The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Yu Tonghai watched Li Cong's departing figure, smiling as he saw him off, but inwardly cursing: "Mind your own business!"

"What are you looking at? They're already gone!" Yu Tonghai turned around and said to Ye Zhaoping.

Ye Zhaoping knelt silently, but in his heart he thought that the masked girl was indeed a prophet. Jing Anle had told him to beat the drum at the Jingzhao Prefecture to appeal for justice. As long as he could withstand the torture, someone would naturally come to his aid. Sure enough, this Lord Li appeared.

Yu Tonghai returned to Gaotai and said, "The case is adjourned for today. We'll come back tomorrow!"

Ye Zhaoping naturally disagreed and exclaimed, "My lord, please, my lord, redress my grievances! My sister was truly taken away by Fang Xianda!"

"Silence! Silence!" This was the umpteenth time Yu Tonghai had slammed his gavel. Only after Ye Zhaoping fell silent did he say, "The key person in the case has arrived. I will naturally summon you."

"Sir, what about my sister's safety?" Ye Zhaoping retorted.

Yu Tonghai felt like a hundred flies were buzzing in his head. He roared, "Are you questioning my handling of the case? Drag him out and wait for a summons!" He then ignored Ye Zhaoping and walked straight to the back.

The rear hall of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

“Sir, we can’t sit here right now!” the clerk said, bowing.

Yu Tonghai understood what the clerk meant and nodded, "Help me change my clothes and go to the Marquis of Xinyang's residence."

……

The Marquis of Xinyang's Residence.

On a summer evening, the incessant chirping of cicadas pierces through the clouds, seemingly echoing across the sky.

"You unfilial son!" Marquis Fang Ling of Xinyang slapped Fang Xianda across the face. In just a moment, one side of his face swelled up, demonstrating the force of the blow.

Lady Hou, Shang Anrong, felt heartbroken seeing this and quickly grabbed Fang Ling, crying out, "My lord, Da'er didn't mean it!"

Upon hearing the crying, Fang Ling became even more irritated. "Cry, cry, all you do is cry! Look at how you've spoiled your son! Now that he's caused such a mess, are you satisfied?"

Fang Ling never expected that the moment he stepped into his home, his good-for-nothing son would present him with such a difficult problem. Enraged, he slapped Fang Xianda hard again, leaving both sides red and swollen.

"father!"

"Master Hou!"

Fang Xianda and Shang Anrong shouted at the same time, their voices trembling with sobs.

"Don't call me!" Fang Ling felt a headache coming on. Looking at his son's aggrieved expression, he could only sigh helplessly. After all, he only had this one son. He waved his hand, dismissing the others and leaving only Fang Xianda behind.

"Father!" Fang Xianda called out again, but dared not speak.

Fang Ling glanced at him, then sat down and said, "Tell me everything that happened today, down to the last detail, without missing a single word."

Fang Xianda then recounted in detail how he abducted Ye Yifan and accidentally killed her.

Fang Ling's face grew increasingly grim as he listened, turning ashen after Fang Xianda finished speaking. He felt like he was about to be driven mad by his rebellious son. It wasn't that he felt Ye Yifan's life was so tragic, but rather that if this matter wasn't handled properly, he feared he would lose both the reputation of his Xinyang Marquis's mansion and his son's life.

"And what about the woman?" Fang Ling continued to ask.

Seeing his father's bad expression, Fang Xianda knew that things might not end well, so he said in a low voice, "I have already ordered people to throw the body into the mass grave."

"What!" Fang Ling was furious. He thought to himself, "How could such a fool have been born when I passed the imperial examination so early?" He had thought that since the body was still there, he still had the corpse-dissolving water from the Western Regions. Although it could not completely destroy the corpse, it could still deal with most of it.

"Don't worry, Father. There are wolves roaming there. The body has probably been gnawed to pieces by now, and nothing will be found," Fang Xianda quickly said.

Fang Ling's expression softened upon hearing this, and he continued, "Then the Jingzhao Prefecture will definitely come looking for you again, so we need to be prepared."

"Father, please save me!" Fang Xianda cried out as if grasping at a straw.

"You are my son, how could I stand idly by? I ask you, how many people saw you bring that woman back to the mansion today?"

Fang Xianda lowered his head even further. He stammered, "Everyone on the street saw it."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ling genuinely felt that his son had come to collect a debt, but he no longer had time to get angry. He said, "Remember, you brought the woman back to the Marquis of Xinyang's residence, but she refused to comply. You found it boring and released her to go home on her own."

This is the only way out. As long as Fang Xianda cannot be found in the Marquis of Xinyang's residence, there is no way to convict him.

Upon hearing this, Fang Xianda looked up with delight, "I understand, Father."

"As for witnesses, I will prepare them."

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Beijing, there were mass graves.

The twilight had just faded, and the newly emerging moonlight was half-hidden by dark clouds. The dense forest made the surroundings even darker, and what was even more frightening was that the terrifying howls of wolves could be faintly heard all around, while a woman lay on the ground.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

In a daze, she heard someone's voice. The woman's fingers twitched, and her eyes became active. She slowly opened her eyes, only to find everything in darkness.

"Miss Ye, you're finally awake!" Mu Ping said with delight, and gently helped Ye Yifan up.

Looking at the familiar Mu Ping before her, Ye Yifan slowly regained consciousness and murmured, "Miss Mu?" She shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her mind.

"Where are we?" Ye Yifan looked around. It was pitch black and completely unfamiliar. Suddenly, she caught sight of a skeleton and was so frightened that she hugged Mu Ping tightly. "Ahhhhhh! There's a dead person!"

Mu Ping felt somewhat helpless, but she knew this was a normal reaction from an ordinary woman, so she comforted her, "Miss Ye, don't be afraid. We need to leave this place quickly, or it will be dangerous."

Ye Yifan suddenly remembered their plan. Since things hadn't succeeded yet, she couldn't be afraid anymore. She forced herself to calm down and left with Mu Ping.

The two walked and whispered to each other.

Thinking of Ye Zhaoping, Ye Yifan asked with some worry, "Miss Mu, is my brother alright?"

While using her sword to push aside the tangled weeds, Mu Ping replied, "Miss Ye, don't worry, everything is going according to plan. For now, you just need to hide and wait until it's all over."

"But...did Fang Xianda notice anything unusual?"

Ye Yifan knew that Mu Ping was worried about the plan going wrong, so she said seriously, "Don't worry, Miss Mu, Fang Xianda still thinks that I was strangled to death by him." After saying that, she tilted her head back for Mu Ping to see, and sure enough, there was a dark bruise on it.

Mu Ping's eyes flickered, but before she could say anything, she saw torches flashing in the distance. She quickly pulled Ye Yifan down and made a shushing gesture. Ye Yifan heard the noise and covered her mouth tightly with both hands, not daring to make a sound.

The two of them crouched behind the tall grass, only a few meters away from the voices in front of them.