Zhao Yue looked down at Li Weiyang from above and couldn’t help but smile. Miss had indeed predicted correctly. She leaped down from the beam, her movements astonishingly fast, drifting like a ghost. In the blink of an eye, she had landed steadily at the window.

At this moment, the dozen or so people outside had already drawn their weapons. Chenxiang quietly made a gesture to them, telling them that the people inside had extinguished the lights and gone to sleep—it was the perfect time to strike. As long as they rushed in and quickly subdued that martial arts-trained maid, then strangled Li Weiyang, everything would fall into place.

However, just as they pushed open the door, they heard a cold interrogation: “Who are you?!”

Li Weiyang suddenly sat up in bed, her eyes bright as snow as she stared at these menacing black-clothed figures, without a trace of fear.

Leading them, Chenxiang’s expression froze slightly. Li Weiyang’s demeanor showed not the slightest bit of fear—how could this be—

“What’s the matter? Is your young master so afraid of me that he’d risk killing me here?” Li Weiyang’s eyes held a trace of cold mockery. Her voice was icy, yet carried a hint of that strange charm unique to young maidens.

“Kill her!” Chenxiang made an immediate decision and gave the order!

The group, who had been momentarily startled by Li Weiyang and had almost forgotten their purpose, finally snapped back to reality. Weapons flashed, cold light transforming into icy waves, one surge higher than the last, striking fiercely. But at this moment, from outside the room, from the windows, from the rafters, from behind the bed, countless black shadows leaped out silently, noiselessly surrounding these dozen black-clothed people. In their panic, they seemed to hear a woman’s soft, low murmur: “Disturbing one’s peaceful dreams in the middle of the night is truly too detestable…”

The next morning, Jiang Yuelan, as previously arranged, came to knock on Li Weiyang’s door. At this time, all the Jiang family members were in the great hall keeping vigil, none having slept all night. Although Li Weiyang was nominally a granddaughter, she was actually an outsider. If she didn’t volunteer, no one demanded she stay awake on watch. But the next morning, she still had to go to the mourning hall.

Jiang Yuelan took a deep breath before instructing a maid to knock on the door. She expected to see a ground covered in blood, and almost gently closed her eyes. Truly sorry, Princess, though you and I have no enmity, our positions are different. If I stand on your side, how can I rely on the Jiang family’s power in the future?! So, I can only apologize.

The door gently opened, but what happened next was something that filled her with infinite terror. A pretty maid emerged from the room and said softly, “Madam.”

These two words were like a death knell. In her terror, Jiang Yuelan stepped back and tumbled down the stairs.

“Mother! What’s wrong with you?!” Li Changle had also rushed over impatiently. Just arriving at the corridor, she saw this scene and quickly stepped forward to support her, inwardly blaming Jiang Yuelan for her lack of courage—frightened like this by just a few dead people. Just as she was about to look up and scold Jiang Yuelan’s maid for not taking care of her mistress properly, she looked up and saw Baizhi’s gentle face, and was instantly stunned.

“Madam, First Miss, what’s wrong with you two?” Looking like you’ve seen ghosts, Baizhi added in her heart, though deliberately showing a surprised expression on her face.

Li Changle looked at her in shock: “You… you… how are you—” How are you not dead?! How is this possible?!

However, something even more unbelievable happened. Li Weiyang, dressed in plain mourning clothes, walked leisurely out of the room. At this moment, the garden air was mixed with the fragrance of earth, the sky was pure and clean, deep blue and serene. Sunlight fell on Li Weiyang’s fair face, her eyes shimmering with rippling light, reflecting everything even more clearly. Yet seeing this face, Li Changle’s heart involuntarily beat so fast it seemed about to leap from her chest!

Li Weiyang’s face showed displeasure: “Baizhi, since Mother and Elder Sister have come, why didn’t you invite them inside to sit?!” Her voice was gentle, her face pale and delicate as spring flowers, incomparably radiant.

Li Changle’s teeth began to tremble with fear. For a moment she thought she was dreaming, then felt this drifting figure must be a ghost. Finally, she began to suspect Jiang Hua hadn’t acted at all! A series of mental struggles occurred in an instant. Li Changle’s complexion changed several times, but no matter what, she couldn’t control her trembling hands and feet.

