Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

Yu Wanran examined the corpses on the ground and the captured prisoners one by one.

Thirteen men in black came in total. Ten were killed, two were captured, and the female assassin in charge escaped.

The two surviving prisoners were beaten black and blue by the bodyguards. Yu Wanran looked closely and realized they were complete strangers. Before the bodyguards could even use their usual methods of interrogation, the two had already confessed, weeping and wailing.

They were local thugs from Tongcheng, gathered together by Hu San, who spent their days stealing chickens and dogs and harassing respectable women. They used to have a legitimate livelihood, working as pimps and henchmen for Chaoyun Pavilion.

But not long ago, Chaoyun Pavilion was shut down by the government, and they became homeless dogs. So, with nowhere else to turn and money to spend, they followed Hu San and took on a big job to set fire to the Yu family's house.

Among the dead were two women who were with the female assassin. They didn't know each other's backgrounds, only that Hu San held them in great awe.

The rest of the people were only after Hu San promised them ten taels of silver each if the deed was done, which led them to commit heinous acts.

Enraged by what they heard, Yu Man and his son grabbed sticks and a carrying pole and beat the two thieves again. Were their lives so worthless that they would kill and set fire to the Yu family for ten taels of silver?

Fearing her family would kill the only two survivors, Yu Wanran quickly stopped them. Following the prisoner's directions, she first used her sword to remove the veil covering Hu San's corpse.

Somewhat surprised yet somehow expected, she recognized Hu San as the skinny beggar who had killed Yu's father in her previous life!

After going around in circles, the other party still resorted to their old ways of robbing people of their money and killing them.

Yu Wanran remained calm and slowly inserted the sword into Hu San's throat. Feeling the resistance as the sword tip pierced through the flesh and rubbed against the throat bone, she suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Finally, this life is completely different from the last one!

Then she looked at the person who was supposedly the female assassin's companion, the one she had shot with an arrow at the person who wanted to start the fire. She walked over and removed the person's mask.

A deathly pale face suddenly came into view. Beneath his brows, his eyes were wide open, as if he hadn't expected to end up like this.

Ah!

Someone I know?

One of the secret guards of the Duke's mansion, the Sharp Formation.

The other person almost became her personal bodyguard. However, this person was arrogant and narrow-minded. After Yu Wanran realized this, she asked Duke Xiao to dismiss the bodyguard and replace him with Yan Bai and Yan Qing.

Although Yan Bai and Yan Qing were among the lowest-ranking secret guards trained by the Duke's mansion, she valued character and personal rapport more.

Whether Rui Zhen would hold a grudge against her for this was unknown. However, daring to collude with the female assassin to commit murder and arson at the Yu family's residence was likely his revenge.

I wonder who Ruizhen is following now.

Yu Wanran's mind raced as she considered countermeasures and weighed the pros and cons.

After a long pause, she held her long sword upside down, clasped her hands in a fist and said to Wu Jian, "Chief Wu, when it's light, please take my father and elder brother into the city to report to the authorities so they can handle the aftermath. As for this body, I'll take it with me. You don't need to tell the officials the specifics."

Prefect Wei and the Duke's Mansion have an alliance, and her previous marriage agreement with Wei Baifeng was the result of a tacit understanding between the two families.

Therefore, even if the government came to investigate the scene and found out what she had done, Prefect Wei would remain silent and even take the initiative to help her clean up the mess.

Wu Jian was a shrewd man; he didn't ask her what she wanted a corpse for. He simply said, "We brought several fast horses with us and hid them outside the village. Miss Yu, you can borrow one. You can also borrow one of our city entry tokens."

Having said that, he instructed the bodyguards to fetch the horse from outside the village.

Yu Man had a vague premonition and tremblingly pulled Yu Wanran aside.

"Ranran, these people...are they related to the Duke's mansion?"

Yu Wanran's expression remained indifferent.

"Father, I will handle this matter and make sure they don't bother us again. Don't worry!"

Once the bodyguard brought the horse, Yu Wanran beheaded a member of the elite formation with a single sword stroke, wrapped the head in a sheet, and leaped onto the horse and rode away.

Yu Man and his son shuddered involuntarily as they looked at the blood-soaked, headless corpse.

Wu Jian calmly greeted the bodyguards.

"Drag this body away and bury it somewhere deserted!"

The environment here is quite nice, lush and green. The corpses eventually turn into fertilizer, which can nourish the plants and trees, so it's a way to make use of waste.

Yu Wanran arrived in Tongcheng just as the city gates opened at dawn. She took out her token and entered the city without hindrance, heading straight for the Duke's mansion.

Instead of going through the main gate, they went to the back corner gate and knocked on the two large black doors. The gatekeeper opened the door and saw that Yu Wanran's clothes were stained with scarlet, and a foul smell wafted from her. His expression changed.

"I have urgent business to discuss with the Duke. Please inform me!"

Yu Wanran bowed respectfully, neither humble nor arrogant.

The guards exchanged glances. Remembering the Duchess's instructions, one of the guards, quick-witted as ever, didn't make things difficult for Yu Wanran, but instead responded relatively politely.

"Please wait here for a moment, Miss Yu, while we inform them."

With a wink, another guard dashed into the mansion.

Yu Wanran had expected to be harassed by these people, after all, she was no longer the daughter of the Duke's mansion. Their polite attitude, however, surprised her slightly.

As expected, it was the right decision not to openly break ties in this life; the subordinates also act according to the masters' moods.

She exhaled, suppressing her anger, and patiently waited for the results to be announced.

It's useless to ask the Duchess for this. The Duke is the real power behind the Duke's mansion. To resolve Xiao Yao's entanglement and eliminate future troubles, only Duke Xiao himself can intervene.

I wonder when Xiao Yao joined forces with the female assassin? Does Xiao Yao know the female assassin's true identity?

This real heiress is incredibly audacious to try and harm me and the Yu family! She's actually gotten involved with a female assassin?

If it were to become public knowledge that the Duke's daughter had a relationship with the female assassin, the Duke's mansion would be finished!

Secretly, the female assassin's mastermind is most likely a prince. The Duke's mansion is barely surviving; how could it possibly dare to side with a prince? Unless that prince ultimately sits on that throne, otherwise…

No, even if that prince succeeds in seizing the throne, will the Duke's mansion necessarily have rendered meritorious service? Once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked. If the Duke knows about this and tacitly approves and condones it, he is disregarding the safety of his entire clan and is playing with fire!

As Yu Wanran gradually figured out the key point, she raised her head and looked at the high walls of the Duke's mansion, narrowing her eyes.

She was no longer a member of the Duke's mansion and had no need to get involved in this mess. She could only offer a reminder to Duke Xiao from another angle. But the matter of the female assassin absolutely could not be discussed in detail.

If she said too much, the Duke might harden his heart and simply silence her.

Having been raised by the Duke and Duchess for sixteen years, she had witnessed their methods both internally and externally, and she knew them all too well.

They were first and foremost the Duke and Duchess of the State, and only secondly, husband and wife, and parents.

With a thousand thoughts swirling in her mind, Yu Wanran tightened her grip on the package.

The gate creaked open again, and a guard stepped out, his face now showing more respect: "Miss Yu, the Duke requests your presence!"

Yu Wanran nodded her thanks to him, handed the horse reins to another guard and asked him to look after the horse before following him into the gate of the Duke's mansion.

The movement of stepping over the threshold paused for a moment.

The mansion that once raised her, with its two lifetimes of love and hatred, left her with an indescribable bitterness.

If from the beginning...

How wonderful it would be to start from scratch!