Chapter 44: Fast Feet After Arson and Murder

Li Xubai lay beneath the bed, forced to listen to the entire exchange. Stunned into speechlessness, his mind went blank.

Steward Fang had made things abundantly clear to Li Xubai beforehand. Cao Heyong, whose wife had passed away a decade ago, had let it be known that he was seeking a second wife. As a result, the marriage market in the capital had gone completely frantic. Unmarried maidens of eligible age, youthful widows, and divorced beauties of stunning charm had all lost their heads.

The competition was fierce beyond measure.

Though already fifty years old, Cao Heyong maintained himself impeccably. He possessed an upright posture free of any protruding belly, held a position of high authority, and commanded vast fortunes. His parents above had long since passed, and his children below were fully grown.

To marry him meant stepping straight into the role of the esteemed matriarch, requiring neither the service of parents-in-law nor the rearing of young children.

In Li Xubai’s past life, such a catch would be the crown jewel of the marriage market.

Naturally, the same held true within this Dayu Dynasty.

Among the throngs of contenders vying to become the second wife was the maternal cousin of Steward Fang’s uncle.

The uncle, a sixth-rank minor official in the Ministry of Rites, had fathered three sons and a daughter. His daughter had returned to her maternal home just a year after her wedding following a divorce, currently residing there while awaiting a remarriage.

The social climate of the Dayu Dynasty was remarkably progressive and open, making both second and third marriages a commonplace sight.

Steward Fang’s cousin was utterly determined to secure the coveted position of Cao Heyong’s successor wife. However, upon hearing rumors that Cao Heyong harbored an exceptionally cherished concubine—and that upon departing for his new post in Dengzhou, he had left behind all his other concubines while taking precisely this one favorite along—she had grown desperate.

Consequently, she had implored her cousin, Steward Fang, to investigate this particular concubine.

And, should the need arise, to orchestrate her quiet disappearance.

Such matters were not difficult to investigate. The guards stationed around the Cao family’s estate were remarkably lax, allowing Li Xubai to slip inside almost unhindered. Relying on the sharp observational instincts honed during his past career as an entertainment journalist, he easily located the dwelling of the favored concubine. Yet, before he could even catch a clear glimpse of her appearance, he had been cornered and forced to hide beneath the bed.

Right now, Li Xubai was consumed by profound regret.

Had he known that this so-called concubine was none other than the biological mother of Song Shiyu from her past life, wild horses couldn't have dragged him here to keep watch.

The more he thought, the heavier his anxiety grew.

Whether Cao Heyong had harbored improper designs for long, or Yun Xingruo had been overly eager to secure a powerful patron, everything had fallen into place with frictionless ease.

Only he was left to suffer the consequences.

How on earth was he supposed to break this news to Song Shiyu?

Her biological father from her past life was still drawing breath, while her biological mother in this life was in such frantic haste to find her a stepfather?

As dawn broke, the Cao family caravan set off once more.

Li Xubai had already uncovered the origins of Cao Heyong’s concubine, but making her vanish was far beyond his capabilities. Watching the departing carriages, he resolved to return to the city.

Just as he brushed past the main chambers, he cast a lingering glance back at the rear annex. For reasons unknown, driven by some inexplicable impulse, he turned around and crept back.

The rear annex had already been thoroughly tidied.

The bedding on the bed had been gathered and cleared away, leaving behind only the bare wooden boards.

Li Xubai stood frozen in the room for a moment, snapping back to awareness only when he realized what he was doing. With a self-deprecating, helpless shake of his head, he prepared to depart.

A solitary shaft of sunlight pierced through the window, striking squarely against the carved wooden floor-screen at the head of the bed.

A blinding flash of light ricocheted from a gap within the screen, painfully sharp to the eye.

Li Xubai narrowed his eyes and strode briskly toward it.

After tapping and probing along the screen for a moment, one of the carved wooden panels abruptly emitted a soft creak and sprang outward.

The sudden movement startled Li Xubai.

He lifted his gaze.

The floor-screen was hollow inside, and wedged within the gap behind the popped-out panel lay a dagger.

It looked as though someone had attempted to pry open the screen, only to be interrupted by a sudden turn of events before finishing the job.

