Cuiji stood there in a daze, allowing Mother Zheng to beat him, completely unable to understand how they could have suddenly appeared from that room out of thin air. It shouldn’t… it shouldn’t be like this.

Du Ruhui walked up to him with a smile, “How is it? Do you find it incredible? The truth is, they were in the room from the very beginning.”

Cuiji immediately retorted, “Impossible! I clearly went to check, and there was no one inside at all.”

Father Zheng snorted coldly, “Of course you couldn’t see us, because we were tied up and trapped in the cabinet.”

Hearing these words, Cuiji finally understood what had happened. In his rage and frustration, he pointed at Du Ruhui and shouted angrily, “You… you deliberately schemed against me?”

Du Ruhui smiled coldly, “Young Master Cui destroyed all the evidence. If we hadn’t done this, how could we have convicted you? Now Master Zheng, Madam Zheng, and Lord Pei have all heard your words. You have no way to deny it.”

Pei Qiancheng took over the conversation, “You thought yourself supremely clever, treating everyone else as chess pieces, but this time, you became Brother Du’s chess piece. Isn’t this what they call ‘being too clever for one’s own good’?”

Cuiji’s face turned ashen with rage. He pressed his thin lips tightly together and nervously thought of ways to escape. Du Ruhui saw through his thoughts and shook his head, “You need not waste your efforts any longer. Everything… ends here!”

As he spoke, knocking sounds came from the short cabinet beside Du Ruhui. Pei Qiancheng slapped his forehead, “Oh right, how could I forget about him?” He walked over and opened the cabinet door, and a middle-aged man crawled out from inside.

Cuiji at this moment was like a startled bird. Upon seeing him, he hurriedly asked, “Who is he?”

Pei Qiancheng patted the man’s shoulder, “Come, show Young Master Cui your special skill.”

“Yes.” The man responded, then suddenly changed his voice, “Cuiji, you harmed me, I want you to pay blood for blood!”

“This…” Cuiji stared at him in disbelief. How could Du Yang’s voice come from his mouth? Could it be that he was the one speaking earlier too?

Pei Qiancheng laughed, “He is the one who truly knows ventriloquism. I don’t have that skill. He was the one speaking all along; I was just moving my mouth to put on a show. How was it? Did I look convincing?” He then shook his head, “Strictly speaking, it should be ‘they’ – there’s another ventriloquist, but he’s across the way.”

Cuiji’s eyelids twitched continuously, “Earlier… you used two ventriloquists working together to make us hear voices coming from left and right, making it sound like ghosts were speaking.”

“Exactly. Cui Yongzhong found the right rooms – it was indeed those two rooms. Unfortunately, he didn’t find me, so he thought he had made a mistake. Otherwise, this plan would have been difficult to execute so smoothly. As soon as Cui Yongzhong left, I had him use a hole we had dug earlier to crawl over from next door.”

Cuiji gritted his teeth, “How despicable of you!”

“When it comes to being despicable, I’m far inferior to you!” Du Ruhui walked up to him and said slowly, “I know you’re naturally suspicious and cautious, so I laid two plans – one overt and one covert. Once you uncovered the obvious scheme, you would think you had won and let down your guard. Then I would take this opportunity to provoke you, possibly forcing you to tell the truth. The facts prove that this step was correct.”

Pei Qiancheng chuckled, “You should feel honored. To convict you, we even had Master and Madam Zheng and my elder brother tied up and brought here. If you hadn’t said those words just now, Brother Du and I would have been in real trouble.”

Early this morning, the two of them had used a note containing the truth about Zheng Yang’s death to lure the Zheng couple out of the Zheng residence, then secretly kidnapped them and placed them in the cabinet. Pei Qiantong was the same. After all, the Zheng couple had too direct a stake in this matter, making their testimony insufficiently powerful. But Pei Qiantong was different – he was completely an outsider to this affair, like a neutral party. His words carried more weight than anyone else present.

Cuiji knew that this time he truly couldn’t escape. He had been about to marry Princess Jinyang and become the current dynasty’s Prince Consort, but in the blink of an eye… he would have nothing left. He stared at Du Ruhui with a face full of resentment, “Didn’t you always say that brothers are like limbs? Why then must you drive me to a dead end? Why must you destroy everything I worked so hard to obtain?”

Du Ruhui said expressionlessly, “From the moment you killed Zheng Yang, we were no longer brothers, but… enemies!”

Cuiji said with a face full of resentment, “Zheng Yang, Zheng Yang – in the end, it’s all because of this dead man. If not for him, how would I have come to this point? He simply… should never have lived!”

“Slap!” Father Zheng used all his strength to deliver a vicious slap to Cuiji’s face, “The one who shouldn’t have lived is you! The Zheng and Cui families have been family friends, and I regarded you as my own nephew, yet you killed Yang’er. I…” He pointed at Cuiji with trembling hands, gritting his teeth, “Even if I risk this old life of mine, I will never let you go!”

Cuiji spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, which even contained a tooth – apparently knocked out by Father Zheng’s blow. He sneered, “From beginning to end, I never said I killed Zheng Yang. I only said he didn’t know his place and deserved to die!” That slap, though painful, had also given him an idea for saving his life.

“You!” Father Zheng trembled with rage all over. Indeed, although Cuiji’s earlier words were excessive, he had never actually admitted to killing Zheng Yang.

Pei Qiancheng said coldly, “Though you didn’t admit it outright, every word you spoke implied that you were the murderer.”

“Implied?” Cuiji shook his head, “No, it has always been your speculation. Murder is a grave crime that requires both witnesses and physical evidence. Now you want to convict me based solely on your empty words. Heh, even if you combine the power of both your families, you cannot succeed.” He then turned his gaze to Du Ruhui, “And you – have you considered that if I cannot marry the Princess today, her reputation as a husband-killer will be confirmed? She may never be able to marry again and will have to remain a spinster for life!”

Du Ruhui stared at him coldly, “Even if the Princess never marries for her entire life, it would be better than marrying a beast in human form like you.” He then cupped his hands toward Father Zheng, “Master Zheng, it’s getting late. Why don’t we escort him to the palace to face His Majesty now?”

“Good!” Under Father Zheng’s direction, everyone escorted Cuiji outside. Cui Yongzhong, who had been waiting outside, was filled with surprise at this scene. After recovering from his shock, he quickly stepped forward, “What are you trying to do to my young master?” Because Father Zheng and Pei Qiantong were present, he didn’t dare to be too presumptuous.

“We’re taking him to face His Majesty.” As soon as Pei Qiancheng finished speaking, Cui Yongzhong said, “No! What status does my young master have? How can you just arrest him as you please? Moreover, today is the auspicious day for my young master to marry the Princess. Release him immediately!”