The whole family was brutally murdered? The ruthless heiress's eldest daughter went berserk aft

Liuli and Xiaocui quickly went to wake up the Murong family members, while Murong Xuewei warily watched the doorway. The sounds of fighting outside grew closer, mixed with the shouts and curses of the Nanzhao people.

"Xuewei, what happened?" Murong's father asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

“Father, there’s no time to explain now,” Murong Xuewei said softly. “No matter what happens later, stay close to me.”

Suddenly, with a loud crash, the door was kicked open from the outside. Two Nanzhao assassins stumbled in, gleaming daggers embedded in their chests.

Murong Xuewei reacted quickly, grabbing Liuli and saying, "Let's go!"

Taking advantage of the chaos outside, Murong Xuewei and her family quietly slipped out through the back door. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw several corpses lying haphazardly in the courtyard, including assassins from Nanzhao and Jiang Lingyun's men.

"Watch your step," Murong Xuewei whispered a reminder. "Liuli, you cover our retreat. Xiaocui, you support your mother."

The group moved quickly along the base of the wall, the sounds of fighting and screams echoing in their ears. Murong's father lowered his voice and asked, "Xuewei, where are we going?"

“Let’s get out of here first.” Murong Xuewei cautiously surveyed her surroundings. “I’ve scouted the area before; there’s a small path leading out through the backyard wall…”

Before he could finish speaking, several figures suddenly darted out from in front of him. The one leading them was Jiang Lingyun.

"Trying to run?" Jiang Lingyun sneered. "Murong Xuewei, you're too naive."

Murong Xuewei instinctively stepped in front of her family: "Jiang Lingyun, shouldn't you be dealing with your friends from Nanzhao?"

"Hmph," a ruthless glint flashed in Jiang Lingyun's eyes, "It's precisely because of those fools in Nanzhao that I can't let you escape." He waved his hand, "Take them back to me!"

"Stop!" Murong Xuewei wanted to resist, but saw that Jiang Lingyun's men were already threatening her family.

In the end, Murong Xuewei and her group were escorted back to their original room. This time, however, Jiang Lingyun had added more guards to the door.

"Keep an eye on them!" Jiang Lingyun said fiercely before quickly leaving.

Back in the room, Murong's mother looked at Murong Xuewei with concern: "Xuewei, are you alright?"

Murong Xuewei shook her head: "Mother, I'm fine." She looked out the window, a complex look flashing in her eyes, "It's just that things seem more complicated than I imagined."

Jiang Lingyun walked quickly to the side room in the backyard. When she pushed open the door, a Nanzhao man dressed in black was pacing back and forth.

"Lord Jiang," the man sneered, "how long do you intend to keep the Murong family locked up?"

Jiang Lingyun frowned: "This is a matter of great importance; we cannot act rashly."

"Can't we be too hasty?" the man suddenly raised his voice. "We've heard that you obtained the Murong family's patriarchal token a long time ago, but you still haven't found the treasure map!"

"you..."

“Don’t think we don’t know,” the man interrupted Jiang Lingyun, “Are you trying to take it all for yourself? Are you deliberately stalling for time?”

Jiang Lingyun's face turned ashen: "Absurd! When did I..."

"Enough!" Another Nanzhao man emerged from the shadows inside the house. "Lord Jiang, we've followed you for so long. If we don't get the treasure map soon, do you believe our master will simply replace us with someone else?"

Jiang Lingyun clenched her fist: "Give me three days."

"Three days?" The first Nanzhao man scoffed. "You think Gu Ye will give you three days? Our people have already discovered that he has led his troops south!"

Jiang Lingyun's expression changed: "When did this happen?"

“Today.” The second Nanzhao man said grimly, “So, Lord Jiang, you'd better get there before Gu Ye arrives…”

“I know what I’m doing!” Jiang Lingyun said sternly.

"A sense of propriety?" The first Nanzhao man suddenly drew his sword and pressed it against Jiang Lingyun's neck. "If you can't produce the treasure map, don't blame us for being impolite."

Jiang Lingyun stared intently at the other party: "You dare touch me? Without me, what do you think you can get out of Murong Xuewei?"

"Heh," the Nanzhao man with the knife sneered, "then we'll see if your methods are faster, or our instruments of torture are faster."

"You dare!" Jiang Lingyun gritted her teeth. "Don't forget what Miss Xiao said..."

"Shut up!" The Nanzhao man with the knife pushed the tip forward. "Our master doesn't have time for you right now. If we don't get the treasure map by tonight, we'll take action." He then sheathed his sword and coldly stared at Jiang Lingyun. "You'd better figure it out yourself."

Jiang Lingyun clenched his fists, staring at the departing figures of the two Nanzhao men. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and whispered, "Murong Xuewei, you'd better pray you make it through tonight."

He turned and strode away from the side room, heading straight for the courtyard where Murong Xuewei was being held. When he pushed open the door, Murong Xuewei was sitting by the window, seemingly lost in thought.

"Murong Xuewei," Jiang Lingyun said with a stern face, "don't refuse a polite offer and then have to suffer the consequences."

Murong Xuewei turned her head and looked at him calmly: "I remember you've said that many times."

"You!" Jiang Lingyun walked up to Murong Xuewei and lowered his voice, "Tell me where the treasure map is, and I might consider releasing your family."

"A treasure map?" Murong Xuewei raised an eyebrow slightly. "So this is what you've been looking for all this time." She glanced at Jiang Lingyun's ashen face, a slight smile playing on her lips. "What? Is your Nanzhao friend getting impatient?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Jiang Lingyun's eyes: "How come you..."

“I just saw them pointing knives at you,” Murong Xuewei said softly, “They must have given you an ultimatum, right?”

Jiang Lingyun's face darkened further: "Stop playing tricks on me!"

“I wasn’t playing tricks,” Murong Xuewei stood up, meeting Jiang Lingyun’s gaze. “I just found it amusing. A high-ranking official of the Great Qi court, reduced to being threatened with a knife by the Nanzhao people.”

"You!" Jiang Lingyun raised her hand to hit her.

Murong Xuewei neither dodged nor avoided him, but simply stared coldly at him: "Go ahead and hit me, but I wonder how you'll explain it to the people of Nanzhao after you've done so?"

Jiang Lingyun's hand froze in mid-air, a flicker of panic in her eyes: "What do you mean?"

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Murong Xuewei smiled slightly, “I was just thinking that the people of Nanzhao are pushing you so hard, they’ve probably lost patience with you.”

"nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" Murong Xuewei looked at his flushed face. "Jiang Lingyun, do you think the people of Nanzhao will trust you forever? Once they get the treasure map, the first person they'll eliminate is you, the one who knows the truth."

Jiang Lingyun's expression changed: "Shut up!"

“You know very well,” Murong Xuewei continued, “that they’ve already begun to suspect you, otherwise they wouldn’t…”

"Enough!" Jiang Lingyun grabbed Murong Xuewei's collar. "If you don't tell me where the treasure map is, I'll make sure you watch your whole family..."

“You won’t,” Murong Xuewei said calmly, “because you have no other choice. The people of Nanzhao have given you a deadline, and Gu Ye is already on his way.”

Jiang Lingyun's pupils contracted: "How did you know Gu Ye...?"

“I don’t know,” Murong Xuewei said, looking directly into his eyes. “You just told me.”