Chapter 45: The Heart and Chest

Jinye leapt up and joined the other eight at the edge of the cliff, peering down below—yet there was no trace of anything!

Within moments, all a dozen or so faces turned deathly pale, cold sweat pouring down their bodies.

“How could this be? How could this happen?”

Nanny Yan’s legs gave way; she was supported by two maids beside her.

People trembled all over, wailing in despair.

“What are we to do now? What... what are we to do? How could the horses... suddenly go mad like that?”

No one knew.

Jinye’s first reaction was to ask her companions, “Has the young mistress returned?”

Eight faces were grave; four or five nodded in affirmation.

Jinye pressed on, “Did you see the three of them get into the carriage?”

Again, those four or five nodded quietly but decisively, “Yes.”

Jinye clutched the earring she had retrieved tightly, her gaze sharp as she looked at her companions, suspicion still etched deeply in her eyes.

“Why didn’t I hear any sound from inside? No calls from the young mistress or the coachman or the footman?”

The rest of the eight and the wailing nanny all looked at each other, unable to answer.

Jinye demanded harshly, “Speak! Did you hear anything? The young mistress, or the coachman, or the footman calling out?”

Yet no one could give a definite answer. Some nodded; others shook their heads; some nodded then shook; others shook then nodded.

In the end, no certainty.

Jinye exploded, “What have you all been doing?!”

Before her words fell, someone spoke up, “I am certain I saw the three of them get into the carriage! Without a doubt!”

One by one, others nodded in agreement. If you looked closely, among the eight, not a single person failed to nod.

It was not only the eight; a maid from another carriage, crying, also spoke up.

“I... I saw it too...”

Jinye’s heart sank like a bottomless pit.

******

At the headquarters of the Military Commissioner, in Lu Zhi’s study.

Three subordinates were discussing state affairs with Lu Zhi when hurried footsteps suddenly echoed outside.

Near the door, Ning Wu, standing guard, stopped the visitor. “Sir is in the middle of a meeting.”

The woman’s voice was urgent, “I have an urgent matter to report!”

Lu Zhi leaned his hand on his forehead, his other arm resting on the table, fingers tapping idly on the jade desktop, barely paying attention to the voices outside until the woman spoke.

His gaze abruptly shifted; before raising his head, he raised a hand, cutting off the subordinate’s words, then turned around and lifted his brows.

Without waiting for the three inside to react, he began tapping his fingers again.

The room fell silent.

The few glanced at each other, then bowed and exited one after another.

The door opened, and the woman outside stepped into Lu Zhi’s sight.

From her voice, he recognized her as Jinye, the leader of the nine assassins he had sent to escort Shen Yanxi.

As the three left, Jinye and the others rushed in—nine of them, along with nanny Yan, two maids, and a coachman.

All thirteen faces were as pale as wax.

******

Before anyone could speak, Lu Zhi’s eyes darkened. Gritting his teeth, his thin lips parted slightly as he coldly demanded:

“Where is Shen Yanxi?”

All thirteen immediately dropped to their knees.

Especially nanny Yan, the two maids, and the coachman—shaking like leaves, drenched in cold sweat.

Jinye, trembling, reported in a quivering voice, “Master, the young mistress’s carriage was suddenly spooked by the horses for unknown reasons. At that moment, they were on a mountain path and... they... plunged... down the cliff...”

Lu Zhi suddenly stood up, his eyes instantly bloodshot, hands visibly trembling. Striding over to the thirteen, he bent down and grabbed Jinye firmly, glaring at her with a dark gaze, panting heavily, teeth clenched, he snarled, “What are you saying? Hm?”

Jinye’s body trembled, her face drained of color, lips quivering as she repeated the message word by word.

“The young mistress’s carriage... the horses were suddenly spooked for unknown reasons... at that moment, on a mountain path... with the young mistress and four others... crashed... plunged down the cliff...”

Lu Zhi’s gaze shattered suddenly; pupils dilated. With a low roar, he threw the female assassin away.

The other eight tried to catch her, but even so, a mouthful of fresh blood trickled from Jinye’s lips.

The room instantly froze; the air thickened into ice. All thirteen shivered uncontrollably.

Nanny Yan and the maids, in their grief, lost all will to cry.

No one had ever seen their lord like this.

Not only nanny Yan, the maids, and the coachman, but even the eight female assassins who had served him for five years, and Ning Wu at the door, had never witnessed such a sight.

What was this sight?

His eyes were bloodshot beyond measure, flickering from burning intensity to a vacant glaze. His tall frame swayed slightly, then he stepped back several paces, his legs clearly weakening until he sat down in his chair.

