Chapter 51

Li Rongqing crouched in the grass, hearing the noise from the outdoor toilet, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

No doubt, it must be Liang Xiao who drank too much, lost his balance, and fell into the latrine. Just thinking about Liang Xiao falling into the latrine, covered in filth, made Li Rongqing feel much better. It was karma, that kind of scumbag deserved to drink feces.

Hearing the footsteps getting closer, Li Rongqing quietly parted the grass and saw two figures approaching. The one in front was as sturdy as a bull, muttering incessantly, undoubtedly Tuniu'er. The one behind was slightly more slender, it must be Liang Xiao.

The moonlight was hazy, obscured by the wild grass, Li Rongqing couldn't see Liang Xiao's face clearly, she could only judge by his figure and clothing. At this moment, she heard Tuniu'er's voice again, "Xiao, you drank too much this time, you can't do this next time..."

There was no doubt, that person was Liang Xiao. Li Rongqing didn't hesitate, she gripped the short knife tightly and leaped up, the short knife flashing like lightning.

Hu Lai was utterly confused. Liang Xiao? Is Liang Xiao here? He opened his drunken eyes, looked around, and didn't see Liang Xiao's figure, but he saw a nimble figure leap out of the grass, then he felt a chill on his neck.

Hu Lai was startled, instinctively covering his neck, feeling a wet and hot liquid. He was stunned for a moment, then he heard Tuniu'er's heart-wrenching scream: "Murder! ——"

"Murder?" Hu Lai blinked, turned to look at Tuniu'er, wanting to ask what he was shouting about, but saw no one, Tuniu'er had already run towards the main tent, screaming.

What is he doing? Who was killed? Hu Lai thought, his legs went weak, and he fell to the ground.

Blood gushed out, quickly soaking the ground beneath him.

Hearing Tuniu'er's scream, Li Rongqing sighed with relief, quickly ran back to the main tent, hid the short knife, tidied her clothes, calmed herself, and picked up a wine pot, preparing to act panicked as she walked towards the main tent.

Before Li Rongqing entered the tent, she heard chaos inside, countless people shouting and yelling, the tension was palpable.

She smiled, feeling a great weight lifted. Tomorrow she would be free, no longer having to grovel and serve others. Poor she would still be, but poor with dignity, even if it meant rough clothes and coarse food, it was better than being a servant.

Just as Li Rongqing lifted the tent flap and stepped into the main tent, she heard a roar: "Assassin, this is clearly the work of an assassin. The person he wanted to kill wasn't Hu Lai, it was me! I told you there was an assassin, you didn't believe me, now you believe me, right?"

Li Rongqing was stunned. This voice was too familiar. She had followed the owner of this voice for days, almost living together.

Liang Xiao didn't die? I killed Hu Lai?

Li Rongqing felt a buzzing in her head, everything went blank.

Liang Xiao's voice continued, "No one is allowed to leave, the assassin must still be here. Search everyone, check their weapons, if there's blood on the weapon, they are likely the murderer."

Li Rongqing's legs tightened, she quickly pulled back.

"Feng Ji's words are reasonable," Feng Ji's voice rang out, "Everyone, immediately surround the camp, no one is allowed to enter or leave. No one can leave until the murderer is caught, anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy."

Hearing Feng Ji's voice, Li Rongqing shivered involuntarily. Hearing the chaotic footsteps and the crisp sound of swords being drawn, she didn't have time to think, she turned and ran. Hu Lai was dead, the Hu family would not let it go, if she was caught by Feng Ji, she would only have one way out.

Before the Hu family's servants surrounded the camp, Li Rongqing, with her exceptional skills, escaped from Shugang.

Feng Ji's face was pale, cold sweat pouring down. Hu Lai was killed outside the tent, the incident happened too suddenly, the consequences were too severe, even the usually calm Feng Ji couldn't bear it. He looked coldly at the suddenly清醒的Liang Xiao, and the stinky Tuniu'er, a shadow of doubt crossed his mind.

These two must be involved, but the problem was that Liang Xiao had been right in front of him, with no chance to act. Tuniu'er was a major suspect, but it was insufficient to conclude he was the murderer. If he had killed Hu Lai, he wouldn't have come to shout and scream.

It was a trap, but he realized it too late, Hu Lai was already dead.

Feng Ji ordered the Hu family's servants to control everyone, then rushed to where Hu Lai had fallen. Ignoring Hu Lai's stench, Feng Ji carefully examined his wounds. Seeing the terrifying wound, Feng Ji's heart sank.

He already guessed who it was, and vaguely understood the conspiracy behind it.

He glanced at Liang Xiao, who was also looking at him, a mocking smile on his lips. "Feng Ji, what weapon was used?"

"It should be a knife or sword," Feng Ji stood up, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "And it should be a short knife or short sword."

"Then quickly send people to search the surroundings. Short knives and short swords are easy to carry, the assassin might have thrown the weapon away after the murder."

Feng Ji called over a subordinate and gave some instructions. Not long after, the subordinate reported that all the maids were present, except for the one named Li Rongqing. When asked, all the maids gave the same testimony: no one saw Li Rongqing when Hu Lai was killed.

Feng Ji was mentally prepared, he didn't say anything when he heard this.

Regardless of Liang Xiao's role in this, he had no evidence to accuse Liang Xiao. After all, the murderer was a Hu family maid, with no connection to Liang Xiao. Everyone could see that Liang Xiao and Li Rongqing were meeting for the first time, and they didn't get along well.

Feng Ji was furious, not just because of Hu Lai's death, but also because of Liang Xiao's mockery. Right in front of him, Liang Xiao had used a knife to kill Hu Lai, yet he was powerless, only able to watch as Liang Xiao left.

...

The truth came to light, the shaken crowd dispersed.

Liang Xiao and Tuniu'er came to the Hangou River. Tuniu'er stripped naked, jumped into the river, and had a refreshing bath to wash away the stench.

"Xiao, how did you know Hu Lai would come?"

"I deliberately got him drunk," Liang Xiao sat on the bank, carefully recalling the events, checking if he had made any mistakes. "He had already drunk so much, how could he not burst after a few more cups?"

"Then how did you know the assassin was nearby?"

Liang Xiao smiled. "She was always with us, you just didn't notice."

"Who was it?" Tuniu'er was completely confused. Feng Ji didn't say who the assassin was before dismissing everyone, Tuniu'er's curiosity was burning, unable to find out from Feng Ji, he had to ask Liang Xiao.

"It was the maid named Li Rongqing."

"It was her?" Tuniu'er paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered. "The one you liked? She was an assassin? She didn't look like one."

"What should an assassin look like?" Liang Xiao countered.

"Uh... Assassins, who can't be seen in the light, should be ugly. She has clear eyebrows and bright eyes, a rather pretty girl, I didn't expect her to be an assassin. By the way, Xiao, didn't she seem familiar to you? We must have seen her somewhere."

Liang Xiao smirked. "Do you remember the woman bathing in the Hangou River?"

"It was her?" Tuniu'er thought for a moment, then suddenly understood. "That's why you suddenly wanted to see Hu Lai, you liked her. Ah, Xiao, that's not fair. We saw her together, you kept it to yourself, didn't even tell me."

Liang Xiao was drenched in sweat. This too?

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