Ling Xiao took the document and glanced at it. Meng Li was very thorough; he had noted down each person’s identity and even their simple backgrounds and patrons. Those with connections to princes and ministers in the Imperial Capital were specially marked. The four people involved in tonight’s affair were all nobles—not a single merchant among them!

’It seems the Empire’s privileged class is truly audacious!’ The difference in status had indeed made the merchants too afraid to act rashly. A rough plan began to form in Ling Xiao’s mind. He gave Meng Li an approving look. ’It was the right decision to bring him over from Li Qiang’s side!’ Meng Li had lived in Penzes City for a long time and was already quite familiar with many of its people and affairs. Having him handle these matters was twice as effective with half the effort.

Ling Xiao suddenly chuckled. "If City Lord Li Houlin had seen you that day, he probably would have coughed up blood from anger much sooner."

Meng Li gave a slight laugh. "He probably already knows I’m following the Young Master now."

Ling Xiao nodded, then said, "Are you sure it’s just these four? No one else slipped through the net?"

Meng Li said, "About that, I can’t be certain. In fact, I’ve had a bad feeling about these few for a while. They met several times before today. And tonight’s private soldiers belonged to one of those nobles. It’s just that..."

"What is it?" Ling Xiao asked, looking up.

"It’s just that those private soldiers... all operate with hidden identities," Meng Li said, looking troubled. "I only know this because I lived in Penzes City for a while before."

Uncle Fu chimed in from the side, "Young Master, Meng Li is telling the truth. Many noble families like to secretly train a group of people. On the surface, you can’t tell who they serve. Whenever something needs to be dealt with, they are summoned. But normally, they are scattered among various trades and professions. This way, they can hide their identities and also gather all kinds of intelligence."

"That’s a clever move!" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Ling Xiao said admiringly.

Meng Li and Uncle Fu exchanged a glance, their faces showing helpless, wry smiles. ’The Young Master is such a contradiction. You could say he’s ignorant of the ways of the world, yet in many matters, his expertise is terrifying. But if you called him a wily veteran, he then acts completely oblivious to other, very common things.’

Take this method of secretly training private soldiers, for example—it’s an extremely common practice, not just for nobles but for any great clan, yet the Young Master somehow didn’t know about it. It was truly baffling.

"Young Master, what are your thoughts on how to handle this?" Meng Li asked with a slight frown. He was worried. The Young Master’s temperament was clearly not one to suffer a loss. But even if they knew who was involved, they couldn’t act. After all, killing a noble would cause public outrage throughout the entire Empire!

Otherwise, on what grounds could His Majesty the King have dared to use Ling Xiao’s killing of Hai Tian as a major reason for bestowing upon him a title? The noble class, despite their internal struggles and conflicts, would still band together to face outsiders! If someone from a non-noble class harmed the interests of a single noble, ten, even a hundred nobles would rise up to deal with him!

Otherwise, how could the interests of the nobility be protected?

If Ling Xiao found evidence for this matter and went to kill them openly, not a single noble would dare to say a word in opposition. When it came to struggles between nobles, the other nobles always loved to watch the show!

But if Ling Xiao assassinated these four nobles secretly without evidence, then even if others couldn’t find proof that Ling Xiao had ordered it, they would still call him incompetent and unworthy of being the Lord of Penzes City!

To be unable to even guarantee the safety of the nobles in his own domain—this would be a fatal blow to the reputation of the Ling Family and Ling Xiao himself! And while Ling Xiao might not care about that at all, the Ling Family had to!

At that moment, Uncle Fu suddenly summoned Meng Li, leaned in, and whispered a few words in his ear. Meng Li’s eyes first showed confusion, then a bit of embarrassment, but finally, they lit up. He bowed to Ling Xiao and then withdrew.

Although Ling Xiao’s hearing was sharp enough to make out what Uncle Fu was saying, he didn’t deliberately listen out of respect. After Meng Li left, Ling Xiao asked curiously, "What did Uncle Fu say?"

A rare blush crept onto Uncle Fu’s old face, his deeply lined features creasing into a smile. "You will find out tomorrow, Young Master."

Seeing the old man being deliberately mysterious, Ling Xiao just smiled and didn’t press further. He strolled out and went to the room where Feng Ling was being held. Just then, Qiuyue came out of the room. Seeing Ling Xiao, she gave him a gentle smile.

"Young Master, are you going in to see her?"

Ling Xiao shook his head. "How is she?"

Qiuyue blinked her pretty eyes, then said with a smile, "She’s sulking and refuses to eat. It looks like she’s never had to suffer before. And she’s very pretty!"

Chunlan also came out of the room just then, head down, muttering indignantly, "What’s so great about her? Calls herself a Mad Sword Master? I don’t see what’s so ’mad’ about her. She’s still at my... uh, Young Master."

Ling Xiao gave a faint smile and led the two maids a short distance away. Chunlan took the initiative to speak. "Young Master, I didn’t bully her, I swear! But that woman is so arrogant. It won’t be easy for you to win her heart, Young Master!"

