The news of Cai Da’s death quickly spread throughout Marquis Kang’s estate.

At this moment, Muruo was still in his room reading. Because Tang Si had caused such a commotion earlier, his mind was now in a daze. He couldn’t concentrate on reading and had become distracted many times. He glanced at the person on the bed, then immediately withdrew his gaze.

Seeing that it was almost time to rest, he couldn’t very well squeeze onto that bed too, could he?

But the two of them weren’t even married yet—what would it mean if they slept in the same bed?

He thought about it and secretly shook his head, quickly dismissing this notion. He looked around the room again, trying to see if there was anywhere he could sleep. But aside from the tables, chairs, and benches that could accommodate a person, only the floor remained. His lower back wasn’t well to begin with—if he slept on the hard tables, chairs, benches, or floor for a whole night, wouldn’t that be pure torture?

That would never do!

But if he went to sleep in another room, he worried that lump of flesh on the bed would be scared, and then who knows, she might cling to him again.

So he dismissed that idea as well.

Just as he was worrying about what to do, someone came knocking at the door.

“Knock knock knock” several times.

Very urgent!

“Who is it?”

“Master Mo, the marquis requests you go to the woodshed in the back courtyard.”

Hmm?

Late at night, why was he being asked to go to the woodshed?

Muruo casually tossed aside the book in his hand, got up, and opened the door.

“Why does the marquis want me to go to the woodshed?”

That young servant’s forehead was covered in nervous sweat. He lowered his head and said, “Master… you should just go first.”

His voice was trembling!

So strange.

Muruo observed for a moment and pondered briefly, then nodded, sweeping his sleeves. “Let’s go.”

But just as he stepped two paces out of the room, Tang Si grabbed him.

“I’ll go with you.”

When had this fellow come out?

Muruo followed her hand clutching his sleeve all the way up to meet her gaze. The woman looked at him with eyes full of pleading, inexplicably revealing a few traces of innocence.

This sticky candy—Muruo was afraid he couldn’t shake her off.

He brushed Tang Si’s hand off his sleeve while saying irritably, “Don’t cause me trouble.”

Tang Si raised a smile, determined. “I guarantee I won’t.”

The two of them, one in front and one behind, followed that young servant toward the back courtyard.

In the dead of night.

The maids and young servants had all rushed to the outside of the woodshed where Cai Da had been imprisoned.

Each one stood rooted to the spot, trembling!

Some wanted to leave, but worried that if they returned to their rooms alone they might encounter something unclean, so they could only huddle in the crowd.

Among them, some were also discussing in low voices.

“Did you go inside to look? How exactly did he die?”

“How would I dare go in? I only heard that Cai Da’s tongue was completely severed, and that severed section of tongue was dripping with blood, extremely nauseating.”

“His tongue was severed? How could a tongue be severed?” That person shrank back, eyes filled with fear glancing hurriedly toward the room once, swallowing before lowering their voice to say, “Could it really be… ghostly hauntings?”

The person beside them stiffened. “Stop with your supernatural nonsense. Master Ji said before that there are no ghosts in this world at all—it’s just people scaring people.”

“You really believe what that Master Ji said? Just because she says there are no ghosts, there aren’t any? If it’s not ghostly hauntings, how do you explain all the recent events at this estate? Moreover, today two people died in succession! How do you explain that?”

This!

The listener trembled.

Not knowing how to respond.

At this time inside the woodshed, Marquis Kang’s brow was deeply furrowed as he looked at Cai Da sitting on the ground already dead. He wrinkled his nose, his complexion ugly—not from fear, but because Cai Da’s death scene was too nauseating, making one want to vomit.

After a long while, when his stomach felt slightly better, he turned his head to ask the two young servants who had been guarding Cai Da earlier, “During this time, did anyone come in?”

“No… no one.”

“You didn’t hear any commotion at all?”

“No.”

Marquis Kang became angry. “What are you good for? I told you to watch carefully—why did the person suddenly die?”

The two young servants hastily knelt on the ground, pressing their hands forward, saying urgently, “Marquis, we truly don’t know!”

“Speak! Were you not guarding outside at all? Did you sneak back to your rooms?”

“No, we truly didn’t return to our rooms. We followed the marquis’s command and guarded carefully outside the woodshed. We didn’t dare be careless at all and didn’t leave for even a step.”

Such injustice!

Marquis Kang’s expression became serious, and he sighed deeply in frustration. “Get up.”

The two young servants rose shakily to their feet.

Marquis Kang asked again, “Did you go to invite Master Ji and Master Mo?”

“We did.”

Just as these words were spoken, Ji Yinshu and Jingrong arrived.

The two had originally been waiting for Marquis Kang and Cai Da to come over, but unexpectedly Cai Da had actually died, so they rushed over immediately.

Whatever you worry about comes to pass!

Now that the person was dead, whatever had happened the night Old Woman Lin died would remain unknown.

Seeing the two arrive, Marquis Kang’s brow furrowed even more deeply. He stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, Master Ji, look…”

His peripheral vision glanced at the corpse on the ground.

They saw it!

They saw it!

Cai Da’s death scene on the ground was nauseating.

His mouth full of blood!

His tongue fallen to the ground!

A pair of eyes bulging wide open.

Ji Yinshu’s expression grew somber as she stepped forward and crouched down to examine.

This crouch drew sighs from the young servants and maids present, all of them softly exclaiming “Ugh,” thinking that this Master Ji was truly bold. Earlier, touching Old Woman Lin’s corpse was one thing, but now examining Cai Da’s corpse without the slightest fear—truly a bold master indeed!

How could they know that Ji Yinshu had seen many corpses even more nauseating than this one.

While she examined, Jingrong asked the guard he had sent earlier to bring Cai Da, “When did this happen?”

The guard replied, “It was discovered when Your Highness ordered this subordinate to come bring the person, but how long he’s been dead is unknown.”

Jingrong nodded, asking no further.

Ji Yinshu stared at Cai Da’s bulging eyes, noticing that the eyeballs weren’t too clouded yet. She pinched his hands and feet—not too stiff. He should have died not long ago.

Then she tilted her head back and looked up at Jingrong, saying, “Your Highness, this one needs you to help with something.”

Needless to say, it was of course to examine the corpse, since that woman’s palm was still wrapped in gauze.

Jingrong obediently crouched down beside her. “Tell me, how should I examine?”

“Pry open his mouth. I need to look inside.”

“Look at what?”

“Look at his tongue.”

Then Ji Yinshu pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to him. “Hold it tight.”

Jingrong took a breath, accepted the handkerchief, and covered his hand with it. He spread two fingers and, through the handkerchief, pinched Cai Da’s cheeks from top to bottom, applying slight force to pry open his mouth.

As the mouth opened, the viscous blood inside flowed out. Fortunately, the handkerchief blocked it.

Ji Yinshu leaned her head forward to look into that blood-soaked mouth.

A set of originally yellowish teeth was covered in blood. Between lips and teeth, blood threads spread densely, sticking together viscously. That tongue was missing a large section, extremely horrifying. The severed edge wasn’t smooth at all—clearly not cut off by something sharp, but indeed he had bitten off his own tongue to die.

Thus, she reached a conclusion. “The person has been dead for nearly two hours. He indeed bit off his own tongue to die.”

Jingrong released Cai Da’s cheeks and brushed his hand to close those wide-open eyes.

The two slowly rose to their feet.