She remarried a cold-faced, powerful man, and the scumbag regretted it and cried his heart out.

As the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) drew to a close, the torrential rain finally subsided, and the air was filled with the smell of earth, mixed with a nauseating stench of blood.

The courtyard in the west of the city had been burned to ruins, with wisps of black smoke rising from the broken walls and rubble.

Tong Qingyun drove the carriage, carrying Fu Zijin and Chu Xiangling back to the Commandery.

The bluestone bricks, worn smooth by footsteps, left damp watermarks that, reflected in the dim candlelight, made the scene even more gloomy.

Chu Xiangling knelt on top, raised her eyes to look at Shen Jingshu, her gaze cold as ice: "When Miss Shen redeemed me from the beaded curtain, did you ever think about why the silver bell on my wrist is so similar in pattern to the bell on Chunlan's body?"

Shen Jingshu frowned slightly, "You deliberately left clues for us to investigate the Ministry of Revenue, and then used Gu Changfeng to send Zuihuayin into the Jingwang Mansion—Miss Chu's chess game is longer than the moat."

"More than just the moat?" Chu Xiangling suddenly chuckled, her fingernails digging into the cracks in the blue bricks. "Five years ago, when they killed my father, the blood outside the execution ground flowed all the way to Zhuque Street. Gu Changfeng was standing in the teahouse, watching and eating ice cream! Miss Shen, have you ever tasted the bitterness of a loved one dying tragically?"

Shen Jingshu was stunned, and in a daze, the scarlet blood of her past life once again flooded her eyes.

How could she not know the agony of losing a loved one? It was etched into her very bones, a nightmare she could never escape in this lifetime.

Jiang Jin'an slammed the ring-pommel sword in his hand heavily onto the table with a loud clang, causing the candlestick to tilt: "Chu Xiangling, do you know that if the Drunken Flower Shade had not been switched, what you are seeing now is your road to the underworld?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiangling abruptly ripped open her clothes, revealing a gruesome, unhealed brand below her collarbone, which gleamed dark red in the candlelight. Her eyes were filled with mockery and hatred: "Does the Commandant think that Gu Changfeng did this to himself while he was bored and playing around with fire tongs?"

She looked at Shen Jingshu again, her eyes reddening, "Miss Shen, you saved me from this hell, how could I harm you? All I want is for them to watch helplessly as what they cherish most rots away, bit by bit!"

Fu Zijin emerged from the shadows, his body damp and chilled after the rain. Water droplets dripped from his cloak, sliding down Chu Xiangling's knees as she knelt. "You knew that poison would affect her! When you instigated Gu Changfeng to hide the poison in the balm, did you not remember the life-saving grace?"

"Young Master Fu certainly knows how to turn the tables."

Chu Xiangling stood up, grabbed a teacup from the table, and threw it at Fu Zijin. A shard grazed the corner of his eye, leaving a thin trail of blood. "When you were coaxing Xie Wanqing to harm Miss Shen, didn't you feel ashamed of your own despicable methods?"

Shen Jingshu abruptly stood up, spilling tea onto Chu Xiangling's skirt, leaving a dark stain. "So Chunlan wasn't waiting for anyone at all, it was you? You've been using us from the very beginning!"

"So what if it is?" Chu Xiangling pointed her tea-stained fingertips at Jiang Jin'an. "The Commandery has been investigating for three months, but they haven't even caught a glimpse of Wen Huaiqing's private soldiers. If I hadn't deliberately given myself away, they would still be scooping sand from the moat right now!"

Jiang Jin'an suddenly leaned down, grabbed Chu Xiangling's chin, and forced her to raise her head. "You're so cunning. That batch of weapons mixed in with the Cheng family's caravan almost cost Cheng Wenhao his life just now."

Fu Zijin pressed his dagger against Chu Xiangling's back, his voice as cold as ice: "Why bother talking to her? Of the seventy-two tortures in the Imperial Prison, there's bound to be one that can pry open her mouth."

