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"Why is it you?" Yun Kexin raised her eyebrows, her almond-shaped eyes wide with anger as she thought of her father dying tragically at Yu Mu's hands. She questioned furiously, "Why betray the Second House and kill my relatives?!"
Yu Mu supported himself with one hand on the ground and covered his chest with the other, looking straight at Yun Kexin, speechless.
"Hurry!" Feng Yinxiao's voice was light, yet it fell like two copper peas hitting the ground, resonating clearly.
Yu Mu was taken aback, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and sneered, "Fourth Master, do you really not recognize your servant?"
"I certainly recognize you," Feng Yinxiao replied coldly, his gaze briefly flicking to Yu Mu before he looked away. He said sarcastically, "You were originally a servant in the Duke of Yan's Residence, but you were kicked out for teasing a maid. I was only ten years old then, so I don't remember clearly. That's why when I encountered you several times in the Duke of E State Mansion and the Second House later on, I always felt you looked familiar. If Seventh Sister hadn't called out your name today, I might not have remembered at all."
Yu Mu showed no shame on his face; still wearing that rogue expression, he gritted his teeth against the pain and retorted stubbornly:
"If this place doesn't keep me, there will be another place that will! Leaving the Duke of Yan's Residence doesn't break any laws!"
"Finding another master doesn't break any laws, but betraying the Second House is treason," Yun Kexin could no longer hold back her anger. She regretted not knowing martial arts; otherwise, she would have kicked him hard enough to cripple him. She bombarded him with questions like a rapid-fire cannon, "Breaking and entering plus murder—doesn't that count as breaking the law? How many heads do you have to chop off?! Hurry up and confess!"
Yu Mu panicked and shifted his gaze to Yun Kexin—this girl was young but quick-tongued. Her face was icy and fierce, with flames of anger shooting from her cold eyes. But she looked to be only about nine or ten years old, still just a little girl; what was there to fear?
"Breaking and entering is true," Yu Mu said while displaying his rogue skills, his mouth crooked as he spoke. "But murder... where's the evidence?"
"Still talking back!" Feng Yinxiao laughed in anger, enunciating each word clearly. "If you say one more useless word, I will make sure you can never speak again!"
In an instant, Feng Yinxiao's foot had already stomped down on Yu Mu's face. With a painful cry, Feng Yinxiao crouched down with his hands behind his back and coldly said to Yu Mu: "If I apply just a bit more force with my foot, I guarantee none of your teeth will be left intact; your worthless life won't be spared."
Yu Mu might act like a rogue, but he had seen Feng Yinxiao's prowess before. Even at just ten years old, he had already made a name for himself. Even though he hadn't worked at the Duke of Yan's Residence in recent years, he had heard of Feng Yinxiao's decisive actions and ruthless reputation—definitely someone who could command respect in the capital. Feeling the "suppression" from Feng Yinxiao's long-legged golden boots, Yu Mu begged for mercy in pain:
"Young Lord, spare my life! 'Have mercy underfoot,' I—I..."
Feng Yinxiao stood up, withdrawing her long legs, looking down at the other party from a high position, waiting for them to confess.
Unexpectedly, Yu Mu, who had struggled to get up from the ground and leaned against the wall, uttered a shocking statement:
"It was the Duke of Yan who sent me to kill Duke of E State Mansion Second Master and to find the Brocade Box..."
Feng Yinxiao widened her ink-black eyes in shock, her face filled with disbelief. Yun Kexin and the three maidservants also gasped in astonishment, "The Duke of Yan?!"
"Yes, it was him," he said, gasping for breath, weakly.
"You’re lying!" Before Feng Yinxiao could question him, Yun Kexin jumped up and said, "The Duke of Yan has no grievances or enmity with Second Master Yun You. Why would he kill him? Moreover," Yun Kexin paused, her face pale as she sneered, "the matter of the Brocade Box is a secret of the Second House, never disclosed to outsiders. How would the Duke of Yan know? If you’re going to make up a lie, at least have the decency to prepare a script!"
"Exactly!" After being stunned for a moment, Feng Yinxiao came back to her senses upon hearing Yun Kexin question Yu Mu. Her voice was as cold as shattered ice, sending chills like entering an Ice Cellar, "Setting aside the matter of the Brocade Box, my Father and Second Master have a deep friendship. Yun Ke was brought to the Duke's Residence by Second Master and introduced to me. How could he suddenly want to kill him? This is simply slander and framing!"
The Duke of Yan Feng Hongrui was someone whom Feng Yinxiao had always admired and respected her Father. Now facing such accusations, how could she not feel indignant and furious?
"Young Lord, if you don’t believe me," Yu Mu, having lost too much blood, was in a dazed state, his words unclear, "I am willing to confront him face-to-face."
"You!" Feng Yinxiao's face turned pale with anger! She truly wanted to end Yu Mu's life with one kick. To slander her Father like this was intolerable. However, thinking about how Yu Mu bore the life of Second Master and the mystery of the Brocade Box, killing him outright would not be appropriate. Besides, it would forever leave her Father unjustly accused.
"The question is why did the Duke of Yan want to kill my Second Uncle?" Yun Kexin, anxious and jumping up and down, disregarded her modesty as a young lady and stepped closer to the murderer, asking pointedly, "You were expelled from the Duke of Yan's Residence three years ago, and it was he who personally kicked you out. Why would the Duke suddenly seek you out for this task three years later? Did he give you orders in front of you?"
