Chapter 66 Who Was the Murderer?

The scream was extremely penetrating, and more than half of the people in the Shen Mansion were woken up.

Madam Zhao had the upper hand yesterday. She was originally in a good mood and had a sound sleep, but she was immediately woken up by this scream. She frowned and looked at the maidservant beside her. She asked unhappily, “What’s going on? Didn’t these servants know the rules? How did the Second Lady manage the house?”

The maidservant, Wen Qiu, did not dare to refute. She only knelt on the ground and did not dare to say anything.

Madam Zhao felt even more unpleasant. If it wasn’t for Wen Qiu’s attentiveness, she would have sold the maid. Madam Zhao thought of Nurse Qin who had been driven out, and her expression became gloomy. If Nurse Qin were here yesterday, none of the four maids would be able to survive.

Just as she was thinking, knocks came from outside the door. “Who is it?”

“Madam, it’s me.” A green-clothed maidservant ran in and said, “Madam, bad news. All the guards who were in charge of clubbing the eldest young lady’s maidservants yesterday…all of them…”

Madam Zhao was suddenly shocked. “What happened to them? Quickly tell me!”

“They are all dead.” The maidservant’s face was pale as she finished speaking, and she was paralyzed on the ground with a thud.

Madam Zhao felt a chill rising from her back and slowly crawling all over her body. A layer of cold sweat covered her body. She wanted to stand up, but she did not succeed and fell back on the bed.

“Madam, Madam, how are you feeling?”

Madam Zhao took a deep breath and tried her best to calm down. “All dead…How did they die?”

The green-clothed maidservant’s entire body trembled in fear. “Their bones were all broken with a stick…When butler Wang went to check them, they were like piles of mud on the ground.”

“Ah!” Thinking of that scene, Madam Zhao covered her chest and vomited. “Shen Ninghua, it must be Shen Ninghua! Yesterday, those people beat up her servants, and today, this happened. This is her warning. This is definitely her warning to me. Bitch, this little bitch! She isn’t satisfied with simply harming Linghan. She even wanted to kill me and my baby. I can’t let her succeed. I absolutely can’t let her succeed. Ah, my belly.”

Her belly contracted intensely, and then she felt pain as if she was needled. Madam Zhao held the handle on the head of the bed and shouted, “Wen Qiu, hurry up and get a doctor. By the way, ask Master to come over. Hurry up, move!”

“Yes, madam. I’m on it.”

At this moment, Shen Dong was extremely anxious as if scorched by flames. The moment the news of the plague in Ping City came, the whole court was shocked. The emperor was furious and sent people of the Xiao family to relieve the disaster. His influence in the Jiangnan region was in danger. At home, Madam Zhao’s pregnancy was unstable. Incidents happened one after another, and Shen Linghan even became a joke, making him very embarrassed. However, the Zhao family was still exerting pressure on him to let Shen Linghan out. He was extremely regretful now. Why did he think that Shen Linghan was a promising daughter and dote on her for such a long time that she ended up like this?

The guards in front of him made him even angrier. Now his guards had all their bones broken by someone. This was an explicit provocation to him.

“Investigate, investigate thoroughly. I don’t believe there aren’t any clues!”

Wang Fu carefully reported, “Master, no one heard anything during the night. These guards were in different rooms. Everyone else in the rooms was sleeping well. There is nothing left at the scene. I really can’t find anything.”

Coldness emitted from Shen Dong’s body, as if it could freeze a person. “Is there any residue of drugs in the room?”

“I thought that there were drugs used in the room, but…there’s nothing. It’s totally clean.”

Shen Dong pounded on the table and shouted coldly, “Could it be done by a ghost?”

Wang Fu knelt on the ground, not knowing how to answer.

Shen Ninghua walked in alone and said, “Greetings, father.”

Shen Dong frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Shen Ninghua raised her head, and her pretty face was slightly pale. “Yesterday, I was busy taking care of the injuries of my maids and went to bed a little late. I woke up early in the morning and heard that the guards in charge of the clubbing were dead. I just can’t calm down. They just beat my maids yesterday and they are dead today. If someone were to spread the news, people would think that I was the murderer. But only Qing Que and Hong Ling know martial arts, and they are lying on the bed unable to move. Whether they can survive or not is still a question. How do I have the ability to kill your guards? ”

Shen Dong frowned. When he first heard this news, he immediately thought of Shen Ninghua, but he instantly dismissed this idea. Just as Shen Ninghua had said, she did not have the ability to do so. Then who had the ability to make such a move in the Shen Mansion?

Old Lady Xiao, who hadn’t shown up for a long time, walked out with Xue Zhu supporting her by the side. When Shen Dong saw her, he hurriedly went forward to support her by the arm and said, “Mother, why did you come out?”

Old Lady Xiao’s face was unusually pale, and her eyes were much more turbid than before. When she heard Shen Dong’s question, she suddenly shook off his hand and said, “If I didn’t come out again, the Shen family will be torn apart by you guys!”

Shen Dong’s expression froze. “Mother, what did you mean?”

“Humph,” Old Lady Xiao coldly snorted and swept her cold gaze across Wang Fu on the ground. “Go bring Zhao over. So many things happened in the family. Is the matriarch dead?”

Shen Dong’s expression was slightly embarrassed for a moment. “Mother, Zhao is pregnant now…”

Old Lady Xiao suddenly turned her head to look at him. “When I was pregnant with you, I still had to serve my mother-in-law. I didn’t see anything wrong with you after you were born. Is your wife so special?”

