Chapter 232 Luo'er uses her fists and feet to fiercely deal with the Liu brothers.
Yang Qinwu remained silent for a long moment before answering, "Does Miss Li know that almost all the palace maids and eunuchs who were on duty outside Zhaohua Palace that night have now disappeared?"
Li Qingluo was taken aback: "What do you mean they've all disappeared? Are they dead or transferred away from Zhaohua Palace?"
Yang Qinwu: "A few days ago, I found a female corpse in a dry well."
"The deceased was none other than Cuixiang, the young palace maid who was on duty by the lake that night outside Zhaohua Palace."
Li Qingluo waited for Yang Qinwu to continue.
This man did not disappoint her, and continued to recount the clues he had discovered: "Not only that, several murders have been discovered in the palace recently, all of which seem like accidents, but the victims were all palace servants who were on duty outside Zhaohua Palace that night."
Li Qingluo: "What a coincidence? Could someone have killed them to silence them? Who could it be?"
Yang Qinwu shook his head.
“This matter has been giving me a real headache lately. His Majesty has already sensed something is wrong and has ordered our Imperial Guards to increase patrols to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.”
Li Qinglu asked in surprise, "Since so many people have died in the palace, why didn't His Highness Prince Su of the Dali Temple go into the palace to investigate? Did he just order your Imperial Guards to increase patrols?"
Yang Qinwu stared at Li Qingluo with a very strange look.
"Does Miss Li not know that His Majesty forbids Prince Su from entering the palace to investigate the case?"
"Although His Highness Prince Su holds the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and can even investigate all cases in the country, only the Ministry of Justice can be ordered to investigate all cases in the palace; the Court of Judicial Review cannot review them."
Li Qingluo truly knew nothing about this!
She was utterly shocked. Yang Qinwu continued, "But it's strange. This time... His Majesty didn't even notify the Ministry of Justice to investigate, as if he preferred to believe that these palace servants had indeed died in accidents and coincidences."
Li Qingluo: What if it was done by the emperor?
Or perhaps something touched upon his interests, which is why he turned a blind eye.
Li Qingluo: "Does Lord Yang know anything else? You weren't on duty nearby that night, didn't you see anything?"
Yang Qinwu shook his head: "I'm sorry. I was indeed not outside Zhaohua Palace when this happened that night. However, my colleague happened to be on duty that night. If you really want to know, I can ask him for you."
After saying that, Yang Qinwu had nothing more to say.
But Li Qingluo understood the meaning behind his words.
What happened at Zhaohua Palace that night could cost someone their life.
After bidding farewell to Yang Qinwu, Li Qingluo left the Zhenxiu Restaurant. As she passed Fumanlou, Granny Deng parked her carriage in a corner.
"Miss, this old servant thinks I've seen the eldest young master."
Li Kechuan?
Li Qingluo gently lifted a crack in the carriage curtain to peek outside.
Seeing Li Kechuan being pushed into Fumanlou, Li Qingluo said, "Go and see who he's meeting."
Soon after, Granny Deng returned.
"Young lady, you'd never guess, it's someone from the Liu family!"
Li Kechuan meets with the Liu family?
Should we invite them to dinner at Fumanlou Restaurant?
"Who did you see? Did you see them clearly?"
Granny Deng: "Only Liu Lao Er and Liu Lao San."
Both Old Man Liu and Old Man Liu had their legs broken at Prince Yun's residence that day, so even if they wanted to come, they probably wouldn't be able to.
Although Li Qingluo was somewhat surprised, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
She even had a vague idea of what Li Kechuan wanted to do by meeting them.
Li Qingluo couldn't help but laugh: "I was just thinking of dealing with them, but they've already gathered together like a bunch of snakes and rats."
"Come on, let's go see what my wicked and stupid brother is up to!"
Li Qinglu put on a hood and entered Fumanlou accompanied by Granny Deng and Que'er.
Upon arriving at Fu Man Lou, Li Qingluo couldn't help but look around more closely.
Prince Su said, "This is Princess Qinyu's restaurant."
So last time, when my own Zhenxiu Restaurant opened, those who caused trouble were actually Princess Qinyu's doing behind the scenes.
Princess Qinyu ran such a large restaurant, and even though she openly murdered the Grand Prince Consort's niece in the palace, there were people in the palace who covered for her. Even the Emperor and Empress made excuses for her.
Nan Jia's death was inextricably linked to her...
This woman is truly extraordinary.
Li Qinglu recalled the warning Princess Qinyu gave him before leaving Jinling, knowing that this woman would inevitably become his formidable rival in the future.
For the past month or so, business at Fu Man Lou has been quite bleak.
Not only was it suppressed by Minglou, but the emergence of the new Zhenxiu Restaurant also stole a lot of business from Fumanlou.
So nowadays, whenever Fumanlou sees a customer, it's like a bee seeing a flower; they immediately rush over.
"Distinguished guests, please come in—"
The dishes at Fu Man Lou are all very novel.
The tea is also quite special.
Li Qing was rejected and given a corner seat, waiting for Granny Deng to go and find out what was going on.