Just then, Jiang Hua also slowly walked over. He had already mentally prepared himself, because throughout last night, Chenxiang had never come to report back to him. Just dealing with three weak women… though killing them directly would be easier, they couldn’t leave obvious wounds, so Jiang Nan had calculated that strangling Li Weiyang would take at most a shichen to clean up. Yet until dawn, he had received no news. This was truly too unusual. Finally able to leave the mourning hall, he immediately came here—he had to see for himself!

But when he truly saw the calm-faced Li Weiyang still alive, his heart suddenly sank.

“Ah, Weiyang merely woke up a bit late, yet not only alarmed Mother and Elder Sister, but now even the Third Young Master has been disturbed. Truly unforgivable.” Li Weiyang wore a guilty expression.

Li Changle bit her lip: “Did you… sleep well last night?”

Li Weiyang sighed and said, “Of course not.”

Jiang Hua frowned and looked at her, only to hear her continue: “Since Grandmother passed away, I should have kept vigil in the mourning hall all night. Otherwise, my heart feels uneasy, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. However, the environment here is extremely good, quiet and peaceful, and the maid’s service was so attentive—” Speaking of the maid, she suddenly showed a puzzled expression and said, “Speaking of which, I haven’t seen that maid called Chenxiang since getting up early this morning. By the way, have any of you seen her?”

Jiang Hua was the only person present who maintained composure, but the muscles on his face were also faintly twitching. He lowered his eyes, took a deep breath, suppressing the brief terror in his heart. When he raised his eyes again, his gaze was natural yet distant, then he said, “That maid must have run off somewhere to slack off. I’ll have someone search for her later. For now, let’s go to the great hall.”

With that, he was the first to leave the courtyard. He didn’t even need to glance into the room, because he knew it must be as peaceful there as if nothing had happened. Li Weiyang—he had thought he had seen through her, but in reality, he had never understood this deeply scheming girl! No, perhaps he should consider treating this young girl as his opponent rather than just a stumbling block! He had never encountered such an incredible young woman before! Let him wait and see who would have the last laugh!

Li Changle and Jiang Yuelan exchanged glances. Jiang Yuelan forced a smile: “Weiyang, we’ll wait for you in the great hall first.” Then she pulled Li Changle away, quickly leaving without looking back.

Baizhi snorted, “They were terrified, thinking they would see us dead. Serves them right…”

“Right, what a show! Did you see First Miss’s expression? Like she’d swallowed a dead fly…” Zhao Yue agreed with a laugh.

Only then did Li Weiyang slowly breathe out. Did they think this was the end? No, she still had a great gift to give them!

When they reached the entrance to the great hall, the originally sparse and weak wailing inside suddenly became dense and shrill upon seeing Li Weiyang. Li Weiyang paid no attention, slowly walked up, and solemnly offered a stick of incense. The Jiang family members, all dressed in plain mourning clothes, stared at her with complex eyes, yet she appeared completely oblivious.

Among a group of people who hated her, Li Weiyang could still show such a calm expression. Whether she truly had no fear or was merely putting on an act, it was enough to surprise the Jiang family. However, the truly surprising event was yet to come. Just as everyone was staring at Li Weiyang, someone suddenly burst in, face ashen: “No! Something terrible has happened!”

Jiang Xu was the first to stand up, frowning: “Why are you making a commotion in the mourning hall?!”

The newcomer was covered in sweat—it was the Jiang household steward. He said in terror, “Magistrate Yao—something happened at Magistrate Yao’s place!”

Jiang Xu and Jiang Hua exchanged glances, not daring to delay, and quickly walked toward the great hall exit. Seeing this, everyone followed one after another.

Baizhi whispered, “Miss, should we go?”

Li Weiyang raised her eyebrows: “Go, why wouldn’t we go? Such a good show—it would be a shame to miss it.”

