Faced with Shi Ting’s questioning, Meng Xiangchen simply replied with composure: “I do bear responsibility for this matter. The Marshal may rest assured — I will have someone conduct a thorough investigation.”

“Investigate what?” The Marshal snapped. “Investigate why the wooden supports went missing? Investigate why the beams had lead weights hidden among them?”

Meng Xiangchen hadn’t expected Shi Ting to have identified the cause of the accident this quickly. This Seventh Young Master truly could not be allowed to remain.

“Meng Xiangchen — is this Zhang Dun one of your men?”

Zhang Dun knelt on the ground, trembling violently with fear.

“Zhang Dun is indeed my subordinate, so for his failures in carrying out his duties, I should bear a measure of shared responsibility,” said Meng Xiangchen. “But simply because he is my subordinate doesn’t mean I should be held equally guilty along with him, does it?”

The Marshal let out a cold laugh. “Meng Xiangchen, are you still going to play hardball at this point? Your third brother Meng Xiangli broke the law, plotting to kill two people. I had him imprisoned according to the law — I acted by the rules, yet that made you harbor enough resentment toward me to want me dead?”

Meng Xiangchen put on an expression of total bewilderment and tried to catch Zhang Dun’s eye for an answer, but Zhang Dun had his head bowed so low he was clearly scared out of his wits.

“Marshal, I don’t understand what you are saying.”

“You know perfectly well what I am saying.” The Marshal slammed his palm down on the table. “Guards! Take Meng Xiangchen and Zhang Dun away for thorough interrogation.”

“Marshal, I admit fault, but the things you are saying are truly beyond my comprehension.” Meng Xiangchen’s pupils contracted, and the muscles of his face twitched violently.

Shi Ting knew that Meng Xiangchen had not yet received the specific news. In his mind, all that had collapsed was the pavilion used by the contestants. According to his plan, the only person who should have been seated there at the time was Yan Qing.

Ma Yitong had been instructed by someone else to deliberately provoke Yan Qing — precisely to get Yan Qing to sit in that competition seat. The moment Yan Qing took her seat, Zhang Dun would have someone sabotage the pavilion’s main structure and cause the roof to come down.

But what Meng Xiangchen and Zhang Dun didn’t know was that Di Huai had been covertly watching their every move all along, and had communicated everything to Yan Qing and Shi Ting at the first opportunity so they could work out a counter-strategy.

What Meng Xiangchen had counted on was that the Marshal wouldn’t go to war against the Meng Family over a daughter-in-law. That confidence was why he had dared to devise this scheme from the very beginning.

“Director Meng, had it not been for the fireworks tonight, the Marshal would already be buried under the debris. I have inspected all three pavilions at the venue — only the Marshal’s pavilion had been tampered with, and that pavilion was originally designed and reserved specifically for the Marshal. Director Meng, can you explain to us why the other two pavilions are completely intact while only the Marshal’s pavilion suddenly collapsed?”

“No — this is impossible.” Meng Xiangchen stepped backward twice, his eyes seeking Zhang Dun kneeling on the ground.

No — the plan wasn’t supposed to work out this way. Why had the Marshal’s pavilion been the one that came down, not the judges’ pavilion?

No wonder the Marshal was in such a fury. Because this was no longer a matter of a pavilion collapsing — it was a matter of an attempted assassination of the Marshal.

If that charge were to stick, it was more than enough to see him end up with the same fate as Meng Xiangli.

Meng Xiangchen couldn’t stop thinking about where things had gone wrong — why, when everything had been so carefully arranged, had it all unraveled at the final moment? And not only that, but he had picked up a rock and dropped it squarely on his own foot — the biggest and heaviest rock imaginable.

He suddenly recalled Meng Madam’s warning. She had said that Yan Qing was no pushover. At the time he had dismissed her with disdain — even if she wasn’t a pushover, she was still just a woman shut away in the inner quarters.

Was it her? Could she have done this?

He met Shi Ting’s eyes — bottomless and unfathomable — and suddenly his heart quailed with a guilty shudder.

“Take them away.” The Marshal waved his hand in disgust. “Shi Ting, you will personally conduct the interrogation on this matter.”

“Yes.” Shi Ting glanced at Meng Xiangchen, and in that glance there was a flicker of provocation — as if to say: now that you’ve fallen into my hands, you’re finished.

He walked up to Meng Xiangchen and lowered his voice: “Meng Xiangchen — was the game of cat and mouse fun?”

These words were like a hand yanking hard at a taut string, snapping it.

“Who dares touch me!” Meng Xiangchen suddenly leaped backward, his hand diving into his lapel.

The Marshal was alarmed. Liu Yin instantly moved to shield him, and Shi Ting’s hand shot out like lightning — in a single fluid motion he crossed to Meng Xiangchen’s side, and before Meng Xiangchen could react, he had seized him by the shoulder and slammed him to the ground.

“None of you dare touch me — I’m a man of the Meng Family!” Meng Xiangchen thought of Meng Xiangli’s fate, then recalled the look in Shi Ting’s eyes just now, and suddenly lost all control of his emotions, making a reckless, impulsive move — which was precisely the final outcome Shi Ting had wanted to provoke.

He had deliberately enraged Meng Xiangchen to make him lose control. Now Meng Xiangchen was not only suspected of an attempt on the Marshal’s life, but had also openly resisted arrest in front of everyone. Those two charges alone were more than enough to send him to keep Meng Xiangli company.

Liu Yin’s men swarmed in together, subduing Meng Xiangchen with many hands at once and taking his firearm. At this moment the Marshal’s fury was boundless. He understood that the Meng Family had reached a level of lawlessness that knew no bounds — he had never imagined that every member of the Meng Family would treat him with such contempt. If he didn’t bring the Meng Family down, the day would surely come when he was stripped of all real power and became an empty-title commander.