Chu Xiangling gripped the blade with her other hand, blood dripping down the silver dagger. "Young Master Fu, what's the rush? Are you afraid I'll reveal that you persuaded Wen Huaiqing to take the Wen family girl as a concubine?"

A flash of cold light appeared, and Fu Zijin grabbed Chu Xiangling by the neck and slammed her against the wall, the instruments of torture crashing to the ground: "You're asking for death!"

Shen Jingshu tried to stop him, but Jiang Jin'an grabbed her wrist.

"Do you think I'm that idiot Xie Wanqing?" Chu Xiangling forced a laugh through her suffocation, her bloodied nails digging into Fu Zijin's hand. "You deliberately leaked the Wen family girl's affair to Wen Huaiqing... cough... just to see the Commandant tear apart the relationship with the Duke of Dingguo's mansion for the sake of the Second Young Master Gu..."

Fu Zijin's pupils contracted, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes, which was quickly replaced by a deeper sinister look, and he tightened his grip.

Chu Xiangling took out a silver hairpin from her hair and stabbed it towards his throat, but it was knocked away by Jiang Jin'an's scabbard at the last inch.

"Enough!" Shen Jingshu rushed forward and pried Fu Zijin's hands off. Chu Xiangling fell to the ground, clutching her neck and coughing violently.

Shen Jingshu looked at the person on the ground and asked, "Miss Chu, if you have such methods and want revenge, why don't you just poison your enemy?"

Chu Xiangling covered her neck and sneered: "Miss Shen is still so naive? Poison through the intestines? That's too easy on them!"

I want Gu Zhong to watch his most prized son be condemned by everyone and utterly disgraced! I want Wen Huaiqing to kneel on the Dragon Vein Stone and kowtow to apologize to those who died unjustly! I want all those who kicked him when he was down—”

Lin Yu's voice came from outside the door, stopping Cheng Wenhao, who kicked the door open and entered carrying an oil paper package. He looked around and raised an eyebrow: "Oh, the Commandery has been turned into a theater? What kind of show is this?"

He picked up a piece of poria cocos cake and threw it at Fu Zijin. "Look at your face, Brother Fu. You could go and perform as a male opera singer. I just went to buy some food. What's going on here?"

Fu Zijin's face turned ashen. The poria cocos cake hit the dagger and fell onto the blue brick floor.

Jiang Jin'an rubbed his temples and tossed the oil paper package onto the table: "The beams in the west of the city are enough to carve ten coffins. Would Young Master Cheng like to choose an auspicious day?"

"Don't be like that!" Cheng Wenhao grinned and moved closer to Chu Xiangling, scrutinizing her closely. "Miss Chu, with such beauty, you deserve a golden nanmu coffin and a silk quilt—hey, why are you glaring at me? I'm just praising your unparalleled beauty!"

Without warning, Chu Xiangling's silver hairpin pierced Cheng Wenhao's collar, startling him so much that he jumped back three feet. He quickly covered his collar and exclaimed, "Grandma! This brocade robe of mine is worth eighty taels!"

"Your eighty taels of brocade probably can't even contain your two taels of brains," Shen Jingshu glared at him and said irritably, "Why don't you hurry back to your residence? You still have the leisure to buy pastries and come here?"

Cheng Wenhao found a round-backed chair and sat down, looking nonchalant. "After causing such a commotion, I'd probably get beaten to death by my father if I went back now. I might as well stay here and have some peace and quiet."

He then took out a piece of Poria cocos cake from the oil paper package, took a bite, and said indistinctly, "Besides, I just brought you some late-night snacks because I was worried you would have a hard time interrogating the prisoners!"

Outside the window, the sound of breaking tiles suddenly rang out. Tong Qingyun threw a blood-covered spy into the room: "Sir, we've caught someone eavesdropping."

Chu Xiangling stared at the token on the spy's waist, then suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, her voice shrill: "Miss Shen, look, this net involves more than just the Duke of Dingguo's mansion and Prince Jing!"