Ling Shen whispered, "But Sister-in-law has also been good to Big Brother. Over the past year, she’s taken meticulous care of him, and his health has improved significantly."
Ling Xiao shot him a cold glare, and Ling Shen promptly fell silent, shrinking back.
Madam Lin sighed. "Yue is indeed very sensible. I’m getting old, and this past year, she’s not only cared for Big Son but also attended to me. I’ve seen it all. This matter isn’t her fault."
She looked at Ling Xiao with earnest concern. "Before your elder brother passed, he repeatedly urged us to treat her well. This was his only wish. Don’t stubbornly cling to your resentment and betray his trust."
Ling Xiao’s expression darkened, his lips pressed into a tight line. "Mother, you should rest. Leave the rest to me."
With that, he turned and strode out of the room.
Ling Shen hurried after him.
"Second Brother, what are you planning to do? You’re not thinking of confronting Prefect Rong, are you? He’s a fifth-rank official—we can’t afford to provoke him. Let’s just drop it..."
As Ling Xiao stepped into the courtyard, two attendants standing guard immediately stepped forward, clasping their fists in salute. "Marquis."
Ling Shen froze, his face stiff with shock. "Huh?"
Ling Xiao’s eyes gleamed with cold fury. "Bring Rong Shichang to me. I’ll interrogate him myself."
An hour later.
Jian Shuang and his men dragged in a man trussed up like a dumpling and threw him onto the ground.
"Marquis, we’ve brought him."
A servant had placed an armchair in the courtyard. Ling Xiao walked over, swept his robes aside, and sat down, his icy gaze fixed on the man sprawled before him.
"You are Rong Shichang?"
The ancestral hall faced the courtyard. Jiang Yueyao, kneeling inside, turned her head at the commotion. When she saw Rong Shichang being thrown in, her face paled.
Jian Shuang stepped forward and yanked the cloth gagging Rong Shichang from his mouth.
Rong Shichang immediately erupted into curses. "You have some nerve! Do you even know who I am? My father is Prefect Rong! How dare you lay hands on me? I’ll make sure your entire family dies screaming!"
Ling Xiao remained unfazed, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest. "Too noisy."
Jian Shuang drew a dagger from his belt, planted his foot on Rong Shichang’s wrist, and drove the blade straight through his hand, pinning it to the dirt.
"Ahhh!" Rong Shichang howled in agony.
Yueyao’s pupils contracted, her heart pounding at the brutal display.
Rong Shichang continued to shriek until Jian Shuang warned coldly, "Shut your mouth, or your other hand is next."
Had the Marquis not needed him alive for questioning, Jian Shuang would have cut out his tongue first.
Trembling violently, Rong Shichang’s face drained of color, his arrogance utterly shattered. He stared at Ling Xiao in terror, stammering, "M-mercy! Spare me, my lord!"
"Last night, my elder brother died, allegedly at the hands of bandits. Did you hire those men?"
Ling Xiao’s tone was calm, but a murderous glint flickered in his eyes.
Rong Shichang whipped his head around, finally noticing the ancestral hall. He’d been dragged to the Ling residence? Had Ling Xiao returned?!
"N-no! It wasn’t me! I had nothing to do with it! I don’t know anything!"
Ling Xiao glanced at Jian Shuang, who drew another dagger and advanced.
Rong Shichang’s face turned ashen with panic. "No, no, I swear it wasn’t me!"
Desperate, he pointed his uninjured hand at Jiang Yueyao. "It was her! This slut seduced me! She said she couldn’t stand being tied to Ling Chen, that useless invalid, and wanted him dead so she could remarry! She coveted my wealth and status—she bewitched me!"
As if grasping at a lifeline, he doubled down. "Yes, her! Everyone in Xingfeng Village knows she’s been throwing herself at me! If not for her tears and pleas, I’d never have sent men to take her away. Who knew this viper would deliberately delay, letting Ling Chen bleed out so he’d die?!"
Ling Xiao’s dark gaze shifted to Jiang Yueyao.
