Quick Transmigration: The Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character's Revenge

As night fell, Xu Yanqing and Qi Ning lay in bed.

Qi Ning rested her head on one of his arms, while his other hand gently stroked Qi Ning's lower abdomen.

Even now, recalling the terrifying scene from earlier that day, Xu Yanqing still feels a lingering fear.

If they were really injured by that mad horse, then their child would...

"Husband, don't you think there's something strange about what's been happening lately?" Qi Ning asked in his ear.

"Mm," Xu Yanqing responded.

He certainly noticed it; two things happening in three days was highly unusual.

Although the investigation concluded that today's mad horse was an accident, Xu Yanqing felt it wasn't that simple, since Qi Ning had been tricked into going to Zuixianlou using his name.

"Then who do you think did it, my husband?" Qi Ning asked again.

Three days ago, Xu Yanqing initially suspected that the poisoning incident at Zuixianlou was committed by Piaoxiangfang and Jiuzhongke.

But today's incident was clearly aimed at his and Qi Ning's lives. If it were just a business dispute between the two families, there would be no need to harm them.

Therefore, Xu Yanqing was completely baffled and did not know who was behind it all.

Xu Yanqing replied, "I don't know."

Knowing that Qi Ning was intelligent, he asked her, "Is there anyone you suspect?"

Qi Ning immediately sat up and said, "Since you asked me, I'll just tell you the truth."

Seeing this, Xu Yanqing knew that she really had someone she suspected, so he sat up as well: "Go ahead and say it."

Qi Ning then slowly spoke: "I suspect... it's my eldest uncle."

"Uncle?" Xu Yanqing exclaimed in surprise, "How is this possible? Why would you suspect him?"

Qi Ning analyzed, "These things all happened after my uncle came home. Moreover, because of the Zuixianlou and Li Yunshu incident, my uncle is very dissatisfied with me. Do you remember his attitude towards me when he saw me at Shou'an Hall on the first day he came home?"

"But he's been home for over two months..."

"That's probably because he didn't act immediately to avoid alerting the enemy, so that no one would suspect him after the incident."

Xu Yanqing still felt it was unlikely: "Even if he is dissatisfied with you because of Zuixianlou and Li Yunshu, he wouldn't do something like harming someone's life. We are family."

"Is the reason my husband thinks he's not the person behind the scenes just because we're family?"

“That’s right.” Xu Yanqing recalled, “From my earliest memories, I have always remembered that my uncle was a kind elder. He loved my father, his second brother, very much, and by extension, he also loved us younger generation very much.”

Qi Ning snorted coldly: "What do you mean by loving your brothers and nephews? It might all be an act. If you insist on saying that, I'd even suspect that my father's death was related to him!"

Before Qi Ning could finish speaking, Xu Yanqing covered her lips with his hand: "Don't talk nonsense."

Qi Ning shoved his hand away: "What do you mean by talking nonsense? I'm just speculating based on reason and evidence."

“I’ve been with Li Yunshu in the Xu family for three years now. When I was a maid, I often heard the other maids and servants gossiping about things in the mansion. I heard that my father was extremely intelligent and had a talent for business. It can be said that half of the Xu family’s fortune was built by the old master and the other half was earned by my father.”

"It is said that my grandfather intended to pass the family business on to my father back then. Is this information correct?"

Xu Yanqing, as Xu Maoting's son, was of course aware of these things, and he nodded: "More or less."

"That's right!"

Qi Ning clapped her hands: "Think about it, your father is so outstanding, and your eldest uncle, as the elder brother, is inferior to his younger brother in every way. How could he not feel envious and jealous?"

"Later, my grandfather planned to pass the family business on to my father. How could my eldest uncle, as the eldest son, not have evil thoughts?"

Upon hearing these words, Xu Yanqing's already somewhat worried expression instantly became even more serious. He frowned slightly and sat there quietly without moving, as if he were deep in thought.

After a long silence, he spoke again: "So, you think he would have targeted my father back then and is now targeting us for those reasons?"

“Exactly!” Qi Ning replied.

She paused, then added, "My husband, please don't think it's impossible. Nothing is impossible in this world. You can know a person's face but not their heart. Before Li Yunshu tried to kill me, didn't everyone think she was kind-hearted and wouldn't do such a thing?"

Qi Ning used Li Yunshu's case as an example, which left Xu Yanqing somewhat speechless.

Thinking about it carefully, Qi Ning's words do make sense. Li Yunshu only killed Qi Ning because Qi Ning took away her power in managing the household affairs. So why wouldn't the eldest uncle harm his brothers and nephews for the sake of the family property?

Faced with the temptations of money and power, what do blood ties and family affection matter? It is not uncommon for brothers to kill each other in large families.

Seeing that Xu Yanqing was still pondering, Qi Ning did not disturb him, but said, "This is just my guess. Husband, you can decide for yourself. I'm tired, I'll go to sleep first."

After saying that, she went to sleep.

Xu Yanqing hesitated for a moment, then lay down next to Qi Ning.

He tucked the blanket around Qi Ning and watched her sleep soundly, while he himself barely slept a wink all night.

The next morning, Xu Yanqing woke up with two blue marks on his face.

