Yan Qing knew Madam Yan would want to bring up old matters again, and couldn’t help feeling a wave of irritation. But under the current circumstances, she should not confront Madam Yan head-on — after all, she was a daughter who had married out of the family, and the true authority over the inner household of the Yan Mansion still rested with Madam Yan.

After Yan Qing arrived at Madam Yan’s courtyard, the door to Madam Yan’s room was left slightly ajar. The young maidservant said, “Sixth Miss, please go in — Madam is waiting for you.”

There was no sign of Madam Yan in the sitting room. Yan Qing turned from the sitting room toward the bedchamber on the other side, and there, in front of the elaborately carved bed, a figure lay collapsed on the floor — and by the look of that figure, it was Madam Yan.

Yan Qing stepped quickly toward the person and called out urgently, “Madam.”

She was just about to reach out and help Madam Yan up when a sudden violent pain exploded at the back of her skull — as though she had been struck by something heavy. Then, all-encompassing darkness rushed in, and she sank into that darkness.

When Yan Qing came to again, she was jolted awake by a sharp, piercing scream.

“Ah — murder! Murder!”

The screaming made Yan Qing’s head ring and throb. Rubbing her temples, she pushed herself up from the floor. She lowered her eyes to look — and in her hands, at some unknown point, there was a copper teapot. The teapot was covered in fresh blood.

Her eyes flew open wide, and she raised the teapot somewhat incredulously to examine it more closely.

Almost half of the teapot was smeared with blood. Beneath the bloodstains, the copper surface even had several pronounced dents.

“Murder! Murder!” The scream rang out again. Only then did Yan Qing notice a young maidservant standing beside her, covering her face and screaming at the top of her lungs in a voice sharp and piercing.

With the maidservant’s screaming, a great crowd of people surged in from outside.

“Mother.” Yan Qin’s voice — twisted with anguish — cut across Yan Qing’s ears. “Mother, Mother — what’s happened to you?”

Yan Qin rushed over in two or three strides to Madam Yan’s side. She moved to pick her up, but recoiled at the sight of all the blood pooled across the floor.

She extended her hand to Madam Yan’s nose and then let out a sudden, sharp shriek. “Dead — Mother is dead!”

“Don’t move her,” Yan Qing said urgently. “Protect the scene.”

Yan Qin wheeled around and glared at her with eyes that seemed about to spew fire. “You murderer — you killed my mother!”

Yan Qing hastily set down the teapot in her hand and stepped forward, intending to examine Madam Yan’s condition. But Yan Qin planted herself in the way, absolutely refusing to let her near.

“What’s going on here?” Eldest son Yan Qi strode in with large steps. At the scene before him, his mind went blank for a moment. He walked to Madam Yan’s side, reached out and felt for her breath, and his expression crumpled at once — his eyes immediately flooding with tears. “Mother, Mother — how could you just go like this without a word? How are we to go on? What are we supposed to do?”

People surged in from all sides in a rush, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

Yan Qing watched the figures darting back and forth before her, her own mind a muddle. The throbbing pain at the back of her skull reminded her of what had happened before.

After entering Madam Yan’s room, she had found Madam Yan collapsed on the floor — and immediately after, she had been struck from behind and lost consciousness.

When she came to, she had a blood-covered copper teapot in her hand, and Madam Yan was already dead.

“Mother is dead!” Yan Qin wailed loudly. “Mother is dead — Yan Qing, you murderer!”

Yan Qi also turned a furious glare on Yan Qing. “Yan Qing, was it you? Was it you who killed Mother?”

“Elder Brother, I did not kill anyone,” Yan Qing said, looking at Yan Qi, whose face had gone a deep red. “I would not kill Madam.”

“You’re lying,” Yan Qin shot back. “You had a bloody copper pot in your hand just now. Mother’s head was nearly smashed to pieces, and a maidservant witnessed it with her own eyes. You say it wasn’t you who killed Mother — who’s going to believe that?”

“It truly was not me. Madam had sent for me, and when I came in I was attacked by someone.”

But Yan Qing’s defense fell on deaf ears. She knew — she had been framed. And whoever had framed her had done it in the most extreme way imaginable, not hesitating to sacrifice a human life in the process. More than that, she had a feeling: this matter was not as simple as merely framing her.

“Send for the military police!” Yan Qin shouted. “Have the military police come and arrest this murderer!”

Yan Qing quietly closed her eyes for a brief moment and let out a quiet sigh in her heart.

These past few days she had been completely consumed by caring for Master Yan, exhausted in body and spirit. She had not thought for a moment that someone would make a move against her here. The other party had come with overwhelming force — killing a person and planting the evidence without the slightest hesitation.

Yet she had, after all, weathered great storms. Now that she had calmed herself, she began to take careful note of the scene.

The scene was inside Madam Yan’s bedchamber. Where Madam Yan had fallen was a very large pool of blood. Judging by the shape of the blood pool, the victim had not struggled at all after being struck down. The splash patterns of the surrounding bloodstains indicated that the assailant had struck the victim’s head multiple times.

After the victim had fallen, blood from the head had flowed heavily, forming the pool. Based on how much the blood pool had dried, the victim’s time of death was approximately two hours ago.

The assailant must have had considerable strength — capable of bringing the victim down with a single blow, then following up with a concentrated barrage of strikes to the head.

“What are you all standing there for? Quickly seize this murderer!” Yan Qin screeched, pointing at Yan Qing.

At that moment, Murong had also heard the news and come rushing over.

