Heartbound Alliance

The question struck like a thunderbolt.

The steward hastily dropped to his knees. "Master, the Third Miss truly died by hanging that day. The elders of the clan, the maids, and the old servants all saw it with their own eyes. There is absolutely no falsehood in this."

"Her funeral arrangements were handled according to the rites for an unmarried woman who committed suicide."

"Everyone saw it with their own eyes. How... how could it be faked?"

Su Hong nodded. He also believed these people wouldn't dare to lie. Besides, he had inquired extensively at the time, and everyone said she had hanged herself on the way back to their hometown.

Her body was hurriedly brought back to the hometown, and she was only laid to rest after his letter arrived.

In that case...

It was impossible for outsiders to have faked it.

There were only two possibilities.

Either Su Jin saw wrong, and it was a false alarm.

Or, there was a secret hidden in the coffin.

Su Hong was decisive. He immediately ordered, "Go to the ancestral tombs. Open the coffin. I want to examine the body."

The clan elders who had rushed over were instantly shocked and immediately tried to dissuade him. "Su Hong, have you gone mad?"

"What are you trying to do? Your eldest brother took such good care of you back then. Now that his child has died, you actually want to open her coffin?"

"Su Hong, you absolutely must not! Li'er has already committed suicide and been laid to rest. Opening her coffin and disturbing her corpse now is a great misfortune!"

...

Su Hong remained impassive, but his tone was icy cold.

"Misfortune? Is this a matter of fortune or misfortune? If the news Jin'er sent back is correct, our Su Manor in the Northern Frontier is currently facing the danger of extermination!"

"If our entire clan is wiped out, what does misfortune even matter?"

Su Hong's decisiveness and his words made the clan elders instantly realize that there must be something fishy going on. Moreover, since Su Hong's status in the clan was now at its zenith, and he was highly favored by the Duke, the crowd dared not speak further.

They all swarmed after Su Hong to the ancestral graves.

The frozen earth was dug open shovel by shovel, and the coffin was slowly lifted out.

The black-lacquered coffin was intact, its seals still in place.

Watching this scene, Su Hong's eyes grew hot, and tears almost fell. Before his eyes, the joyful scene of his eldest brother's three daughters playing around his knees seemed to surface once more.

But now, he still hardened his heart.

"Open it!"

He commanded.

The iron nails were pried open, and the coffin lid was slowly lifted, instantly stirring up a faint smell of decay and earthy stench. Inside lay a female corpse. Her clothing, height, and hair ornaments were no different from Su Li's.

However, Su Hong suddenly froze!

His body even began to tremble slightly.

He stepped forward personally, his fingertips lightly touching the fingertips of the female corpse, but he did not feel the scar that Su Li had accidentally acquired when she was a child.

Su Hong withdrew his hand. All his sorrow was swept away, replaced by a surging anger.

"Good, very good. Su Li, Su Li, you are truly something!"

"Although your Second Uncle's care for you over these years may have been somewhat lacking, you... you didn't have to torture your Second Uncle like this, did you?"

"If you hadn't faked your death, Second Uncle would have surely taken care of you for a lifetime without worry."

"Even if you truly wanted to fake your death to escape the worldly troubles, Second Uncle could have fulfilled your wish and found a worldly paradise for you. But you..."

"But you, why did you have to do something that endangers our entire extended family?"

"Has our Su Manor let you down so much?"

"Could you not see even a tiny bit of the warning from your second sister Su Xiu's past mistakes?"

Su Hong's eyes were slightly red, his emotions somewhat out of control.

The clan elders had also understood by now.

After all, the coroner was right next to them and could tell at a glance that the strangulation marks on the neck of the female corpse in the coffin were extremely shallow, obviously added after death.

In other words, even if Su Li were dead, she absolutely could not have committed suicide by hanging!

Then... the fact that Su Li was not dead was almost a certainty!

"Su Hong, what should we do now?"

"Has Li'er committed some monstrous crime? Su Hong, you are currently the Duke's favorite, wielding immense power. You must protect Li'er!"

"Su Hong, say something! What should we do now?"

...

Su Hong took a deep breath, put on a smiling face, and said, "Although Li'er's matter is not small, our Su Manor in the Northern Frontier is also extraordinary now. Respected elders, you are all getting on in years, so you need not worry so much. Please return to your homes."

"I will definitely handle this matter well."

Hearing Su Hong say this, the crowd finally felt relieved.

Su Hong, however, had already taken out three letters from his breast pocket. After destroying two of them, he handed the remaining one to a servant.

"Remember, ride as fast as possible and deliver this to the capital, into the hands of my eldest niece Su Jin."

"Furthermore, tell my eldest niece not to make any rash decisions and to act entirely according to the instructions in the letter."

The servant took the order and left, but Su Hong's heart remained unsettled. Because his letter, although lengthy, had only one core sentence.

"Report truthfully to the Duke. Whether it is life or death, let the Duke decide. Do not conceal, do not disobey, and do not plead for mercy!"

Su Hong pinned his hopes on Ren Tianye's character.

Based on his understanding of Ren Tianye, if the reasons were explained, Ren Tianye might not pursue the matter. But if she were hidden and then discovered, it would inevitably cause a rift.

But, this was ultimately a gamble.

It was not a foolproof plan after all!

The life and death of their Su Manor was still, as always, held in his niece's hands. Because once his third niece Su Li truly committed an assassination, even if Duke Ren Tianye was magnanimous, Ren Tianye's subordinates might not all be as magnanimous as General Wang Ming.

Sighing, Su Hong did not sit and wait for the result.

This matter was dire, and he had to do something as well.

Immediately, he brought in the people from their hometown who had returned with Su Li back then and questioned them one by one. After clarifying the various details of that time, Su Hong quickly pieced together something unusual.

"On the way back, was there a woman who deliberately approached Su Li?"

"That was obviously the person who helped Su Li fake her death."

"Who are they?"

The steward was quick to answer, saying, "Master, that woman was from the Tongxin Alliance!"

"Tongxin Alliance?"

"Yes, Master, did you not know? There are many people in the Tongxin Alliance, and quite a few in our Northern Frontier as well." The steward said with some yearning, "They are a sect that teaches people how to love."

"Taking love as the path, taking the heart as the core."

"Taking affection as the order, taking truth as the style."

"Regardless of gender, regardless of wealth or poverty."

"Making no distinction between high and low, making no difference between similarities and dissimilarities."

"When the heart has a longing, one can rush towards it."

"When affection is tied to someone, one dares to be calm."

"Guarding each other with sincerity, blending together with kindness."

"Ten thousand people of one heart, living in harmony for generations."

"May all people in the world attain their beloved."

"May all affections in the human realm find their rightful end."

The steward recited the Tongxin Alliance's motto in one breath, his eyes unable to hide his admiration. "Master, the Tongxin Alliance is a highly coveted martial arts sect. We all want to join, but unfortunately, there has never been an opportunity."

Su Hong's expression suddenly changed.

He really had heard of this Tongxin Alliance!

...