The mysterious milk group, hands on hips, is being fought over by five dads who are going crazy over

Having just cried, the little girl's mind was a mess, and she couldn't remember anything at all. She could only say, "I...I can't remember."

Seeing that Qiao Wan remained silent, Yao Yao panicked a little, gripped Qiao Qiao's hand tightly, and asked:

"Did we do something wrong?"

"That person said that as long as we lit the incense, we could see our mother. But Qiaoqiao and I kept calling at the courtyard gate, and our mother wouldn't come out to see us no matter what..."

Qiao Wan gently shook her head: "It's alright, you're not wrong. The ones who are wrong are the people who deceived and plotted against you behind your back."

As she spoke, she knelt down and pulled the two children into her arms, saying gently, "From now on, don't trust any strangers who ask you to do anything or offer you food. It could be dangerous, understand?"

The two little ones nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Qiaoqiao pouted and asked again, "So we were tricked? Even if we burn incense, we won't see Mother, right?"

Qiao Wan paused for a moment, then comforted her, "You can see your mother once she's better. Sweetie, let's go back to our room and sleep, okay?"

Finally, after coaxing the two little ones to sleep in the side hall, Qiao Wan took Aning back and personally washed and dressed her.

Little Aning wasn't sleepy at all. Watching her mother busy herself, she asked in a soft, sweet voice:

"Is Mother feeling unwell anywhere?"

Qiao Wan paused in wringing out the towel, then smiled and said, "No."

Actually, I've been feeling a little unwell for the past few days, with a persistent stuffy cough and dizziness.

But she remembered that Ah Ning had once calculated that if the curse on her wasn't lifted, she wouldn't live much longer...

Since that's the case, I might as well say nothing and spend some time with Ah Ning while I'm still doing well.

Aning tilted her head, letting her mother wipe her face. "Mother, Aning doesn't understand why Qiaoqiao cried for so long outside, and the bad auntie wouldn't pay any attention to her?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Wan also sensed that something was amiss.

Although Su Xiaoyin always liked to use underhanded tricks and had ulterior motives, she treated the two children extremely well and showed no favoritism whatsoever.

Even if she were imprisoned, it would be easy for her to walk to the courtyard gate, talk to the two children through the door, and coax them back to sleep.

But Su Xiaoyin, who loves children so much, hasn't made a move at all...

Qiao Wan tucked Aning in and turned off the light. "Go to sleep. Mother will go see her tomorrow."

The next day, Qiao Wan arrived at Su Xiaoyin's courtyard early in the morning.

The once bustling courtyard is now eerily quiet.

There wasn't a single servant to attend to them.

Qiao Wan walked to the door of the side room and gently knocked three times.

"Aunt Su, I've come to see you. Is this a convenient time?"

The room was quiet, without any response.

Qiao Wan knocked a few more times, but there was still no response.

"Aunt Su?"

"Aunt Su?"

Normally, Su Xiaoyin would have already started cursing at her outside the door by now.

The current quiet is really not in Su Xiaoyin's nature...

Qiao Wan hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open.

There was no latch on the inside of the door; it opened wide with just a gentle push.

The next instant, Su Xiaoyin, her body contorted in a bizarre position as she lay on the chair, her bloodshot eyes wide open, appeared before us!

Qiao Wan was so frightened that she took several steps back, her heart pounding wildly!

Su Xiaoyin...how could this be...?

"Hotaru! Hotaru!"

Huo Ting gave an order that no one was allowed to enter Su Xiaoyin's courtyard. It was just a coincidence that the guards who were guarding her had been sent home for the New Year, so Qiao Wan was able to go in. She left Yingxia outside to keep watch.

Upon hearing her master's call, Yingxia ran into the courtyard without a second thought.

"master!"

"What happened?"

As she spoke, Yingxia tried to peek into the house, but Qiao Wan blocked her way.

Qiao Wan took two deep breaths and said seriously, "Something has happened. Go and tell Huo Ting right now that Su Xiaoyin is gone, quick."

"Su Xiaoyin was murdered. Have them seal off the Prime Minister's residence; don't let the murderer escape!"

Murdered?

Who could possibly commit murder silently within the grand residence of the Prime Minister?

That woman was once the prime minister's favorite concubine!

Yingxia was so frightened that she dared not look into the house again. She responded twice and ran out.

When they encountered patrolling guards on the way, Yingxia reminded them to hurry to Aunt Su's courtyard to protect Qiao Wan.

By the time Huo Ting arrived, Qiao Wan had calmed down and was being protected by several guards.

Huo Ting frowned: "What exactly happened?"

Qiao Wan's voice was a little hoarse: "Why don't you go in and take a look?"

Seeing her pale face and somewhat frightened expression, as if she had been frightened by the scene inside the room, Huo Ting felt a slight pang of heartache, as if a feather had gently tickled his heart.

He stared at Qiao Wan for a while, then stepped into the house.

At this moment, Su Xiaoyin still looks the same as when Qiao Wan first arrived.

She was wearing a nightgown, but her face was covered in exquisite makeup. Her body was eerily folded into three pieces, lying upside down on the chair with her head on the ground. Her bloodshot eyes were staring fixedly at the door. The way she died was so gruesome that anyone who saw it would have nightmares...

Huo Ting frowned deeply, his gaze falling on the three marks left on her body by the folds.

Su Xiaoyin looked as if she had been broken into three pieces by a great force, but the skin and flesh were still connected, so she still looked like a relatively intact person...

Strangely, when Su Xiaoyin's trouser leg slid down, the exposed skin was exactly where the piece had been broken, yet there wasn't a single bruise on the skin!

Can an ordinary person really do this level?

Huo Ting stared coldly at Su Xiaoyin for a while, then turned and left, asking in a deep voice:

"What exactly is going on?"

Huo Ting had already given an order that no one was allowed to enter Su Xiaoyin's courtyard.

Now......

Worried that Huo Ting might suddenly hold a grudge and settle the score, Yingxia glanced at her master and forced herself to kneel down:

"My lord, I know I was wrong!"

"I was passing by the courtyard when I remembered that Aunt Su didn't get to have New Year's Eve dinner, so I thought I'd come and ask if there was anything she wanted to eat, so I could have the kitchen prepare it and send it over later."

"But I called out to Aunt Su several times and there was no response. That's when I went into the courtyard, and there she was..."

Qiao Wan wasn't worried at all that Huo Ting would use this as an excuse to make things difficult for her. She stepped forward to help Ying Xia up and said gently:

"It has nothing to do with Yingxia."

"It was I who came to check on Aunt Su, and it was I who discovered that something had happened to her."

She calmly looked back at Huo Ting.

"If you feel that I have disobeyed your orders and disrespected your authority, you can punish me however you want, I just hope you can find the murderer of Su Xiaoyin as soon as possible."

"There are still three naive children and an elderly lady in the mansion. The longer the murderer is not found, the more dangerous it becomes for them!"

Huo Ting's fingers clenched tighter and his brows furrowed deeper as he listened.

When did he say he would punish them?

Even if he had ordered that no one was allowed to enter this courtyard or visit Su Xiaoyin.

But now Su Xiaoyin is dead!

In Qiao Wan's mind, was Huo Ting really such a person who didn't know what was important and only cared about his own authority and couldn't stand being challenged?!