Xu Yixing flew out from a wall and landed steadily on the roof of a car. Then he was pushed into the car by Ying Jiu.
There was no light in the carriage, but Xu Yixing knew there was someone across from him: Lu Anyuan. Only Lu Anyuan, like him, sat in the uncomfortable side seat instead of the main one. Facing each other in the darkness, they could see nothing.
The carriage drove silently towards its destination, the only sound being the clatter of horse hooves, which was particularly harsh in the silence. Only after the city gates were opened and the carriage had driven out of the capital did Xu Yixing dare to speak.
"Is it far?"
"It's me."
"Puchi! Who called you? I asked you if you were far away?"
There was a brief silence. "Not close."
"The people in my house can't hold on for too long. It's best if we can go back before dawn."
"Try your best."
"Which car is it? Will it be discovered?"
"It's the City Defense Department's car, no."
"Huh?" The City Defense Bureau is managed by the Wu family. If something happens and the blame is put on his family, it is unknown whether Lu Anyuan did it on purpose or it was a coincidence.
"How did you find out?"
"The stand-in has relented and told Mr. Yao this afternoon. My people went to investigate and it's true."
"It seems my warning worked. Did she think she was going to die soon and tell Mr. Yao about this to save her own life?"
"No. She was simply scared by you and wanted to talk to someone."
Am I that scary? Never mind. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I can finally see myself.
"Yixing, be prepared, it might not be what you think."
"Why? Did you burn it to ashes or cut it into pieces? Or did you just deep-fry it?"
"What you said is so disgusting." Lu Anyuan didn't want to listen. Even if he just heard these words, he didn't want to associate her with Yixing.
Lu Anyuan refused to say anything, so Xu Yixing had no choice but to give up. He was about to see it anyway, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
She leaned against the wall of the carriage, thinking quietly. After tonight, the real Xu Yixing's body would see the light of day, and the imposter would leave in dismay. The emperor would be furious when he heard the news tomorrow morning, and her father would surely be so "angry" that he would claim illness and stay at home.
The emperor will certainly send people to investigate the murder of the minister's daughter. Then, all the charges that my father submitted yesterday will be pinned on the Sun family one by one, and the Sun family will surely perish.
But the Duke's Mansion wasn't the kind of family that would sit back and wait for death. They probably had even more dirty laundry on their officials. By then, everyone would either be on their own or fight to save the Sun Mansion. The situation would be chaotic; it would be a protracted battle.
I have just told Si Wen the truth. It's not that Si Qin is a bad person, but I have let Si Wen down a little. I will keep her by my side for now and find a good family for her later to make up to her.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Xu Yixing almost fell asleep and was woken up by someone.
"We're here. This is a house near the Sun Mansion Ancestral Hall. There's a dungeon. It's exactly as Si Wu said. It's in the dungeon."
"Okay, so no one's watching?"
"It has just been solved, come in."
Xu Yixing followed Lu Anyuan out of the car. The small courtyard before them was quite ordinary, just one of a series of folk courtyards in the suburbs of Beijing. The village was quiet at this time, with only the occasional barking of dogs and the gurgling of leaf insects.
"Go in and light the lamp, don't disturb others." Lu Anyuan stopped Xu Yixing from taking the lantern.
When I entered the yard, I saw four men tied up and thrown on the ground. There were two people holding long knives and wearing black cloth masks. They should be Lu Anyuan's men.
"Is this your shadow guard?"
"Secret Guard, I don't have as much money as you do to support Shadow Guards. I only have two Shadow Guards."
Xu Yixing glanced at Ah Da and was absolutely certain that Ah Da was one of the Shadow Guards. However, Lu Anyuan's words were disgusting. He was a prince, how could he be poorer than the daughter of a minister? He was clearly being sarcastic again.
Entering from the secret passage under the kang in the main room, I walked up many steps before reaching the so-called dungeon.
It was much brighter in here than outside. Two dragon and phoenix candles as thick as two baby arms were burning. The dungeon was decorated with red and colorful decorations, giving it a festive look.
"Is this a dungeon? Are you sure it's not someone's wedding room?" Xu Yixing looked closely, but still couldn't see the slightest trace of a dungeon. And it smelled really good inside. There were tons of spices placed in all four corners of the room, mixed with a damp, musty odor that was giving him a headache.
"Look there." Lu Anyuan pointed to the farthest corner, where there was a faded embroidered bed, but the bed curtains were newly replaced and were particularly bright red and eye-catching.
Xu Yixing looked over and saw that his body was probably lying on the bed. No wonder Lu Anyuan had told him to be prepared. This was like a ghost marriage ceremony. It was terrifying.
Xu Yixing approached step by step. Ying Jiu hadn't come down yet, so he must be waiting outside. Only Lu Anyuan, Ah Da, and himself were in the dungeon. No matter what they saw, tonight's scene would not be spread.
Xu Yi walked to the bedside, took a look, and felt infinite nausea in his heart.
The body was lying flat on the bed, and someone had changed it into the wedding dress it wore that day. The hair crown on its head was also its own, and its hands were crossed.
Calm but not peaceful, because he had been dead for a long time. The flesh on his face had withered and turned outward, and only a few threads were hanging on his bones.
The bones of her crossed hands were partially exposed, clearly a dried corpse. A faint stench was piercing her nose, and if she looked closely, she could see tiny undulations beneath the wedding gown—maggots were wriggling.
"Ugh!" Xu Yixing covered her mouth and retched, then took three steps back and stood still. Lu Anyuan patted her back lightly to help her breathe more smoothly.
"No, are you sure this is my sister's body? It's so rotten, how can I recognize it?"
"Look carefully at the wedding dress and jewelry. Do they all look familiar? If not, who would have the leisure to place a corpse on display?"
Lu Anyuan felt a pang of pain in his heart. The first time he saw the corpse, he was sure that it was Yixing. How come she couldn't recognize her?
"Why is Sun Ziyou doing this? I really can't figure it out. Is this some kind of ritual, like the kind that can make a person never reincarnate?"
"I've never heard of a ritual requiring decoration to look like a wedding room, but as to why, I suppose you can ask him in person once the sun rises."
Xu Yixing nodded. Now that the location of the body had been confirmed, they could withdraw. Once the truth was revealed tomorrow morning, all doubts would be resolved.
The three of them went up to the room and were about to leave when they heard a faint noise coming from the roof. Ah Da was the first to hear it and reached out to stop the two from opening the door.
The next moment Shadow Nine flew in through the window: "There's an ambush, it's archers!"
Then the door was pushed open from the outside, and two secret guards retreated into the room and pushed everything in the house that could be used to block the door and windows in front of the door.
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