That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

"I've heard of Mondraksha... but I only know it's a plant from Cenzhou, not that it has such a poisonous effect."

After a moment's thought, Wen Fuxiao nodded approvingly at Fang Zhiyi:

"It turns out he was a doctor who saved lives and helped people."

"I just traveled to a few more places because I was in a hurry, but I can't say I helped people or saved lives."

Fang Zhiyi smiled slightly and brushed it off lightly.

"Since that's the case, let's introduce them all at once!"

The gloom on Xie Yunqi's face had vanished without her noticing; it was as if she had comforted herself.

Now they started making a ruckus again, raising their shackled hands to introduce themselves one by one.

"This is Jingming, and this is Aqing. They came to Tingpu Manor to stay with relatives. Unfortunately, they have no one to rely on right now. They will help me catch the murderer!"

Wen Fuxiao paused slightly after hearing what she said, and her gaze toward Jiang Jingming suddenly became more inquisitive.

"A relative? Young Master Jing, which relative are you seeking refuge with?"

Only after he said that did Jiang Jingming realize something was wrong.

Listening to the Waterfall Manor is, in essence, a family with the surname Shun, and its core members must all be members of the Shun family.

Jiang Jingming made up a lie on the spot to appease the young lady, but he didn't expect this to happen.

Under Wen Fuxiao's slightly scrutinizing yet still gentle gaze, Jiang Jingming remained calm and began to explain:

"The one who came to seek refuge was my eldest uncle. He was certainly not a member of the Shun family, but he did tell my father in his letter that he was working for Tingpu Manor in Fengling City."

We absolutely cannot overturn the version we told the young lady before, otherwise we will only appear more guilty and lose our only ally.

Jiang Jingming paused slightly before continuing:

“A few days ago, my father wanted me to come and stay with him, so he sent several letters, but we didn’t get a reply. So we had no choice but to set off directly.”

"On the way, the young lady told me about the massacre at Tingpu Manor, which led me to deduce that my long-lost uncle had been caught in the crossfire."

"When we arrived in Fengling City, I asked Aqing to check the address my uncle had mentioned, but it was empty."

Ah Qing is always elusive and has a very low profile. Even if she disappears on the street for a while and then suddenly reappears, no one will pay attention.

After Jiang Jingming finished speaking, the young lady simply clapped her hands and said, "I see."

"So that's how it is."

Wen Fuxiao stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and finally nodded, accepting the explanation.

"Although Tingpu Manor is a prestigious clan, it does hire people from outside the clan to handle miscellaneous tasks. Young Master Jing's uncle was probably one of them, but unfortunately... he suffered the calamity of his entire family being wiped out. Please accept my condolences."

I think so too.

Jiang Jingming nodded, feigning grief over the passing of his loved one.

"Speaking of which, fate is truly wondrous, somehow binding you all together like this."

Wen Fuxiao's gaze swept across the faces of the group, and suddenly a mysterious and somewhat mischievous smile appeared on his face.

Why are you smiling so slyly, old man?

Xie Yunqi pretended to grab his beard again.

Wen Fuxiao quickly covered her chin and suppressed her smile, then cleared her throat and adopted a posture as if she wanted to talk about serious matters.

"Since you're all new here, let me give you a brief overview of Tingpu Villa."

"The current head of the Shun family is named Shun Xuan. He is fond of taking concubines and has nine sons, one of whom is Shun Huai."

"And his sons have all married and had children, thus branching out and forming a clan of more than a hundred people at Tingpu Mountain Villa."

Hearing this, Jiang Jingming frowned slightly and asked a question:

"Is there only about a hundred people in total?"

It's rather strange that such a large family as the Shun family only has a little over a hundred people in Tingpu Manor.

Wen Fuxiao smiled slightly, pleased with his keen insight.

“Young Master Jing asks a good question. The fact is that Tingpu Manor only accepts disciples with outstanding talents. In other words, having the surname Shun does not guarantee access to the family’s resources and protection. Inferior and mediocre bloodlines will be eliminated from the very beginning.”

It turned out to be the case.

