Chapter 212:
Among the crowd, someone sighed: “How pitiful. The corpses of that mother and daughter seemed to have been directly thrown into Dayang Lake by the boatman later.”
“The Li Family truly handled this matter disgracefully. An accident happened on their family’s boat, yet they didn’t even report it to the officials and directly destroyed the corpses to eliminate evidence.”
“Report to the officials? You think the Li Family is any good? They’re probably colluding with those thugs long ago.”
“Speaking of which, that lone woman fared better. Since she couldn’t survive anyway, jumping into the lake cleanly was preferable to being humiliated by the thieves.”
“An old woman—how could thieves take a fancy to her? But that mother and daughter… now that’s a real treat.” Someone looked at his companion beside him, exchanged a glance, and both revealed a knowing smile.
That mother and daughter clearly came from a wealthy family. Even wrapped up tightly, their exposed hands were fair and tender… The skin on their bodies must have been even more exquisite.
As long as one steels one’s heart to be a villain, one could have mother and daughter together…
These people chimed in one after another, recounting the tragic ordeal of that mother and daughter. When they got worked up, their tone was filled with righteous indignation, making them appear exceedingly just.
But the expressions on their faces were not like that.
They spoke animatedly, their faces showing not the slightest pity or guilt. What happened that night was merely another topic of conversation for them after meals.
And everything Xie Wanning experienced that night unfolded like a painting scroll before everyone, bit by bit, as these people animatedly recounted it.
Under the eaves not far away, Lu Ziyan and Pei Yuqing—this pair of mortal enemies who had sworn to seize each other’s wife and who wished to hack each other into a thousand pieces—now had identically ashen expressions.
They had interrogated those few thugs and learned the height, build, moves used when injuring her, and every conceivable detail of the woman who jumped into the lake—questioning everything exhaustively.
They even searched out those few pieces of jewelry that hadn’t yet been sold.
They were all the jewelry Xie Wanning had worn when she left.
Every detail matched. They could no longer deceive themselves.
The night before, the person forced to jump into the lake was their Wanwan.
The culprits were those few thugs.
It was the Li Family merchants who silently permitted the killing on the boat.
And these people right in front of them.
Lu Ziyan stood rigidly, his gaze fixed on the crowd still discussing that night’s tragedy, his eyes reddened with killing intent.
They all deserved to die.
These people all deserved to die!
The officials of Lu City were all intimidated by his aura, falling silent like cicadas in winter, their legs trembling, spines unconsciously tensing.
In the deathly silence, Ming Feng moved forward. He said, “There are many boats passing through Dayang Lake. The young lady is blessed with deep fortune and may have been saved by someone.”
Lu Ziyan’s eyelashes trembled slightly, as if breaking free from a spell. He abruptly turned, grabbing Ming Feng’s lapel with both hands.
“Go!” he said. “Mobilize all our men to Dayang Lake. Interrogate every passing boat and every fisherman along the way. You must find your matriarch back!”
With that, he shoved Ming Feng away and turned back to the hundred or so people in the courtyard still chattering away, killing intent surging in his eyes, yet his voice utterly calm.
“Bind these people. Fill the lake with them tonight.”
He didn’t care if these people were innocent or not. He only knew that when his Wanwan met with disaster, these people had watched coldly from the sidelines.
For that alone, they all deserved to die.
A hundred or so people, and he casually ordered them bound and sunk into the lake—truly treating human life like grass.
The prefect, as the parents official, broke out in cold sweat upon hearing this but didn’t dare voice any objection.
He didn’t even dare advise against it, fearing to anger this killing god and end up bound and sunk into the lake himself to atone to that young lady.
He could only hope that the other young master, who seemed to have significant backing, might plead for mercy.
After all, this young master appeared refined and scholarly, not bloodthirsty by nature.