His slender hand gripped his chest, face deathly pale, lips without color, eyes terrifyingly wild.

Finally, Ning Wu broke the silence, “Young master, please calm yourself.”

As he spoke, he hurried to his side.

“Your health is paramount...”

Calm down?

The sound of Lu Zhi clenching his fists was unmistakable.

It felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly by unseen hands. His gaze was scattered, drifting, as if lost.

“Young...”

When Ning Wu tried to speak again, Lu Zhi suddenly raised his hand, silencing him.

Ning Wu swallowed his words of comfort.

The room plunged back into deathly silence, until Lu Zhi’s deep eyes lifted once more, his dark gaze piercing the thirteen kneeling before him.

“What a coincidence—four of them together? Who inspected the carriage?”

His voice was icy to the bone, his face shrouded in frost. At the words “together,” he flicked his eyes and raised a brow...

Beside Jinye, the woman holding her was named Hongchang—the one who had disguised herself as Taohong that day. She answered for Jinye.

“The coachman for the young mistress’s carriage was Yun Sheng, and he inspected the carriage.”

Nanny Yan, trembling, raised her head and interjected, “Yun Sheng is usually very steady, the most capable and reliable of the five coachmen in the mansion...”

She left the rest unsaid, but the meaning was clear:

He had inspected the horses beforehand; by all logic, nothing should have gone wrong.

The coachman kneeling beside nanny Yan timidly spoke, “Yes, Yun Sheng is meticulous, a master horse trainer. This morning, the two of us each checked our horses; all was normal...”

Lu Zhi’s hand remained pressed against his chest, his head bowed slightly, then raised his eyes—his usually deep and dazzling peach blossom eyes now filled with a sinister aura.

He then ordered, word by word, “Start from the beginning...”

The thirteen steadied themselves. Jinye slowly began to speak.

She recounted the day’s events from their departure in the early morning, the smooth journey, the young lady’s temporary stop, encountering a snake, retrieving the earring, returning and witnessing the incident where the horses went mad and plunged down the cliff.

For what happened in her absence, Hongchang spoke.

“The young mistress and two maids said they needed to stop for a moment; Jinye accompanied them...”

“After the four left... Atai and Yun Sheng also went to the other side to relieve themselves... Atai and Yun Sheng returned first... then the three of the young mistress... then... then the incident happened...”

Lu Zhi snapped, “Why are you stammering?!”

Hongchang immediately clenched her fists and lowered her head, confessing honestly, “Master, I’m guilty. I was dizzy and weak at the time, not very attentive, but the general situation is as such. Upon returning, I worried I had missed something, so I and my sisters cross-checked memories. What I just said isn’t only my words, but what all the sisters saw...”

Jinye added, “From the horses going mad to the crash, there was no sound in the carriage, but the sisters are certain they saw the three of the young mistress get into the carriage...”

“No sound at all?”

Ning Wu repeated, then looked at Lu Zhi and continued, “Could it be they all hit their heads?”

Lu Zhi understood the implication:

The first jolt of the carriage caused all three to lose consciousness; otherwise, how could there have been no noise?

All three hit their heads?

Even the two outside?

Jinye lowered her eyes, “We are guilty, and we are willing to search the cliff for the young mistress’s body, we are willing...”

Before she could finish, Lu Zhi raised his hand to stop her.

His voice was cold and harsh, slightly hoarse, shaking his head—not at them, but at Ning Wu beside him.

“Find out about Yun Sheng’s family. Bring them here! Whoever there is, bring them all!”

Ning Wu took the order and left immediately.

He departed, and the room remained motionless.

The thirteen knelt on the ground; the room was deathly quiet as time quietly passed...

Lu Zhi leaned on the grand chair, still pressing his hand tightly against his chest, his gaze dark and fierce, teeth occasionally biting his lips.

The movements of his lips and his hand pressing his chest were almost simultaneous.

After a short while, footsteps grew near—Ning Wu returned.

The door opened.

The thirteen on the floor turned their eyes to him.

But he was alone; he had brought no one.

Ning Wu entered and reported, “Master, Yun Sheng’s parents died early. He is unmarried. At home, he only has a sixteen-year-old sister. Neighbors say she was very ill recently but suddenly recovered. However, she is no longer at home. Neighbors saw her packing her bags yesterday afternoon; her whereabouts are unknown...”

As Ning Wu finished, Lu Zhi’s slow laughter echoed through the room.

Each laugh grew louder and more joyful than the last.

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly, his head tilted up. He slowly stood, his hand finally moving away from his chest...

His tall frame straightened, and he smiled softly.

“She ran away. She’s not dead...”

“She ran away...”

“Yan Yan, splendid...”