Jiang Jingming pondered to himself, never expecting that the natural law of survival of the fittest would be applied to blood relatives.

I don't know whether to say that the world is dangerous or that this is just how it is.

Chapter Seventy-One: Flying Away

Jiang Jingming used to spend his time reading in the library of the Xiquan Sword Sect, and he even read through many dusty scrolls, but he still didn't have many records about Tingpu Manor in his memory.

If you think about it carefully, you can guess the reason.

Within the Righteous Alliance, the Wash Spring Sword Sect and the Cloud Slash Tower are sects with a long history spanning hundreds of years.

The Shen Du Wei was firmly under the control of the imperial court, and the Long Yin Zen Temple was a Buddhist monastery that did not concern itself with worldly affairs.

Only Tingpu Mountain Villa is a sect that has suddenly risen and grown in recent decades.

The Xiquan Sword Sect specializes in swordsmanship, which, although divided into light sword and heavy sword, is an ultimate offensive martial art.

Jiang Jingming had never seen his biological father, Su Changqing, actually fight, but all he had to do was stand there, and people would naturally think that if there were any sword immortals in the world, they should be like him.

The Master of Zhanyun Tower is skilled in both sword and shield techniques, possessing both offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as endurance and the ability to fight tirelessly for extended periods.

Shen Du Wei Xiu is skilled in single-handed swordsmanship and fist techniques, and is adept at troop deployment and teamwork.

Chen Sha's palm technique was clearly the orthodox style of the Divine Capital Guard, possessing a powerful and forceful quality.

However, I've heard that Commander Xie Jichuan's palm technique is unparalleled in the world, like crashing waves and the roar of dragons and tigers.

Although Longyin Temple is a Buddhist temple, it also has martial monks who are responsible for resolving troubles. They usually practice fist and palm techniques as well as long staff techniques.

These monks are usually the most cunning; they chant Amitabha Buddha's name while striking people with their sticks so hard they're practically performing a physical ritual for them.

The four sects of the Righteous Alliance practice orthodox martial arts that conform to the image of righteousness, but the Listening Waterfall Manor practices hidden weapons and mechanisms, and even evil puppetry.

That's really not the way a righteous person should act.

Jiang Jingming used to dismiss this, but now he feels that everything makes sense.

The Shun family was originally just an ordinary family based in Fengling City, but it rose rapidly at an incredible speed, raising its sect's strength to a level where it could compete with the other four sects.

Firstly, it's based on the martial arts they practice.

Compared to traditional martial arts like swords, sabers, staffs, fists, and palms, which require decades of repeated practice and accumulation, hidden weapons and puppetry are obviously easier to learn quickly, which makes it much faster to train elite disciples.

In addition, the Shun family made a very important and brilliant move.

That is to send the young Shun Huai to another family, so that he can rightfully become the city lord of Fengling City in the name of Song Huai.

In the past, the martial arts world and the imperial court were always rivals, but after they made this move, they removed the barriers between them.

The price paid must have been considerable, but in the end, the Shun family gained the entire Fengling City.

That's why they were able to rapidly increase their strength and grow in size over the course of a few decades.

Jiang Jingming thought to himself that this was probably why the Washing Spring Sword Sect had so few records about Listening Waterfall Manor.

The Wash Spring Sword Sect is a group of people who are extremely martial and indifferent to emotions. They probably hold a high-minded and disdainful attitude towards sects like Listening Waterfall Manor that will stop at nothing.

In fact, Jiang Jingming did not think there was anything wrong with using power and strategy, but the Shun family's method of eliminating weak collateral bloodlines also demonstrated their survival principles.

This means that the strong get fatter and fatter by eating, while the weak can only barely survive or even starve to death.

Jiang Jingming suddenly remembered what Jiang Wuwang had said before he left.

"There are always invisible rules in this world. The strong crave struggle, while the weak can only lose. Living under such rules, people are worse than pigs and dogs."

You really have to be there in person to truly understand.

However, the Shun family, which established such strict rules, ultimately ended their decades of glorious rise in an extremely tragic way.

It can be considered a kind of dark humor.

