"Damn it!"

With a loud bang, the door was shoved open and crashed against the wall, shaking the beams slightly. Ma Xu stormed into the room and sat down, his face as dark as wrought iron.

Following closely, Song Yu also entered.

His expression wasn’t pleasant either, but compared to Ma Xu’s burning anger, he was relatively calm. He walked over and said, "Old Ma, don’t be so impatient."

"Impatient? Is this me being impatient?"

Ma Xu looked up at him, gritting his teeth: "That Dai Junliang keeps harping on about the previous defeat. If it weren’t for him, would I have lost so badly? Now the Ministry of War has sent people here, clearly to hold us accountable for the last battle. If I don’t seize the opportunity to make a contribution now, can I still keep my head?"

"What are you in a hurry for?"

Song Yu leisurely poured a cup of tea and handed it to him, saying, "Though the Ministry has sent people, the Young Master is here, he won’t kill you."

"Then why doesn’t he let us go to battle?"

"Isn’t it because of that incident just now? After all, it’s his brother. How could he possibly—"

At this point, Ma Xu’s expression changed again.

The preceding anger subsided, replaced by a flicker of panic. He turned to Song Yu and said, "Just now, no one found out about that event, right?"

Song Yu immediately gestured for him to be quiet.

He got up and walked to the door, peering outside. There was no one around the house; the guards were patrolling outside the courtyard wall. Only then did he close the door securely, return to Ma Xu’s side, and whisper, "Be more careful."

This demeanor made Ma Xu even more uneasy.

Ma Xu said, "Just now, I noticed that the General’s wife seemed to be watching us. Do you think she might have found out something? If this matter gets uncovered, plotting against a court official, we would all—"

"What are you afraid of!"

Song Yu, frowning impatiently, said, "We mixed Hook Vine in those drugs, and in the chaos, we’ve already taken all of them away. There’s no evidence left. Also, it was their order to shut the windows tight, and we only sealed the windows behind their backs, same with the doors. Moreover, we set fire to the doors and windows, and that evidence is long gone."

As he said this, he gritted his teeth.

"It’s just unexpected that among the old and weak women in that room, there was such a skilled girl."

"..."

"Had I known, I should have dealt with her first—"

Ma Xu also sighed heavily; this indeed was something they hadn’t anticipated. Who would have thought that the charming little maid by the General’s wife could possess such abilities.

No wonder she could accompany the General’s wife to Fufeng.

He suddenly thought of something and said worriedly, "Do you think that girl saw anything when she came out? Did she see your men?"

Song Yu said, bothered, "Haven’t I told you? My men left immediately after finishing the job, and are now already—"

"..."

"Besides, at that time, all the official office staff went to the front hall to welcome the Young Master, and we followed them. She said herself that she couldn’t find anyone in the backyard, then rushed to the front hall, colliding with the Young Master. How could she have seen our men."

"..."

"So, there are no eyewitnesses or physical evidence in this matter, what can they do?"

Hearing this, Ma Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief and murmured, "That’s good."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "But, do you think the Young Master—"

Before he could finish, a commotion suddenly erupted outside, causing both of them to fall silent. Song Yu quickly walked over to open the door. Outside, it was pitch black, except for a distant light outside the courtyard wall from patrol guards holding lanterns, a few people gathered, seemingly talking loudly about something.

But soon, the people dispersed.

Ma Xu raised his voice to ask, "What’s going on?"

Upon hearing his voice, several guards hurried into the courtyard to salute the two, one of them said, "Reporting to General Ma and Lord Song, just now, it was one of the Great General’s personal soldiers, who seemed to have lost his way and was asking us for directions."

"The Great General’s personal soldier?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Xu immediately furrowed his brows, "Who was it?"

The guards exchanged looks, and one said, "Seems like someone named Nie Chong, I heard he was a mountain bandit subdued by the Great General when he passed by Wanggang Village."

"Did he say anything else?"

"No, we showed him the way, and he left."

Song Yu and Ma Xu exchanged a glance, and after a moment of silence, Ma Xu waved his hand, signaling the guards to leave. The two returned to the room, with Song Yu closing the door again. Turning around, he saw Ma Xu looking tense as he said, "That Nie Chong didn’t hear us saying anything, did he?"

Even though Song Yu was quite wary, hearing this made him laugh, saying, "They were so far away, and with all the shouting outside, we couldn’t hear what they were saying. How could he possibly hear us when we had the door closed?"

"..."