Ling Xiao’s face twitched violently a couple of times. ’Where did that even come from? Do they think I’m some villain who kidnapped a maiden?’ It was understandable, though. The maids didn’t know the details of tonight’s attack. As soon as Ling Xiao returned, he had secluded himself in a room with Uncle Fu to talk and had only just come out.

"That woman really is a Mad Sword Master, and... she’s a Sixth Rank one at that. So, Chunlan, you must not be fooled by her appearance. I used a drug to seal her Inner Strength, which is why she’s like this now," Ling Xiao explained.

"So that’s how it is!" Chunlan’s willow-like eyebrows shot up as she said angrily, "Does that mean she was one of the assassins tonight? Then why didn’t you kill her, Young Master!"

Qiuyue said softly from the side, "If the Young Master didn’t kill her, he must have his reasons. Why are you in such a rush?"

Chunlan shot Qiuyue a look. "You little thing, I know you’re on the Young Master’s side, but... a Sixth Rank Mad Swordsman! What if..." Chunlan abruptly stopped, but the indignant expression on her face didn’t lessen one bit.

Qiuyue covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, saying no more. The two girls hadn’t witnessed the scene, and Ling Xiao was safe and sound, so of course they thought it was just a close call. If they had been there, it’s likely that even the good-tempered Qiuyue would have had the urge to kill Feng Ling with a single strike!

Anyone who dared to harm Ling Xiao was their enemy!

"Alright. If she refuses to eat, don’t mind her. Lock the door tight tonight. If she decides to commit suicide, don’t stop her. As long as she doesn’t escape, just let her be," Ling Xiao said, then turned and left.

Meanwhile, Feng Ling, locked in her room, was sitting there cursing Ling Xiao through her tears. She had knocked over and kicked away all the food brought by the two stunning Maids, leaving the pristine room in a complete mess. But she didn’t care. It wasn’t her home, so what did it matter to her if it was dirty? However, after the two Maids left and she’d been crying for a while, Feng Ling’s stomach started to growl, and she finally felt the pangs of hunger. After a fight and having not eaten since that evening, of course she would be hungry.

"Maid! Maid!"

Accustomed to being a young mistress, Feng Ling still thought she was at home, where if a maid didn’t appear after being called twice, that maid would be in for it!

Unfortunately, this wasn’t her home. She could scream herself hoarse, but no one paid her any mind. She walked to the door and instinctively pushed it, only to find it locked. Furious, she gave it a hard kick!

Normally, that kick would have shattered the entire door into splinters. But the current Feng Ling was weaker than even an ordinary girl. The kick sent excruciating pain through her entire foot, and tears instantly streamed down her face. She squatted on the floor and began to wail, cursing Ling Xiao nonstop.

Chunlan and Qiuyue were just outside, not far away. Chunlan yawned at Qiuyue and said, "I’m getting a little sleepy, Qiuyue. How about you?"

Qiuyue glanced at the room and nodded. "I’m sleepy too. We have a lot to do tomorrow. We need to go buy some servants soon."

The two girls chatted idly as they walked away together. The magnificent stars glittered across the sky, and the Viscount’s Mansion fell into silence!

Early the next morning, the sky over Penzes City was blanketed by overcast clouds. A fine drizzle cooled the sweltering heat of the past few days. The early risers found it quite pleasant. Although Penzes had a rainy season every year, it was always too short, and the city was shrouded in high temperatures for most of the year. As a result, this kind of gloomy weather was actually much loved by the residents of Penzes City.

But this morning, an atmosphere of terror shrouded the mansions of four noble families in Penzes. All the servants held their breath, staying at their posts without daring to slack off in the slightest.

In one of them, a Viscount from the Cui Family was wailing and roaring, "Who was it?! Who killed my beloved fifteenth concubine! I will find him! I will avenge you..." He choked up, sobbing while clutching the already cold corpse of his fifteenth concubine.

Coincidentally, in all four noble households, it was discovered that the master’s favorite concubine had been killed. Each of the deceased concubines had a single red mark on her throat, with very little blood spilled. Their clothes were neat, and not a single valuable was missing from their rooms!

Neither robbery nor sexual assault fit the scene. That left only one possibility—a revenge killing!

But these women, even if they were a bit arrogant and treated the servants poorly, surely hadn’t done anything to deserve being murdered, right?

But when the patriarchs of these four families heard about the tragedies that had befallen the others, their faces all turned deathly pale, without a trace of color. Even the Cui Family’s Viscount, who had been crying the loudest, plopped onto the floor, closed his eyes, and fainted.

The servants all looked at their master with eyes full of admiration. They had always thought him to be a harsh, stingy man, but who would have thought he was such a passionate and loyal noble lord!

When Ling Xiao heard the news, he was stunned for a long moment before shaking his head with a wry smile. ’No wonder Uncle Fu didn’t say it in front of me.’

’This tactic... I really wouldn’t have thought of it. But its deterrent effect is just too powerful!’ (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more Chapters and to support the author and legitimate reading!)