A new candleholder was placed in the room of discipline.
The candlelight burned brightly, illuminating the pure and beautiful face of the woman sitting at the desk, making her even more radiant.
The Zhen clan was slumped and prostrate on the ground, like a dragon whose sinews had been pulled. She was devoid of life, looking as good as dead.
"Speak. How did you control the fake Xie Xiaoyun to do your bidding?" Zhong Li, although excited that her adoptive father Gai Chen's case might have some clues, knew that haste makes waste. Some things certainly had to be done slowly.
The Zhen clan blinked blankly, remaining silent.
Zhong Li knew that the Zhen clan had heard her and was doing this to conceal the person behind the scenes.
She let out a cold laugh and said, "Clan Zhen, you've already been discarded as a pawn by others. Is it useful to work so hard for others?"
When the Zhen clan heard Zhong Li's words, her eyelids twitched slightly.
Zhong Li continued, "I know you didn't kill Xie Xu. It was that person, wasn't it?"
"You... How did you..." The Zhen clan finally reacted, looking at her with disbelief. She found that anything Zhong Li was involved in, she could see through.
Suddenly, the Zhen clan shook her head and chuckled, "Heh heh, Temple Master Zhong, you are very capable. You can see through everything, but... so what if you can see through it? I won't say anything. I won't say anything."
"Is it because of Xie Yunxi? Is this matter related to Xie Yunxi..."
"I don't know. I don't know anything!" The Zhen clan became hysterical again upon hearing Zhong Li mention Xie Yunxi, saying, "Temple Master Zhong, I know what you want to do. I'm telling you, don't expect to get any clues from me, or even a shred of evidence."
Hearing this, Zhong Li narrowed her eyes and looked at her.
Lin Jin, who had been accompanying her, leaned into Zhong Li's ear and said, "Miss Zhong, I know you despise the use of torture, but sometimes..."
"No need!" Zhong Li interrupted Lin Jin, saying, "Don't underestimate a mother's protection for her children. The Zhen clan has already committed a capital offense. Now, for the sake of the secondary consort, would she fear the suffering of flesh and blood?"
Hearing this, the Zhen clan's gaze towards Zhong Li gained a hint of admiration, and she said, "Temple Master Zhong, you are the heir's man. Otherwise, I really wish I could... Mmm..."
Before the Zhen clan could finish her sentence, Zhong Li suddenly stood up, walked up to her, and grabbed her collar.
"Clan Zhen," Zhong Li's eyes were like sharp blades, staring at the woman before her, "Don't celebrate too soon. I forgot to tell you a secret..."
Saying that, Zhong Li slowly leaned closer to the Zhen clan's ear.
The Zhen clan's pupils slowly contracted, then widened as Zhong Li spoke. When Zhong Li released her collar, she shook her head, "Impossible, impossible. Don't... don't..."
"Clan Zhen, you've calculated everything, but you didn't expect me to counter your moves, did you?" Zhong Li said coldly, "Today, the Xie manor will witness a scene of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"
---
Night enveloped the entire Xie manor like ink. White silk hung all over the ancestral hall. With the howling of owls, the already sparse rear courtyard suddenly gave people a chilling feeling.
The guards of the Xie manor patrolled with lanterns. Seeing no one around, they quickly walked into the corridor and returned to the front courtyard.
In this empty space, a figure darted from the front courtyard into the ancestral hall like a nimble fish.
The shadow seemed unfamiliar with the ancestral hall. She first circled around the extinguished candle holders, then picked up the prayer mat and knocked on it. Finding nothing, she quickly walked towards the ancestral tablets of the Xie family standing in the main hall.
As her hand touched the incense burner, the door behind her, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened. Candlelight, accompanied by Lu Wuxie's figure, appeared in the ancestral hall.
"Are you looking for this?" Lu Wuxie held a small bag in his hand. Upon clearly seeing the shadowy figure opposite him, he coldly threw the small bag on the ground.
At the same time, the contents of the bag scattered out. It was-Qing Que Cao.
The shadow was startled and quickly tried to cover her face with her arm.
"Sixi, stop hiding," Lu Wuxie said.
The shadow slowly lowered her hand, revealing Sixi's ordinary face.
"Young Master, how did you know it was me?" Sixi looked at Lu Wuxie, her tone devoid of its usual humility, carrying more arrogance.
Lu Wuxie looked at the Qing Que Cao on the ground and said, "Sixi, you hid well, but in the end, you were one move short."
Sixi squinted at Lu Wuxie and thought for a moment, "Was it the Zhen clan who told you?"
Lu Wuxie shook his head and smiled without speaking.
"It doesn't matter if you don't say it," Sixi sneered. "But Young Master, you're quite bold to dare to come alone to capture me. Isn't that equivalent to... seeking death?"
Saying that, Sixi drew a dagger from her waist and rushed directly at Lu Wuxie.
Lu Wuxie glanced at the Qing Que Cao on the ground, kicked it aside, and as he saw the dagger in Sixi's hand about to touch his neck, he dodged sideways with lightning speed. At the same time, a dull thud echoed from the bluestone floor of the ancestral hall.
Before Sixi could figure out what was happening, she was forcefully slammed onto the ground, dust flying with her movements.
She coughed a few times, enduring the soreness in her neck, and looked back at Lu Wuxie, who was slowly retracting his arm behind his back, saying, "Your Qinggong... is amazing. What exactly... Mmm..."
Before Sixi could finish speaking, Lu Wuxie flicked a stone from his other hand towards her head. The next moment, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
"Big talk, little skill, and too much nonsense!" Lu Wuxie sneered as he looked at the unconscious Sixi.
At this moment, Lin Jin and Zhong Li, having heard the commotion in the ancestral hall, rushed in from outside. Seeing Sixi on the ground, Zhong Li's face showed an expression of 'as she expected.'
"Young Master!" Lin Jin cupped his hands, awaiting his master's orders.
"This person is very important. Gather manpower, guard her strictly, and after the funeral of the grandfather, bring her back to the Judicial Inspection Office!" Lu Wuxie said.
"Yes!" Lin Jin said, beckoning to Lu Wuxie's subordinates standing outside. Two men rushed in to help.
Zhong Li, watching these men's well-trained movements, was about to leave the ancestral hall with Lu Wuxie when she suddenly smelled a faint scent of blood in the air.
A sense of unease flickered in her heart, and she quickly looked back at Sixi.
She saw that a knife had been inserted into Sixi's chest at some point.
She reacted extremely quickly, looking at the man on Sixi's left who was supporting her, and said, "Spy!"
As the words fell, Zhong Li drew the dissection knife from her waist and rushed towards the man.
The man saw the people swarming around him, pulled out the dagger inserted in Sixi's chest, aimed it at his neck, and slashed.
Lu Wuxie also realized something was wrong. As he turned back, a stone had already flown out.
Clang! The dagger was knocked to the ground by the stone.
The man's arm ached, and he retreated a few steps in panic. Seeing Zhong Li, who was already close, he hardened his heart, bit down forcefully, and a mouthful of black blood gushed from the corner of his mouth. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.