Thirteen apprehended Shi Yi, and Jia Huan conducted the interrogation.
Not long after, Jia Huan went to the study with the confession. It was late at night, and a faint candlelight emanated from the study. Jia Huan brushed off the chill before knocking to request an audience.
Ji Jinmo's voice came from within: "Enter!"
Jia Huan pushed the door open, then turned to close it. He walked to the desk and presented the transcribed confession with both hands. "Master, he confessed everything!"
Even the hardest of bones could not withstand the torture techniques he had secretly learned from the Empress.
"Follow this lead and flush out all the rats hidden within my capital, Linhuai." Ji Jinmo tossed the confession paper back to Jia Huan, his voice as cold as if it had been steeped in the icy waters of a mountain spring. Jia Huan dared not be negligent, holding the confession paper with both hands. Gao Sheng received the order: "Yes!"
...
Nan Yu Jin returned to the Nan residence in a daze. He entered his room, and only when his back pressed against the wooden board of the bed did his drifting soul feel a sense of grounding.
He reviewed everything that had happened today.
He had dined with his mother. Although his mother's complexion was now ruddy, and her body appeared no different from a normal person, the thought that her life was limited to another six months weighed heavily on him, making him feel uncontrollably melancholic. After leaving his mother's courtyard, he had left the residence and gone to a restaurant.
His last memory was of drinking one cup after another, and then, upon waking again, he found himself lying on a flower boat in Huan Cai Ge.
And, he had experienced a night of passionate indulgence.
The events that followed made Nan Yu Jin feel as though he had fallen into a dream, and even now, his spirit was disoriented and his mind was in chaos, unsure whether to believe what he had heard and seen.
However, upon recalling the secrets he had overheard, he abruptly stood up and headed for Li Wan Ge.
At Li Wan Ge, Nan Chao Yin had already fallen asleep with Liu Shi. A slight commotion could be heard from the courtyard, as if someone was arguing. Nan Chao Yin had become increasingly light-sleeved in recent days, being woken by even the slightest sound. He opened his eyes, a flicker of angry impatience flashing in them.
"Who is making noise outside?" he got up, crossed over Liu Shi, and got out of bed. He pulled on his outer robe and draped it over himself, then, lowering his voice, he questioned the maids outside the door.
The maid replied, "It's the young master..."
The maid's voice paused slightly, as if she were choosing her words carefully. "The young master insisted on barging into Li Wan Ge without explanation. However, it is late at night, and it is truly inconvenient to allow the young master in. The guards at the gate did not dare to truly stop him, so they were in a standoff outside the door, and a quarrel ensued, disturbing the master. We beg for your forgiveness, master."
Nan Chao Yin pushed the door open and cast a cold glance at the maid. "If you don't want your tongue, have it cut off and fed to the dogs!" A mere servant dared to stir up trouble between masters. It was his indulgence of Liu Shi that had made the servants around her forget what hierarchy meant.
The maid trembled all over and immediately knelt down, begging for forgiveness in fear. "Master, please forgive me, master, please forgive me, I will never dare to do it again!"
"Demoted to a third-class maid!"
"If there is a next time, the lake in the backyard will be your final resting place." Nan Chao Yin said no more after his pronouncement, walking towards the courtyard gate. The maid knelt on the ground, trembling all over. It was only when Nan Chao Yin's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor that she supported herself with the ground, leaning against the wall, and stood up with all her might!
"Young master, please return. We can discuss anything tomorrow. The master and madam are already asleep, and if you are truly filial, you should not come at this hour to disturb them. If the madam is awakened, the master will surely blame you, young master. I am doing this for your own good, are I not?"
Hearing the guard's words, Nan Yu Jin was so angered that he laughed: "Good, very good. This is the way Liu Shi manages the household, and she manages it so imperiously. Even a small guard in Li Wan Ge dares to disregard me, his master. If this continues, will you all dare to defecate and urinate on my head?"
"Young master, what are you saying? This subordinate..."
Nan Yu Jin suddenly stepped forward and kicked the guard in the chest. He then drew the saber from the guard's waist and swung it towards his wrist. With one stroke, he severed his hand.
"Ah..."
A piercing scream suddenly erupted. The guard clutched his wrist, and his eyes, looking at Nan Yu Jin, were filled with chilling malevolence. "You..."
As soon as he spoke, his peripheral vision caught sight of a figure drawing a saber from the waist of his companion. A cold glint flashed, and the resentment and harsh words in his eyes froze at that moment. Then, the light in his eyes extinguished, and his half-supported body crashed to the ground, along with his severed head.
Nan Chao Yin, his face stern, gripped the saber, letting the blood on the blade drip onto the stone slab ground. Another guard, seeing Nan Chao Yin, frantically knelt on the ground. The blood flowing from the guard's neck and wrist stained the ground, and at that moment, it flowed along the cracks between the stone slabs to his feet. He dared not move at all, letting his shoes and pants be soaked by the viscous blood.
"The guards of Li Wan Ge have committed insubordination. Come, have all guards belonging to Li Wan Ge brought out and beaten with twenty strokes, and then expelled from the estate!"
Nan Chao Yin dealt with the situation decisively and ruthlessly, not allowing these insubordinate dogs to act as they pleased just because this was Li Wan Ge, Liu Shi's courtyard. Lights were lit in the master bedroom inside the courtyard, and Liu Shi, accompanied by a maid, hurried to the courtyard gate. At a glance, she saw the blood-stained long saber clutched in Nan Chao Yin's hand.
"Master~"
She timidly approached, her face filled with fear, and grabbed Nan Chao Yin's arm. With downcast eyes, she confessed her fault: "It is all my fault for managing the household poorly and not controlling these dogs, causing them to displease you, Master. I beg for your forgiveness!"
"However, if you dismiss them all, Master, then anyone can break into my Li Wan Ge. I fear I will not be able to sleep soundly every night."
Nan Chao Yin turned and looked down at Liu Shi.
Liu Shi's jet-black long hair was draped behind her. Her unadorned appearance, coupled with her lowered gaze, gave her a fragile aura, as if she might scatter and disappear at any moment. She was most adept at capturing his heart and manipulating his emotions with these gestures. Nan Chao Yin liked this demeanor of hers. Usually, as long as it wasn't something excessive, he would concede. She had done something foolish when Ji Jinmo had visited the residence, and he had also neglected her for a period of time. He hadn't expected that Wang Shi's serious illness and his own leniency would cause her to revert to her old ways.
The fact that the servants of Li Wan Ge dared to stir up trouble in front of him and mock the young master of the Nan residence was something Nan Chao Yin found utterly intolerable.
"Can't sleep? Then you shall kneel and recite scriptures every day, and not sleep!"
"Master?"
Liu Shi raised her head in disbelief, completely unprepared for the man who usually doted on her to speak such cruel words.
Nan Chao Yin looked at Liu Shi with no trace of pity in his eyes. He turned to look at Nan Yu Jin. "Since your mother's health has recovered, perhaps she should be more active. This household should still be managed by the principal wife."
"Starting tomorrow, Wang Shi will resume managing the household affairs. If anyone interferes this time, they will be directly expelled!"
With that, Nan Chao Yin dropped the long saber in his hand, did not look at Liu Shi again, and walked directly out of Li Wan Ge.