Shen Dong hurriedly shook his head. “Mother, you misunderstood me. Zhao’s fetus has been unstable these days, and the coloring of her face is not very good. I’m afraid that you will be annoyed after seeing her.”

Old Lady Xiao curled her lips with a fake smile. “Wang Fu, aren’t you going?”

“Yes, yes, Old Lady. I will go now.” Seeing that Shen Dong could not convince Old Lady Xiao, Wang Fu hurriedly ran out.

When Madam Zhao saw Wang Fu instead of the expected doctor, her heart went cold. “Butler Wang, why are you here?”

Wang Fu saluted her. “Madam, the Old Lady and Master want you to come over.”

Madam Zhao stroked her belly and forced a smile. “I’m feeling uncomfortable in my belly. I just sent someone to get a doctor, but the doctor hasn’t come yet. May I know why they sent for me?”

“This…I’m also unclear. Perhaps about what happened in the mansion today.” Although Madam Zhao was out of favor, she was pregnant with Shen Dong’s child. As a butler, he didn’t dare to offend her.

Madam Zhao’s heart sank. Thoughts quickly flowed through her mind. It must be the trick of Shen Ninghua, that little bitch. However, Madam Zhao was pregnant and under Shen Dong’s protection. No matter how bold Shen Ninghua was, she would not dare to act against Madam Zhao. Since that was the case, then she should let Shen Dong thoroughly investigate this matter. The patriarch of a family would have misgivings about even his own daughter if she was too powerful. As long as she revealed Shen Ninghua’s true face, she didn’t believe Shen Dong would continue to protect Shen Ninghua!

As she thought about it, the panic in her heart dissipated, and a smile surged into her heart. She didn’t even feel any pain in her belly anymore. “Let’s go, I’ll go take a look too.”

Even though she had already had a plan, Madam Zhao’s heart lurched when she came to the front yard and was met by Shen Ninghua’s calm eyes. Why did she come here so early?

“Greetings, mother. Greetings, master.”

Old Lady Xiao coldly watched her slowly walking over, and the displeasure in her heart grew even greater. “Zhao, it’s really not easy to have you here. Next time, I guess I’ll need to invite you personally.”

Madam Zhao blankly looked at Shen Dong and quickly knelt down. “Mother, you misunderstood me. I woke up early in the morning and felt uncomfortable, so I was a little slow on my way here. Please punish me.”

“Punish you? You are now the treasure of the Shen family with your pregnancy. If I punished you, wouldn’t I be too harsh with my Shen family’s bloodline? You have a good calculation.”

“Mother, you misunderstood. I have no intention of doing so.”

Old Lady Xiao let out a cold snort. “Now you get up. Xue Zhu, give her a seat lest she can’t balance herself later.”

After sitting down, Madam Zhao immediately said, “Master, this matter is too coincidental. Those guards were still well alive yesterday and they were killed overnight. Is it a matter of revenge?”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and said, “What mother said is also possible. They were father’s guards. They did nothing other than protecting father and seldom left the mansion. So it was impossible for them to make enmity with people outside. The only possibility is that the person who did this has a grudge with father, right?”

Hearing this, Shen Dong abruptly raised his head. A cold light suddenly froze in his eyes. Ninghua’s words were extremely likely. Recently, the court was in turmoil, and the Zhao family was also exerting a lot of pressure on him. But which side was it…

Shen Ninghua noticed Shen Dong’s expression and her eyes darkened slightly. A bitter smile appeared on her lips. “Speaking of a grudge against these people, the first suspect should be me. They beat up my people yesterday and were killed today. Therefore, everyone is going to suspect me.”

Madam Zhao curled her lips. “Who can be sure about that? Perhaps the real killer is at large. Perhaps the killer is playing the trick of a thief crying “Stop thief!” Only the killer knows best. Ninghua, you don’t need to defend yourself in such a hurry. If you hadn’t done it, your father wouldn’t blame you. However, your maidservants are good at martial arts. It’s only reasonable to suspect them.”

Shen Ninghua looked at her and said, “Mother, although my maids have some martial arts skills, they are all women and were injured yesterday. Those eight guards are experts in martial arts. Other than killers trained by large clans, it’s not easy to kill them quietly. Mother, don’t overestimate my maids.”

Madam Zhao choked and looked up at Shen Dong, only to find that his expression had suddenly sunk and that he was looking at her in an anxious and doubtful manner. She instantly became diffident. “Master, what’s wrong with you?”

Shen Dong ignored her and looked at Old Lady Xiao. “Mother, I’m afraid this matter was done by people in the court. It’s best not to make it public for the time being. I will investigate it as soon as possible. Mother, you don’t need to worry.”

“People in the court? Well, this person is quite powerful. He can’t force you publicly, and so he secretly used such a dirty trick. Shen Dong, you are the Prime Minister of the court, but there are still people who look down on you.”

At the door, a maidservant suddenly ran in in panic. “Old Lady, Master, Madam, the second Miss is making trouble at Qinxue Courtyard again. She beat up the maidservant who delivered food for her and ran out.”

Shen Dong raised his eyebrows coldly. “Where is the Second Miss now?”

The maidservant trembled. “We chased after her, but lost track of her.”

“Trash. What’s the use of you if you can’t even take care of the young lady?” Shen Dong shouted coldly. “Now go and find her!”

At the door, the green bead curtains were lifted from both sides. A dignified woman wearing emerald hairband came into the room followed by a dozen people. “There’s no need to look for her. My Zhao family’s granddaughter doesn’t deserve to bother Prime Minister Shen. It’s enough for my Zhao family to take care of her!”