The physician at Wangxue Manor hurriedly squeezed through the crowd with his medicine box, took Xie Hengzai’s pulse, tried pressing his philtrum to wake him, and finally administered several needles on the spot – all in vain.

“Reporting to Grand Madam, the eldest young master’s heart meridians are completely damaged. There’s nothing more that can be done… Please… everyone accept my condolences.”

Hearing this verdict, Qiao Yinzhi could no longer hold herself together and wailed in grief while embracing Xie Hengzai’s corpse.

A person who had been alive and well during the day was now dead.

The two assassins in the crowd exchanged confused glances – they hadn’t found an opportunity to act yet, so they weren’t the ones who killed him.

The Xie family Grand Madam collapsed into her chair in overwhelming grief, her trembling hand reaching out to point angrily at Xie Queshan.

“Your elder brother was literally angered to death by you!”

At these words, the grief-stricken crowd in the hall turned to glare indignantly at Xie Queshan. Xie Queshan stood facing everyone’s fury, his expression still maintaining calm.

He looked at his angry grandmother, his voice containing a hint of weariness: “Grandmother makes such a judgment – isn’t that somewhat hasty?”

Seeing the conversation taking a wrong turn, Huang Yankun quickly shouted loudly: “The cause of Young Master Xie’s death is unclear – we still need to thoroughly investigate for assassins. Everyone at tonight’s banquet must have their identities verified before leaving.”

As his words fell, soldiers surrounded the wedding hall completely.

In the panic, no one noticed that someone had disappeared from the hall at some point.

Nanyi had thought the Qin family’s residence was already large, but it wasn’t even one-tenth the size of this Wangxue Manor.

Here, courtyards connected to courtyards, corridors layered upon corridors, with eaves beyond eaves, like the winding eighteen bends of a canyon river that seemed to have no end.

Escape was always her first choice in life.

She had slipped quietly out of the wedding hall when she heard the eldest young master was beyond help, taking advantage of everyone’s distraction. She realized that whether it was the husband who had died suddenly beside her or the living demon Xie Queshan seated in the place of honor, everything she’d encountered tonight was enough to kill her a thousand times over.

She had to escape the Xie family and deliver the message to Guoyu Tower. She couldn’t wait any longer.

But this nine-layered compound was itself a giant cage – anyone who entered couldn’t escape even with wings. Only now did Nanyi vaguely realize she’d made a very foolish move, but she didn’t dare stop.

Suddenly, in her panicked flight, Nanyi collided with someone. When she looked up, Xie Queshan’s face crashed into her vision without warning. Terrified, Nanyi stumbled backward several steps, quickly raising her wedding fan to cover her face.

The surroundings suddenly became deathly quiet. Nanyi could only hear her own heartbeat nearly jumping to her throat.

She knew raising the fan was like covering one’s ears while stealing a bell – Xie Queshan must have seen her – but she still harbored a thread of hope. Today she wore heavy makeup and looked quite different from her beggar-like appearance then. What if – what if he didn’t recognize her?

Nanyi saw those boots take a step toward her. She could only timidly retreat a step. He advanced, she retreated, until she backed into the low railing along the corridor, her body nearly falling backward.

Below the corridor was a lake in the garden, moonlight shimmering on the water.

His hand caught her waist, stopping her backward fall. The warmth of his palm traveled through the fabric to her back, yet made Nanyi shudder. She was trapped within inches, with nowhere to escape.

“Sister-in-law should go keep vigil for my elder brother.”

His voice was like the lake water below the corridor – very calm, but you clearly knew this lake water had soaked in winter’s bitter cold for so long, how freezing it must be.

Xie Queshan released his hand. Nanyi immediately fled several steps to the side, still using her wedding fan to desperately block her face. Without effort he grasped her wrist, forcibly pulling down the hand holding the fan. Nanyi clenched her fist in resistance, but under his overwhelming strength, it was all futile.

The fan was lowered bit by bit, her face completely revealed before his eyes.

Xie Queshan only vaguely remembered that little beggar had pretty eyes and brows. He hadn’t expected that after washing away the grime and changing into fine clothes, the little beggar would have such a brilliant and captivating face.

At this moment, her clear eyes were brimming with tears that, along with panic and fear, were about to overflow.

This was the offensive and defensive between prey and hunter, with this wedding fan as the shield between them. But much, much later, when Xie Queshan recalled this scene, he suddenly remembered the meaning of that fan-covering gesture.

“My lord, you have the wrong person,” Nanyi stammered in her own defense. But these words were obviously a case of protesting too much – she was already so nervous she’d lost all composure.

“Oh? Who does sister-in-law think I’ve mistaken you for?”

Nanyi was struck speechless by the question. She opened her mouth but couldn’t make any sound. She was so nervous that she suddenly let out an untimely hiccup.

Her features trembled, and the tears she’d been holding finally couldn’t help flowing down. Nanyi was defeated without a fight, completely routed. Even the most hard-hearted person should have been moved by this young woman’s pitiful appearance, but Xie Queshan remained unmoved.

“My lord, please spare me.”

“Transforming yourself into a Qin – your skills are considerable.”

“I was also forced!”

“Who exactly are you?” His tone was aggressive, turning vicious.

“I, I really am a Qin, but only an illegitimate daughter of their family… You’re the one who told me to flee. I was afraid of being caught by you, and with nowhere else to turn, I went to the Qin family for help. I didn’t expect them to trick me into marrying into the Xie family.”

“They have their own daughter – why would they need someone to marry in her place?”

Xie Queshan questioned faster and faster, giving Nanyi no thinking space, forcing her to answer immediately.

“Their legitimate daughter is pregnant…”

At this moment, footsteps echoed from the opposite corridor across the lake. Torches in the soldiers’ hands leaped along the long corridor like fire dragons.

“There’s someone over there!”

Xie Queshan looked up toward them. The soldiers would reach here soon.

Nanyi also realized what was happening and looked at Xie Queshan even more pitifully.

He only raised his eyebrows playfully at Nanyi: “Even if I spare you, others won’t.”

Xie Queshan looked like he was watching a fire from across the river. Nanyi knew she couldn’t count on him. She was even a bit angry – she thought if she obediently answered his questions, he would spare her life, but he was just getting something for nothing.

Nanyi glared at Xie Queshan with the resolve of one facing death, then steeled herself and actually turned to climb over the railing.

“Husband, I will die for love with you!”

Nanyi shouted loudly, then jumped into the water with a splash.

This series of fluid movements happened in an instant. Even Xie Queshan was somewhat stunned. Women really could change faces – one second looking at him pitifully, the next second able to throw herself into the lake without blinking an eye to save herself. He watched the ripples on the lake surface expressionlessly, yet his demeanor seemed to gradually relax.

Immediately after, the calm lake surface became like dumplings being dropped in water as soldiers, servants, and maids all jumped in to save her. The commotion spread from the lake’s center, and the deathly quiet Wangxue Manor erupted into chaos.