"Being born into the Shun family is like being in heaven or hell in an instant."

Wen Fuxiao sighed softly as she finished speaking:

"If you are mediocre, and your family thinks you are not good enough for anything, they will kick you aside without hesitation. You may have the surname Shun, but the whole of Fengling City will know that you are a discarded child. As a result, other families that are usually suppressed by the Shun family will vent their resentment on the discarded child. You will live a more difficult life than the common people."

“But even if you are exceptionally talented and highly regarded by your family, it doesn’t guarantee you a good life. You never know when your family might send you away as a pawn. When Song Huai was sent away, he was only seven years old. If he hadn’t achieved his family’s goal of becoming the city lord, his fate would have been predictable.”

Xie Yunqi frowned and pursed his lips slightly:

"What's the point of a family that grows so large without any blood ties or kinship, only mutual suspicion? When disaster strikes, they're destined to go their separate ways."

Hearing her somewhat confused tone, Jiang Jingming thought to himself that since the young lady was born into a Brahmin family, she naturally couldn't understand these people who would stop at nothing to gain power and status.

He could understand, but he wouldn't accept it, because he wouldn't be that kind of person.

If even he could guess the Righteous Alliance's disdain and disapproval of Tingpu Manor, the head of the Shun family must be even more aware of it.

That's why he's even more ruthless and goes to great lengths to strengthen himself.

He probably harbors an ambition to trample all those who look down on him underfoot.

Unfortunately, his ambition was completely buried in a sudden massacre of his entire family.

Thinking of this, Jiang Jingming suddenly realized something else.

That is, after learning about the family annihilation case, he never seriously considered the killer's motive.

Because the murderer left the signature "Young Mistress of the Duyue Sect," he assumed from the beginning that the motive was "to frame the Duyue Sect and incite conflict."

But what if the killer's motive was simpler?

The murderer simply harbored a deep-seated hatred for Tingpu Manor, which led to the massacre of the entire family. In the end, he left behind the false claim of the young mistress of the Duyue Sect to divert attention.

I originally thought that as one of the sects in the righteous alliance, Tingpu Manor wouldn't have too many enemies. When I thought of the opposing forces, I naturally thought of the Duyue Sect.

However, after listening to Wen Fuxiao's words and gaining a new understanding of Tingpu Villa, Jiang Jingming had to re-examine the murderer's motives.

Judging from their development, they must have offended many forces, and they have far too many enemies who have the motive to kill them.

Overturning his previous logic, Jiang Jingming took a deep breath and tried to suppress his complicated thoughts.

My finger was lightly touched.

Jiang Jingming turned to the side, and A Qing was staring at him intently, as if she had something to say.

The two sat side by side in the bumpy carriage, and she probably keenly sensed his unease.

Looking into her clear, watery eyes, Jiang Jingming suddenly felt that things weren't so bad after all.

Although the journey to Zhongzhou was quite arduous.

Although he arrived in Fengling City, he was imprisoned before he even had a chance to visit the crime scene.

Although the carriage was constantly bumping along and had a damp, musty smell...

But at least Aqing is still by my side.

Chapter Seventy-Two: A Woman's Heart

After recounting the structure and history of Tingpu Villa, Wen Fuxiao squinted and peered out through the gap in the carriage, estimating the time it would take to reach the prison.

Chen Sha clearly ordered his men to travel at a much faster pace than usual.

Wen Fuxiao stroked his beard, his expression solemn.

"I regret that although I know something about the Shun family, I don't know much about the massacre... Vice Envoy Chen is truly remarkable."

"Mr. Wen, do you know the general situation at the crime scene?"

Since time was limited, Jiang Jingming chose to ask the most crucial question.

Wen Fuxiao nodded. He had not been to the scene in person, but he had glimpsed some of the case files.

“Tingpu Manor is located on Cuiwei Mountain outside Fengling City. It is far from the inner city and the mountain road is rugged and difficult to travel. Therefore, apart from the people of the manor, few outsiders dare to enter.”

"Why did they choose such a location? Shouldn't the Shun family be very wealthy?"

Xie Yunqi frowned, clearly not understanding this at all.