When the Jiang family members arrived at the guest room where Yao Changqing was staying, they saw Magistrate Yao, who always paid attention to being neat and tidy, standing barefoot at the door with uncombed hair, his complexion extremely ugly. Seeing this scene, Jiang Xu quickly approached: “Magistrate Yao, you—”

Yao Changqing said nothing, raised his hand and pointed toward the room. Jiang Xu frowned and looked in the direction he pointed…

Looking around, the four treasures of the study were all present on the desk, and in the upper left corner of the cabinet sat a blue and white porcelain vase with orchids blooming within. This peaceful scene should have been like countless other safe and sound mornings, but on the floor, on the table, on the windows, even on the bed, hung corpses. Most terrifying of all was the female corpse on the bed—her eyes hadn’t even closed, staring fixedly at some empty place… Seeing this scene, everyone felt cold winds blowing toward them. No one dared make a sound, all their bones chattering lightly. Jiang Lan, who had been following not far behind Jiang Xu, screamed and fainted with eyes rolling back. Her maid quickly caught her. Li Changle and Jiang Yuelan exchanged glances, both seeing terror in each other’s eyes.

Jiang Xu exploded in fury: “What on earth is going on?!”

Yao Changqing also wore a dumbfounded expression, only now recovering: “When I got up early this morning, I saw that person on the bed holding a dagger trying to kill me. When I struggled forcefully, her arm broke…” As he spoke, he still wore a dreamlike expression.

Now everyone’s faces had changed. Magistrate Yao was staying at the Jiang residence, yet when he woke up in the morning, so many people were trying to assassinate him? This was truly too serious! Jiang Xu quickly said, “Who was keeping watch last night? How could such a thing happen?!”

The steward stammered, “Master, this servant has already asked those guards—none of them noticed anything unusual!”

Jiang Hua’s complexion suddenly turned pale. He truly couldn’t suppress the shock in his heart. The people who had died in this room were clearly the death warriors he had sent out. Including Chenxiang, a total of eleven people were all in the room! What was going on?! For a moment he almost suspected these fools had entered the wrong room and gone into Yao Changqing’s chamber! But how was that possible?! Li Weiyang lived in the inner residence, Yao Changqing lived in the outer residence—they were completely unrelated. How did these people end up here?!

Before long, the coroner came in a panic. The news he’d received was that Magistrate Yao, staying at the Jiang residence, had been attacked! This threw him into confusion. But when he arrived, he found Magistrate Yao completely unharmed, just a bit frightened. Yao Changqing barked sternly, “What are you standing there for! Hurry up and examine them!”

The coroner immediately went in. Everyone watched him roll up his sleeves and touch each corpse’s shoulders and arms one by one, then lift their heads. The bodies had long since stiffened. To see the deceased’s faces clearly, he had to bend the bodies backward against the chair backs. Li Weiyang turned her head away, as if unable to bear watching. Beside her, Jiang Hua stared at her fixedly. If not for the crowd present, he almost wanted to grab Li Weiyang and demand to know what the hell was going on?!

Baizhi cried out in alarm, “Isn’t that Chenxiang?”

Everyone’s expressions changed dramatically, especially Yao Changqing, who immediately pressed, “You know her?”

Baizhi showed an incredulous expression: “She’s a maid from the Jiang household! She disappeared yesterday, supposedly having served in the Jiang family all along—”

At this moment, Jiang Hua’s face became extremely ugly, while Yao Changqing stared darkly at the Jiang family members.

Before long, the coroner emerged, bowed respectfully, then said, “The blood has coagulated, the bodies have stiffened. From this, they must have died late last night.”

Yao Changqing nodded, muttering, “They came to kill me last night, but didn’t even have time to kill me before losing their own lives. This is strange.”

Li Weiyang sighed and said, “Magistrate Yao, this shows you have Heaven’s protection. Who knows who eliminated these threats for you. It’s just that these people died so strangely in your room—it’s truly odd.”

Hearing this, Yao Changqing’s brows knitted tightly: “I clearly had people guarding the courtyard gate last night. How did these people get in?!”

The coroner added, “This subordinate examined the walls, small windows, and air ducts, but found nothing. It’s indeed very strange—I wonder if the Jiang residence has any secret entrances…”

Any prominent family, any century-old household, usually had tunnels in their homes. This wasn’t a secret, just like the tunnel behind the artificial hill at the Li residence that led directly to the rear quarters. Only a few select people knew about this, and they would never reveal it to outsiders. The coroner spoke carefully, actually quite fearful. This matter wasn’t originally his place to comment on, but since it was so significant, he had no choice but to ask!

