The Double
Chapter 312 - 117 Public Sentiment_5

Chapter 312: Chapter 117 Public Sentiment_5

"You really are a good person," Mo Wenxuan said blankly. "To help Lord Xue with such dedication, did you receive benefits from him in the past? With someone as grateful as you, Lord Xue must be very comforted. I thank you on behalf of Lord Xue."

"Hey, don’t talk nonsense; I’ve never received any favors from County Magistrate Xue," Ye Mingyu said. "It’s my niece who has a long-standing friendship with Lord Xue’s family, and she specially rushed to Tongxiang this time to help. You should thank her instead. Her name is Jiang Li, the daughter of the current Grand Secretary Jiang Yuanbai. You’ll see her soon, she’s a rare good girl."

Ye Mingyu thought cheerfully that this was only the first household and he had already found someone willing to stand up. Jiang Li would be very happy if she knew about this.

For her own sake, and for that of the pitiable County Magistrate Xue in prison.

...

Inside the county government office, Feng Yutang was anxiously waiting for a reply.

He had to take Jiang Li’s life within five days. He didn’t know what Jiang Li was up to; even setting aside the case of the Xue Family, Princess Yongning wouldn’t let him off the hook if she found out he had botched things up.

Moreover, the twenty corpses laid out in the back yard of the county government office made Feng Yutang extremely uneasy. Jiang Li was such a difficult opponent; who knew what methods she would use against him next? He had already lost twenty of his best men; would he be the next to join those twenty corpses?

The mere thought terrified Feng Yutang. The only thing that could stop his fear now was to have someone kill Jiang Li immediately. Troubles in the future could wait; at least for the moment, he needed to eliminate this overwhelming danger.

But the people he had sent out early this morning had not returned, just like the twenty-three people sent out last night. They were without news. Feng Yutang had been waiting since the early morning, through noon, and then through the afternoon. By evening, the light snow had gradually stopped, and it was calm outside.

The calmness was nerve-wracking.

There was no news, and what’s more, these people hadn’t been spotted anywhere, as if they had vanished into thin air in a brief moment, leaving no trace, almost making one wonder if they had ever truly existed.

"Lord..." The young servant guarding the gate tumbled in, panic-stricken, "Lord, they’ve been found!"

"Found!" Feng Yutang’s spirits lifted as he stood up; he wasn’t even hoping to hear of Jiang Li’s death anymore—just having some news of his men would suffice. He asked, "Where?"

"In... in the back yard," the servant said hesitantly.

Feng Yutang’s heart sank. He almost slipped and struggled to maintain his composure. "Let’s go take a look..."

But he could tell from the servant’s expression that the situation in the back yard was dire. Yet, Feng Yutang didn’t ask, as if only seeing for himself would bring closure.

The twenty corpses, covered with white cloth by his subordinates, were stacked in a corner of the back yard, an issue still unresolved. And now that the light snow had stopped, the yard, which had been empty, had another row of lifeless bodies.

Feng Yutang closed his eyes.

Such tactics, such provocation, left him at his wit’s end. Jiang Li had only seven people with her; how could they mow down his men like slicing through melons, one batch after another? Were all of her guards matchless experts?

But how had they silently delivered these corpses to the back yard of the county government office? Feng Yutang knew that if they could bring the corpses back without notice, they were also capable of silently taking his life at any time.

Why hadn’t they assassinated him?

Feng Yutang didn’t understand. He asked, "Isn’t there a Mute Granny in the yard? Get her out here and ask her if she’s seen any suspicious people. If she can’t speak, she can gesture!"

If the Mute Granny was in the yard, perhaps she could clarify how those people got in.

The servant was startled, as if he had only just remembered the existence of such a person, and said, "Come to think of it, it seems like I haven’t seen the Mute Granny for a few days."

"Could she be dead?" Feng Yutang frowned. The old woman had lived long enough; every time he saw her, it felt like she could breathe her last at any moment. They never paid attention to the Mute Granny, so her disappearance went unnoticed, and even if discovered, it was disregarded. She probably died of old age in her own room.

"Since these people couldn’t kill Jiang Li, it means Jiang Li is still alive," Feng Yutang suddenly asked. "Where is Jiang Li now? What is she doing?"

The two subordinates looked at each other, neither daring to speak.

Feng Yutang was getting angry and cursed, "Speak!"

"Jiang, Miss Jiang the Second and Old Master Ye the Third split up early this morning, heading west along the eastern route of the county, knocking on the doors of commoners’ homes. I don’t know what they said inside, but they came out quickly and then found the second house. They’ve been inquiring like this for a while."

"But I heard they mentioned the name Xue Huaiyuan; they must have talked about the Xue Family case."