Both Feng Yinxiao and the maidservants cast admiring glances at her, amazed by her quick thinking and meticulousness.
"This... this..." Yu Mu, caught off guard by how relentless Yun Kexin was in pressing him on key points, changed his expression slightly. His shifty eyes darted around before he stammered out, "Someone told me to kill the Second Master, then seize the Brocade Box. If I succeeded, I could redeem myself and return to the Duke of Yan's Residence. It was the will of the Duke."
"So you pretended to be bought by the Second House, but in reality were someone’s 'inside man', right?" interrupted Feng Yinxiao, her words sharp as she pressed on. "No wonder you knew that the Brocade Box was hidden in Tian Zhuang! Who is it that slandered my Father!?"
"Whether it is slander is still unknown," Yu Mu said with a pale face and a cold smile, "I must confront the Duke in person, as the messenger was very certain about the Duke's intentions, and that person has an extraordinary relationship with the Duke!"
Feng Yinxiao's heart trembled: An extraordinary relationship? Does it refer to colleagues or blood ties?
Seeing that the Young Lord remained silent for a long time, Yu Mu felt anxious: Blood was flowing profusely beneath him, and if he didn't stop the bleeding and get treated soon, he would surely die. Thus, he threatened with deeper meaning, "If you want to go, hurry up and stop the bleeding for me; otherwise, once I die, the truth will be buried with me."
Yun Kexin smirked coldly: You still want to be buried? If it weren't for the unclear circumstances of the incident and its connection to the Duke of Yan, I would make sure you have no place to be buried! Just hope for your own good!
"Yun Kexin, I believe Father," Feng Yinxiao thought for a moment and then spoke frankly to Yun Kexin, "But since Second Master's murder concerns Father's innocence, why not follow Yu Mu's suggestion and ask Father for clarification? It will also help clear his name and catch the mastermind behind this."
"What Young Lord said makes sense. I also believe that the Duke of Yan is not that kind of person," Yun Kexin replied with a cold expression. "There must be hidden truths in this matter; we must get to the bottom of it."
Feng Yinxiao said nothing more but grabbed Yu Mu by the collar and pulled him outside.
Yun Kexin and three maidservants walked alongside Feng Yinxiao, stepping on the silver-white moonlight as they made their way toward the entrance of the courtyard. Just as they approached closer, a Crossbowman hidden on the rooftop quietly drew his bowstring, aiming at the short-statured Yu Mu. Suddenly, there was a "whoosh" sound followed by a scream of "ah," as an arrow struck Yu Mu in the chest, causing him to fall immediately.
"There's an assassin!"
"There's a hidden arrow!"
Shanling, Shining, and Shan Yue shouted in unison to protect Yun Kexin. However, Feng Yinxiao was quicker; he pulled Yun Kexin into hiding first. The maidservants bent down to follow. They then heard arrows striking the door, grass, flowerbeds, and other places. Feng Yinxiao made a shushing gesture and waited until all sounds of shooting ceased. He quickly climbed onto the rooftop and appeared behind the Crossbowman like a ghost. Without warning, he kicked him hard; the Crossbowman screamed as he fell from over two meters high onto the ground, lying there in pain.
Feng Yinxiao gracefully leaped down from the rooftop and approached the Crossbowman.
"Who sent you?"
The Crossbowman continued to cry out. Yun Kexin and the Three Maidservants first checked on Yu Mu and found that he had already lost his breath. They immediately went to the Crossbowman and kicked him repeatedly: "Damn assassin! Who sent you to assassinate Yu Mu?"
Strangely, the Crossbowman's cries suddenly stopped. Shanling crouched down and reached out with one hand: he was already dead! As he touched forward, he felt bloodstains.
“Young Lord, the assassin bit his tongue and committed suicide,” Shanling stood up with a frown and said, “This must have been premeditated. Yu Mu and we arrived at the residence not long ago; it’s likely that Crossbowman was already waiting on the roof.”
“Yes, I think so too,” Shining sighed, “What a pity; the clues we finally found have been cut off again.”
“It hasn’t completely ended. Those words from Yu Mu earlier,” Feng Yinxiao’s handsome face was shrouded in gloom, “I need to personally verify with Father, then follow the clues.”
Yun Kexin looked at the two corpses on the ground in frustration, feeling both angry and restless: what should they do now? She thought they finally had a lead, to take down the murderer and comfort Father's spirit, but unexpectedly, this mystery arose, and out of nowhere came a sudden twist, killing to silence and then committing suicide.
Truly a clean job! Yun Kexin couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
“Yun Kexin, you don’t need to come with me,” Feng Yinxiao noticed that Yun Kexin was staring blankly at the two corpses on the ground and gently called out. When she lifted her eyes, he calmly asked, “Do you trust me?”
Without thinking, Yun Kexin nodded heavily and softly replied, “I trust you.”
Feng Yinxiao took a deep breath, quickly glanced at the corpses on the ground, narrowed his eyes, and said: “Shanling, Shining, Shan Yue, you three wrap the bodies in cloth first, drag them to the back garden, then help Seventh Sister to bed. We will set off for home tomorrow.”
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