Yueyao rose from the prayer mat, steadying herself before stepping out of the ancestral hall. Her cold eyes bore into the snarling man. "Then tell me—when did I beg you? When did we meet? For the past half-month, my husband’s health worsened, and I’ve been by his side day and night. The entire Ling household can attest to that!"
Ling Shen blinked in surprise.
Rong Shichang spat, "Half a month ago! You pretended to go to the market but instead came to me, flaunting yourself!"
A mocking glint flashed in Yueyao’s eyes. "Are you certain?"
"Of course! You shameless—"
Ling Shen cut in, "That’s bullshit! A month ago, after you harassed Sister-in-law in town, she didn’t leave the house for over twenty days! The only time she went out was five days ago—to buy medicine for Big Brother, and I went with her!"
Rong Shichang’s face twisted.
He glared at Jiang Yueyao, realizing too late that she’d tricked him into contradicting himself.
"Then—then I must’ve mixed up the dates! It was five days ago..." he backpedaled frantically.
Jiang Yueyao said coldly, "If I had truly seen you five days ago, you should have exposed me the moment I claimed I hadn’t left the Ling residence for half a month."
"You!"
Ling Shen cursed, "You dare drag my sister-in-law into this, you scoundrel! Even at death’s door, your tongue remains sharp!"
Ling Xiao’s gaze fell upon Jiang Yueyao, his dark, fathomless eyes unreadable.
Yueyao met his stare with clear, unflinching eyes.
"My Lord," Jian Shuang awaited orders.
Ling Xiao’s voice was icy. "Cut out his tongue."
Upon hearing this, Rong Shichang’s face turned deathly pale. He screamed without restraint, "You dare mutilate me? My father is the prefect! If he finds out, he’ll make sure you— Ah!"
Before he could finish, a bloodcurdling shriek tore through the air. Jian Shuang gripped his jaw and with a swift slash of his blade, severed Rong Shichang’s tongue.
Ling Shen trembled, his face ashen, too terrified to lift his head.
Yueyao stared fixedly at Rong Shichang. He had murdered her husband—she would witness his downfall with her own eyes.
Ling Xiao issued another frigid command. "Do not let him die too easily."
"Yes, my Lord."
The attendant obeyed, drawing a whip from his belt and lashing Rong Shichang relentlessly.
With his tongue gone, Rong Shichang writhed in agony, reduced to muffled whimpers like a rat trapped in a gutter.
Just then, a voice rang out: "Prefect Rong has arrived!"
Qing Yu, mid-lash, glanced at Ling Xiao. Seeing no order to stop, he continued the brutal flogging.
When Prefect Rong rushed in, he found his son already a bloodied, unrecognizable mass of flesh.
"No!" The prefect trembled with rage, pointing at Ling Xiao. "You—how dare you harm my son!"
Jian Shuang unsheathed his sword, its tip aimed at Prefect Rong. "How insolent! Kneel before the Marquis!"
The prefect’s face froze. "Wh-what?"
Jian Shuang flashed a token, and the moment Prefect Rong saw the four engraved characters, his body went numb with terror.
—First-Rank Marquis of the Military.
In Great Zhou, only one man held that title: the young prodigy who had stormed the imperial palace, beheaded the traitorous Prince Yong, and secured the throne for the new emperor.
Even in the remote reaches of Yunzhou, whispers of this legendary general had reached Prefect Rong’s ears.
Yet he never imagined that man would be Ling Xiao, the second son of the Ling family.
Sweat poured down Prefect Rong’s pallid face as he stammered, "This humble official failed to discipline his worthless son, allowing him to offend the Marquis’s elder brother."
Ling Xiao’s tone was indifferent. "Prefect Rong flatters himself. What trouble could your son possibly stir? The true crime lies in your embezzlement of a hundred thousand taels of silver to bribe the traitor Prince Yong—an act of high treason."
Prefect Rong collapsed to his knees with a thud. "N-no! I was merely—momentarily blinded!"
During the succession struggle, Prince Yong had been the favored contender, and Prefect Rong had naturally sought to curry favor.
But in just a year, the tides had turned. Prince Yong’s failed coup led to his capture by Prince Jing, who now sat upon the throne.
