Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The three filed in, and Governor Yu and Chen Buyu immediately stood up and bowed.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Wei Ling also obediently put down the trunk and bowed to Mu Zhao.
Mu Zhao nodded, walked to the long table, glanced at the wooden horse and bamboo ball, and raised an eyebrow, asking, “Have you found anything?”
Governor Yu quickly invited Mu Zhao to sit down, looking distressed, “I was just discussing this with Lord Chen and the others. From the surface, we really can’t find any connection between the deceased Chen Ergou and the Niu Erji couple.”
“Lord Chen also feels that it’s hard to say whether it was the work of demons.”
Mu Feng chuckled, “Then why did your Demon Suppression Division get involved in this case?”
Wei Ling raised her eyelids and said bluntly, “Lord Lu, the Director of the Criminal Justice Division, came with the Prince to oversee disaster relief. The Demon Suppression Division was merely following orders from above to handle this case on his behalf, without any overstepping of authority.”
Mu Feng snorted, “Wei Ling, let’s not beat around the bush. The Demon Suppression Division has been dormant for many years, and now they’ve seized the opportunity so well. I think they’ve been observing all around and have been planning to make a move, and this is the perfect opportunity to emerge.”
“The Demon Suppression Division has indeed been dormant for many years, but it was not idle,” Wei Ling said coldly. “In places you don’t know, it solves countless supernatural cases every year. Young Master Mu, I don’t blame you for your ignorance, only for your shallow understanding of the wonders of the world.”
“You!” Mu Feng’s face flushed red from her retort. The young master Mu helplessly pushed him behind him. “Lord Wei, I’ve heard that you are a disciple of Red Hare, one of the Six Great Judges, and possess extremely superior autopsy skills. I wonder if you can glean anything else from these three corpses?”
“Superior, I wouldn’t say. I only know a little bit about autopsies, not even a fraction of my master’s skill. If the young master wants to hear, I can explain in detail.”
Wei Ling said, presenting an autopsy report.
Unlike the ignorant and incompetent Young Master Mu, Wei Ling was extremely respectful to this extraordinary and brilliant young master of the Xuanping Marquis’s mansion.
This was a dashing figure who, back then, made all the young talents in the capital feel no jealousy whatsoever.
The reason ordinary people feel jealous is because the distance isn’t far enough; with effort, they can still catch up.
But if someone is as unattainable as the young master, so elusive and unreachable, then there’s no reason to be jealous at all…
….
Linlang’s dividing line—
“Young Miss, are you really going out?”
“Grandma’s birthday is approaching, and the jade Guanyin I ordered from the Eight Treasures Pavilion should be arriving soon. I need to go pick it up.”
“This servant can go…” Hong Lai, seeing her young mistress’s gaze sweep over her, quickly swallowed the rest of her sentence.
Yu Qiuping walked out of the west wing, suddenly stopping and glancing towards the east wing.
“Has she not left the house these past few days?”
“No.” Hong Lai shook her head, her face filled with worry. “Miss, to get the jade Guanyin from the Eight Treasures Pavilion, we’ll have to pay the remaining money.”
She hesitated before speaking. “Adding the money Auntie secretly slipped me the other day, it seems we don’t have enough on hand.”
“Don’t worry, I have a plan.” Yu Qiuping gave her a mysterious smile. “You just wait to count the money.”
Hong Lai helped her out of the courtyard and turned to look at her. “Miss, why has that woman who used to be so defiant and confrontational with the mistress been so quiet these past few days?”
“She’s probably afraid of dying. Three murders in a row, I think she’s too scared to even leave the house.” Yu Qiuping said casually. “After all, she’s just a village girl from a small rural place, it’s normal for her to be afraid.”
Hong Lai chuckled. “I thought she was some kind of formidable person, but she doesn’t seem that brave.”
Yu Qiuping chatted and laughed with the maid as they left the governor’s mansion.
The main street of Chongyuan Fang was right in front of the gate, and the Eight Treasures Pavilion wasn’t far away either, so the mistress and servant didn’t have a carriage ready. They just strolled along the street, browsing until they arrived at the jewelry stalls.
Yu Qiuping had just picked up a well-made silver hairpin to examine it when a pair of women, arm in arm, passed by behind her, chattering incessantly.
“Hey, Madam Wang, have you heard? The third young lady of the Li Prefecture’s mansion drowned in her own backyard!”
“Ah?” The gossipy woman’s eyes lit up. “When did this happen?”
“Just these last couple of days. Oh dear, I’m telling you this out of kindness, but I heard your sister secretly admired that Miss Li, wanting to arrange a marriage for your nephew!”
Madam Wang quickly thanked her. “Good sister, thank you for reminding me. Oh dear, I never imagined that the third young lady of the governor’s mansion would die so young.”
“Not only that, I’ll tell you secretly, but don’t tell anyone else, I heard her reputation wasn’t very good.”
“You know about the Xuanping Marquis’s son and his entourage coming here for disaster relief, right? When the governor invited the son to his mansion the other day, Miss Li shamelessly schemed against him…”
“Ah??” Madam Wang’s jaw almost dropped. “No way, the third young lady even dared to scheme against the Xuanping Marquis’s son?”
“Absolutely! She was courting death. My husband’s uncle, who works at the governor’s mansion, witnessed Prince Mu storming off. That very night, the Third Miss was punished according to the governor’s family rules!”
“Although this matter has been silenced, everyone who knows knows.”
Yu Qiuping hurriedly put down the hairpin in her hand, wanting to chase after him to hear more gossip, when she suddenly noticed the golden plaque of Chang Le Gambling House in front of her.
She paused, told Hong Lai to stay where she was, and quickly went forward to whisper a few words to the servant guarding the door.
The servant looked somewhat impatient and waved his hand vigorously at Miss Yu.
After saying only a few words, Yu Qiuping returned to Hong Lai’s side dejectedly, looking rather downcast.
“Miss?”
Yu Qiuping sighed. “Never mind, let’s not go to Eight Treasures Pavilion today. We’ll talk about it in a couple of days.”
Hong Lai was confused but nodded hesitantly. “Then, we should send someone to inform Manager Wu of Eight Treasures Pavilion that the jade Guanyin statue must be reserved for us.”
Yu Qiuping sighed again and nodded. “Have Mama Gui go and tell him.”
She turned her head with a grim face, staring intently at Chang Le Gambling House, having lost all interest in wandering around.
“Back to the manor.”
Hong Lai followed her in small steps. Just as the two were about to go across the street to hire a carriage, they saw two thick curtains at the entrance of the gambling house being forcefully lifted.
Fourteen or fifteen people rushed out, accompanied by terrified screams, “Someone’s dead!”
“Someone’s dead at the gambling house!”
Passersby in the streets and alleys gathered around curiously, and Yu Qiuping and her servant were blocked at the entrance.
Hong Lai tried to push her way through, but was pushed back, her face turning extremely pale.
“Young lady, what do we do now?”
Yu Qiuping’s face was pale, and she felt a pang of panic.
Someone outside the crowd shouted, “Oh dear, the Governor’s men are here!”
Yu Qiuping turned and saw Governor Yu leading his men in a hurry and quickly stepped back.
Governor Yu spotted his daughter immediately, frowned, and asked, “What are you doing here?”
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