Jiang Xu’s expression changed, then he said, “The guest room has no secret panels at all, much less hidden doors or passages. To enter or exit this room, one must go through this door!”

He spoke with absolute certainty. Li Weiyang’s lips curved upward. Raising her eyes and seeing Jiang Hua’s grave expression, she said lightly, “What’s wrong with Third Young Master? Were you frightened?”

Jiang Hua suddenly raised his head and stared at her, his gaze revealing infinite complexity. He desperately wanted to know how Li Weiyang had silently delivered those people to Yao Changqing’s room! With so many guards outside, how did she kill them and transport them here?! This was simply inconceivable! No, he had to think through everything from the beginning. If Li Weiyang could escape assassination, she must have already arranged people to protect her. But how did these people get in?! Could she know where the Jiang family’s tunnels were?! It was simply unbelievable!

Jiang Xu had also thought of this. If someone had entered through the Jiang family’s extensive network of secret passages, who had revealed the passages? He said through gritted teeth, “Magistrate Yao has been frightened. I’ll immediately arrange another room!”

Yao Changqing thought to himself this was more than just being frightened. He definitely had to report this to His Majesty. Over a dozen people died in his room in one night, and among them was a Jiang family maid… He almost suspected the Jiang family wanted to kill him to cover up the truth of the old lady’s death, but was somehow discovered and stopped by someone. However, the Jiang family’s intentions were truly too malicious!

Actually, if the Jiang family truly wanted to kill Yao Changqing, how could so many assassins have died so mysteriously in his room? Such an obvious suspicious point, yet Yao Changqing turned a blind eye. He only felt that without the Jiang family’s protection and tacit approval, these people couldn’t have broken through the multiple layers of guards outside to enter his room. Now the Jiang family members were still pretending ignorance before him—truly too audacious! But he couldn’t leave immediately now, or it would make him appear cowardly—

“Clean up the room immediately!” Jiang Xu commanded sternly, then turned to Yao Changqing: “Magistrate Yao, please.”

Yao Changqing’s face was particularly ugly. “Much obliged.” He decided to immediately order expert guards from the Capital Magistrate’s office to come and stand watch. He absolutely couldn’t let the Jiang family have another opportunity! They would watch the Jiang family for twelve shichen a day!

Everyone departed with alarmed expressions. Only Jiang Hua walked up to Li Weiyang and suddenly stopped, slowly saying, “Is my Fifth Brother in your hands?”

Li Weiyang smiled faintly: “What do you think?”

In that instant, Jiang Hua had already confirmed his guess. “Did he tell you about the secret passages here?”

Li Weiyang’s expression was peaceful, but in Jiang Hua’s eyes, it was infuriating to the extreme. “The Fifth Young Master and I are good friends. It’s not strange for him to tell me some secrets, is it?”

“He would never tell outsiders about such things! What have you done to him?!” Jiang Hua’s handsome face showed a moment of ferocity.

Li Weiyang smiled faintly: “Third Young Master, you really overestimate me. I’m just a weak woman without the strength to truss a chicken—what could I possibly do to your Fifth Brother?”

Jiang Hua clearly didn’t believe her. Among all the women he’d seen, there had never been one who could stand before him so calmly after killing so many people. Even if she hadn’t killed them with her own hands, it was still under her direction! This woman was simply outrageous! At this moment, he had forgotten it was he who had ordered those people to their deaths, instead blaming all the mistakes on Li Weiyang!

Seeing the killing intent in Jiang Hua’s eyes, Baizhi became frightened but stood protectively in front of Li Weiyang. Jiang Hua raised his eyebrows, cold light shooting from his eyes, actually frightening her into involuntarily stepping back. Li Weiyang steadied Baizhi and said gently, “Don’t worry. Are you really afraid Third Young Master would attack me here? Magistrate Yao is still staying at the Jiang residence!”

Jiang Hua’s teeth ground together involuntarily. In any battle of wits, one must control the other’s psychology. He had originally thought he’d seen through Li Weiyang, but now discovered he’d only seen the tip of the iceberg—a chill crept through his heart. After a long while, he gathered his spirits again and said, “Did you kill him?”

