The head guard was stumped by his question. They had woken up last night feeling dizzy and hadn't had time to notice the time before rushing to Bai Yuanshan's room.
"This, it'll probably take... about 45 minutes."
Having no other choice, he had to make up another lie in order to cover up the previous one.
There's a saying that's really true: once you tell one lie, you have to tell countless more to cover it up.
"Master, do you remember what time they arrived at your room last night?"
The scout didn't reply to the guard; instead, he turned to ask Bai Yuanshan.
Bai Yuanshan frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and stroked his beard before saying, "It's probably just past the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yuanshan's expression changed drastically. He no longer needed the scout to explain further; he understood the contradictions in the guard's words.
Bai Yuanshan's face immediately turned ashen, and he shouted sternly, "You audacious servants! How dare you deceive your master! If you don't tell the truth today, you can all go to the underworld and tell the truth together!"
Upon seeing this, the guards were so frightened that they immediately knelt down, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
"Master, please spare me! I didn't know! I really didn't know anything..."
The leading guard scrambled to Bai Yuanshan's feet, kowtowing and pleading for his master's life.
"screw you!"
Without even blinking, Bai Yuanshan kicked the man away hard.
"Even now, none of you are telling the truth? Have you thought this through? What crime is it to deceive your master?"
The spy also coldly observed these people and gave them an ultimatum.
The guards were terrified, their faces turning ashen. The leader, knowing he could no longer hide the truth, simply closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and confessed directly: "I am guilty, sir, please spare my life!"
Seeing that their leader had confessed, the other guards also knelt down and begged for mercy.
Upon seeing this, Bai Yuanshan narrowed his eyes, his face growing increasingly gloomy.
These scoundrels actually dared to conspire to deceive me!
Then he nodded to the scout beside him, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.
No wonder he works under my supervision.
The spy solved the case by simply asking two questions, which shows how meticulous he was.
In fact, what these guards said was full of loopholes. If you examine it carefully, you'll know that they were not telling the truth.
From the time they entered Bai Yuanshan's room to check the situation to the time they discovered the thief and began searching, a full hour had passed. However, according to the guard, they only spent half an hour searching for the thief, which was clearly a contradiction.
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Bai Yuanshan, his face taut, questioned the people kneeling on the ground in a deep voice, his gaze sharp as a knife.
Now that things had come to this, those people no longer dared to lie, and had no choice but to tell the whole truth about what they had experienced the previous night.
It turned out that the leader had only heard a noise at the side gate, so he called a few guards to go over. When they arrived, they smelled a strange odor and then fell unconscious.
When they woke up, they were completely unaware of what the world was like. They were only concerned with checking on their master's safety. Later, because they were afraid of being blamed by Bai Yuanshan, they lied and said that they had not found the thief.
"Hmph, you bunch of good-for-nothings have really got some nerve! It seems I've been too lax in disciplining you, letting you all become so lawless!"
Bai Yuanshan's face turned red with anger. He loudly reprimanded the guards and then ordered several servants to arrest them and beat them to death with sticks.
"Master, please spare me! I know I was wrong!"
The guards were terrified. They had thought they could get away with it, but they never expected that the truth would eventually come out.
What's worse, these people just happened to run into trouble today, catching Bai Yuanshan in a bad mood. This time, he's probably going to wipe them all out.
A chorus of pleas for mercy erupted outside. Although the truth of the matter had been revealed, Bai Yuanshan still hadn't caught the mole, and he couldn't help but feel extremely frustrated.
"Father, what's going on? Why is it such a mess?"
A clear female voice rang out, and Bai Ruohan rushed over in a panic. Seeing Bai Yuanshan's unpleasant expression, she couldn't help but feel even more worried.
She had just returned from practicing her instrument at the music hall when she heard from the servants that Bai Yuanshan had been furious that day. After inquiring carefully, she learned that Bai Yuanshan had made a fool of himself on the street.
Bai Ruohan always knew her father's temper well. He was so concerned about his reputation that he would be furious if he made such a fool of himself. She couldn't help but worry that Bai Yuanshan might faint from anger like before.
So she hurriedly went to check on Bai Yuanshan's situation, but before she even reached the study, she heard a commotion inside. Bai Ruohan's heart tightened, thinking something had happened, but when she went in, she saw this scene.
Seeing his daughter's pretty face, Bai Yuanshan's anger subsided slightly.
"Father, why are you so angry? And what's wrong with these people? Don't upset yourself, I'm so worried..."
Bai Ruohan was extremely nervous, and as she spoke, her eyes began to redden, as if she was about to cry.
Bai Yuanshan always doted on his daughter, so he quickly calmed himself down and comforted her, "Father just wants to deal with these few unruly servants. Han'er, don't worry, Father is fine."
"Master, spare me! Miss, spare me! I don't want to die!"
When the guards saw Bai Ruohan approaching, they quickly seized the opportunity, hoping that their young lady could save them.
After listening to the servant's explanation, Bai Ruohan knew what had happened. She then said softly to Bai Yuanshan, "Father and the others are certainly at fault, but it doesn't warrant their lives. In my opinion, we should just expel them all from the manor and replace them with a group of capable people."
Upon hearing that his daughter was pleading for someone else, Bai Yuanshan couldn't help but feel displeased.
Bai Ruohan naturally noticed this as well, so she quickly leaned close to Bai Yuanshan's ear and whispered to him, "Father, you must not let a small matter cause you to lose sight of the bigger picture. The lives of these servants are worthless, but if this matter gets out and is used by those with ulterior motives, it could damage your reputation..."
After hearing this analysis, Bai Yuanshan's anger completely subsided. He naturally understood the pros and cons involved, so he frowned and thought about it. He felt that it would be too much of a waste if others misunderstood him because of these damned lackeys.
"Fine, let's do as Miss says and kick all these people out!"
Bai Yuanshan let out a long sigh, waved his hand helplessly, and then turned and went into the study.
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