Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The Little Mushroom circled the dark entrance of the corridor several times, feeling around everywhere.

She found nothing at all. Instead, the perfectly clean Little Mushroom ended up turning herself into a Little Dirty Mushroom.

With teary eyes, she let out a sigh. Her legs were growing tired from standing, so regardless of how dirty the ground was, she plopped right down on her bottom.

*Click…*

A clear sound echoed right by her ear.

The stone door opened.

With dirty tear streaks still on her face, Jiang Yunsui turned her head in a daze to look at the spot where her bottom was resting.

Huh?

The mechanism she had searched so hard for without success was right under her butt this whole time?

Never mind that; leaving was the priority.

Clutching her gold, she scurried out.

The door behind her closed automatically shortly after she left. It blended perfectly with the rockery; if she hadn’t just come out of it, she wouldn’t have believed there was a basement entrance here.

She needed to find Ji Yan’an first.

Hugging the gold bar, Jiang Yunsui prepared to head toward the banquet.

However, she hadn’t walked far when she noticed the Prince’s Manor was in an uproar. Many servants and guards were running in a certain direction.

That wasn’t the way to the banquet hall.

Jiang Yunsui stood at the crossroads, hesitating between finding Ji Yan’an and going to watch the commotion. She struggled with the decision for less than ten seconds.

Her little feet pivoted, and she followed the crowd.

*Ji Yan’an, it’s not that you aren’t important, okay? I’m going to scout for information for you.*

With that thought, she felt perfectly justified, her little chest puffing out just a tiny bit higher.

Her short legs moved quite fast. At the thought of seeing some excitement soon, her skipping steps became much more cheerful.

“Young Master Ji, you certainly are something! I, Wang, invited you to celebrate my birthday banquet, yet here you are, engaging in illicit affairs with my favorite concubine!”

Wang Hu’s voice was booming, filled with anger and a subtle, underlying hint of excitement.

Jiang Yunsui: ???

Huh? She came to watch someone else’s drama; how did it become Ji Yan’an’s drama?

She hurriedly tried to squeeze through the crowd, just in time to see Ji Yan’an walking out of the room.

“Ji Yan’an, what else do you have to say for yourself? I truly didn’t expect that a man like Duke Ji would have such a shameless descendant. Are you worthy of Duke Ji’s legacy?”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Ji Yan’an’s face was pale. Nanshu quickly stepped forward to support him.

“What is Commander Wang talking about?”

Ji Yan’an’s face wore a perfectly measured look of bewilderment.

Wang Hu flew into a rage. “Ji Yan’an, there’s no need to play dumb! Since you’ve just walked out of my concubine’s room in the inner courtyard, how can you not know what I’m talking about?!”

Ji Yan’an let out a soft chuckle. “So, it turns out that when your manor’s servant said he was taking me to change my clothes, he was actually leading me to your concubine’s room.”

Nanshu followed up on his words. “I say, Commander Wang, today is your birthday after all. Even if you aren’t meticulous, you should at least manage your servants properly. Who leads a guest into their own inner courtyard?

“And don’t you dare say my Young Master came here on his own. He’s never been to your home and doesn’t know the women in your inner courtyard. Throwing such filth and stench onto my Young Master… this is simply too shameless.”

The onlookers who had been drawn there understood the gist of the situation as soon as they saw the scene.

Several people exchanged subtle glances.

They just didn’t know how Ji Yan’an would resolve the current predicament.

Out of respect for the old Duke and General Ji, they certainly wouldn’t let Ji Yan’an’s reputation be ruined so easily. However, if Ji Yan’an couldn’t solve this himself, they would certainly feel disappointed.

Not disappointed because his reputation was tarnished, but disappointed in his lack of ability to handle the problem.

Tang Qingsong said, “Commander Wang, this is your manor. Why would your servant lead the Young Master to the inner courtyard? Instead of investigating the servant, you are questioning the Young Master.”

Wang Hu sneered. “Fine, then let’s bring that servant here and ask him.”

Soon, the servant who had led Ji Yan’an there was brought forward.

The man had been arranged by Wang Hu, so naturally, he spoke according to Wang Hu’s wishes.

“My Lords, I was leading the Young Master down another path, but I had a sudden stomachache and had to leave first. As for how Young Master Ji ended up here, I truly do not know.”

Nanshu couldn’t help but snap, “Then you truly are a lowly person!”
No matter what Ji Yan’an’s people said, Wang Hu remained adamant that Ji Yan’an had bullied his woman.

