Xu Lai emerged from Chonghua Palace and headed straight home.

Returning to the Xu family residence, without even time to remove his official robes, he hurried to his son’s courtyard.

Before even entering, he could hear distant commotion.

“All of you damn bastards get lost!”

“Smash—”

“Crash—”

Xu Lai shuddered and quickened his pace.

“Master!”

The servants saw Xu Lai as if seeing their savior, hurrying to bow.

Xu Lai impatiently waved his hand, signaling them all to get far away.

“Son, son…”

He entered the inner room and rushed forward to embrace Xu Sheng, who lay like a dead dog. “The Prince has agreed, he’s agreed! Father can avenge you now.”

“Father!”

Xu Sheng grabbed Xu Lai’s collar, his entire face twisted with savagery.

“Kill him for me, dismember his body, tear him apart with five horses… No, leave him alive—I want to chop off his manhood and feed it to dogs too. I’ll make him a eunuch as well, a eunuch for life… Father…”

Xu Sheng’s body fell backward, his hands savagely pounding the bed frame, howling to the heavens.

“Your son can’t go on living… Let me die… I can’t live anymore… I have no face to live…”

“Son!”

Xu Lai’s old tears flowed freely. “Don’t die—Father will avenge you. Father will ensure those who bullied you all die terrible deaths.”

“Don’t kill that slut either.”

Xu Sheng exerted force, his upper body rising, teeth gnashing. “I want every man in my Xu residence to violate her one by one, violate her to death!”

Roaring out that final word, he collapsed back like a dead dog, both eyes staring vacantly at the bed curtains.

Xu Lai felt his heart being sliced like knives. After wiping tears, he turned and left.

Reaching the doorway, seeing over ten maids and servants waiting tremulously, his face darkened, his tone vicious. “Serve the Young Master well. If a single hair is harmed, I’ll flay your skins.”

“Yes!”

Returning to his study, his advisor approached. “Master?”

Xu Lai waved his hand, turned to close the door, then spoke:

“I need two people—one is Third Master Xie, one is that little slut. Think of a way for me—how can this be done so neither gods nor ghosts will know.”

…

City center, separate residence.

Xie Buhuo had just returned from inspecting shops and looked up to see Wu Xing beneath a tree.

Wu Xing approached, speaking quietly. “Master, I’ve inquired about everything.”

“Speak!”

“That day after Miss Yan parted from us, when she walked to the corner of Four Lanes Street where it turns toward our residence…”

The more Xie Buhuo listened, the more alarmed his heart became.

Wu Xing observed his master’s expression. “Currently there are rumors outside that it was our Third Master who castrated Xu Sheng.”

Xie Buhuo responded almost instantly, “Impossible. Third isn’t that impulsive.”

If Third Master Xie wanted to destroy someone, he would absolutely use slow torture like boiling a frog, tormenting them bit by bit to death. Such a violent method…

Wasn’t him!

“Then…”

Wu Xing was dumbfounded. “Who could it be?”

Xie Buhuo’s lips moved as he slowly suppressed his suspicions in his heart, then shook his head.

If not Third, then even more impossible for it to be Pei Mingting. This person appeared full of foul language and arrogance on the surface, but actually…

If it really was someone on their side who did it, there was only one possibility: that maid beside Yan Sanhe.

When she dressed as a man, her frame was thin and small, matching the black-clothed person Xu Sheng described.

But this person had only recently arrived in the capital—how could she find Xu Sheng’s villa in the western city?

“You said it was Li Buyan who reported the case to the Five City Military Justice Bureau?”

“Yes.”

That made sense.

Third Master and Li Buyan—one in darkness, one in light—silently resolved the matter together.

A cold smile floated to Xie Buhuo’s lips. “Let’s go eat first.”

After taking just a few steps, he suddenly turned to look at Wu Xing.

“Last time behind Xu Sheng was Du Yiyun. So this time, has Du Yiyun extended her black hand again?”

Wu Xing was startled by the question.

“There should be.”

Xie Buhuo’s tone was quite certain.

“Last time Du Yiyun suffered at Yan Sanhe’s hands—within days, Yan Sanhe had bad luck. This time her marriage arrangement with Third fell through, and Yan Sanhe has bad luck again, once more involving Xu Sheng…”

“If it really is Miss Du, that’s too vicious—this is using a borrowed knife to kill.”

Wu Xing’s heart pounded in alarm. “Master, should we secretly inform Third Master to be careful…”

“No need!”

Cold light flashed in Xie Buhuo’s eyes as he sneered.

“When is it the Second Branch’s turn to meddle in First Branch affairs!”

…

At this moment, Third Master and Pei Xiao sat in a carriage, staring at each other.

Wanting to deal with Xu Sheng was easy, but pulling out his father Xu Lai’s fangs wasn’t simple.

“Xie Wushi.”

Pei Xiao said, “Given Xu Lai’s temperament, there must be no shortage of wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in the Ministry of Justice. Should we start from that angle?”

“Not good.”

Xie Zhifei shook his head. “Our hands can’t reach into the Ministry of Justice.”

“How about finding all the women Xu Sheng violated one by one…”

“Takes too long, makes too much commotion. Moreover, most of those girls likely took money to settle—once money changes hands, things become unclear.”

“This won’t work, that won’t work—you bastard, give me a solution then!”

“Use me as bait—what do you think?”

Pei Xiao’s eyelid jumped. “Wh-what are you saying?”

Xie Zhifei lifted his eyelids. “Xu Sheng insists I sent someone to castrate him. Does he hate me? Does Xu Lai hate me?”

Pei Xiao replied, “They want to skin you alive and pull out your tendons.”

Xie Zhifei continued, “Since they hate me so much, do you think they’ll make a move?”

Pei Xiao said, “Hard to say about Xu Lai, but that grandson Xu Sheng definitely can’t hold back. He probably wants to castrate you right now too.”

“Who am I?”

“Third Master of the Xie residence, most favored son of a Cabinet minister.”

“Did I castrate Xu Sheng’s manhood?”

Pei Xiao rolled his eyes. “Of course not!”

“Since I didn’t, then I’ve been wrongly accused.”

Xie Zhifei suddenly lowered his voice. “If they move against a wrongly accused Third Master Xie, is that crime enough to bring down Xu Lai?”

Pei Xiao pondered deeply. “Best if the real culprit also reveals themselves. That way you, Third Master, can gain the sympathy of all the young ladies and married women in the capital.”

“Still not enough!”

Xie Zhifei pressed, “At that moment, you have those violated girls go drum at Shuntian Prefecture crying injustice—what scene do you think that would create?”

Pei Xiao’s eyes fixed, silent for a long while. “I imagine Shuntian Prefecture would be quite lively.”

“You’re responsible for finding those violated girls. I’ll arrange for the real culprit.”

“Hey, you turtle grandson, why should I…”

“Because you have a bunch of monks backing you.”

Xie Zhifei silently winked at Pei Xiao. “Monks’ words—who dares not listen, who dares not believe?”

Pei Xiao stared at him for a long while, then suddenly threw a punch.

“You dead ghost, you’ve always had the most cunning schemes since childhood. But the real culprit can’t be Li Buyan—she’s my future wife’s dowry maid. I have to worship her like an ancestor.”

The dowry maid part was true.

The future wife part wasn’t.

Third Master Xie rubbed his slightly aching chest, thinking with ill intent.