She and Que'er then began to eat earnestly.
A moment later, Granny Deng returned: "Miss, it's in the Shu Ke Hao private room on the first floor. Would you like to go there?"
Li Qingluo: "This is not Minglou, nor is it our Zhenxiu Restaurant. There are no secret mechanisms here, and even if we go next door, we won't be able to hear what they are saying."
"On the contrary, it alerts the enemy."
"Go keep an eye on things. Once Li Kechuan leaves, we'll tie up those two!"
After the meal, in a small alley, Granny Deng and her men tied up the two Liu brothers tightly.
Then they covered their heads and Li Qingluo went forward and punched and kicked them.
"Ouch—ouch—"
"Spare me! Spare me!"
"Who are you people in broad daylight?! Do you know who we are? Ouch—"
Li Qingluo's fighting skills are no longer just fancy moves.
With a few punches, Liu Lao Er and Liu Lao San were so badly injured that their noses bled profusely, and their faces were covered in sticky blood.
Moreover, she used tremendous force in her foot, causing so much pain that the two farmers couldn't recover for a long time.
"Stop, stop hitting me—"
"Good sir, we have no money on us. Please spare us—"
They never imagined that the person beating them today was not a hero, but the little girl they had stolen and tormented for over a decade.
Li Qingluo gave Deng Mama a look, and Deng Mama immediately shouted in a gruff voice, "You audacious fool! How dare you lie to us?"
"Weren't you just coming out of the restaurant with the eldest son of the General's Mansion? If you didn't have money, would you have gone to Fu Man Lou to eat? And if you didn't have money, how could you have gotten to know the eldest son of the General's Mansion?"
"Hurry up and hand over all your valuables!"
"Otherwise, I'll kill both of you dogs!"
Liu Er shuddered and cried out, "So, you've been watching us all along—"
Sparrow, with her sharp eyes, noticed something from the corner peeking out from Liu Er's arms and reached out to snatch a purse!
"Look, what's this? A silver pouch from the General's mansion. You didn't steal it, did you? If we send you to the authorities, this silver alone will be enough for you to spend your whole lives in jail!"
Liu San was so frightened that his soul almost left his body.
"No, no—"
"My heroines, this silver was given to us by the eldest son of the general's mansion. Our good-for-nothing niece was pregnant with his child, but now she and her unborn child have died tragically. We have no money for the burial, so he gave us the money to bury her as soon as possible."
"This silver is for that worthless wretch's funeral expenses; we really didn't steal it—"
Granny Deng and Que'er both looked at Li Qingluo.
Hearing them describe Liu Suier like that, Li Qingluo was so angry that she beat them up again.
These two were, after all, Liu Sui'er's own uncles. It was one thing for them not to feel any grief at Liu Sui'er's death, but to call her a "worthless piece of trash" and speak in such an extremely cold tone, as if Sui'er were nothing more than a commodity to be sold, deeply wounded Li Qingluo's heart.
Liu Er and Liu San let out screams of agony one after another.
They even moved out of Prince Yun's residence, but unexpectedly, this did not deter the abusers at all; instead, it brought an even fiercer storm...
Those who passed by the alleyway and witnessed this scene were stunned and frozen in shock.
When did the women of the Great Liang become so fierce?!
Que'er and Granny Deng naturally followed suit and slapped her dozens of times as well.
Finally, having vented her anger, Li Qingluo stopped, panting.
She crouched down, took out a hidden arrow from her wrist, and pressed it against Liu Er and Liu San's necks.
Granny Deng immediately understood and whispered sharply, "Speak! Didn't he ask you to do anything else in exchange for this silver?"
"If you confess honestly, we'll let you get out of here right away!"
Liu Er: "Oh dear... I'll talk, I'll talk..."
He was in real pain.
Since arriving in Jinling, their family has been plagued by misfortune, including deaths.
Mother is dead, younger sister is dead, and now Liu Sui'er is dead too...
Moreover, both my father and older brother broke their legs.
They can't afford to have any more deaths in their family.
So Liu Er and Liu San quickly confessed: "It was him. He told us to spread the word in the streets and alleys that Sui'er was killed by our former adopted daughter, Liu Cao'er."
"Yes. They even said that Sui'er's current death, along with her unborn child, was all due to Liu Cao'er's schemes. They want us to find the culprit and punish Liu Cao'er, so that she will be despised and humiliated by the whole world!"
"He wants to shift all this rotten reputation onto his own sister, so that people won't keep staring at him, or at our own flesh and blood, Zhu'er, and the rumors will spread..."
Zhu'er, you were the first to be unfilial, so you can't blame your second and third uncles for betraying you to save their own lives.
Sparrow's face flushed red with anger.
"Bullshit! So that's what he was planning! You beast!"
Since the Cui family's annulment of the engagement became a big deal, rumors have begun to circulate in Jinling City about an ambiguous relationship between Lady Zhu, the wife of Prince Yun, and her former brother.
Although the matter is not yet very significant, Li Kechuan, who is already paying close attention to any developments, will definitely try to suppress it as soon as possible.
But after much deliberation, he once again set his sights on his own sister.
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