After traveling through time, I was raised by a little brat

Upon learning of the missing woman, the Crown Prince immediately dispatched guards to investigate her whereabouts and added more guards to strengthen patrols. He reassured everyone, "Don't worry, everyone. I've already sent people to investigate the missing woman's whereabouts and have increased patrols. It's late now, so please go back and rest."

However, as Zhao citizens, eager to see the action unfold, they were reluctant to leave, each pledging to remain and await the outcome. One said, "We can't just go back to sleep. We can only rest in peace when we find the woman!" Another chimed in, "That's right. We can't let the murderer go unpunished!" Even An Zhangzhu was determined to stay. With a gleam of determination in her eyes, she declared, "I'll wait with you all until the truth is revealed!" Thus, everyone decided to remain where they were, awaiting the missing woman's return.

Everyone sat in the Crown Prince's courtyard, gossiping about various matters. An hour passed unnoticed. It was still pitch dark, and Tang Wenshu had already dozed off against the Crown Prince. However, the whispers of a guard awoke her.

"We found the cousin." The guard reported in a low voice.

Upon hearing this news, everyone pricked up their ears. Then, the guards carried the body outside the courtyard and asked the prince whether they should bring it inside for inspection.

Tang Wenshu said fearlessly, "Bring him in and let's see him."

When the guards brought the body into the courtyard, everyone gasped. The young lady's body was covered in traces of torture, her clothes were tattered, and her expression was filled with extreme fear. Clearly, she had suffered inhuman torture before her death.

"Oh my God, she was fine this afternoon, boating on the lake with a group of sisters from the Chen family! How could this happen? Not only did she die, but she died so miserably!" There were bursts of exclamations from the crowd.

"There are no scratches on her body. It doesn't look like the work of a wolf pack." Someone said after observing.

At this time, the guards also reported back: "The young lady's body was found on the grass outside the villa. There were no traces of wolves around."

Crown Prince Zhao Rui looked at the horrific corpse, her face becoming very gloomy, but she did not immediately express her opinion. She just calmly ordered: "Bring the bodies of the other two people here for me to see."

Soon, the bodies of Chen Chenghuan, the young master of the Chen family, and the Liang family's concubine were brought before the crowd. At the same time, members of the Chen and Liang families also rushed over, and the scene was in chaos.

The Chen family members wept bitterly, repeatedly crying out, "Poor little Master Cheng Huan, how could he be gone like this..." However, they showed no sorrow for their deceased cousin. Meanwhile, the Liang family members seemed equally indifferent to the concubine's death, their only concern being why the Crown Prince had summoned them.

Chen Chenghuan's corpse bore a horrified expression, as if he had experienced immense fear. Prying open his eyelids, one could see his pupils dilated, his eyes filled with terror. There were obvious urine stains on his clothes, and his body emanated a foul odor.

The Liang family's concubine was covered in mud, as if she had rolled on the ground. Her face was covered in blood, with deep cuts on her eyes, her tongue cut, and visible strangulation marks on her throat. Her death was extremely horrific, even worse than that of the Chen family's cousin.

However, what is strange is that no wolf bite marks or scratches were found on the bodies of the three of them.

"I knew it. The Crown Prince's guards chased off the wolves just in time. No one was injured or killed," An Zhangzhu chimed in. She looked smug, as if she'd anticipated all this.

At this moment, Chen Tingting, a concubine of the Chen family, suddenly whispered something in the mistress's ear. Mrs. Lu's face suddenly changed, and she angrily stepped forward, pointing at An Zhangzhu and cursing, "You bitch! If you hadn't called the wolves, my son wouldn't have been harmed."

The crowd erupted in an uproar, all whispering to each other. "What? Miss An actually invited the wolves?" "No way, how could she do such a thing?" Everyone was discussing, their eyes fixed on An Zhangzhu.

Facing the public's questions and accusations, An Zhangzhu remained remarkably calm. Undeterred, she retorted, "What gives you the right to say that? Do you have any evidence? Without it, it's slander!" Her tone was firm, and her eyes revealed a confidence.

However, An Zhangzhu had other plans in mind. She secretly thanked her third brother for meticulously arranging this matter, and she had no direct involvement at all. This way, even if something went wrong, she could easily stay out of it. Furthermore, her third brother was already in the military camp, so he could find a suitable excuse to clear himself of suspicion. Therefore, this incident was nothing more than a perfect coincidence. Thinking of this, An Zhangzhu couldn't help but feel proud of her third brother's resourcefulness.

"I... I have been hiding outside the Crown Prince's courtyard. I saw everything from the moment you ran over and shouted 'wolves' before the wolves arrived to the subsequent series of events." Chen Jingshu said timidly, not daring to look An Zhangzhu in the eye.

"You, why are you still here?" An Zhangzhu didn't grasp the point at all. Instead, she was worried about Chen Jingshu hiding outside the Crown Prince's courtyard, and a nameless anger rose in her heart.

"I, of course I want to see the face of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." After Chen Jingshu finished speaking, she lowered her head shyly, her face slightly flushed, as if she was full of tenderness and affection.

"Mother, she was the one who invited the wolves, otherwise how could she predict the future." Chen Jingshu pulled her stepmother's sleeve and shook it coquettishly. Although she was a concubine's daughter, it seemed that she had a high status in the Chen family and was very respected.

"My younger brother died so tragically, mother, you must do something for him." A woman said in a crying voice.

The other woman had a fierce look on her face: "You bitch, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is mine." As she said that, An Zhangzhu stepped forward, grabbed Chen Jingshu's hair and was about to slap her.

"Pull her away!" the prince said, and the scene immediately became quiet.

"Chen Chenghuan's death probably has little to do with the wolf pack. Let's talk about the cousin of the Chen family first." said the prince.

"Her? She's just a bastard born of a lowly woman." Lei said, "It's her good fortune that Cheng Huan likes her. At worst, he could take her as a concubine. I agreed, but she disagreed and even asked the old lady to suppress the matter."

"Bitch?" Tang Wenshu asked doubtfully.

"She should be Lei's aunt. Rumor has it that they have been at odds since she married into the Chen family, until the young lady of the Chen family got married." The prince explained to her.