After Meng Xiangchen was taken away, the Marshal had no heart to remain. He instructed Shi Ting to handle the remaining matters.

Although the poetry competition had been cut short by this incident, the evening river outing was still continuing, and the banks of the Liao River remained lively and bustling.

Qianxian Restaurant was the largest establishment on the Liao riverbank. Its exterior was shaped like a pagoda, rising five stories tall. Yan Qing was now seated on the open-air rooftop terrace of the topmost floor, with a few cold dishes arranged before her.

She held a teacup in her hands and gazed down from above at the beautiful scenery along the Liao riverbank.

Before long, someone came up the winding staircase from below.

Shi Ting had already changed out of his uniform into a long ink-black gown. Rather than rushing to interrupt Yan Qing, who was still resting her chin in her hand admiring the night view, he stood a short distance away and studied her quietly.

He had watched her all this time, and still couldn’t seem to get enough.

Though they hadn’t known each other long, something in the depths of things seemed to suggest they had already known each other for several lifetimes.

Yan Qing had been enjoying the view for a while, and sensed someone approaching. She had just turned her head when his presence enveloped her, and his lips descended on her soft ones, carrying with them a bewitching warmth.

Her instinct was to pull back, but his arm had already encircled her waist, his lips pressing down with a little more force.

His lips and tongue moved with tenderness, refusing to retreat, seeking and exploring with a wildness that held nothing back.

Starlight filled the sky and pooled in her eyes, her long lashes drifting weightlessly in the moonlight, drawing him into claiming even more.

After a long moment he finally released her, his gaze lingering with amused interest on her lips, now rosy and slightly swollen.

Yan Qing glared at him with mild annoyance. “What are you doing — what if someone comes?”

They weren’t the only ones in the restaurant.

“There are people standing guard downstairs. Who could come up?” Shi Ting leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “And who would dare come up?”

“Have you eaten tonight? Shall I have them bring up hot dishes?”

“Please.” Shi Ting sat down across from her. “Good moment, beautiful scenery, lovely companion — this calls for a small drink.”

“What a pity Director Shi didn’t participate in the poetry competition,” Yan Qing said with gentle teasing.

Before long, the server brought up several hot dishes.

Shi Ting poured Yan Qing a cup of fruit tea and himself a small cup of rice wine.

He raised his cup; Yan Qing lightly clinked hers against it. The two exchanged a knowing smile.

Today’s scheme of drawing Meng Xiangchen into the trap had been a joint plan between the two of them.

After Yan Qing had discovered Meng Xiangchen’s scheme, she had decided to turn his own plan against him — and together with Shi Ting, they had formulated this stratagem.

What Meng Xiangchen didn’t know was that Shi Ting had long since arranged for someone to secretly switch the competition pavilion and the guests’ pavilion with each other.

And the man Zhang Dun had sent out in secret had already been captured by Di Huai. Liu Yin, meanwhile, had taken on the responsibility of keeping Zhang Dun under close surveillance.

Even after Zhang Dun realized his man had made no move, he hadn’t dared to act rashly and go looking for him — which meant the initiative rested entirely in Shi Ting’s hands.

The sudden fireworks display was simply to draw everyone outside. Even if the Marshal hadn’t wanted to go watch, Shi Ting would have found another way to get him clear — he would never have truly let the Marshal come to harm.

“Congratulations to my husband on eliminating yet another member of the Meng Family.” Yan Qing raised her fruit tea cup, her smile even more radiant than the moonlight.

“Many thanks to my wife for her assistance.” Shi Ting clinked his cup lightly against hers and smiled. “Now that the Meng Family is down to just Meng Xiangyang, what do you think he’ll do next?”

“Meng Xiangyang has been backed into a corner with nowhere left to turn. If I’m not mistaken, his next move will be to rebel.”

The Meng Family had long been steeped in wealth and high office, blissfully unaware that their behavior was like stealing chestnuts from the edge of a fire. When the day their daydream finally came to an end, nothing but ruin would be waiting for them.

Shi Ting tipped his cup back and drained the wine in one clean swallow — smooth and satisfying, thoroughly comfortable.

He set down the cup. Moonlight fell reflected in those bottomless dark eyes: “Meng Xiangyang will very soon discover that his Meng Family has already become an empty shell.”

When Meng Xiangyang received the news that Meng Xiangchen had been arrested, a rush of rage and fury attacked his chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Meng Madam and the several concubines immediately fell into chaos — some calling for the doctor, some fetching a spittoon…

“The Marshal — the Marshal wants to exterminate our Meng Family!” Meng Xiangyang’s lips were still stained with bright red blood, and both eyes had gone completely bloodshot.

“Master, please don’t get agitated any further,” Meng Madam said, wiping tears. “Our Meng Family only has you left now. If you fall, then the Meng Family is truly finished.”

“Yes, Master — you must hold on. You absolutely must not let yourself be worked up again.” Si Yitai urgently began patting his back to soothe him.

Meng Xiangyang’s breath came in rapid, ragged gasps, his eyes riddled with broken veins of red: “The Marshal is truly ruthless. Xiangchen and Xiangli are both my blood brothers — they’ve both rendered service for him. Yet he doesn’t show the slightest consideration for the bond of past friendship.”

Meng Xiangyang closed his eyes and let out a long sigh to the heavens. “What the second one said back then — at the time I wouldn’t agree with him. Now I can see clearly: the Marshal has always intended to destroy our Meng Family. First the third brother, then the second, and I’ll be next. None of us three Meng brothers has a son to carry on our line — when the three of us fall, the Meng Family is over.”

“Master, what do we do now?” Si Yitai was so anxious that tears came to her eyes. If the Meng Family fell, where would she go to enjoy a life of luxury and privilege?