“Miss Feng, this is Old Liang’s adopted son, Liang Yi.” The Fortress Lord, now seated, looked toward Liang Yi.

His gaze then shifted to the woman who had just spoken. “And this is Old Chen’s adopted daughter, Chen Xiaoyi — Xiaoyi is one of my women.”

Hearing the Fortress Lord’s words, Feng Jiu’er frowned. “Old Chen? Is that the Old Chen who shared the same courtyard as Old Liang’s family?”

“Yes,” the Fortress Lord answered with a nod.

“Wuu wuu…” Before anyone else could speak, Chen Xiaoyi burst into tears.

“All these years, Old Liang treated me like his own daughter, just as my adoptive father did. I never imagined… wuu wuu…”

“Fortress Lord, you must seek justice for the three Liang brothers! Their family died so horribly, this murderer…”

Chen Xiaoyi glanced at the young servant, crying even harder.

“It must be her — she’s the one who poisoned Old Liang’s family! Fortress Lord, this might not even have anything to do with Sister at all — maybe it was this young servant’s doing!”

“Sister has always been so compassionate — how could she possibly do something like this? It must be her!”

“Not only did she kill them, she’s even trying to pin the blame on the very person who saved her life. Fortress Lord, this young servant deserves a terrible end!”

“Madam, please explain why the jade pendant the Fortress Lord gave you was found on my household’s servant?” Da Liang had been staring at the Lady of the Fortress since he walked in.

Not just him — Er Liang and San Liang were doing the same.

At this moment, everyone was looking at the Lady of the Fortress, the Fortress Lord included.

The Lady of the Fortress picked up the cup in front of her, took a light sip of tea, and calmly met the Fortress Lord’s gaze.

“Even you don’t believe me?” She showed neither urgency nor sorrow, her question asked without much weight at all.

The Fortress Lord looked at his wife, his thick brows furrowing — it seemed his resolve was softening.

“Madam, it’s not that I don’t believe you. Could you explain what exactly happened here?”

“It wasn’t me.” The Lady of the Fortress looked at the three Liang brothers in the hall, her voice lowering somewhat. “As for the jade pendant, I don’t even know when it went missing.”

“Sister, it must have been this young servant — she stole your jade pendant to frame you,” Chen Xiaoyi’s voice rang out again.

The Lady of the Fortress turned her gaze, fixing it on Chen Xiaoyi. “What proof do you have?”

Chen Xiaoyi seemed not to have expected this question and was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a brief pause, she came back to herself, looked at the Fortress Lord, and let her tears fall freely again.

“Fortress Lord, I’m not… it’s just that Sister, she…”

“From now on, don’t speak without proof!” The Lady of the Fortress cut Chen Xiaoyi off.

She gave Chen Xiaoyi a cold glance, then turned her attention back to the hall.

“Since this matter concerns me, I don’t want to put everyone in a difficult position.”

The moment she finished speaking, the Lady of the Fortress stood up.

“Liang Yi, place me under confinement. But until solid proof is found, don’t use torture on anyone — the young servant is a person too. Who’s born nobler than anyone else?”

Leaving these words behind, the Lady of the Fortress stepped forward.

“Madam.” The young servant following behind her glanced at the Fortress Lord and hurried to catch up.

The Lady of the Fortress paid her no mind, walking until she stopped in front of Liang Yi.

“Go on. Place me under confinement.”

Liang Yi hesitated, looking at the Fortress Lord. “Fortress Lord, this…”

“Only by confining me can all of you investigate this case with a clear conscience,” the Lady of the Fortress said again, her voice low.

“Since there’s no proof yet, there’s no need for confinement,” the Fortress Lord said, composing himself and standing.

“If it were anyone else and this jade pendant had been found on them, they would have already been confined, wouldn’t they?” the Lady of the Fortress replied evenly, without even turning her head.

“Liang Yi, I trust your ability. Confine me, and I won’t hold any grudge against you.”

“Madam.” The Fortress Lord stepped down from his seat.

“Liang Yi.” The Lady of the Fortress called out in a deep voice.

Liang Yi had no choice, though he also hoped to handle the matter fairly.

The dead were not only the closest kin of the three Liang brothers, but also the closest kin of this adopted son of the Liang family.

“Very well.” Without waiting for the Fortress Lord to speak, Liang Yi looked at the Lady of the Fortress and nodded. “Then please come with me, Madam.”

The Lady of the Fortress said nothing more and walked toward the door.

Liang Yi turned back to the Fortress Lord and clasped his hands in a bow. “Fortress Lord, rest assured — until the truth comes to light, I will never let Madam suffer the slightest harm.”

“Liang Yi, remember what I said,” the Lady of the Fortress said, stopping in her tracks, her voice indifferent once more.

Liang Yi turned back and bowed toward the Lady of the Fortress’s retreating figure.

“Rest assured, Madam — I won’t allow my men to use torture on the young servant either.”

“Mm.” The Lady of the Fortress nodded and continued walking forward.

After the Lady of the Fortress left, the anger in the hall seemed to ease somewhat.

The Fortress Lord lowered his eyes toward the still-kneeling young servant and asked in a deep voice, “Tell me exactly what happened.”

The young servant looked up timidly, then immediately lowered her head again.

“Reporting to Fortress Lord, this lowly one truly doesn’t know how it happened either. At dawn today, several brothers came in saying they needed to search my room thoroughly again.”

“But they ended up finding Madam’s jade pendant on my bed. I recognized it as Madam’s, but she never gave it to me.”

“I didn’t poison anyone either, Fortress Lord, Young Masters — I really didn’t poison anyone. I’ve been wronged.”

“Who found the jade pendant?” Feng Jiu’er, who had been quietly observing, suddenly asked in a soft voice.

The young servant looked up at Feng Jiu’er and the others, immediately bowing her head and knocking it against the floor.

“Miss Feng, it really wasn’t me. The jade pendant was found by one of General Liang Yi’s brothers. I don’t know why either.”

“Was the jade pendant really found on your bed?” Xiao Yingtao, standing beside Feng Jiu’er, asked quietly.

“Mm.” The young servant nodded fervently. “I saw it with my own eyes — one of the brothers pulled it out from my bed. I…”

“Miss Feng, I didn’t do it, Fortress Lord, I didn’t. Young Masters, your family has always treated me well — how could I do something like this?”

“Everyone knows about the matter between the Fortress Lord and Little Sister Liang. If it really was Madam… it’s not impossible,” a middle-aged woman spoke up.

Feng Jiu’er didn’t recognize this woman — it seemed to be the first time she’d seen her today.

She sat in the seat below Chen Xiaoyi, expressionless since they’d entered, with a rather stern look about her.

Feng Jiu’er glanced at the middle-aged woman and asked softly, “And you are…?”

The Fortress Lord, who had just returned to his seat, immediately waved his hand to make introductions upon hearing Feng Jiu’er’s question.

“This is Old Liang’s sworn younger sister, Madam Donge.”

“Miss Feng, our Nanman Fortress is divided into five sections — East, West, South, North, and Center.”

“This is the Central Pavilion, which I oversee. Each of the East, West, South, and North Pavilions has its own Pavilion Master — she is the wife of the East Pavilion Master.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at Madam Donge and bowed slightly. “Greetings, Madam Donge.”

“So you’re Feng Jiu’er?” Madam Donge looked at Feng Jiu’er, the corners of her mouth curling slightly. “Better to meet in person than hear the name — you really are a beauty.”