Li Weiyang laughed, “You’re saying I killed Fifth Young Master?” As she spoke, a trace of mockery flowed through her eyes. “No. Jiang Tian once saved my brother’s life, so not only will I not kill him, I’ll treat him well. Right now he’s probably sleeping soundly. Third Young Master need not worry. When I safely leave the Jiang residence, Fifth Young Master will be safely returned.”

“You think you can threaten me with his life—” Jiang Hua only stared at her coldly. The young woman before him wore extremely plain blue mourning clothes, yet they instead made her red lips and white teeth stand out, radiantly beautiful. But no one would imagine her mind could be so formidable.

Li Weiyang’s smile became even more composed: “I’ve never threatened you with anything. It’s only because you asked me first whether Fifth Young Master was in my hands that I told you I’ve invited him as my guest. Third Young Master, please don’t misunderstand—I’m very hospitable. Whether Fifth Young Master wants to stay ten days or half a month, or a year and a half, it’s all fine. Ah, by the way, I haven’t had breakfast this morning. I’ll go now. Farewell.” With that, she smiled slightly and departed calmly with Zhao Yue and Baizhi.

The steward nearby had been directing people to handle the corpses. Now emerging and seeing Jiang Hua still standing in place, he walked over. Just about to speak, he glanced at Jiang Hua and discovered his forehead was pale with a greenish tinge, with a few faint blue veins pulsing visibly.

The steward had watched all five Jiang young masters grow up and knew Third Young Master was an extremely reserved person. His current appearance clearly showed pent-up frustration. Unable to help it, he said, “Third Young Master, are you alright?”

Jiang Hua said softly, “I’m fine.”

“But—”

Jiang Hua continued staring coldly at Li Weiyang’s retreating figure until he could no longer see her at all. The steward waited a long time, not daring to speak again, until he heard what seemed like a long sigh before saying in a low voice, “Third Young Master, those people in the room…”

Hearing this, Jiang Hua whipped his head around. The steward saw a cold, ghostly fire in his eyes and was so frightened he swallowed the rest of his words. Jiang Hua glared at him coldly for a long while before slightly waving his hand: “Find places to settle them first.”

The steward immediately ordered people to wrap the assassins in hemp cloth and carry them out. Watching this, Jiang Hua became increasingly furious. These eleven people were top experts he had carefully trained. How could they have died so silently? He hadn’t even heard any sounds in the middle of the night—but this was his own fault. To kill Li Weiyang, he had ordered the guards quietly removed from that area. Now looking at these dead bodies, a flash of killing intent seemed to cross his brow, but then it darkened. He looked at the steward and said softly, “You understand the household rules, don’t you?”

The steward quickly said, “This servant understands. No rumors will leak out.”

Jiang Hua said nothing more, turned and left, his steps urgent and quick. His attendant Wu Feng followed behind, jogging a few steps, panting: “Young Master… Third Young Master…”

Jiang Hua suddenly punched the wall heavily. Wu Feng was startled and immediately knelt: “Young Master, please calm your anger.”

Jiang Hua stood for a while before saying, “Get lost.”

“But…” Wu Feng hesitated.

“Get lost now!” Jiang Hua kicked him viciously. He rolled along the ground with the momentum, then got up and carefully glanced at him before slowly retreating. Third Young Master had never shown such an expression—no, or rather, everything in this world had been under his control and had never spiraled out of control before!

Jiang Hua stood alone, his mind buzzing. Li Weiyang should have died! How could she not be dead! How could Fifth Brother be in her hands! He believed that no matter how Li Weiyang tortured him, Jiang Tian knew what was important and would never tell her about the Jiang family’s tunnels. But aside from this possibility, he truly couldn’t explain how those people were killed so silently! Before his eyes flashed Li Weiyang’s smiling face one moment, then her light, mocking laugh the next. He wandered aimlessly for several steps, a fire burning in his heart, so uncomfortable he couldn’t bear it. Finally he made up his mind—he must pin the murder charge on Li Weiyang and use this opportunity to eliminate this scourge! Actually, he didn’t need to be so anxious. Once the Duke’s wife was buried, the truth would never be known, and Li Weiyang would still be convicted of murdering her grandmother, her reputation ruined! All he needed was to wait, just wait!

