“We servants don’t know about such things,” the little maid lowered her head and shook it, well aware of what should and shouldn’t be said.

Li Lingsu rose from the bed and walked to the table. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the table surface, adopting an aggressive posture as he looked down at the little maid, the corner of his mouth curling up:

“Little girls should be obedient and well-behaved to be liked.”

Dujuan’s small face suddenly flushed red. She lowered her head, not daring to look directly at Li Lingsu, and said weakly:

“I, I know a little. Sir, you have to promise not to tell anyone, otherwise this servant will be in trouble.”

Bright eyes like they held stars, handsome features, and an extraordinary aura… What lovestruck young girl could resist my charm! Li Lingsu sighed as if from a lonely height.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone…” he smiled and promised.

“The young miss and the master naturally have a very good relationship, but the young miss seems unwilling to marry into the Huangfu family. She has pleaded with the master many times, even going on a hunger strike for a few days because of it.”

Chai Lan is unwilling to marry into the Huangfu family and even goes on a hunger strike to resist… Li Lingsu frowned, wondering why Xinger hadn’t told him this.

“Then, what about the relationship between the young miss and Chai Xian?” Li Lingsu asked thoughtfully.

“As close as siblings,” Dujuan said.

“Is there any, um, romantic feeling between them?” Li Lingsu probed.

“This, how would this servant know…” Dujuan said awkwardly.

He then asked about the relationships between several core members of the Chai family. When he asked about the relationship between Chai Xinger and Chai Jianyuan, Dujuan said:

“There was a conflict between the aunt and the family head before.”

Li Lingsu narrowed his eyes and said nonchalantly, “Oh? Tell me more about what happened.”

Dujuan hesitated for a moment, then said:

“That was many years ago. The former uncle’s surname was Liu, and the Liu family had been close friends with the Chai family for generations. Later, the Liu family fell on hard times. The uncle then married into the Chai family. Later, when the uncle and the family head went out together, they encountered an accident, and the uncle didn’t make it back alive.

“However, I heard that there seemed to be some inside story to the uncle’s death. The aunt and the family head had a big argument…”

She paused and didn’t continue.

She had already said too much, and as a maid, she didn’t know the specific details anyway.

Xinger’s former husband died under suspicious circumstances. Why have I never heard about this during the time we were together… Li Lingsu frowned inwardly.

He quickly understood. Of course, no one would mention the aunt’s former husband in front of him, the aunt’s new lover.

“Thank you for telling me, Miss Dujuan!”

Li Lingsu flashed a smile as warm as central air conditioning, making the little maid feel comfortable all over in the cold winter season, her cheeks turning peach-red.

After sending away the maid called Dujuan, Li Lingsu returned to his room and flopped onto the bed, trying to grasp the truth of the events in the chaotic fog.

Chai Lan is unwilling to marry into the Huangfu family. If I were Chai Xian, wouldn’t I just elope with her…

How did Xinger’s former husband die? It seems to be related to Chai Jianyuan. Otherwise, why would they have such a big argument… Besides being the biggest beneficiary, she now has another motive for murder.

Li Lingsu sighed, sat up, and decided to go to the inn to tell Xu Qian about the information he had gathered.

“I could investigate this on my own. Just because Xu Qian has high cultivation doesn’t mean he’s good at solving cases. Who does he think he is, Xu Qi’an?”

Li Lingsu grumbled but didn’t give up on the idea of reporting the news to the old man.

…

In the capital, at the Xu mansion.

In the inner hall where the charcoal fire was burning, Aunt was peeling tangerines and said:

“When you go to the Prince’s mansion in a few days, you must be well-mannered and behave yourselves. Don’t let the ladies and female relatives of the Prince’s mansion look down on you, understand?”

As she spoke, she raised her head, her gaze leaving the tangerine to look at her young daughter who was eagerly waiting to eat the fruit beside her.

“I’m talking about you!” The aunt said irritably. “All you know is eat, eat, eat. I’ll send you to the Bureau of Astronomy to study sooner or later.”

Today she was wearing an embroidered cloud-patterned jacket paired with a dark pleated long skirt. Her exquisite hairdo was adorned with jade hairpins and golden dangling ornaments, looking dignified and beautiful. At first glance, she had the air of a noble lady from a prestigious family.