Because Master Yan’s illness carried the risk of contagion, Yan Qing had been on her own, unwilling to drag Murong into danger alongside her. So she had frequently sent Murong to handle errands and affairs on the outside.

Murong had only just been told by the servants about the sudden incident here — and in practically no time at all, the news that Sixth Miss had beaten Madam Yan to death had spread throughout the entire Yan Mansion.

“Let me through!” Murong parted the crowd and ran to stand before Yan Qing, throwing out both arms to shield her. “Miss would never kill anyone.”

“With witness and physical evidence both present,” Yan Qin said coldly. “That maidservant saw with her own eyes, the moment she came in, that she was standing over my mother with that copper pot in her hand, while my mother lay on the ground with blood all over her head. If it wasn’t her who killed my mother — was it a ghost?”

“Yan Qing,” Yan Qi said, his gaze filled with deep disappointment as he looked at her. “I know you had grievances against Madam, but there was no need for you to raise your hand against her. She was, after all, a woman who watched you grow up — the proper wife the Master married openly and formally. You… how could you be so ruthless?”

Since the last incident, when little Nuo’er had fallen into the water and Yan Qing had saved her, the relationship between Yan Qing and Yan Qi’s family had gradually thawed. Little Nuo’er in particular had taken to visiting her courtyard every two or three days.

It was only that on this return, Yan Qing had been afraid of transmitting the illness to little Nuo’er and had kept the child at a distance.

“Elder Brother.” Yan Qing knew that saying more at this point was useless — every detail of the scene pointed to her as the murderer.

“I don’t want to say anything more to you,” Yan Qi said, shaking his head. “When the military police arrive, they will draw their own conclusions.”

While waiting for the military police, the servants outside couldn’t help but chatter among themselves.

“To think that Sixth Miss would commit murder — isn’t she married to Chief Shi?”

“That’s called knowing the law and breaking it anyway. Do you think people in the military police never break the law? Anyone can break the law — let alone their family members.”

“But what grievance could Sixth Miss have had with Madam?”

Yan Qing paid no attention to their gossip, and instead said to Yan Qi: “Elder Brother, don’t let Father know about this. You know the state Father’s body is in — he can’t withstand any more shocks.”

“I know that without you telling me. I’ll have people keep it from him. When the time comes, I’ll just say you had urgent business and went back to the Shi Family.”

“Thank you, Elder Brother.” Although Yan Qi had certain shortcomings — a tendency to let himself be dominated by his wife — in some respects he was still a reasonable and sensible man. “I’ll leave Father in Elder Brother’s care.”

“Don’t make it sound like Father only has one daughter.” Yan Qi huffed. “I’ve been managing the Yan Family’s affairs recently — otherwise I’d be caring for him myself.”

Yan Qing smiled slightly and said nothing more.

“Mother, Mother.” Yan Qin had wanted to hold Madam Yan in her arms, but had accidentally gotten blood on her hands — the sticky sensation made her immediately step back two paces.

Madam Yan was dead. In truth, Yan Qin felt little grief. If both Master Yan and Madam Yan were gone, then there would be no one who could manage her anymore — and this Yan Mansion would be entirely her domain.

Yan Qin glanced around at the people nearby. Still wanting to appear filially devoted, she was disgusted by the blood but had to pretend she was deeply grieved. Her expression became so contorted and unreadable that for a moment no one could quite tell whether she was sorrowful or elated.

Before long, members of the military police arrived. The one leading them was Bai Jin.

On the way over, Bai Jin had heard what had happened. He did not believe Yan Qing was capable of murder — he was certain there must be some misunderstanding in all of this.

“Everyone, step back.” The moment Bai Jin arrived at the scene, he had his people put up a cordon, separating the onlookers.

When he entered the room, he saw Yan Qin sitting collapsed beside Madam Yan, and Yan Qi and Yan Qing standing nearby.

He had an instinct to call out “Sister-in-law,” but thinking of Yan Qing’s status as a suspect, he swallowed those two words back down.

“All of you, please step outside. The scene needs to be secured.” Bai Jin said this while his gaze drifted in Yan Qing’s direction. “We will thoroughly examine the scene. Not a single clue will be overlooked. You may rest assured.”

These words were, in fact, meant for Yan Qing’s ears.

Yan Qing’s gaze met Bai Jin’s lightly, and she gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

Bai Jin and his team set about collecting physical evidence from the scene. He picked up the teapot that had been used as the murder weapon and examined it. Inside the teapot were remnants of tea leaves and a little tea water. The victim’s hair also had the same tea leaves clinging to it — confirming that the weapon used to strike the victim was this copper teapot.

The teapot was very finely crafted, made of superior-quality copper, and the moment one held it, the weight of it was unmistakably heavy and solid.

If someone were to use a teapot of this quality to strike a person’s head, just a few blows would be enough to beat them to death.

Bai Jin crouched down and carefully placed each piece of evidence into an evidence bag.

As Yan Qing was going out the door, she came face to face with E’Yuan. When E’Yuan saw her, his mouth opened slightly. “Master.”

Yan Qing stepped close to him and said in a low voice, “I’ll have to trouble you with this.”

E’Yuan bit his lip. “Master, I believe you didn’t kill anyone. Don’t worry — I will find evidence on the body. I will prove you are innocent.”

“You are already a forensic examiner who can stand entirely on your own. I trust you,” Yan Qing said with a small smile.

Yan Qing came to the sitting room and waited with the others for the military police’s examination results. Time passed second by second, and the atmosphere in the room was as still and sunken as stagnant water.