Su Hong: My third niece, is she confirmed dead

Duke Ren's Mansion.

Ren Tianye sat alone behind his desk, his brows tightly furrowed.

On the desk lay the document submitted by Su Jin, bearing three large, distinct words: "Prince of Yunjing".

These three words weighed down on him like a massive mountain.

He originally thought that after entering the capital without shedding a drop of blood, as long as he handled the matter of the Empress's death properly, he could swallow up the entire realm. Then, after waiting a year or two, he could force the new emperor to abdicate and establish a brand-new nation.

But now...

The words Prince of Yunjing rudely awakened him from his dream.

This Prince of Yunjing occupied the auxiliary capital of Yunjing. Having cultivated his power there for several years, he had already become the lord of a region, no different from a feudal lord or a powerful military governor.

It was completely a small, independent kingdom!

Such a kingdom could not be taken without military force.

The crucial point was...

Within the borders of Great Yu, the Prince of Yunjing was not the only vassal king holding actual power!

"I thought I could control the entire empire, but I didn't expect this empire to be full of damn holes. Sure enough, the heavens will make you retrace every single step of the shortcuts you took."

Ren Tianye could not help but sigh.

He deeply felt just how rotten of a mess Xiao Jingyuan and Xiao Mingzhao had left for him.

At this time, a sound came from outside the door.

"Duke, Your Grace..."

Su Jin hurried in. After bowing, he impatiently said, "Subordinate has already ordered Xie Changfeng to interrogate Wei Chengye. That Wei Chengye is a coward; he confessed everything before we even used torture."

"According to him, when his father was alive, he had a deep relationship with the Prostitute Empress. However, later, because the Prostitute Empress became the Empress of Great Yu, his father deliberately distanced himself from her to avoid suspicion."

"However, Wei Chengye's father knew a lot about the Prostitute Empress's affairs before she entered the palace, and he told all of it to Wei Chengye. Now, Wei Chengye has spilled everything."

Ren Tianye's eyes lit up: "Oh?"

"That is indeed a good thing."

"How is it? Did you find out anything useful?"

"Yes!" Su Jin's face turned serious. "According to Wei Chengye, when the Prostitute Empress was in the brothel, she was only of average quality and behaved loosely. She wasn't favored by many patrons."

"She had absolutely no chance to hook up with Xiao Jingyuan. However, the Prostitute Empress received help from someone, and that person... was exactly the woman holding the true love knot."

Hearing this, Ren Tianye's gaze subconsciously sharpened.

He had actually already guessed this possibility, but he wasn't sure.

After all, with the Prostitute Empress's looks and temperament, she was just ordinary. Yet, she managed to make the monarch of a nation so devoted to her, even inviting her lover into the palace to accompany her, and conferring the title of Prince of Yunjing. It was truly too outrageous.

She couldn't have been taught by an ordinary person.

It had to be a master!

A master among masters!

Ren Tianye really couldn't be sure if there was such an unparalleled expert within the Great Yu Dynasty, but now... he was certain.

"What is that woman's background?"

"This woman's identity is a mystery. Even Wei Chengye doesn't know. He only knows that she comes from a top-tier martial arts faction in the jianghu."

"This faction uses the true love knot as its symbol!"

...

The Northern Frontier, outside Qingyuan County.

Over ten fine horses galloped wildly along the muddy dirt road.

The horses were moving at an extreme speed, completely showing no pity for the beasts, just rushing forward recklessly.

The leader was Su Hong, the patriarch of the Su family in the Northern Frontier, who was now heavily favored by Ren Tianye and placed in charge of all commerce in the Northern Frontier, with orders to expand into the Central Plains.

Because Su Hong had been riding wildly for several days straight, he was so exhausted that his face was pale, and he looked somewhat unsteady.

But he didn't stop for a moment!

He didn't dare to stop!

He had to rush back to his hometown at the fastest speed to carefully investigate whether his third niece, Su Li, was actually dead or not.

Ever since he received the letter from Su Jin, Su Hong had not closed his eyes for days. A massive panic enveloped him like a shadow.

The news that Su Li might not be dead hung over his head like a giant sword.

He really couldn't imagine how Su Li, whose death had already been reported, could... come back to life?

And even entered the capital to assassinate the Great General... no, now the Duke!

The Su family of the Northern Frontier, which they had paid countless prices to painstakingly restore, would once again sink into a quagmire, unable to extricate itself!

Furthermore...

The questioning in Su Jin's letter left a very bitter taste in Su Hong's mouth.

Su Jin actually suspected that out of familial affection, he had secretly let Su Li go!

Yes, Su Li was his third niece, the flesh and blood left behind by his eldest brother. As Su Li's second uncle, as long as there was a chance, he would definitely protect her.

But protecting her shouldn't be done in such a way!

At that time, although his third niece Su Li was thinking of that trash Ye Fan and harbored delusions regarding her marriage to Duke Ren Tianye, this matter was only known within the Su estate. It never leaked out, let alone reached the Duke's ears.

Therefore, in Duke Ren Tianye's eyes, a person like Su Li basically did not exist.

Since that was the case, why would he need to use a faked death scheme to deceive everyone? Wasn't that purely unnecessary?

Taking a massive step back, even if Su Li had offended the Duke, given the Su family's merits in defending Yunji City and subduing Song Wan's sixty-thousand-strong army at the time, how could the broad-minded Duke pursue such a trivial matter?

Even if he did pursue it, Su Hong could just kneel and beg for mercy, and it would pass. Why use such an absurd and bizarre method as faking a death?!

Su Hong was both anxious and furious.

That very day, he handed over the Su family's commercial affairs in the Northern Frontier, bid farewell to Sun Xiang, the defending general of Yunji City, and rushed back to his hometown at top speed. Now that he was getting closer to home, the unease and panic in his heart only grew stronger.

Fortunately, having navigated the ups and downs of officialdom for many years, he was still able to keep his composure. He continued to concentrate on galloping forward until he finally arrived at his ancestral mansion.

As always, the mansion was imposing, but it had completely lost the festive atmosphere of welcoming guests. There were no colorful decorations or lanterns hung on the lintel; only plain white silk draped down, swaying silently in the wind.

Before his horse even came to a steady halt, Su Hong dismounted. The steward of the ancestral home had already gathered a group of servants, standing in silence. Everyone wore plain mourning clothes and sashes, standing with their heads bowed.

"Master, the Third Miss's affairs... have already been handled according to clan rules. We were just waiting for your return to review and finalize things."

Su Hong didn't say anything and headed straight for the ancestral shrine.

Pushing open the doors of the shrine, the ancestors' spirit tablets remained as solemn as ever. In the section for the younger generation on the left, there was an additional, pristine cypress wood spirit tablet.

Plain wood, without gold tracing or ornamentation.

Only right in the center, written in small characters, was: "The seat of the late third niece of the Su family, Su Li."

The small characters beside it read: "Respectfully erected by the entire clan!"

In front of the tablet lay the simplest of offerings. Next to it was a small table draped in white cloth, displaying small items Su Li used to wear and use: a mutton-fat jade true love knot buckle, a pearl earring, and a small glazed teacup.

Seeing this, Su Hong felt a surge of instinctive sorrow, but in the next instant, his gaze turned incredibly sharp: "Are you certain that Li'er is dead?"

...