wiping away tears.

Qiao Zhen stepped forward to help Aunt Guo up, but Aunt Guo pushed her, and Qiao Zhen accidentally tore off the white cloth that was originally covering Qiao Yang.

At this moment, Qiao Yang's appearance suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

Qiao Zhen was the first to see Qiao Yang, and she was startled by his appearance.

Startled, she almost screamed and quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

Aunt Guo was initially disgusted that her daughter had left and was being disturbed, but when she looked over and saw the makeup and the half-exposed clothes, she instantly lost her composure.

Is this how your daughter serves the Third Prince?

Such makeup and such clothes are clearly the attire of those shameless women in the art gallery. How could her daughter receive such humiliation from the Third Prince?

General Qiao glanced at it and immediately turned his head away.

Madam Qiao realized what was happening and, forgetting all about crying, immediately asked Zhang Ma to go and help.

She bowed to General Qiao and said, "General, I will handle these matters. Please rest."

With these words, General Qiao left, along with the men present.

Madam Qiao began to handle Qiao Yang's funeral arrangements. Because of Qiao Yang's makeup, she was not given a grand burial, but was quietly buried in the Qiao family cemetery.

Apart from her initial wailing, Aunt Guo did not cry again from the moment Qiao Yang was buried.

Aunt Guo, however, attributed everything to the Third Prince.

The Third Prince, he's a prince, how could she, a woman from the inner palace, possibly overthrow him?

Later, I saw Qiao Zhen leaving with Aunt Xu.

How come Qiao Zhen is still alive and well while her own daughter has become like this?

That night, Aunt Guo left the General's Mansion under the cover of darkness and did not return until midnight.