Of course, those familiar with Aunt knew that she was all show and no substance.

“That’s great! That way I can play with Sister Caiwei,” said Xu Lingyin, who wore her hair in a child’s bun, happily.

What she wanted to say was that Sister Caiwei had plenty of silver and could always buy all sorts of delicious things.

But she wasn’t the same Xu Lingyin as before. Now, she was…

“Mom, how old am I now?” Xu Lingyin asked loudly.

Aunt ignored her and turned to Xu Lingyue, saying:

“But you can’t let yourself be bullied, you know? In high-ranking families like the Prince’s mansion, none of the ladies are easy to get along with. You have a weak personality and won’t speak up even when bullied.

“If you’re bullied, go find Simu. In any case, use your judgment, understand? Oh, and the children of the Prince’s eldest and second sons are about the same age as Lingyin. It’s most troublesome between children and hard to reason with… Don’t let Lingyin hurt them.”

Xu Lingyue responded with an “Mm” and said, “I understand, Mother.”

Second Young Master Xu and the Prince’s daughter were to be engaged, and there needed to be some ceremonial interactions between the two families. Aunt, as the matriarch of the family, certainly couldn’t appear casually, as it wouldn’t befit her status.

Therefore, the interactions between the women were left to the sisters Lingyue and Lingyin.

But Aunt was worried. She, a remarkable woman with both beauty and wisdom, apart from giving birth to a somewhat promising Second Young Master, had two daughters who were barely satisfactory.

Xu Lingyue was too weak, a pushover who spoke in a soft voice, while Xu Lingyin wasn’t very bright, just a foolish little girl.

Aunt was afraid they would be bullied when they went to the Prince’s mansion.

This wasn’t Aunt being overly anxious. High-ranking families like the Prince’s mansion had a strong sense of superiority. The Prince’s daughter marrying the Second Young Master was marrying down. How much respect would the women of the Prince’s family have for the Xu family?

Although they wouldn’t openly show contempt, there would likely be no shortage of subtle jabs.

With Xu Lingyue’s weak personality…

“Alas!” Aunt sighed in frustration.

She stopped thinking about these troublesome matters and complained, “That Yang Qianhuan, despite being acquainted with your eldest brother, when I wrote to him asking if the Bureau of Astronomy could take Lingyin as a disciple, he still hasn’t replied.”

Xu Lingyue, peeling a tangerine, said, “Mother, the Bureau of Astronomy has already replied. I received the letter yesterday but forgot to tell you.”

Aunt’s eyes lit up with excitement, “What did they say?”

Xu Lingyue said in a soft voice, “Senior Brother Yang said that Lingyin has extraordinary talent, beyond his ability to teach. He recommended Lingyin to the Director, but the Director didn’t respond to him and wouldn’t even let him up to the Eight Trigrams Platform.”

So it’s because Lingyin has extraordinary talent!

Aunt felt much better. After thinking for a moment, she decided it would be better to let her train with Li Na for now.

By this point, Aunt had given up on the idea that a proper young lady should be trained from childhood and was looking forward to Second Young Master and the Prince’s daughter getting married soon and giving her a granddaughter.

The characters she raised weren’t useful, so she could only hope for the little ones her son would raise.

Thinking of this, Aunt showed a slightly gratified expression:

“Simu has good talent and is intelligent. Although she’s a woman, she’s well-read. Second Young Master is even more of a scholarly type. Their children will be smart in the future.”

As she spoke, she raised her hand, revealing a pair of emerald green bracelets on her snow-white, slender wrist.

“These bracelets were given to me by your father when I married him. He said they were passed down from your grandmother. My mother-in-law passed away early and couldn’t personally pass them on to her daughter-in-law, so she entrusted them to him, telling him to give them to his wife with his own hands when he got married in the future.”

Aunt reminisced about her youth for a moment, then smiled and said, “In the future, I’ll pass them on to Simu. Hmm, I’ll only give her one though, the other one is for the eldest son’s wife.”

“Wow, so beautiful,” Xu Lingyin stretched out her chubby little hand. “Mom, let me see, let me see.”

Aunt was very fond of her youngest daughter. She took off the bracelet and handed it over, cautioning, “Be careful, don’t chip it.”

