"Catch the assassin!"

With a sudden rush, the small tile-roofed house was immediately surrounded by a group of knife-wielding government officials. The unfamiliar man responsible for trying to harm the little rogue was kicked by Qi Jingyu, leaving him dizzy and already fallen to the ground.

The officials entered and easily apprehended him.

The man had his face covered, rendering his features temporarily hidden. Gao Mingyue and Qi Jingyu stepped forward, tearing off his mask, and instantly!

Gao Mingyue was startled.

Because the perpetrator wasn’t someone else; it was their Gao Family’s housekeeper, Gao Zheng!

In a moment, Gao Mingyue’s scalp went numb. How could this be? How could this happen? It was unbelievable that the person sent to kill the little rogue was from their own Gao Mansion?

Didn’t this mean that their mansion was hopelessly implicated in this matter?

Gao Mingyue felt a wave of dizziness, almost causing her to collapse.

"Be careful!"

Qi Jingyu stepped forward to support her. Seeing the young girl in distress, he felt troubled as well.

How could it be like this?

He thought capturing this person would allow them to trace back to the mastermind, but now the situation seemed to have become even more complicated.

However, the more complicated the situation, the more it fueled Qi Jingyu’s determination!

He remembered that every time the Imperial Uncle faced desperate situations, wasn’t he always able to calmly resolve them? He had much to learn.

If he were the Imperial Uncle, what would he do at this moment?

Qi Jingyu fell into deep thought.

"Spare me, sir, spare me!"

Nearby, the old housekeeper Gao Zheng was crying and begging bitterly, kowtowing to Mr. Zhang, "Mr. Zhang, I have been wronged! I was only acting on the master’s orders to kill and silence. I am guilty, please spare me, sir!"

"You... you’re talking nonsense!" Gao Mingyue was trembling with anger. This was utterly ridiculous!

Her father did have negative thoughts before, like the so-called "an eye for an eye," but he was stopped by her in the end, and they never intended to take a life.

To be honest, the idea for this revenge plan was suggested by this old housekeeper.

Gao Mingyue felt her head spinning, her face flushed with anger.

Qi Jingyu raised his head, a flash of insight in his eyes, as if he had caught onto something.

He turned to ask the housekeeper Gao Zheng, "You said you were acting on your master’s orders? Was it Old Master Gao?"

"Yes, I..."

"Oh, then how did he instruct you? For such a murder plot, he must have promised you some benefit, right? Also, where did you get this poison?"

Qi Jingyu crouched down, looking evenly at the kneeling old man, asking calmly.

Gao Zheng was taken aback; what kind of nonsensical questions were these?

After some thought, he said, "The master ordered me to kill the scoundrel who wronged the young misses tonight, saying it was to avenge them. As for benefits, I am the master’s lackey; what need have I for benefits? With just a word from the master, I’d immediately act!"

"Oh? So loyal?"

"Yes, I am utterly loyal to the master, as heaven can testify!"

As he spoke, Gao Zheng raised two fingers to the sky to show his utmost loyalty.

Mr. Zhang frowned slightly, his expression sour, feeling that Gao Zheng was taking him for a fool.

If you were truly loyal to your master, you wouldn’t betray him without any psychological burden.

If you were really loyal, wouldn’t you now be claiming you were sent by the Lin Family?

Heh heh heh...

Mr. Zhang squinted and asked, "Where did the poison come from?"

"The poison was given to me by the master!"

"Go, go and check whether the Gao Mansion had recently purchased such items from any medical establishments."

Mr. Zhang waved his hand, signaling his men to hurry.

Though this might be a bit troublesome, as long as the authority gives orders, the subordinates are bound to carry it out swiftly.

An hour later, the result came out.

Recently, the Gao Family had only gone to the largest medical establishment in Jiangzhou City to buy some cold medicines, all life-saving remedies. How could there be any poison?

Mr. Zhang sneered, "Humph, no person from the Gao Mansion bought such things, but according to my investigation, it was the Lin Mansion that purchased a bottle of Hedinghong! People, verify if it’s Hedinghong!"

"..."

Gao Zheng’s face turned pale as he realized something was wrong.

Wasn’t revealing who was behind everything supposed to lead to immediate arrest? Why bother with all this extra checking? And how did they figure it to point to the Lin Mansion?

"Sir, we found a lot of items in Gao Zheng’s house!"

While Gao Zheng was still puzzled, an official entered, holding a large pile of bundles, which he casually dumped on the ground, exposing countless gold and silver jewels!

"This..."

Seeing these gold and silver jewels, Gao Zheng’s vision blurred, and he almost fainted.

These were all evidence of the Lin Family bribing him!

Now, it was easily exposed!

Gao Zheng’s legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

It’s over; he knew he was finished!

Among the packages, several jewelry pieces were bought by the Lin Family from Fuji Jewelry Store, all bearing Fuji’s mark. Checking on them would make everything clear.

In this way, no amount of eloquence could save him.

Not only did he fail to complete the task given by the Lin Family, but he also betrayed his master. For a traitor like him, what would the consequence be?

The only word to describe it would be miserable!

"Housekeeper Gao, I never expected you to be this kind of person!"

Gao Mingyue truly never expected there would be a traitor within her family, and the traitor was the highly esteemed old housekeeper!

She was heartbroken, pointing at Gao Zheng, "Housekeeper Gao, my parents have not treated you poorly, so why do you bite the hand that feeds you? Do you have any conscience left?"

To think this old housekeeper would betray the Gao Family like this... If not for Qi Jingyu’s help, their family would have been doomed!

Knowing he was exposed, Gao Zheng stopped pretending and began laughing sinisterly.

His eyes turned red, and he screamed hysterically, "Yes! The master and madam treated me well, but so what?

My son is going to take the exam this year; he failed several times before and almost lost confidence. But this time, the Lin Family promised that if I helped them topple the Gao Family, they would ensure my son passed and became a scholar, haha, a scholar!"

At that point, Gao Zheng began to laugh maniacally, "Haha, a scholar, my son is a scholar now, hahaha!"

As he laughed, he choked, emitting painful sobs, "Woo woo woo, I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. What could I do? My son is my lifeblood, woo woo woo..."

He clutched his head in agony, wailing piteously.

Qi Jingyu shook his head gently, contemplating the complexity of Gao Zheng’s motivations. While sacrificing everything for his son might be understandable, betraying his master so coldly was undoubtedly his fault.

Slowly rising, he said to Mr. Zhang, "Mr. Zhang, take him away!"

"Hmm!"