While they were arguing, Jiang Yunsui snuck over to the room to take a peek.

She discovered that there was absolutely no one inside.

She scratched her head in confusion. What on earth was going on?

On the other side, Ji Yan’an seemed to be provoked to the point of anger. After two bouts of violent coughing, he spoke up.

“What nonsense is Commander Wang talking about? I only just arrived at this room-*cough, cough*-and you all followed right on my heels. Besides, there’s no one inside at all.”

“That’s impossible!”

Wang Hu bellowed at the top of his lungs.

“My Concubine Liu lives right here. How could there be no one?”

Ji Yan’an replied, “Then this Young Master wouldn’t know. If you gentlemen don’t believe me, you are more than welcome to go in and look.”

Tang Qingsong was the first to step forward. “Whether there’s someone or not, we’ll know once we go in.”

Seeing this, the others followed him inside.

At a glance, the room was indeed empty.

Ji Yan’an remarked sarcastically, “Commander Wang underestimates this Young Master, and perhaps overestimates this Young Master’s constitution.”

He leaned against Nanshu, looking the picture of ‘frailty.’

“Though I am young and my body is weak, I haven’t reached the point where I would lust after another man’s woman.”

Nanshu added, “My Young Master is only twelve years old. When we came here, the doctor gave us a thousand instructions and ten thousand warnings. To recover his health, he must preserve his primordial essence; any premature depletion could be life-threatening. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for the Young Master to do such a thing.”

Who would gamble with their own life?

“Don’t project your own lust onto others, Commander Wang. Your inner courtyard is filled with one woman after another. I’ve heard even that isn’t enough, and that you snatch up every woman you see. The commoners of Mobei don’t even dare let their daughters leave the house for fear of catching your eye. Our Young Master is nothing like that.”

Not only had Wang Hu failed to find the other person from his plan in the room, but he had also been rebuked by Nanshu in front of so many people. His eyes bulged with rage.

Looking at his expression, he truly wished he could tear Nanshu into ten thousand pieces. Unfortunately, the boy belonged to Ji Yan’an, and he couldn’t make a move in front of such a large crowd.

Wang Hu ground his teeth. “The person by the Young Master’s side certainly has a sharp tongue.”

Ji Yan’an didn’t answer him.

“My Concubine Liu has always stayed quietly in her own courtyard, yet as soon as the Young Master arrives, she vanishes. Shouldn’t you give me an explanation?”

Nanshu said, “I find it truly strange. Most men are terrified of their women having anything to do with other men, yet you, Lord Wang, are quite unique. You seem desperate to link your woman to my Young Master. I’ve never seen anyone so eager to be a cuckold.”

“Shut up, you dog of a servant! This is no place for you to speak!”

Ji Yan’an held back Nanshu, who wanted to continue his verbal assault.

“I don’t know where Commander Wang’s concubine is, however… I thought I heard some movement in the room next door.”

“Oh? Could it be that Commander Wang’s beloved concubine ran next door?” the general who looked like a laughing Buddha remarked with a half-smile.

“We’ll know if we go look.”

Events had progressed to such a point that even though Wang Hu sensed something was wrong, it was too late to stop them.

One of the more hot-tempered men had already reached the next room and pushed the door open.

As the door swung wide, everyone who saw the scene inside staggered back two steps in shock.

“Sss…”

Those following behind also sucked in a breath of cold air at the sight.

A foul stench wafted from the room.

As men who lived on the battlefield, they were all too familiar with that smell.

Inside the room, near the doorway, a dozen or so sets of remains were laid out neatly.

On some, the flesh had already rotted away; others were nothing but white bones.

Behind these remains, a room full of women knelt on the floor.

They were all dressed in plain white mourning clothes, their eyes fixed steadily on the crowd outside.

When Wang Hu came over and saw this scene, his panic was outweighed by a surge of fury.

“You wretches! What do you think you’re doing!”

The woman at the head of the group was none other than Wang Hu’s legal wife.

Though she was the primary wife, her frame was currently gaunt and withered. Her face looked as aged as an old crone’s, and her eyes were filled with a desolate, weary sorrow.

“Gentlemen,” she began, her voice hoarse yet powerful. “I, along with these seven women behind me who were forcibly snatched by Wang Hu, am here to accuse Wang Hu of abducting women from civilian families and wantonly murdering the innocent. These remains belong to the women he kidnapped and tortured to death.”