As she was speaking, Xu Pingzhi entered the inner hall, carrying armor and a long sword at his waist.

Xu Pingzhi was now a Thousand Households in the Imperial Blade Guard, a high position with great power. He had become a new noble among the Five Guards of the capital. Although he didn’t have a noble title, even ordinary nobility would have to treat him with respect when they met him.

Aunt sniffed and frowned, “Why did you buy green tangerines again? We have sweet ones at home.”

“I’ve been craving sour things lately,” Xu Pingzhi said with a straight face, blatantly lying in the absence of his nephew and son.

At this moment, he noticed the bracelet on his youngest daughter Xu Lingyin’s wrist and was startled:

“Why did you give her the family heirloom bracelet? What if she damages it?”

Xu Lingyin raised her chubby little hand and boasted, “Father, look quickly, what do I look like?”

“What do you look like?” Xu Pingzhi reflexively asked.

Xu Lingyin said in a crisp voice, “Don’t I look like your mother?”

…Xu Pingzhi looked at her for a moment, silently put down his helmet, and picked up his scabbard.

Xu Lingyin’s wails echoed throughout the Xu mansion.

…

At the Chai mansion.

Li Lingsu left his room and walked through the courtyard. He saw that the disciples of the mansion looked serious, everyone carrying swords and guarding the entrances to corridors and courtyards.

“What happened?” he approached a Chai family disciple and asked.

“A thief broke into the cellar last night,” the Chai disciple said gravely.

The cellar… Li Lingsu was confused, then heard another disciple nearby explain:

“The cellar is where we store the walking corpses.”

Among the Chai family’s side businesses was the practice of corpse-herding, and the cellar was used to store the bodies. Moreover, some corpses had other uses. For example, when Chai family disciples came of age, they could claim a walking corpse from the cellar as a puppet.

Collateral branch disciples could only claim ordinary corpses, while direct line disciples could claim blood corpses. Blood corpses were refined by the elders and had at least the fighting power of the Refining Essence realm.

If one could refine a blood corpse into an iron corpse, it would be considered entering the hall of mastery in the art of corpse control.

The strength and defense of an iron corpse were comparable to a sixth-grade Bronze Skin Iron Bone realm martial artist, but its combat effectiveness was somewhat weaker, as it lacked the qi and the sense of danger honed in the Spirit Refining realm.

“Xu Qian mentioned that Chai Xian invaded the cellar last night, looking for Chai Lan’s corpse… Chai Xian suspects Chai Lan is already dead.”

Li Lingsu immediately changed his mind, not rushing to find Xu Qian. After asking for the location of the cellar, he turned and left.

Soon, he came to a secluded courtyard in the inner compound.

The area was guarded by more than a dozen Chai family disciples who blocked his way.

“Young Master Li, this is a restricted area of the Chai family. You can’t enter.”

Li Lingsu frowned, displeased, “You dare to block the son-in-law’s path?”

He pushed past everyone and strode into the courtyard.

The Chai family disciples looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Following the steps down to the cellar, Li Lingsu immediately covered his nose: “It stinks terribly.”

Soon, he saw rows of corpses, motionless like sculptures.

“That old codger Xu Qian would love this place,” Li Lingsu muttered.

Having spent some time with the Gu Clan in the Southern Borderlands, he knew what the Corpse Gu practitioners were like.

Li Lingsu tapped his brow, and his pupils immediately faded. His vision changed, and these corpses were no longer purely walking dead. Their earthly souls were tightly bound within their physical bodies.

Like stagnant dead water, silent and still.

But if awakened with the right method, they would become pain-resistant, fearless warriors.

In the Southern Borderlands Gu Clan, the Heart Gu sect controlled beasts, the Corpse Gu sect controlled corpses, and the Poison Gu sect that used invisible poisons was always the most troublesome existence.

He strode deeper inside, and after half a quarter of an hour, he finally saw living people – several Chai family disciples guarding a wooden door.

The wooden door was half-open, with candlelight shining through from inside.

A cellar within the cellar? What’s stored inside? Li Lingsu approached, only to be blocked again.

“Who’s out there?” Chai Xinger’s cold voice came from behind the wooden door.

“It’s me,” Li Lingsu said.

After a moment of silence from within, Chai Xinger said in a low voice, “Let him in.”