The events at Mingyue Manor were still unfolding, and before the manor lord could offer an explanation, the authorities arrived and found evidence of Yan Ping's crimes in a secret room within the manor.
In a desolate courtyard of Mingyue Manor, a dozen or so disheveled women huddled together in fear. Among them were also several handsome men.
To everyone's surprise, Yan Ping, who always presented a virtuous image, secretly imprisoned beautiful women and men for his own and his nobles' amusement.
They were either raised from childhood or taken in by others. They came to the mountain resort with grateful hearts, but Yan Ping revealed his true colors after confirming that they were helpless and alone.
Some were imprisoned for at least five years. Many more, unable to bear the humiliation any longer, died in the manor.
The officials, seeing the thinly dressed and shivering crowd, couldn't help but curse Yan Ping.
"You have been rescued. If you wish to return home, the government will escort you back. If you have nowhere to go, the government will give you a portion of the stolen money from Mingyue Manor. Find a job and live a good life from now on."
"Waaah!" The officer's words made them truly realize that they were really free.
Suddenly, cries erupted in the courtyard. Everyone was venting their resentment and weeping with joy at their freedom.
Looking at the long-lost sky, Wu Ziyue took a deep breath, but tears could no longer be held back and flowed down her cheeks.
After two years, she finally escaped from that dark and hopeless place.
Countless times she had thought about ending it all, but her sister had given her life to save her, so she couldn't die!
Those imprisoned were all homeless people. After receiving the money, they stood outside the gate of Mingyue Manor, somewhat bewildered.
"Sister Yue, where should we go?" Shen Xin'er asked fearfully, clinging to Wu Ziyue's arm.
During their imprisonment, Wu Ziyue did her best to protect them, and she had long become the backbone of this group.
Remembering the official's words, Wu Ziyue made up her mind, "Huaixi City, Cangshan!"
Mingyue Manor was shut down in one fell swoop, and Yan Ping's shady dealings were exposed, causing an uproar.
Most people were indignant and hurled insults at Mingyue Manor. Everyone in the manor was implicated, and the once-praised members of the manor instantly plummeted to the bottom, becoming pariahs.
After the manor lord was executed, the people of the manor scattered in all directions. In just a few days, a powerful force in the martial arts world collapsed, leaving people sighing with regret.
But some people, even with the evidence presented to him, still refused to believe that Yan Ping could have done such a thing. Others turned their anger on the imprisoned, blaming them for seducing the manor lord.
When An Ge heard this discussion, she couldn't help but snort. People like this have existed throughout history. They probably only have brains to show off.
The downfall of Mingyue Manor dealt the biggest blow to Yan Chengde.
When he heard the news, he shook his head frantically in disbelief, "Impossible, you're lying to me, right?"
The disciple who had once respected him now looked at him with disgust. "The news has spread far and wide, you have no choice but to believe it. I never imagined you and your son were such people, dragging us down with you and making us pariahs."
"Heh, you guys used to have a lot of glory because of the manor."
"You said it yourself, that was in the past. Times have changed. Young Master, it's time for you to wake up."
After mocking Yan Chengde, the group angrily threw his identity token from Mingyue Manor at him.
Although they were not exactly virtuous people, they disdained to associate with this person.
Yan Chengde looked at the scattered identity tokens, and he, who had always been sought after, simply could not accept the difference in his status.
He saw Shi Xinyi, who hadn't left yet, and his eyes lit up: "Junior Sister Xinyi, I knew you wouldn't kick me when I'm down, and that you would work with me to revitalize Mingyue Manor, right?"
Shi Xinyi had lived for seventeen years and this was the first time she had been implicated in such a situation. She was filled with hatred for Yan Chengde.
"Senior Brother Yan, please speak freely. Have you forgotten that I am not exactly a member of Bright Moon Manor? If I had known your wolfish ambitions, why would I have visited the manor?"
"Guest? Haha, everyone knows you are a member of my manor. Do you think it's possible for you to leave completely now?"
"The Guiyi Sect Master has already announced that I am a member of the Guiyi Sect, and my appearance at the manor was merely to maintain good relations with you on behalf of the Guiyi Sect. Now the Sect Master has realized he has been deceived and has summoned me back to the Guiyi Sect. Senior Brother Yan, please don't speak recklessly!"
Shi Xinyi glanced at the disheveled man with disgust and left without a second thought.
"By the way, I'm not completely without anything; I still have Zheng Ting."
Yan Chengde crawled toward Zheng Ting, his fiancée whom he had always looked down upon, who became his last straw.
"Father has already broken off the engagement. Here is the annulment document. Don't bother your great-aunt anymore."
Zheng Ting threw the letter of annulment at Yan Chengde's face, relieved that her father had called off the engagement immediately after receiving her letter.
Yan Chengde collapsed to the ground. Just a moment ago he was a promising young master of the manor, but now he looked like a stray dog.
Little did he know that imprisonment awaited him.
The true nature of Mingyue Manor has been revealed, and the happiest people are Hua Yue and Hua Su, who can finally live openly and honestly!
"So you asked for leave to hand over the evidence to the authorities?" An Ge finally understood why the two of them insisted on leaving the inn in such a dangerous situation.
Hua Yue nodded. "It's all thanks to Prince Duan. If it weren't for him, we're just ordinary people with little influence, how could we have so easily alarmed the authorities?"
After they decided to expose Mingyue Manor, they approached Feng Jinghan. With the help of Prince Duan, the government was able to withstand the pressure from powerful figures and destroy Mingyue Manor in one fell swoop.
An Ge listened with great interest as Hua Yue recounted what the two of them had done, and inwardly marveled that the seemingly carefree Hua Yue had actually played a leading role in the whole incident!
It seems she is quite capable of handling important matters.
Hua Yue never expected that she would be noticed by An Ge and rise from a small supermarket cashier to become Manager Chang Jin's assistant!
The Mingyue Manor went from being admired to being scorned by thousands in just a few days.
The people in the inn talked about it for a few more days, then stopped paying much attention and returned to their usual tranquility, but the entire martial arts world was still greatly affected by this incident.
The most obvious change was that those martial arts practitioners who usually disregarded the law dared not act impulsively for quite some time afterward.
What An Ge found regrettable was that those so-called powerful and wealthy individuals were not significantly affected.
She knew that Feng Jinghan had done her best, but she felt a little sad when she thought that those who should have been the culprits were still at large.
"I feel like I'm becoming more and more emotionally invested in this world." An Ge suddenly realized that she was becoming too concerned about the country and its people.
She tapped her head a few times. "There are too many unfair things. I'm just an innkeeper, so I shouldn't worry too much about them. The most important thing right now is to improve my own strength."
There's been so much going on lately that An Ge almost forgot to go to Wuya Space to study.
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