Shangguan Wanning held Mu Jingrui's hand, which forced Mu Jingrui to suppress his anger in his heart.
He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and took out a jade pendant from his sleeve.
"Did you find it?" Shangguan Wanning took it and placed it on her palm.
"Go back."
Mu Jingrui made a note of the account with Xiao Yikai in his heart, and he would definitely settle it with Xiao Yikai before he died.
Back at the inn, Shangguan Wanning washed her face with clean water, and Lutong walked in quickly.
"My lady, I have brought back the person you wanted to see."
"Let him in."
Not long after, Lu Tong walked in with a listless middle-aged man.
Mu Jingrui was a little confused, and Shangguan Wanning gave him a look that told him to stay calm.
"You... who are you? What do you want from me?" The middle-aged man raised his head and saw Shangguan Wanning. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous and stepped back timidly.
"Don't be afraid. I am not in the same group with the people from the Zhonglie Marquis' Mansion, so I won't hurt you."
Shangguan Wanning explained gently, asked the middle-aged man to sit on the stool, and asked Lutong to pour him a cup of fragrant tea.
"I just want to know why you wanted to assassinate Xiao Yikai outside the main hall of Guanyin Temple today."
Mu Jingrui was slightly stunned. On the way back just now, Shangguan Wanning did not mention this matter to him.
"Why should I tell you? What's the use of telling you?" The middle-aged man was dejected, with dull eyes, and seemed to be full of despair about the whole world.
Shangguan Wanning smiled slightly and said, "If you tell me, maybe... our prince can help you?"
"Your Highness?" The middle-aged man was a little confused.
Shangguan Wanning looked at Mu Jingrui and said with a smile: "The one in front of you now is the famous and famous Prince Zhennan. He is one of the few people in the court today who can rival the loyal and brave Marquis Mansion in terms of merit."
The middle-aged man widened his eyes, stood up from the stool in shock, and looked at Mu Jingrui nervously and curiously.
"You...you are really...the King of Zhennan?"
When Mu Jingrui saw the proud smile in Shangguan Wanning's eyes, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up into a faint smile.
"yes."
"Your Highness, please help me." The middle-aged man knelt on the ground with a plop and burst into tears.
Shangguan Wanning gave Lutong a wink, and Lutong went forward to help him up.
"Why are you crying? Even if you are sad, you must tell me everything in detail. Otherwise, how can the prince help you?"
The middle-aged man wiped his tears with his sleeves, trying his best to suppress his sorrow, and said slowly: "My Lord, Xiao Yikai from the Zhonglie Marquis's Mansion killed my daughter. He...he is a beast."
"What's going on?" Mu Jingrui asked seriously.
"About two years ago, we encountered a rainstorm here. It was harvest time at that time, and the rainstorm wiped out the year's harvest. At that time, the Loyal Marquis Mansion set up tents at the four city gates to provide porridge and medicine to the people."
"During that time, my wife happened to be ill in bed, so I asked my daughter to queue up for porridge. One day, my daughter came back and told me that she wanted to sell herself to the loyal marquis' mansion as a slave to get some money to treat her mother's illness."
"I didn't agree at first. Although rich families don't have to worry about food and clothing, being a slave or maid would be unfair, so the matter was left unresolved. A few days later, people from the Loyal Marquis's Mansion came."
"They said that when the porridge was distributed, Old Lady Xiao saw my daughter and liked her very much because she was well-behaved and sensible. She was willing to spend 20 taels of silver to buy her, and she only needed to work in the Loyal Marquis's Mansion for four years."
"I thought that as long as it wasn't a death contract, our family would be reunited one day. At this time, my wife's illness was getting worse. I gritted my teeth and sent my daughter to the Zhonglie Marquis' Mansion. In the first six months, she came back every month and told us that she was doing well in the Zhonglie Marquis' Mansion."
"However, half a year later, she never came back. I went to the Marquis Zhonglie's Mansion to look for her, but the housekeeper wouldn't let us see her. It's a marquis's mansion, a noble mansion, how can ordinary people like us get in?"
"So, whenever I had time, I would wait at the door, hoping to see my daughter. This went on for more than a year. One night, I heard someone knocking on the door. I opened it and saw my daughter lying on the doorstep."
"She was skinny and covered in wounds. She was in a daze after she woke up. My wife and I took care of her for several months before she could speak. She said... Xiao Yikai had raped her."
The middle-aged man began to cry again. Mu Jingrui and Shangguan Wanning looked at each other and felt more sympathy for this family.
"I was so angry that I almost lost my mind. I rushed to the Marquis of Loyalty and Marquisdom's Mansion to settle accounts with Xiao Yikai, but I couldn't even get in. I went to the government office to file a complaint, but when the prefect heard that I wanted to sue Xiao Yikai, he simply refused to accept the case."
"I can't swallow this. I heard that Old Lady Xiao is a reasonable person, so I found out her whereabouts. It was also in Guanyin Temple. I wanted to ask Old Lady Xiao for an explanation. Who knows..."
"This old woman looked kind on the surface, but she was actually the cruelest. She pretended to comfort me and told me to go back and wait for news. That night, she sent people to my house and beat us three severely."
"My wife was weak to begin with, and she died a few days after being beaten. My daughter couldn't accept such a blow, so she wore a red dress and hanged herself at the gate of the Loyal Marquis's Mansion."
"I hate it... I am just an ordinary person, I can't fight against the powerful Xiao family, I..."
The middle-aged man trembled all over and knelt in front of Mu Jingrui again. "My Lord, please, seek justice for my daughter."
"Get up." Mu Jingrui stood up and helped the middle-aged man. "Don't worry, as long as what you said is true, I will not let your daughter die in vain."
Shangguan Wanning comforted the middle-aged man again, and Lutong took him out.
"Ning'er, when you say that we overlooked something, are you referring to Old Lady Xiao?"
"That's right." Shangguan Wan Ning also stood up from the chair and sighed softly. "It was only today that I realized that Old Lady Xiao knew everything about what Xiao Yikai did outside."
"So, she may not be unaware that her grandson has detained the selected girls from the imperial court. That day in the Marquis of Loyalty and Martyrdom's Mansion, she showed her loyalty to Xiao Yikai. I'm afraid... she did it for us to see."
Shangguan Wanning's words made Mu Jingrui frown.
"It seems... we have fallen into a trap."
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