Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 382: There is no turning back when the bow is fired
In order to avoid arousing suspicion, Yan Yu carried out the preliminary activities alone.

He stood out among a group of beautiful women.

After entering the Ling family, he kept observing the environment of the Ling family.

There are more servants than maids here, which confirms their previous investigation that maids have a high turnover rate.

Upon arriving at the main hall, more than twenty women lined up in a row.

The snipe was taller, so it stood at the back.

Soon, Madam Ling began selecting maids.

The Ling family's servants had also gained experience and worked very quickly, soon it was Yan Yu's turn to take over.

During the brief exchange of greetings, Yan Yu observed Ling's mother.

Ling's mother was over forty years old and appeared to be a very gentle person, speaking softly to others.

When she saw Yan Yu, her eyes lit up: "This girl is quite good-looking."

Yan Yu feigned shyness and lowered his head.

The human trafficker, of course, wouldn't let go of this good opportunity to sell, and quickly stepped forward:
"Her name is Xiaoyan. Her parents died in the recent floods. She's from Yanzhou and just turned eighteen this year. She's very pretty!"

Madam Ling was also very satisfied and nodded her chin at the nanny beside her.

The old woman understood: "Keep it, next one."

Yan Yu's lips curled slightly as he stood aside.

Putting everything else aside, his good looks are undeniable.

After waiting for a while, Ling's mother selected a few more people.

In the end, including Yan Yu, a total of eight people were selected to enter the Ling family.

As usual, Madam Ling and the nanny exchanged a few words, set rules for the maids, and then led them to the back room to settle in.

After the Ling family left, only the newly arrived maids remained in the room.

Yan Yu chose the innermost bed and pretended to tidy it up.

The others sat together and chatted.

"Have you heard? This young master of the Ling family is quite the ladies' man. Who knows, we might just become his concubines."

"The human trafficker did mention it briefly, but can we trust what she says?"

"I find it believable. Madam Ling is so focused on choosing pretty girls, she must be trying to get them into Young Master Ling's room."

"Then I'd better dress up nicely. If the young master takes a liking to me, won't I be set for life?"

Hearing these words, Yan Yu remained completely unmoved.

Fortunately, the others regarded the handsome Yan Yu as their greatest rival, and no one was willing to get close to him, which made it easier for him to carry out his plans.

He quietly took out a small brocade pouch from inside his clothes.

This was given to him by Lin Zhiqing.

Before leaving, Lin Zhiqing instructed that the first brocade pouch could be opened after successfully staying in the Ling family.

After Yan Yu opened the brocade pouch, he took out the slip of paper inside.

The note contained only four words: "Hold your position and do nothing."

The meaning is easy to understand: he should not show himself yet and observe the situation.

Yan Yu calmly put the brocade pouch away.

For the next two days, he followed Lin Zhiqing's advice and remained inactive, observing the situation.

Upon closer inspection, some clues were indeed discovered.

Two of the people who entered the Lin family with him a while ago are missing.

The servants of the Ling family acted as if they knew nothing about it.

Yan Yu was naturally more perceptive. After gathering information, he concluded that the two men must be dead.

The cause of death is unknown, but it is certainly related to Ling Shuo.

Because those two were the ones among them who most wanted to climb the social ladder and were always in the limelight.

About three days later, when Yan Yu was cleaning the garden again, he finally encountered Ling Shuo.

Ling Shuo was originally a decent person, but Yan Yu could tell at a glance that Ling Shuo had been drained of his body by lust.

His steps were unsteady, his cheeks were sunken, and his eyes were lifeless.

The moment he saw Yan Yu, he stared at him with a blatant gaze. Seeing that Yan Yu was about to approach and speak to him directly, Yan Yu narrowed his eyes, bracing himself.

But at the crucial moment, the servant's voice rang out.

"Young master, someone from the Dali Temple Minister's residence has come to deliver some things."

Ling Shuo shook his hand and left, looking dejected.

Yan Yu had no choice but to wait again. However, he kept a watchful eye on things and secretly observed the people in the Dali Temple while he was working.

Seeing that nothing was amiss, it resumed its dormant state.

However, the opportunity came very quickly.

That evening, Yan Yu received instructions from the nanny to deliver soup to Ling Shuo's courtyard.

This is clearly a case of lambs being led to the slaughter.

While preparing, Yan Yu opened the second brocade pouch that Lin Zhiqing had given him.

He had expected the brocade pouch to contain methods or orders to get closer to Ling Shuo, but to his surprise, the note inside contained only six words—prioritize protecting yourself.

In addition, there was a poison in the brocade pouch.

"This skeleton demon clearly already guessed that I would use poison, yet he still did all this useless work." Yan Yu complained, but in his heart he appreciated Lin Zhiqing's kindness.

That night, Yan Yu arrived at Ling Shuo's courtyard just in time.

Ling Shuo's courtyard was the largest in the Ling family mansion, and it was also very quiet, which showed how much the Ling family doted on him.

Before Yan Yu arrived, he specially chose to change into the "White Moonlight Set" prepared by Lin Zhiqing.

He walked for half an incense stick's time before finally arriving at the door of Ling Shuo's room, following the directions.

Perhaps at Ling Shuo's behest, only two guards were stationed around.

Yan Yu had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released. If he missed this opportunity, he didn't know when the next one would come.

With that thought in mind, he pushed the door open in one go:

"Young master, your servant Xiaoyan has brought you some soup."

The room was quiet; no one spoke.

What's going on here? Is this some kind of romantic gesture?

Yan Yu placed the soup on the table and began to observe the room.

Aside from being large, there's nothing particularly special about this room.

However, the further we went into the inner room, the worse the smell became.
Yan Yu waved his hand in front of his nose in disgust, but soon he froze, realizing what it was: the smell of blood!

That was the smell of blood mixed with poison!
He has studied poisons for many years, and he can smell the poison corroding the body even without going inside.

wrong!

Something's very wrong!
Yan Yu didn't make a loud noise. He returned to the table and opened the soup he had just brought over.

With just one glance, he could tell there was something wrong with the soup!

Without a second thought, Yan Yu quickly went to the inner room and took a look.

As expected, Ling Shuo was bleeding from all seven orifices and was already dead!

Someone is trying to frame me!
The moment this thought crossed Yan Yu's mind, he immediately looked out the window.

He stepped forward, trying to escape through the window.

But just as he approached the window, a whooshing sound rang out.

Yan Yu reacted very quickly, taking a step to the side.

The next moment, an arrow landed where he had just been standing.

Then, a loud voice rang out:

"Guards! Someone is trying to harm the young master! Guards!"

Fell into a trap!
Yan Yu initially wanted to break out through the window, but then he remembered Lin Zhiqing's repeated instructions that if anything unexpected happened, he must open the third brocade pouch.

"Skeleton demon, if I die here, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!" He gritted his teeth, leaned against the wall, and quickly took out the third brocade pouch.

After seeing the contents of the brocade pouch, he narrowed his eyes.

"boom!"

In an instant, the doors and windows were smashed open, and Yan Yu's expression changed instantly.

……