Madam Xu stood aside, not daring to speak. Seeing that Xu Ding had finished venting, she stepped forward to persuade him, "Master, please don't be angry. This matter is strange in every way. No one could have predicted that something would happen to the Crown Prince's residence so suddenly. It is also expected that the Emperor would be furious."

"Even if Qu Qingran enters the palace as a concubine, so what? The Empress will always be the Empress, and she is also a member of the Xu family. As long as you tell the Empress, there are plenty of dirty tricks in the palace. They will make Qu Qingran suffer to the point of death, and she won't dare to say anything. Qu Lianhai has always doted on his Qu Qingran. Making trouble for Qu Qingran will be more painful for him than making trouble for Qu Lianhai."

Xu Ding calmed down and realized that his wife was right. Qu Lianhai had always doted on Qu Qingran the most, and it would be much easier to torment Qu Qingran than Qu Lianhai. Besides, Qu Qingran was still in the palace, so even if Qu Lianhai found out, he couldn't do anything about it and could only swallow his anger.

“What you say makes sense, Madam. However, let’s talk to the Empress in a couple of days. Right now, the Crown Prince has just had an accident, and the Empress probably doesn’t have the time or inclination for that.” Xu Ding nodded.

"By the way, sir, what exactly happened with the Crown Prince? Where did this assassin come from, that he was so bold and powerful?" Madam Xu asked with lingering fear. The man was terrifying; he seemed to have no scruples and dared to do anything.

Previously, Madam Xu thought that since the Xu family was the residence of an official of the imperial court, nothing unexpected would happen. However, what happened last night completely shattered everyone's understanding. That person dared to attack even the Crown Prince, let alone them, who were just officials.

From yesterday to today, everyone in the manor who knows about this is in a state of panic. Everyone is worried that the assassin might suddenly appear and kill them all.

"I don't know either. His Majesty has sent trusted confidants to investigate this matter. We can only find out what happened after the results are in." Xu Ding was also puzzled. That person was clearly targeting the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince must have offended someone.

"Go and call the young master over," Xu Ding shouted outside.

"My lord, you two discuss this. I'll go see what the kitchen has prepared for today." Knowing that Xu Ding wanted to discuss matters, Madam Xu tactfully left.

Xu Ding and his wife had only two sons, one named Xu Xingfeng and the other named Xu Xingzhou. Xu Xingfeng had already entered the court as an official, serving as a minor official in the Ministry of Personnel. He was exceptionally talented and steady in his dealings with others, and Xu Ding was very satisfied with his eldest son.

As for the second son, Xu Xingzhou, he had an older brother and a father, so he didn't have to bear any responsibility. He was a spoiled brat who was forced to stay in school for a few years when he was young, but he often took the lead in catching crickets or playing pranks on the teachers.

Later, Xu Ding felt ashamed and sent his son home to hire a tutor. Even so, the boy did not study properly and learned some knowledge in a mess. This angered Xu Ding so much that he vomited blood. Originally, Xu Ding had planned to raise his second son well so that he could assist his eldest son in achieving great things.

However, seeing how out of control he was, he eventually had no choice but to give up and let him run wild outside. As long as he didn't cause any trouble, Xu Ding wouldn't interfere and would focus on raising his eldest son.

Xu Xingfeng quickly came to the study and bowed to Xu Ding, saying, "Father."

"Feng'er, get up." Seeing that his son was so well-behaved, Xu Ding's mood improved.

"Feng'er, what do you think of what happened today?" Xu Ding wanted to see what his son thought about the matter.

“Father, the Crown Prince’s matter is a bit strange. Logically speaking, ordinary people would not dare to offend the Crown Prince, let alone go to the Crown Prince’s residence to kill someone. There are very few people in the capital who have the strength, the courage, and the motive to do so.”

"Let's see who the Crown Prince has offended before. Also, the Crown Prince has met the assassin face to face. If we investigate according to the Crown Prince's description, we should be able to find out more quickly."

“Feng’er is right. Assassinating the Crown Prince requires not only courage, but also boldness.” Xu Ding stroked his beard and nodded in agreement.

“However, Father, yesterday, Zhang Xueliu sent word that Princess Consort Qu Qingxi of Nanqing was going to visit an outer residence yesterday morning. This was originally a trivial matter, but when I heard the news, the Crown Prince’s men happened to be there as well.”

"This morning, I happened to think of this matter and sent someone to investigate. It turned out that Qu Qingxi's house was suddenly destroyed by fire yesterday morning."

"You mean the Crown Prince set that fire? But why would the Crown Prince set a fire there for no reason?" Xu Ding frowned slightly.

"I just suddenly thought of it. I'll go down and investigate further." Xu Xingfeng bowed. He wasn't sure either, but he felt there was some connection between the two.

“Hmm, investigate this matter thoroughly. If the Crown Prince really started the fire, then the Crown Prince’s affairs are very likely related to the Prince of Nanqing.” Xu Ding immediately sat up straight.

Although the house belonged to Qu Qingxi, outsiders believed that Qu Qingxi didn't have the ability or money to buy a house outside. They assumed the house belonged to the Prince of Nanqing, and that it was just a cover-up.

Xu Ding thought so too. If the fire was indeed set by the Crown Prince, then the Crown Prince's affairs might be related to the Prince of Nanqing.

However, although the Crown Prince and the Prince of Nanqing did not have a good relationship, the Crown Prince was still the Prince of Nanqing's nephew. More importantly, the Emperor treated his younger brother very well, so the Prince of Nanqing had no reason to harm the Emperor's son.

Xu Ding pondered, wondering what exactly had happened.

Who sent that assassin?

Furthermore, since he had already stormed into the Crown Prince's residence, why did he ultimately spare the Crown Prince's life?

Xu Ding was unaware that the assassin didn't not want to kill the crown prince, but rather that he simply couldn't, which is why the crown prince's life was spared.

That night, right after Qu Qingxi left, Ren Nuanyun had the system check the identity of the visitor. The result the system gave her completely surprised Ren Nuanyun.

The assassin was actually Qu Qingxi!

How is that possible??

And then, another man in black arrived—it was He Liufeng!

Ren Nuanyun even suspected that there was something wrong with the system. How could Qu Qingxi have such amazing skills? After the shock, Ren Nuanyun recalled what had happened before.

No wonder, no wonder, I hired so many assassins to kill Qu Qingxi, but none of them succeeded. It turns out she is so skilled.

What alarmed Ren Nuanyun even more was what Qu Qingxi whispered in her ear that night.