Who could it have been? It certainly wasn't he who had interrupted them.

Li Xubai carefully recalled the events of the previous night.

He had been cornered beneath the bed by Yun Xingruo. After the lights were blown out, he seemed to have heard a faint rustling sound, followed by the friction of wood against wood.

At first, he had assumed the room was plagued by vermin, perhaps mice scampering about.

Now, reflecting on it, that sound must have been Yun Xingruo attempting to pry open the screen.

And then—right, that was when Cao Heyong had arrived.

Her actions had been interrupted by Cao Heyong, leaving her without even the time to retrieve the dagger.

Li Xubai found himself unable to suppress his surging curiosity.

A horse grows fat only on nocturnal grass; a man grows rich only by windfall gains.

To hell with it! He would take the risk.

Gripping the dagger tightly, he carefully pried up the piece of wood at the base of the floor-screen.

Just as he had anticipated, the interior beneath the screen was likewise hollow, concealing a worn, bright yellow sachet embroidered with cloud patterns.

He picked up the sachet, instantly noting its heavy, substantial weight.

Tipping its contents out onto his palm, he gasped.

It was half of a dragon-shaped jade pendant.

Li Xubai froze in shock.

At that exact instant, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside.

Without a second to spare for thought, Li Xubai shoved the sachet into his tunic, lunged toward the window, and scrambled back underneath the bed.

No sooner had he concealed himself than the door was kicked open with a violent crash, and two figures rushed inside.

Upon seeing the empty, half-dismantled screen, their expressions shifted dramatically.

"Damn it, the item has been taken!"

"The window is open! The thief must have jumped through and escaped!"

"After them! Quick, do not let this person get away!"

"Our superiors gave direct orders: if we cannot intercept the object, we must destroy it utterly!"

The two figures leaped through the window in a flash, pursuing the target with frantic speed.

Li Xubai lay beneath the bed, holding his breath and calming his pulse, not daring to make the slightest sound.

He waited until dusk fell and the entire estate plunged into a dead silence before he finally dared to crawl out with utmost caution.

Stepping out of the rear annex, he immediately sensed that something was amiss within the estate.

A faint scent of blood seemed to linger in the air.

An inexplicable shiver ran down his spine, sending icy crawls across his back.

Instinctively pressing his body flat against the base of the wall, he melted into the shadows, striving to shrink his presence to absolute nothingness.

Before he even reached the estate's main gates, two familiar voices caught his attention—it was the two men from the rear annex, issuing commands.

"Has every corner been searched?"

"Commander, all areas have been checked. Not a single living soul remains."

"Good. This place can no longer be left standing. Put the torch to it and burn it to the ground."

Terror gripped Li Xubai’s heart, visions of blood-soaked corpses flashing before his eyes.

He did not dare to move a muscle.

He was standing far too close to these men; a single step forward or backward would instantly alert the assassins.

He cursed himself for emerging from his hiding place too soon.

Gritting his teeth, he pressed himself deeper into the shadows of the wall, playing dead while listening to their movements, too terrified to draw a full breath.

The men carried heavy buckets out of the courtyard, splashing the liquid contents in a wide circle along the outer perimeter walls.

A suffocating stench of lamp oil filled the air, effectively masking the lingering odor of blood.

Fear paralyzed Li Xubai.

With a series of soft snaps, tongues of fire caught along the estate's outer walls, rapidly licking their way up toward the eaves.

Fueled by the wind, the flames surged wildly over the rooftops.

In the span of a heartbeat, the entire estate was engulfed in a roaring sea of fire.

Piercing, harrowing screams echoed from within the inferno.

The murderers stood watching calmly outside the sea of flames.

The scorching glare of the fire cast a ferocious, distorted glow across their faces, their expressions utterly indifferent.

"As expected of the Commander's foresight—someone actually tried to play dead in there."

"Setting this fire isn't merely about ensuring everyone perishes; the true objective is the destruction of all evidence."

"With so many dead, the Bianliang prefectural runners are bound to notice eventually. But with everything reduced to ashes, no matter how extraordinary their skills, they will never uncover a trace."

Chuckling smugly among themselves, the band of men swung up into their saddles and vanished into the night like a gust of wind.