Chen Fengnian and his comrades were all unmarried. They lived in a mansion not far from the military camp with several centurions. They always came in a group. Ling Xue'er had invited them to dinner more than once, so they didn't suspect anything and came directly.
As soon as they arrived at the Ling family's residence, they were shocked to see things scattered all over the ground and Ling Xue'er lying on the floor.
"Xue'er, what's wrong with you?" Chen Fengnian asked worriedly as he helped Ling Xue'er up.
"There was an assassin. He ran towards the backyard," Ling Xue'er said, pointing in the direction of the mansion where Yi Qing lived.
"Let's go," Chen Fengnian said, leading his men there.
Ling Xue'er immediately followed. How could she miss such a good show?
Xiao Jinghan and Yi Qing were in the heat of passion when the door was kicked open. Xiao Jinghan immediately covered Yi Qing up tightly.
"Who is it!" Xiao Jinghan glared at the intruders with a murderous look in his eyes.
"Mrs. Xiao, there's actually a man in your room," Ling Xue'er shouted excitedly when she heard the man's voice.
She had finally caught Yi Qing red - handed. Yi Qing would never be able to clear her name.
Yi Qing took a deep breath in anger. Had she been too kind to Ling Xue'er, making her think she could plot against her at will?
"How can you be worthy of General Xiao? How can General Xiao show his face in the future?" Ling Xue'er said even more excitedly.
Xiao Jinghan drew his sword from the head of the bed and swept it across. The centurions who rushed forward quickly blocked with their weapons, but were still knocked down to the ground.
Xiao Jinghan took the opportunity to put on his clothes and looked at the fallen men.
"General, General Xiao!" Chen Fengnian was about to get up and fight, but when he saw clearly who it was, he immediately knelt down.
Ling Xue'er was stunned. When had Xiao Jinghan come back?
To surprise Yi Qing, Xiao Jinghan didn't tell anyone when he returned. He climbed over the wall into the small courtyard, so no one knew he was back.
"What did you say just now?" Xiao Jinghan stared at Ling Xue'er.
Ling Xue'er's knees went weak and she slumped to the ground. She never expected such a turn of events. And Xiao Jinghan was so terrifying.
"Get out all of you. Call Ling Hong here," Xiao Jinghan said coldly.
He had planned to deal with this matter tomorrow, but these people just couldn't wait for a single night and came to find trouble on their own.
Everyone hurriedly retreated. A servant went to call General Ling, while the others didn't dare to leave. They knelt neatly outside. Ling Xue'er stood to one side, looking utterly incredulous.
"Yo, I just left for a while, and you guys are having such a lively time," Ghost Lord said with a smile as he sat on the wall.
He was dressed in a black night suit, completely hidden in the darkness. He also wore a mask. Only Xiao Jinghan could sense his position.
"What if I wasn't here and these people broke in?" Xiao Jinghan was also angry with Ghost Lord.
"If you weren't here, these people definitely wouldn't have come," Ghost Lord said slowly. "That Miss Ling has people watching this yard every day. She also had people spread rumors about Mrs. Xiao outside. It's just that you guys made too much noise today, so she pretended there was an assassin and tricked these brainless people here."
Ling Xue'er's face turned deathly pale when she heard what Ghost Lord said. "No, it wasn't me..."
Xiao Jinghan gave her a look, and Ling Xue'er was too scared to say another word.
The people kneeling in the courtyard were shocked. The usually lively and cute Xue'er could actually do such things.
Not long after, Ling Hong rushed over in a hurry. When he saw the situation in the courtyard and the furious Xiao Jinghan, he immediately knelt down in fear.
"Your subordinate, Ling Hong, pays respects to General Xiao," Ling Hong said, performing a grand salute. He knew something big had happened.
"Ling Hong, I entrusted my wife to your care, but such a thing happened right under your nose," Xiao Jinghan said, looking at Ling Hong.
Ling Hong's heart skipped a beat. He looked around, not knowing what had happened. "Please enlighten me, General."
"Let your sister tell you," Xiao Jinghan snorted coldly.
"Brother - I didn't," Ling Xue'er said, pouting as if she was about to cry.
"Call all the servants around Ling Xue'er here," Yi Qing said as she walked out of the room, fully dressed. If she didn't expose Ling Xue'er completely today, she wouldn't be Yi Qing. It was so damn annoying.
"Go quickly!" Ling Hong had no choice but to play dumb for now. If he was also involved, who could protect Xue'er in the end?
Not long after, all of Ling Xue'er's servants were brought here.
Ling Hong doted on his younger sister very much. She had two personal maids, four second - class maids, and more than a dozen other servants including housekeepers and cleaners.
He was just a general guarding a pass, but he had provided his sister with so many servants.
"There are so many servants. I'm afraid the Ling family's family rules aren't enough. Let these centurions do it," Yi Qing said and was about to start beating them.
The servants were shocked. They didn't know what they had done wrong and were about to be beaten. Those centurions were all strong and powerful. A few blows from them would surely kill them.
The centurions were stunned. There should be a reason for beating someone, right?
"However, if you honestly tell me what Ling Xue'er has asked you to do against me during this period, not only will you be spared the beating, but I will also redeem your freedom and take you away from Geling Pass," Yi Qing said directly.
The servants understood what was going on. It was the lady of the house who had offended this mistress and made her angry.
"I'll tell, I'll tell," an old housekeeper immediately said. "Miss asked us to take turns watching the mistress and report everything to her."
"It was also Miss who asked me to spread the rumor that the mistress was having an affair with a man," another servant said.
"The rumor that Mrs. Xiao was an unlucky widow was also spread by Miss. You can go and ask the fortune - teller at the West Gemen if you don't believe me..."
...
Everyone took turns to expose all of Ling Xue'er's misdeeds. If there was nothing about Yi Qing, they would talk about other things.
For example, Miss had never actually cooked in the kitchen. The food she claimed to have made for others was actually cooked by the family's chef; the purses she gave to others were all made by the family's embroiderers; Miss had gone to the military camp and then complained about the stench of sweat and wanted to take a bath...
Yi Qing was really shocked. She never thought someone could be so two - faced.
Ling Hong covered his face in embarrassment. He knew about these things, but since his sister liked it, he just let her do as she pleased. But it was different now that others knew.
Chen Fengnian and his comrades were dumbfounded. The goddess had truly been destroyed in an instant. She used to be like the bright moon in their hearts, a perfect wife material. Now she was like a moldy piece of rice.
Ling Xue'er was crying anxiously on one side, but all the people she had kept around were good at flattering her. They were all good talkers, and she didn't even have a chance to speak.
"Enough," Yi Qing said when she thought they had said enough. "Slandering a first - rank imperial order - holder. General Ling, do you know what the crime is?"
Ling Hong kowtowed. "It's all my fault."
"General Ling is a military man. It's normal for you to care about your family," Yi Qing said in a kind - looking way. Then she looked at Xiao Jinghan. "General, since we're here, why don't you arrange a marriage for Miss Ling? This way, we can avoid any more trouble in the future."