Though the new emperor had pardoned most officials uninvolved in the rebellion, Prefect Rong’s luck had run out.
Ling Xiao, the foremost hero of Prince Jing’s ascension, stood before him—and his son had killed the Marquis’s brother.
Terror rendered the prefect speechless.
Ling Xiao’s voice was merciless. "As a remnant of the rebellion, no plea will sway me. Guards, seize Prefect Rong and deliver him to the capital for trial."
"My Lord!" the prefect wailed, but the soldiers gagged him and dragged him away without ceremony.
Rong Shichang, who had clung to hope of rescue, paled further when he saw his father hauled off. Choking on blood, he could only whimper as the lashes continued.
Gradually, his struggles ceased, his body reduced to a lifeless, mangled heap.
Jiang Yueyao’s hands trembled within her sleeves. The brutality sickened her, yet she forced herself to watch—to witness his death.
Ling Shen turned away, unable to bear the sight.
Ling Xiao’s eyes lifted to Yueyao, her gaze burning with fury as it remained locked on Rong Shichang’s corpse.
Jian Shuang lowered his whip and approached, clasping his fists. "My Lord, he is dead."
Ling Xiao glanced coldly at the pile of mangled flesh on the ground and ordered, "Clean this up."
"Yes."
Several attendants swiftly wrapped the corpse in a burial cloth and carried it away.
The courtyard finally returned to silence.
Ling Shen, unable to stomach the bloody scene, retreated into the house.
Ling Xiao stood, his heavy footsteps echoing as he moved.
Jiang Yueyao remained rooted in place. As his imposing figure drew closer, a thread of fear coiled in her chest. She instinctively wanted to step back but forced herself to hold her ground.
If he intended to kill her, retreating wouldn’t save her.
Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes swollen and red, her gaze wary as she watched him.
Ling Xiao looked down at her, his voice icy. "I spared you only out of respect for my elder brother. Otherwise, you’d share Rong Shichang’s fate today."
Jiang Yueyao stiffened, pressing her lips together in silence.
What could she possibly say to him? Did she expect a cold-blooded monster like him to reason with her the way her late husband had?
When she didn’t respond, he assumed she was too terrified to speak. He scoffed inwardly—why waste words on a defenseless woman?
His gaze drifted to the top of her bowed head, then caught on the dried blood trailing her slender neck. She hadn’t bandaged the wound; it had healed on its own.
Her skin was so pale and delicate that the thin, crimson scar he’d left stood out starkly.
Even the shallowest cut looked glaring on someone so soft.
With a cold glance, he turned and strode away.
By the time he returned to the main house, Madam Lin hurried to meet him. "Erlang, what happened outside? Such a commotion! Shen’er just told me you’ve been promoted—how did this happen so suddenly…?"
Ling Xiao guided her to sit, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Mother, I’ve come back to take you and Third Brother to the capital. Once Big Son’s funeral is settled, I’ll leave a couple of servants to watch the estate, and we’ll move to the city."
It took Madam Lin a moment to process his words. Her second son had truly achieved great things during his years away.
Ling Shen suddenly spoke up. "But what about Sister-in-law?"
Ling Xiao’s tone was indifferent. "She can stay here and keep watch."
Madam Lin frowned. "That won’t do! She’s a woman alone. That prefect’s son already harassed her before—who knows who might target her next? And her uncles and cousins are no better. If they learn her husband’s family abandoned her, they’ll surely cause trouble."
"Right," Ling Shen agreed. "Big Son made us promise to take care of her before he passed."
Madam Lin wiped her tears and sighed. "Even though Big Son bought her, she was properly wed into our family. We can’t just cast her aside—that would reflect poorly on the Lings. Besides, Yue is a good girl. I’ve grown fond of her. Moving to the capital will be unfamiliar, and having her by my side would be comforting."
Madam Lin had borne only sons, no daughters. It wasn’t until her eldest son brought Jiang Yueyao home that she experienced the warmth of a daughter’s company. Men could never be as tender as women.
Ling Xiao shrugged. "As you wish."
