Xie Lingqin met the black-clad man's murderous gaze with a calm expression. "Take them away quickly. I'll set a fire later so they won't be able to identify the bodies."
The man in black's dark eyes flickered for a long time before he finally pulled An Shangning and An Shangyu away over the wall.
"Miss……"
Xie Lingqin raised her hand to stop Zihe from saying what she was about to say, and instead looked ahead, "You can start a fire, right?"
"Miss, you are going against His Highness the Crown Prince," Zihe warned.
As rumored, it was the Crown Prince who arrived with an imperial edict and his men. Now that Miss has released the young lady of the Marquis of Anping's mansion, that is naturally...
Xie Lingqin simply looked at her coldly, "If you don't tell me, and I don't tell you, who will know?"
"...Yes, Miss, please wait here. I will take care of it right away."
Zihe finally stepped out, and soon after, she saw flames rising in the distance, and at the same time, the sound of hurried footsteps drew near.
“Miss, when I went to burn that room just now, I found that all the maids inside and outside were dead. So I just grabbed two maids who were about the same size as Miss An Si and Miss An Jiu and had them hold hands to make them look real.”
Hearing Zihe's words, Xie Lingqin simply responded with a faint sound, showing no surprise.
This puzzled Zihe for a moment, but then she immediately understood.
Perhaps the young lady had already guessed that the maids in that room were all dead, and as for her actions...
Miss, you guessed it too?
The next instant, Zihe shuddered.
Because she saw Xie Lingqin pull out a dagger from somewhere and forcefully stab her arm.
"Don't shout, help me back to the front yard."
Xie Lingqin threw away the dagger and gave the order in a cold voice.
Zihe understood, of course, that only in this way could she prove her innocence.
But is it useful?
In the front yard, the banquet was in complete disarray, with tables overturned, chairs broken, and blood and wine scattered everywhere. On a large open space, rows of corpses lay, while Marquis Anping, his wife, and all of Marquis Anping's daughters and sons sat on the ground, with the Imperial Guards pointing their swords at them.
Apart from Lord Anping and Lady Anping, everyone else was trembling with fear.
The Lady of Anping was holding a corpse.
It was none other than the eldest son of the Marquis of Anping's mansion, who was now lifeless.
Even without seeing what just happened, one can imagine how thrilling it was.
There were about two hundred people, occupying a large area, and on the outermost edge, all of them with anxious expressions, were the adults, ladies and young ladies who had come to celebrate Miss An Jiu's birthday.
At this moment, despite hundreds of people crowding into the front yard, it was unusually quiet.
In a corner of the courtyard, a figure in bright yellow stood there, his face as cold as blood under the blazing sunlight, exquisite yet like a demon from hell.
A demon so clean it was untouched by a speck of dust.
Prince Yu Wenyao.
Seemingly sensing Xie Lingqin's gaze, a cold glint seemed to flash in his eyes as he swept towards her.
It felt like a thorn in my side.
Xie Lingqin was startled and was about to squat down when, unexpectedly, Xie Lingyu, who was hiding behind her second aunt, shouted with a resentful look, instantly putting her in the spotlight.
"Ah, big sister."
Just four words were enough to draw everyone's attention to Xie Lingqin.
Even Yuwen Xian, who was standing behind the Imperial Guards at this moment, couldn't help but look at Xie Lingqin.
Xie Lingqin and the fourth young lady of the Marquis of Anping's mansion had a very good relationship. Before, when they were in the Marquis of Anping's mansion, many eyes were watching.
Xie Lingyu's eyes suddenly turned cold at this call.
It's truly a blessing from heaven; it came to me without any effort.
She's suffered one misfortune after another today, and she certainly won't let Xie Lingqin off easy.
Stroking her face, Xie Lingyu knew that she didn't need to say anything more; someone else would speak up.
really.
"Has Miss Xie seen the fourth young lady of Marquis Anping?" The Minister of War asked in a deep voice from the side.
This question immediately drew a variety of complex and conflicting gazes directed at Xie Lingqin.
Xie Lingqin remained calm, but gently raised her eyes to look at the sixth young lady of the Ministry of War's mansion, who was trying her best to minimize her presence in the crowd.
Li Qingru.
Was what she said before really not intentional?
Li Qingru never expected that when she looked up, she would meet Xie Lingqin's almost cold eyes. She immediately lowered her head again, her eyes showing no panic or guilt.
Xie Lingqin finally withdrew her gaze subtly, her voice soft with a mixture of grievance and helplessness, "She hurt me and ran eastward."
As Xie Lingqin spoke, she unconsciously raised her wrist, which had already been simply bandaged, "I didn't expect..."
"This injury, you clearly inflicted it yourself." Before Xie Lingqin could finish speaking, a man's voice rang out.
---Aside---
Starting today, the word count for each chapter will increase, making it roughly two chapters combined into one! Yay! Aren't you happy? Aren't you excited?
This book was first published by Xiaoxiang Academy; please do not reproduce it!
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