"If he really had heard, he would have slipped away quietly. Why would he ask people outside for directions?"

Hearing this, Ma Xu breathed a sigh of relief, "Indeed."

Song Yu smiled again, "Old Ma, you’re still too tense. This matter is known only by you and me. As long as you don’t say anything, no one will find out."

Ma Xu nodded.

In the silent night, his eyes suddenly glinted as he looked up at Song Yu, "Then you say, the young master—"

|

The same night scene on the other side was slightly more noisy.

A few guards hurriedly approached from the night, carrying a scorched smell. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they bowed towards Yu Wenqian and Shang Ruyi under the eaves, "Young Master, General’s wife."

Yu Wenqian asked, "How is it?"

One of the leading guards replied, "We followed what Madam and Miss Wo Xue said to look for it. The box placed in the corner has been burned, and everything inside is gone. We didn’t see any medicine mixed with Hook Vine."

Another one added, "Also, the doors and windows were all burned, no traces of nails were seen."

"This—"

Wo Xue, standing next to Shang Ruyi, frowned upon hearing this, "How can that be?"

Yin Changyue thought for a moment and asked, "Then, Miss Wo Xue, when you rushed out of the fire looking for people, did you see anyone suspicious around?"

"......"

Wo Xue hesitated for a while and could only shake her head.

She did not see any suspicious person; it was due to seeing no one that she hurriedly bumped into Yu Wenqian.

Yin Changyue said, "In that case—"

He spoke cautiously, looking at Yu Wenqian and Shang Ruyi.

The two stood under the eaves, the lantern above illuminating their equally bright eyes. Upon hearing those words, their eyes simultaneously flickered, showcasing an inexplicable understanding in the darkness of the night.

Shang Ruyi had already looked up at Yu Wenqian, "Elder brother, what do you think?"

Yu Wenqian calmly said, "I just arrived and do not understand the details well. It’s better that you, sister-in-law, decide on this matter."

Everyone’s eyes fell on Shang Ruyi.

She pondered for a moment, then looked up, a gentle smile in her eyes, and said, "Since it is like this, perhaps it really was just an accident."

"Young Madam?!"

Wo Xue widened her eyes at her. Although she knew she shouldn’t interrupt at this time, she couldn’t help but say, "But—"

Shang Ruyi slightly frowned, signaling her to be silent, then said calmly, "Earlier in the fire, it was incredibly urgent. We were all dizzy from the smoke, inevitably creating some illusions. Since there were no drugs to cause unconsciousness, no one nailed the windows shut, and no one set the fire, this matter need not be investigated further."

Yin Changyue internally breathed a sigh of relief.

As the supervisor of this expedition, he was responsible for overseeing all military affairs. If there really was an attempted murder of the Great General, and it nearly succeeded, he would be held accountable.

Now that it was an accident, although there would be inquiries upon return, at least he wouldn’t be so worried.

So he said, "Naturally, that’s how it is."

Though he was relieved, Mu Xian and Cheng Qiao, standing at the edge of the crowd, couldn’t help but frown.

But now, no one could say much more. Shang Ruyi had already spoken to Yin Changyue and Dai Junliang, "Though it’s an accident, such things must not happen again. From today onwards, please allocate a special team within the military to protect the Great General’s safety, surrounding this courtyard. Without my — or my elder brother’s orders, no one is to approach arbitrarily. This team will be led by Shantong’er, Mu Xian, and Cheng Qiao in rotation."

She then looked at the crowd, "How about it?"

The people around hadn’t expected her to remain so clear-headed and decisive at this moment, and they all nodded in agreement.

Shantong’er immediately said, "It was my fault today for going to eat. I’ll take them and guard the area all night. I won’t eat!"

Seeing his guilty yet sincere manner, Shang Ruyi’s face showed a faint smile.

She nodded, "Good."

Then she looked up at Yu Wenqian beside her, "Elder brother, is there anything else to instruct?"

"......"

Yu Wenqian looked down at her, remained silent for a moment, and shook his head, "No."

Shang Ruyi said, "Then let Shantong’er handle it tonight. Everyone else, withdraw. Unless there’s something extremely urgent, do not disturb the Great General."

Upon hearing this, Yin Changyue and others didn’t dare to linger longer. They hurriedly saluted and took their leave.

Mu Xian and Cheng Qiao also apologized and left the courtyard.

The two turned to exit the gate, and Cheng Qiao glanced back, showing some doubt in his eyes. He whispered, "Do you think the Young Madam seems a bit odd?"