During the funeral period, Yao Changqing began striving to search for evidence in the residence. Now he had completely sided with Li Weiyang. No matter how he looked at the Jiang family members, he felt they were very suspicious. However, after carefully investigating those assassins, aside from Chenxiang, he couldn’t find any clues on the others. He questioned every servant, examined every item, but came up empty-handed. The only method seemed to still lie in examining the corpse, but no matter how much he tried to persuade them, the Jiang family insisted on refusing the autopsy. He was helpless.

The news of the Duke’s wife’s sudden death during the funeral immediately shocked the entire capital. Every morning, the street outside the Jiang residence entrance was packed with dense rows of sedan chairs and carriages. Without exception, these vehicles hung white gauze lanterns, each bearing a large blue character “offering.” The guests all wore solemn expressions as they brought funeral gifts to the door. The Jiang family members, dressed in heavy mourning, were so busy their feet barely touched the ground, having to bow to each visitor. Seeing this scene, Yao Changqing naturally couldn’t disturb them further and could only watch helplessly as the days passed one by one, growing increasingly worried.

His Majesty had already issued an edict to solve the case within ten days. If things continued this way, after ten days, he would have to take Li Weiyang back to report. Such a delicate young miss, and his own sister-in-law—though he had always been impartial and enforced the law fairly, he didn’t want to offend the Li family before even getting married. He truly didn’t know how to handle this.

Today was the day for the coffin procession. Once today passed, Li Weiyang’s murder charge would be confirmed. Yao Changqing looked worriedly at Li Weiyang but couldn’t see any sadness or anxiety on her face. She was simply indifferent, like the other guests who came to pay respects, bearing a faint solemnity with no sign of anything unusual.

Yao Changqing was puzzled. Why wasn’t this young miss anxious at all? Didn’t she know that after today, everything would be finished?

Eight servants positioned the coffin poles on their shoulders and were about to lift the coffin when all the plainly dressed Jiang family members, according to custom, burst into loud wailing. Just then, something strange happened—the eight strong men couldn’t lift the coffin! They tried several times, but the coffin on the long bench didn’t budge. Jiang Xu couldn’t help frowning. A coffin weighed only about a hundred jin. The Duke’s wife was small in stature—together they couldn’t exceed two hundred jin. Eight people, averaging not much per person—how could they not lift it?

Someone emerged from the crowd of guests, dressed in Taoist robes—it was the emperor’s new favorite, Zhou Tianshou. His expression was solemn: “This means the Duke’s wife is reluctant to leave. You must cry harder!”

Generally speaking, the deceased’s family had to cry desperately, best if they cried their hearts out. This naturally had significance—loud crying would make the deceased see and soften their heart, allowing the coffin to be lifted.

Li Weiyang watched coldly as Jiang Lan and the other women could barely cry, completely just wailing dryly. She couldn’t help but sneer, staring at the coffin with mocking eyes. Generally, when people reached a certain age, they would prepare coffins in advance. The Duke’s wife’s originally prepared coffin had been stored at the Jiang family’s別villa. Who knew that when they went to retrieve it, the Jiang family discovered the coffin had strangely developed countless termites that had completely hollowed out that fine nanmu wood coffin. Where could they find another on such short notice? Fortunately, General Sun was accommodating and voluntarily offered the good wood he had originally prepared for his own mother, figuring Old Lady Sun could last another year or so.

On the surface it seemed just like that, but in fact, the coffin’s origin wasn’t so simple. Li Xiaoran had first gone to the Sun family to explain that he had a fine golden thread nanmu coffin already prepared for Lady Li’s future use. Now that the Jiang family had this incident, he felt it was natural to show his dedication, so he was willing to give this coffin to the Jiang family. But because the two families had a grudge, he let the Sun family take credit for this good deed. General Sun was a military man after all—how could he think Li Weiyang had already tampered with the coffin? He immediately took on this good reputation without hesitation and happily went to the Jiang family.

At this moment, hearing Zhou Tianshou say this, the Jiang family members couldn’t help but wail loudly. The eight people tried to lift the coffin again, but this time not only didn’t the coffin lift—instead, with a crack, the rope broke and the coffin fell back onto the long bench with a thud. The Jiang family’s crying immediately stopped, and everyone was dumbfounded. This had never happened before!

