Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Lin Mansion

Lin Zifeng returned from Yangzhou and was carried back to his residence. When Lin Changsheng learned of this, he went to check on Lin Zifeng's condition immediately. When Lin Changsheng saw his son in this state, the anger in his chest suddenly flared up, and he trembled with rage, but had nowhere to vent it.

"Who? Who did this?" Lin Changsheng roared angrily.

“It’s Zheng Luoqi, he found us…” Lin Zifeng replied weakly.

“Father, we have found out a lot this time. That Prefect Cao, the Prefect of Yangzhou, is the Prime Minister’s man. Also, when we were suppressing the rebels, Prefect Cao stopped my men and Young Master Pei’s men from looking around. There must be something we don’t know. Father, you should send more people to investigate.”

"Furthermore, I discovered that the weapons of those rebels were unusual, unlike those of ordinary rebels. I suspect that someone in the imperial court is in contact with those rebels." Lin Zifeng recounted everything he had observed in one breath.

"Oh, you mean? Those rebels might have government officials backing them?" Lin Changsheng asked in surprise. "Could it be..."

“No, if it were the Prime Minister, there would be no need to send people to suppress them, and he wouldn’t even let you know there was a rebel army,” Lin Zifeng murmured.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Lin Changsheng asked.

"I didn't tell Pei Wenyu about the weapons, but judging from the weapons of those rebels, he probably noticed something."

After a moment of silence, Lin Changsheng said, "This matter should not be publicized for now."

“But…” Lin Zifeng wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Lin Changsheng.

"Zifeng, the most important thing for you right now is to get well. Let your father handle everything else," Lin Changsheng comforted him.

Lin Zifeng nodded. Although he was still unwilling, he decided to follow his father's arrangements.

Lin Changsheng looked at his son, his heart filled with anger and helplessness.

"Father, what about Zheng Luoqi?" Lin Zifeng said through gritted teeth.

"Don't worry, I will definitely not let him off easily. This Zheng Luoqi is so arrogant, he simply doesn't respect our Lin family at all," Lin Changsheng said angrily.

"You should focus on recovering first!" Lin Changsheng then left.

Lin Changsheng went to the study and immediately wrote a letter, which he then had the steward send out.

...................

A few days later, strange things happened in the capital. Several murders occurred at Yuexin Pavilion. In each case, after watching the last play, the victim would hang himself at midnight, dressed in a red theatrical costume. The victims were all dressed in bright colors, with exquisite makeup, and their deaths were extremely bizarre.

Everyone says that the female lead from Yuexin Pavilion's new play, "The Ghostly Dream," has really come knocking on their door, specifically to kill unfaithful men.

The play "The Ghostly Dream" tells the story of a theater girl named Wu Niangzi who meets a poor scholar. The scholar falls in love with Wu Niangzi at first sight and pursues her intensely. Eventually, Wu Niangzi is moved and the two secretly pledge their lives to each other. Wu Niangzi works even harder in the theater to sing and earn money to support the scholar in his pursuit of officialdom. In the end, after the scholar achieves success, he looks down on Wu Niangzi for being a former actress.

The poor Fifth Sister thought that the scholar would come back to marry her after he achieved fame and success, but what she got in return was a white silk ribbon. After singing her last song for the scholar, he took out the white silk ribbon he had prepared beforehand and strangled her to death. He then hung himself from the roof beam to make it look like he had committed suicide, thus escaping punishment. In the end, he even won the favor of other young ladies.

Fifth Sister died with resentment, hating that the scholar had not received his due punishment and that he was still alive. Her resentment grew stronger and stronger, and her vengeful spirit could not dissipate for a long time. On the night the scholar got married, Fifth Sister transformed into a vengeful ghost and went to take the scholar's life. She strangled him to death in the same way and hung him on the roof beam. She also dressed the scholar in her favorite clothes and makeup.

Some people didn't believe in superstitions and went specifically to listen to the opera, and then they died.

"Did you hear that?"

"what?"

"That playboy next door, Mr. Hu, is dead."

"Ah, how did he die?"

"That's right, after listening to that opera, the next day someone found her hanging from the roof beam, dressed in that opera costume, just like the Fifth Sister in the opera."

"Is this piece of music really that mysterious?"

"I don't know, but you can give it a try."

"hehe.........."

Zheng Luoqi sat at her desk, listening to her subordinates report on the situation at Yuexin Pavilion. Her eyebrows rose slightly, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips: "It seems that some people have already made their move."

Yuexin Pavilion is one of the more well-known and profitable businesses among the Prime Minister's residence.

Over the past few days, rumors about Yuexin Pavilion have spread throughout the capital, sparking much discussion about the so-called "opera killing" incident.

Finally, the day after the rumors had spread like wildfire, the prime minister was impeached during the morning court session.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!" A minister suddenly stood up in the court and shouted loudly.

The emperor nodded, signaling him to speak. The minister stepped forward and respectfully said, "The recent 'theater murders' incidents in the capital have caused widespread panic among the people. As far as I know, all the murders are related to Yuexin Pavilion, a property under the Prime Minister's control."

"As a high-ranking official of the court, Your Excellency should have exercised greater oversight, but you have instead turned a blind eye, causing more innocent people to suffer. Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to order the closure of Yuexin Pavilion, conduct a thorough investigation into this matter, and hold Your Excellency accountable in order to uphold the law."

These words caused an uproar in the court. Everyone turned their gaze to the Prime Minister, whose face was etched with a smile, making it impossible to discern whether he was pleased or displeased.

"Your Majesty, I have heard about this matter a few days ago. However, several more murders have occurred in the past few days, and the Prime Minister has not taken any action to control it. Does he not care about the safety of the people and his life? I implore Your Majesty to punish him severely without delay," Grand Commandant Wen stepped forward and said righteously.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister, as the head of all officials, allows the common people to die unnatural deaths in his own private estate. If he can't even manage his own estate, how can he manage the affairs of the state?" Chen Tongyu stepped forward and said.

"Your Excellencies are too kind. When I first learned of this matter, I immediately sent people to investigate and protected Yuexin Pavilion. How could it be that the Grand Commandant doesn't care about the safety of the people?"

"Besides, none of those murders occurred in Yuexin Pavilion, so how can it all be Yuexin Pavilion's fault? The 'theater taking lives' theory is utter nonsense. I think someone is deliberately framing me."

"As for what Lord Chen said about not being able to manage his own business well, let alone the government, I have worked diligently and wholeheartedly for the country, the people, and the court for so many years, and have never made a mistake. You want to erase all my merits and hard work based on just this one incident," Zheng Yuxiang retorted disdainfully.