After breakfast, Xu Yanqing was still sitting in the room when Qi Ning asked him, "Husband, aren't you going out today?"

Xu Yanqing shook his head, reached out to Qi Ning, and pulled her to sit down next to him.

“I’ve thought about what you said last night carefully. It concerns the cause of my father’s death. Even if it’s unlikely, I plan to investigate it, just to get to the bottom of it.”

Qi Ning replied, "How does my husband plan to investigate?"

"The two recent incidents were handled very cleanly by the people behind them, leaving almost no clues. This shows that the people behind them are very skilled."

"But I think that someone would not be so skilled at murder from the beginning. Perhaps he was not so clean in what happened back then, making it easier to find evidence against him."

"You want to start investigating your father's past?"

"Yes."

"But so many years have passed, how can we investigate?"

"The matter is over, but those who know the truth should still be around. Besides the person behind the scenes, there are also those who did things for him. I vaguely remember that the servant who used to serve my uncle was not the one who is now. Not long after my father passed away, that servant redeemed himself and returned to his hometown."

It seems Xu Yanqing really thought a lot last night.

It is indeed difficult for him to recall his childhood while bearing the pain of remembering his deceased father.

Fortunately, his thinking wasn't in vain; he did indeed come up with the key point.

Xu Maoyuan's former servant was indeed the breakthrough point.

“But so many years have passed, that person may not still be living in the same rural place, so it might be difficult to find him,” Qi Ning reminded. “If we can’t find him, perhaps we can try to find his family.”

Xu Yanqing hummed in agreement: "I understand."

He reached out and put his arm around Qi Ning: "In the coming days, I will arrange for a reliable person to handle this matter privately. Before the truth comes out, it's best for you to stay in the courtyard as much as possible. If the other party makes another move, it could be dangerous, especially since you are currently pregnant."

"As for the affairs of the household, if you are too busy, you can ask your third sister-in-law for help."

"it is good."

After that day, Xu Yanqing indeed arranged for someone to go find the servant boy named Wu Desheng from back then.

So many years have passed, it's really not easy to find someone. It took almost two months before we finally found him through a relative of Wu Desheng and brought him to Yangzhou.

That day, Xu Yanqing went out to meet Wu Desheng, and when he returned, he was shrouded in gloom.

"What's wrong, my husband?" Qi Ning asked as Xu Yanqing entered the room.

She made a move to get up from the couch, but Xu Yanqing quickly stopped her: "Don't move."

Qi Ning is now showing signs of pregnancy, and even the slightest movement makes Xu Yanqing's heart jump.

He dismissed the servants and then sat down next to Qi Ning, telling her in a low voice what had happened.

"So he really did kill his father?"

“Hmm.” Xu Yanqing closed his eyes. “Back then, he let Wu Desheng go, but a few years later he remembered and tried to silence him. Wu Desheng almost died at his hands. Only now is he willing to come forward to testify and identify him.”

Qi Ning grasped Xu Yanqing's hand: "Husband, since Wu Desheng still has evidence of correspondence, why don't we let him report it to the authorities directly?"

"If I were to expose him to my grandmother, what if she softens her heart again... Even if my grandmother doesn't soften her heart, killing him wouldn't be enough to vent my anger, but killing him would dirty my hands and get me into a murder case."

"Therefore, let the government handle the trial and sentencing. A life for a life, he must pay the price for his actions, so that his father in the afterlife can be comforted."

After learning the truth, Xu Yanqing was in a state of confusion. He hadn't really figured out what to do yet, but after hearing what Qi Ning said, he felt like he had a pillar of support.

He bent down and hugged Qi Ning, burying his head in her neck.

"Ning'er, it's good that you're here." He said softly.

Qi Ning hugged him back, reaching out to stroke his back, as if offering silent comfort.

The next day.

Wu Desheng then struck the grievance drum outside the Yangzhou city government office.

Not long after, the yamen sent its officers to the Xu family to arrest Xu Maoyuan.

At that time, Xu Maoyuan was leisurely drinking tea in his aunt's room when a group of yamen runners suddenly broke in and forcibly took him away.

"What are you going to do?"

"Master Xu, please come with us to the yamen."

Why go to the government office?

"Someone has reported to the authorities that you murdered Xu Maoting more than ten years ago. The evidence is conclusive, and the magistrate wants you to come over to cooperate with the investigation."

Upon hearing the words "murder of Xu Maoting," Xu Maoyuan suddenly fell silent.

How could someone suddenly expose him for this...?

Xu Yanzong rushed over upon receiving the news, and when he arrived, Xu Maoyuan was about to be taken away.

"What are you doing? Why are you kidnapping my father? Do you know where you are?"

The constables had no choice but to reveal to him that Xu Maoyuan was involved in the murder case of Xu Maoting more than ten years ago, and that he was suspected of murdering Xu Maoting, so he was to be taken back for questioning.

Xu Yanzong was stunned when he heard this. How could his father have plotted to kill his second uncle?

By the time he came to his senses, Xu Maoyuan had already been taken away by the yamen runners. Xu Yanzong thought for a moment and then hurriedly went to find the old lady.

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