An Jiu ignored him and turned to Yun Qingluo, saying, "Your Highness, the arm has been cut off. You saw it just now; it was too bloody. Since Your Highness is pregnant, I threw it out so as not to offend your eyes."
Yun Qingluo nodded expressionlessly and asked in a cold voice, "Is the person dead?"
An Jiu shook his head and said, "He's not dead, but he's bleeding profusely and has already fainted. Even his mother was so frightened that she fainted."
Manager Wang's body went limp, and he crawled out, crying, "My son, my son... you wretched woman, you deserve to die a horrible death! How could you be so cruel? You cut off his arm, how is he supposed to live now..."
Yun Qinglu sneered, "Hold him down. No one is allowed to leave this room until he tells the truth today. Steward Wang, I'll ask you one more time, will you talk or not?"
Manager Wang seemed not to hear Yun Qingluo's words and continued to struggle to climb out.
Seeing this, Yun Qingluo gave a cold order, "Since Steward Wang refuses to listen to reason and will instead drink the penalty cup, An Jiu, then go and cut off his other arm as well."
Everyone trembled, looking at Yun Qingluo in horror. They wanted to curse but dared not, and could only lower their heads to minimize their presence.
No one expected that beneath that kind and beautiful exterior lay such a cruel and vicious heart.
Looking at the hostile gazes of the crowd, Yun Qingluo smiled like a demon in the dark night, her voice icy and chilling, "Don't be in a hurry, none of you will escape."
Yun Qing then leaned her arm against the armrest beside her, her aura icy, "Don't think anyone will come to save you. This is a family matter of the Prince's Mansion. Even if the Emperor himself came, he would have to step aside and listen."
Besides, your death contracts are already in my hands. Whether you kill me or dismember me is entirely up to me, and no one dares to utter a single word of dissent.
Everyone panicked upon hearing Yun Qingluo's words.
"Your Highness, this has nothing to do with us. We don't know who's behind this. Please spare our lives!"
"Yes, Your Highness, this wasn't our idea. This...this was all ordered to be done by Steward Wang. Your Highness, please spare us..."
Yun Tao slipped a small note to Yun Qingluo while handing her tea. Yun Qingluo picked up her teacup, shielded her eyes with her sleeve, glanced at the note, and her expression turned icy cold.
After they finished begging for mercy, Yun Qingluo glanced at Steward Wang, who was slumped on the ground with his head down, silent like a stray dog, and said calmly:
"Have you finished speaking? I never imagined that my own estate would harbor a group of traitors. Those hundreds of able-bodied men were secretly transported out under the pretext of starvation and freezing to death to become someone's private army, weren't they?"
Everyone's pupils widened, seemingly in disbelief that Yun Qingluo knew.
Looking at their expressions, Yun Qingluo's face grew even colder. "It takes a lot of food and money to support those people, so they continue to exploit you. You are not greedy, nor have you colluded with them. You are just being controlled by them. Your wives, children, and elderly relatives have all been poisoned by them. If you do not obey them, they will not give you the antidote, and your families will only be waiting to die."
Yun Qingluo added calmly, "Manager Wang, is this how your old mother was tortured to death by poison?"
After Yun Qinglu finished speaking, she saw that Steward Wang's body was trembling and couldn't help but sigh.
At first, she was angry and panicked, but then she realized something was wrong.
There wasn't a single able-bodied young man present, neither among the families of the stewards nor the families of the tenant farmers.
Seeing only a group of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people, and noticing the attire and mental state of the managers, Yun Qingluo knew that this matter was not so simple at all.
But now, faced with the truth, she is somewhat at a loss.
Keeping a private army is a serious crime, and if it involves the General's Mansion and the Regent's Mansion, it will cause a lot of trouble.
What she feared most was that they would frame her. If she exposed this secret, the people behind it might frame them and accuse them of plotting a rebellion.
The emperor was very dissatisfied with the General's Mansion and the Regent's Mansion, as their achievements overshadowed his authority. If this matter were to come to light, it would be very difficult to resolve peacefully.
Moreover, Mo Beichen is currently far away on the battlefield, and the winds of the capital can never reach the distant frontier.
It would be easy for the emperor to control them.
The person behind this knew this, that even if they found out, they wouldn't dare to expose it, which is why they acted so blatantly.
Once Yun Qingluo understood this, she was so angry that she was completely devastated.
If this matter continues to be investigated, it will have far-reaching implications and the situation will get out of control. Yun Qingluo was unwilling to just give up and swallow this bitter pill.
It's infuriating! If she finds out, she'll be in deep trouble and will take the surname of the person behind her.
Anyway, she's not one to suffer in silence.
Seeing the stewards weeping with their heads in their hands, Yun Qingluo felt a surge of irritation and coldly asked, "Do you know who's behind this?"
Manager Wang spoke up, "The person who usually handles the handover is a man in a black robe and wearing a black mask. I don't know who he is."
Yun Qingluo frowned. "Of all the people you sent out, you only met that man in black robes and didn't have any contact with anyone else?"
Steward Wang shook his head and snorted coldly, "Hasn't the Princess already found out? Why are you asking us? If the Princess wants to vent, why doesn't she take it out on me instead of my son?"
Yun Qingluo glanced at them indifferently, knowing that she would not be able to get any more information from them.
She had a vague idea of who it was, but she was still very curious about why the person behind the scenes was raising these private soldiers.
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