Jiang Hua stared at the rope that had bound the coffin, growing suspicious. This rope was as thick as a thumb—how could it possibly break?

The crowd discussed among themselves: “The Duke’s wife doesn’t want to leave!” “Right! Could she have something she wants to tell her family?” “Hard to say! She died unjustly—maybe she wants someone to avenge her!” “How eerie! In a hundred years, we’ve never encountered such a thing!”

Among common folk, if two families had conflicts, there was a vicious curse: wishing that when someone in your family died, no one would carry them. This meant your family had bad relationships—when someone died, no one cared. An even harsher version was: when someone in your family died, they couldn’t be carried out, meaning your home was a graveyard where the dead stayed put. Everyone understood it this way. Seeing this scene, they all looked fearfully at this coffin.

Li Changle, who had been crying the most fiercely, nearly had her eyeballs pop out! She gripped Jiang Yuelan’s hand tightly, clearly terrified!

Li Weiyang said lightly, “Uncle, I’m afraid Grandmother has some grievance that hasn’t been addressed! In my opinion, we should open the coffin for an autopsy!”

Jiang Xu kept a stern face and said nothing. Jiang Hai exploded in fury: “Li Weiyang, what are you scheming! Insisting on opening the coffin for autopsy!”

Li Weiyang sighed and said, “Magistrate Yao, what do you think?”

Yao Changqing said with a cold face, “Eldest Young Master, I believe Miss Li is innocent. If she were truly guilty, why would she insist on opening the coffin for autopsy?”

Jiang Hai snorted coldly and turned his face away.

Jiang Xu said with a cold expression, “Magistrate Yao, disturbing my mother’s spirit is something we truly cannot do. If Weiyang wants to prove her innocence, she should find another method!” With that, he called for eight more servants, brought poles, and had a total of sixteen people rebind the coffin. They tried again to lift it, struggling for a full shichen. Using all their strength, they finally managed to lift the coffin this time.

Jiang Xu breathed a sigh of relief. However, Li Weiyang watched coldly, showing a half-smiling expression.

The Jiang family members began wailing loudly again—this was called the “lifting cry,” firstly to show grief, secondly to alert the ghost that it should move with the coffin. The sixteen bearers had just lifted the coffin off the bench when two cracks sounded—the two carrying poles broke simultaneously, and the coffin fell heavily to the ground.

This heavy fall nearly made everyone’s eyes pop out. How could this be? How could this coffin be so heavy! Could there really be ghosts and demons at work?! They’d never encountered a ghost with such strong resentment. At most, they appeared at night in dreams or to frighten people. Who had ever seen one causing trouble in broad daylight? This showed there was a tremendous grievance!

For a moment, the discussion in the great hall almost drowned out the Jiang family’s voices: “Master Jiang, you should examine the corpse!” “Yes, this situation isn’t right! The old lady has a grievance!” “Right, right, the murderer probably isn’t Third Miss. The old lady doesn’t want to wrong a good person!” “Examine the corpse quickly! Though it disturbs the spirit, it’s better than letting the murderer go free!” “Even performing rituals won’t work in this weather—examining the corpse is faster!”

The ritual method was best, but took the longest time—three days at minimum, forty-nine days at maximum. The problem was, in the middle of summer, forget forty-nine days—even in three days the corpse would stink. So the only option was to open the coffin for autopsy. Once the Duke’s wife’s grievance was cleared, everything would naturally dissipate.

These people’s words made the Jiang family members’ faces particularly ugly. The coffin sat right there—it couldn’t be carried away. In the hot summer, though packed with ice, if left for several more days, the body would still stink. If under these circumstances they still insisted on their position, it would be too suspicious!

If people hadn’t seen it, who would believe such things in broad daylight? The servants were now completely at a loss. Now no one dared step forward to carry it—they all stood back watching.

Zhou Tianshou said coldly, “Master Jiang, I advise you not to be stubborn! If you continue to persist in your delusion, that would truly violate filial piety! Defy Heaven’s will!”

Jiang Xu could barely speak, only staring at that coffin with his eyes, remaining silent for a long time.

“We should open the coffin!” At this moment, the Crown Prince entered from outside, his expression grave.

