My Aloof Lord Ex-Husband Begs for Remarriage
Chapter 381 - 382 Arson

Chapter 381: Chapter 382 Arson

Xiaoyun had already moved plenty of firewood over, all piled up outside the room where Granny Wan was being held captive.

The room was silent; at this late hour, Granny Wan had long been fast asleep.

The door was locked with a large iron lock. If the fire really started, she would surely not escape death.

Because she was nervous, Xiaoyun struck the flint several times without igniting a spark.

She cursed under her breath, and finally managed to strike a spark.

But just as she was about to start the fire, she heard a noise behind her.

"Who’s there?"

Xiaoyun turned sharply, looked around suspiciously but did not hear any other sounds.

Could it have been her imagination?

Indeed, the courtyard where Granny Wan was imprisoned truly was the most secluded spot in the War King Residence; even the guards on patrol rarely came this way.

If Lin Fuying’s plan to kill and cover up her tracks were to be carried out, it indeed had a great chance of succeeding.

Xiaoyun had been anxious for a long time, and seeing that nobody seemed to notice this area, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But just when she was about to light the fire, she heard a noisy clamor approaching.

"Quick, the sound seems to be headed this way! Hurry up and go check over there!"

Why would the night patrol guards suddenly come this way?

Xiaoyun quickly gathered her things and kicked the firewood away with her foot before hastily leaving via another path.

She had just left when the patrolling guards passed by.

"No sign of disturbance here, they must have run elsewhere!"

Dong Yue had returned just a bit earlier than Xiaoyun.

She had not been able to confront Xiaoyun herself earlier, so she turned and went to find guards patrolling other areas of the War King Residence.

She deliberately made some noise in front of them and then drew them over here.

In this way, if Xiaoyun had already taken action, it would be discovered in time.

Xiaoyun had already been scared out of her wits by those guards and didn’t dare to take further action, hurrying back instead.

Lin Fuying had been holding off on sleep, waiting for Xiaoyun to return.

But who would have known that the news Xiaoyun brought back would be so terrible?

"What? Not only did you fail to strike, but you were almost caught?"

This news infuriated Lin Fuying to the point of nearly fainting.

"Such a good opportunity, if she isn’t taken out tonight, are you waiting for her to confess everything about me in front of Brother Yunting tomorrow?"

"Do you think, if I fall out of favor, you will have it easy in the Prince Residence?"

Lin Fuying’s words were not unclear to Xiaoyun.

After all, Lin Fuying and Ye Yunting had grown up together since they were children.

If Lin Fuying truly fell from grace, Xiaoyun’s fate would only be worse.

Therefore, now the only option was to closely follow Lin Fuying.

"It wasn’t intentional, just now, I don’t know how, but suddenly a large group of guards came."

After Xiaoyun came back from there, she didn’t dare to look back.

Who knew if those guards would double back?

"I am a servant who attends to you; I was just afraid that those people would see me and then trace it back to you through me."

What Xiaoyun said was not unreasonable.

The anger in Lin Fuying’s eyes finally subsided a bit.

But even so, she would not let Xiaoyun off easily.

"You go stand outside the door, you’re not allowed to rest tonight!"

If it weren’t for the crisis she was facing, Lin Fuying wouldn’t let her off so easily.

Xiaoyun felt wronged, but no matter how aggrieved, she dared not disobey Lin Fuying’s orders.

She stood outside for an entire night, nearly getting sick from the cold wind.

Dong Yue had to get up early for her duties and, seeing Xiaoyun’s figure at the door, knew she must have been punished by Lin Fuying.

"What are you looking at?" Xiaoyun glared at her fiercely. "Don’t think that just because the Concubine punished me, she won’t favor me in the future. Let me tell you, you’ll never win the Concubine’s favor again!"

It was with great difficulty that she had snatched the position of the head maidservant from Dong Yue.

Now, she would not let Dong Yue be privy to her humiliation!

Facing Xiaoyun, who was still delusional, Dong Yue just shook her head and then went in to serve Lin Fuying as she washed up.

On the other side of the Prince Residence, Ye Yi had learned some new information from the servants.

"Are you saying that after the Prince returned that day, one of his personal jade pendants went missing?"

Ye Yi’s face, always stern.

Now, as he deliberately set his expression to be even more severe, the aura he exuded made the servant boy in front of him unable to bear it.

"This servant had reported to the steward at the time. However, the steward said that the jade pendant was not a favored item of the Prince; if it was lost, it would be good to find it, but if not, there’s no need to publicize the fact. They said that they could simply replace it with another one from the storehouse," the servant boy explained.

After all, Ye Yunting had so many matters to attend to on a daily basis that these trivial domestic affairs certainly didn’t require his concern.

Thus, the matter of the jade pendant was not reported to Ye Yi.

Ye Yi pondered for a moment. The Prince’s jade pendant had gone missing precisely after returning from Xingshan Temple.

Could it have been left there?

He had no time to contemplate further, for Ye Yunting had already sent a command.

"Have you thoroughly investigated the situation at Xingshan Temple?"

Ye Yi bowed and spoke, "Your subordinate has already sent someone to inquire, and it is confirmed that the nun indeed worked at Xingshan Temple. Recently, she claimed to have family matters to attend to and left for a while. Whether she has appeared in the capital since then, your subordinate is still checking."

People from the War King Residence had, in fact, uncovered something else in their search.

"Prince, Princess Consort...It seems that Miss Chu also sent someone to investigate Xingshan Temple," he reported.

"What did she dispatch someone there for?"

Upon hearing of Chu Nanli’s involvement, Ye Yunting unconsciously furrowed his brows.

For some reason, the image of Chu Nanli as she had appeared before him that day came to mind again.

She had once claimed that the child in her womb was his.

How could that be possible!

That was just a temporary scheme of that woman!

Ye Yunting shook his head in irritation, trying hard not to think about anything related to Chu Nanli.

Ye Yi continued, "Your subordinate has not yet found evidence of the Concubine having had contact with that nun. However, there was a period when the Concubine did indeed leave the residence frequently and seemed to have spent silver coins to purchase a property outside."

He had already sent someone over with the nun’s portrait, to ask the local residents if they had seen her.

Meanwhile, they would investigate whether Lin Fuying and Xiaoyun had appeared in that area.

If people had seen both Lin Fuying and the nun, then there would indeed be something worth discussing.

"As of now, we haven’t found any other evidence. Should we not first hear what the nun has to say?"

Now that they had confirmed the nun’s identity, her words carried a trace of credibility.

"When did I need you to make decisions for me?"

Ye Yunting, already troubled in his heart, looked at Ye Yi with an even more chilling gaze.

"This subordinate has been presumptuous," Ye Yi quickly knelt down, fully aware that anything he said at that moment would provoke Ye Yunting’s anger.

But he couldn’t remain entirely silent either.