After a Contractual Marriage, Little Taotie Went Viral!-Chapter 280 - 274: Breaking the Rules

"Or maybe there’s some fierce animal locked inside?" Qin Yun joked.

"Maybe it’s meant to keep you out," Pei Yan laughed.

"It certainly can’t be to keep Sister Yun out. There’s probably a beast in there. Better not open it—what if someone gets hurt? No wonder they have so many locks," Yang Leqi teased, winking.

After speaking, she circled around the big box and said, "With so many locks, maybe we should just leave it. It’s too complicated."

"Let’s just look for something else. It’s just a box," Qin Yun said and started searching elsewhere.

So the three of them began rummaging through other things in the room.

The well-planned director and busy crew for half a day: "..."

"Here’s a ball of waste paper," Qin Yun said, spotting something under the bed, pulling it out to reveal a discarded sheet of paper.

She opened it and read: He found out!! Everything is gone!! He’ll kill Mother!!

Below this message was a large "he" crossed out, indicating a wish to eliminate him.

"Who does this ’he’ refer to? The Old Prince?" Yang Leqi asked, leaning in to look and furrowing her brows.

"It’s possible. The Third Young Master must have had a secret discovered by the Old Prince. This secret concerns the lives of him and his mother. If that’s the case, he had a sufficient motive to kill the Old Prince. So, for the Third Young Master, it was urgent—it’s either the Old Prince dies, or they do," Pei Yan said.

"So Wang Sirui is not the murderer?" Yang Leqi said, somewhat disappointed.

"Not necessarily, let’s keep looking for more clues," Qin Yun said, putting the paper away.

The three searched a bit longer and found several keys but didn’t plan on opening that troublesome box.

The director looked at the untouched box: "..."

Miscalculation.

Pei Yan looked at the messy bedside, lifted the bedding, and found a package wrapped in paper labeled poison.

"Here’s a package of poison," Pei Yan said, taking out the poison and opening it.

"Looks like some of it was used?" Qin Yun walked over, noticing the misalignment of the folds in the paper.

"But the murderer used a knife, not poison," Yang Leqi said, frowning.

"Let’s see if there are any other clues," Pei Yan said, folding the pack of poison again.

They didn’t find more clues and retreated to the steward’s room.

While searching, Pei Yan found a woman’s portrait in a box. From her hairstyle, it was evident she was a young girl, looking fondly at a young man next to her. They seemed obviously smitten with each other.

However, the portrait had no signature, no poetry, just a simple image.

Even after all these years, the portrait was well preserved, proving how much the collector cherished it.

Later, Qin Yun discovered a box under the bed containing numerous children’s toys, though most seemed more like girls’ toys, such as tiger dolls, feather shuttlecocks, shadow puppets, kites, and tangrams.

"I thought the steward didn’t have children?" Qin Yun hesitantly asked.

"I think so?" Yang Leqi replied, uncertain.

"Officially, no," Pei Yan said.

"Then whom are these toys for? There’s no child in the mansion," Qin Yun continued.

"Maybe a love child?" Yang Leqi quipped, playfully imagining.

Pei Yan said, "We’ll know when we ask."

The three continued their search.

Meanwhile, the director opened the live stream.

Just then, Yang Leqi found letters in the steward’s clothes box, "Sister Yun, I’ve found some letters."

"Damn!! The Third Young Master is the steward’s son? How chaotic and thrilling!" Yang Leqi exclaimed, shocked after reading the letters.

Hearing this, Qin Yun went to Yang Leqi’s side to read the letters.

The first letter was a love letter exchanged between sweethearts, seemingly joyful, written before coming to the Prince’s mansion.

The second letter began with the Third Young Master’s mother expressing her struggles and revealing her pregnancy, afraid the Old Prince would find out.

The third letter depicted the Old Prince discovering their affair and learning the child wasn’t his.

"I didn’t expect the steward and the Third Young Master’s mother were childhood sweethearts. Could that painting Mr. Pei found be how they looked as kids? And the toys in the box, were those the Third Young Master’s? But he’s a boy! Who would’ve guessed he liked girls’ toys as a kid..." Yang Leqi said, amazed.

"Was the Third Young Master’s secret his mother’s affair with the steward, discovered by the Old Prince? The steward might have had a reason to kill for the family’s safety. The Third Young Master’s motive aligns—to hide his identity. But finding poison means he intended to poison, so is the steward the killer?" Qin Yun pondered aloud.

"Very likely, a father’s love can be profound. For his loved woman and son, it’s not impossible. But wasn’t the steward saved by the Old Prince? How would he have an affair with the Old Prince’s concubine? Maybe there’s more to their history? Anyway, let’s focus on finding clues; the relationships are too complex to unravel now," Yang Leqi said, putting away the letters and resuming her search.

"Your Prince Mansion is really chaotic..." Qin Yun teased Pei Yan.

"Isn’t it our Prince Mansion?" Pei Yan teased back, eyes brimming with amusement.

Fans tuning in immediately caught their playful exchange, becoming wildly excited.

[Is it really this thrilling? I just joined, and I hear him say our Prince Mansion? Are they playing a couple?]

[I just got here, and it’s already a lot! Is he flirting with Qin Yun?]

[Their outfits match so well! Is this a couple outfit? Black and white, classic couple colors!]

[What’s happening, can anyone explain?]

[Ahh, Yunyun looks so ethereal in this outfit!]

[I’m championing the Unspoken Bond ship!]

Qin Yun looked puzzled at him. She specifically chose a role unrelated to him, merely a concubine—a distant connection to the Prince’s mansion?

Or was there a hidden fact she overlooked in the beginning?

Qin Yun slightly furrowed her brows, intending to re-examine later.

The trio searched a bit longer but failed to find any murder tools or other clues and prepared to gather in the main hall.

On the way, Qin Yun took advantage of the time to check again, eyes widening at what she read.

This writer just went off script!!