Everyone bowed. The Crown Prince shook his head, indicating they need not be so formal, then looked at the coffin and said, “Father Emperor learned of this strange occurrence and specifically ordered me to come see.”

Jiang Xu’s heart jolted. How had the news spread so quickly?! In just half a shichen, it had already reached the palace. Had the emperor been watching the Jiang family all along, or had this matter already spread throughout the entire city?! Just as he hesitated, the Crown Prince said with difficulty, “Father Emperor’s verbal decree is that if it truly cannot be lifted, it proves there must be a grievance, and the coffin must be opened for autopsy.”

Actually, he had originally intended to enter the palace and have the emperor decree the execution of the most suspicious Li Weiyang. However, Consort Lian mentioned this news from the side, saying the Duke’s wife’s coffin couldn’t be carried out. She embellished it, saying the murderer must be someone else. The emperor immediately changed his mind and had the Crown Prince come to open the coffin for autopsy… The Crown Prince vaguely felt something was wrong but couldn’t refuse, so he immediately rushed over.

“Since it’s His Majesty’s verbal decree, Master Jiang, you should obey.” Zhou Tianshou looked at him coldly.

Jiang Xu still wouldn’t relent, only because he felt Li Weiyang was forcing them to do this. Once the coffin was opened, nothing good would come of it! The Crown Prince looked at Zhou Tianshou and couldn’t help asking, “Taoist Master, what do you think should be done?”

Zhou Tianshou smiled faintly: “Let me listen to what the Duke’s wife has to say!”

Everyone in the hall held their breath, watching Zhou Tianshou step by step approach the coffin and stand still. Taking a deep breath, he then drew a black wooden sword from his sleeve, closed his eyes, and said, “By urgent decree!” Everyone stood to the side, watching him chant for a while, then wipe two fingers across the blade and draw a barrier on the coffin. Only then did he cry out in a low voice, but as if in the old lady’s tone, even the voice eerily similar: “You, as descendants of the Jiang family, don’t think of avenging your mother—truly unforgivable!”

The speculation that had been ongoing finally had a conclusion. Everyone couldn’t help but gasp. Some were shocked, some angry, some curious, some fearful—in any case, no one was unmoved. Immediately someone shouted: “Open it! Open the coffin quickly!” “Right! Open it quickly!” “We can’t let the old lady die in vain! We must find the murderer!” “Didn’t you hear what the old lady said? Not opening the coffin for autopsy is the greatest lack of filial piety!”

Jiang Xu looked around sharply but saw the crowd was thick with people—he had no idea who was shouting. Yet these voices seemed to come from multiple places simultaneously, including men, women, old and young—impossible to identify!

Li Xiaoran stepped forward and said lightly, “We should open the coffin for autopsy. This is also the Duke’s wife’s wish.”

In the crowd, Li Minde, dressed in blue mourning clothes, nodded from afar to Li Weiyang. Li Weiyang lowered her eyes, showing a trace of coldness: You’re the ones forcing me to expose your conspiracy in front of this great assembly. Even if my reputation is ruined, you can’t blame me!

At this point, the Jiang family had absolutely no way to prevent the coffin opening! Jiang Xu silently stood to the side. The other Jiang family members all had extremely ugly expressions! Especially Li Changle, who stared fixedly at that coffin. She didn’t know what would happen if this coffin truly opened! She was terrified, so terrified she was about to faint, but before the crowd, she could only grip her handkerchief tightly, almost unable to say a word. In reality, she wanted to scream!

The coffin was about six chi long and two chi high. The coffin lid wasn’t nailed shut but only had a long strip of wide oiled paper wrapped densely around the coffin lid. Yao Changqing pushed hard and found the lid quite heavy—one person couldn’t easily open it. He immediately waved his hand, ordering people to come lift the coffin lid.

“Begin the examination!” Yao Changqing calmly gave the order.

Everyone’s eyes widened, watching. Such a spectacle was rarely seen in a hundred years! Jiang Hua only stared at Li Weiyang, staring at her fixedly, as if trying to see a flower bloom on her face. He could foresee that this coffin was like a box containing disaster—once opened, it would definitely deal a severe blow to the Jiang family… But now, he momentarily couldn’t think of any way to stop it!