"Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu have gone missing. Who is the most suspicious person?" Shen Qianmo asked with a smile.
“Miss said she is the Third Madam,” Qianqian replied with a smile.
"What if the Third Madam is also stabbed?" Shen Qianmo continued to ask.
"That means it wasn't the Third Madam. The only remaining suspect is Miss!" Qianqian pondered slowly, then exclaimed, "That Third Madam is truly ruthless!"
"Unfortunately, like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. This time, she'll probably reap what she sows." Shen Qianmo raised a nonchalant gaze. Trying to scheme against her, Shen Qianmo? Su Luoyan wasn't worthy.
"Miss, are you referring to the Prime Minister?" Qianqian asked, puzzled.
"Qianqian is getting smarter and smarter." Shen Qianmo stroked Qianqian's hair and said with a smile, "My father must have suspected that someone in the mansion had done something. Didn't Qianqian notice that someone was watching us near our courtyard?"
"Oh. No wonder Miss told me to pretend I didn't know and to behave myself these next few days. So Miss already knew that the Prime Minister sent us to monitor us." Qianqian said with sudden realization, her gaze towards Shen Qianmo filled with even more admiration.
"Let's go, let's go see this good show unfold." Shen Qianmo smiled. How could she miss such a wonderful scene?
When Shen Qianmo and Qianqian arrived at Su Luoyan's courtyard, Shen Lingyun was already sitting in the seat of honor. Su Luoyan had stab wounds on her arm and her face was swollen, as if she had been beaten. Shen Qianxin stood to the side, her eyes filled with tears, looking at her mother and father with a weak and helpless expression.
"Father, what happened?" Shen Qianmo asked, feigning ignorance, looking at Su Luoyan lying on the ground and Shen Qianxin with red, tear-filled eyes.
"That wicked woman! She harmed your eldest sister and second aunt, and now she wants to frame you!" Shen Lingyun said fiercely to Su Luoyan, his eyes no longer showing the usual doting affection, but only icy coldness.
"Qianmo doesn't understand." Shen Qianmo still looked clueless, standing there somewhat at a loss. In her heart, however, she laughed, "Su Luoyan, this is what happens when you think you're so clever."
"Master, Luo Yan is truly innocent! Luo Yan did not harm Eldest Sister and Qian Yu!" Su Luo Yan cried her heart out, lying on the ground, looking pitifully at Shen Lingyun.
But Shen Lingyun didn't want to look at her at all. Su Luoyan's act of deliberately stabbing herself had made Shen Lingyun certain that Su Luoyan had harmed Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu.
Although Shen Lingyun didn't have much affection for Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu, they were still members of the Prime Minister's household, and harming them would be tantamount to disrespecting the Prime Minister's household. Moreover, Shen Qianyu still had a role to play.
"You shameless woman! I'm giving you one last chance. If you still don't reveal the whereabouts of Youlan and Qianyu, don't blame me for being impolite!" Shen Lingyun looked coldly at his former bedmate, completely forgetting their past intimacy and promises.
"Master! Luo Yan really didn't, really didn't! Master, you have to believe me! Yes, I deliberately stabbed myself! But I only did it so that you wouldn't suspect me!" Su Luo Yan crawled to Shen Lingyun's feet and hugged his legs as she spoke.
"Get out of my way! If you didn't do it, why are you afraid I'll suspect you!" Shen Lingyun kicked Su Luoyan away with such force that Su Luoyan spat out a mouthful of blood.
"It was Qianmo! She's the one who reminded me! Master, you must believe me! Luoyan has been with you for so long, don't you understand Luoyan's nature? It must have been Qianmo who did it! It was her, it was her!" Su Luoyan's eyes were filled with sorrow and despair as she pointed at Shen Qianmo.
"Third Sister, what are you saying?" Shen Qianmo frowned slightly and asked.
Su Luoyan refused to let her go even until her death. Su Luoyan had no idea that Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu's disappearances were really related to her; Su Luoyan's words were entirely for the purpose of framing her.
"Enough! Qianmo grew up in the mountains, where would she get such thoughts! Besides, making Youlan and Qianyu disappear without a sound, I'm afraid only you have that ability!" Shen Lingyun glanced at the harmless Shen Qianmo and shouted at Su Luoyan.
"Master!" Su Luoyan cried out hoarsely upon hearing Shen Lingyun's words.
"Tell me the whereabouts of Youlan and Qianyu now! Otherwise, I'll kill you!" Shen Lingyun had clearly lost his patience, his eyes filled with ruthlessness.
"Father, please calm down! Mother wouldn't do that!" Shen Qianxin's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke with a sorrowful and weak tone.
"If it weren't for Qianxin's sake, I would have killed you!" Shen Lingyun glanced at Shen Qianxin, a calculating glint in his eyes, before speaking to Su Luoyan.
"Master, I really don't know!" Su Luoyan cried out as she lay on the ground.
"Guards! Lock Su Luoyan up! No one is allowed to visit her!" Shen Lingyun stopped looking at Su Luoyan and stormed out of the room.
Shen Qianmo sneered inwardly. Shen Lingyun spared Su Luoyan's life, probably all because of Shen Qianxin. Of course, it wasn't out of fatherly love for Shen Qianxin, but rather because of her usefulness.
As for the whereabouts of Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu, he stopped asking. He probably understood that Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu weren't missing, but dead, so there was no point in asking anymore. It was better to make good use of the remaining daughters who could be used.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Su Luoyan is Imprisoned
"Mother, are you alright?" Shen Qianxin helped Su Luoyan up from the ground.
At this moment, Su Luoyan's hair was disheveled, her hair bun had come undone, her left cheek was swollen, and there was still blood at the corner of her mouth. She looked very disheveled.
"What are you still standing here for? To watch the joke?" Su Luoyan did not answer Shen Qianxin's question, but instead cast a venomous gaze at Shen Qianmo. Her eyes were devoid of their usual gentleness, filled only with boundless hatred and ruthlessness.
"Having grown up seeing Third Sister's gentle demeanor, it's quite a change for Qianmo to see her like this all of a sudden." A mocking smile curled at the corner of Shen Qianmo's lips. Su Luoyan had finally revealed her true colors.
"Hmph! Shen Qianmo, I really underestimated you! You deliberately reminded me that day, making me realize that I was the most suspicious person, just to see this scene today, right?!" Su Luoyan ignored Shen Qianmo's sarcasm and looked at Shen Qianmo with a ruthless and sinister gaze.
"So what if it is?" Shen Qianmo seemed indifferent, not taking Su Luoyan's hatred seriously at all, with a lazy smile on her lips.
"Sister, how could you do this? Why did you hurt my mother?" Shen Qianxin looked surprised and weak, trying to move Shen Qianmo.
"Alright, my dear second sister, you and your mother should put away your hypocritical faces. I feel like throwing up if I see them too much!" Shen Qianmo said mercilessly.
"Shen Qianmo!" Shen Qianxin's expression changed drastically after hearing what Shen Qianmo said. She gritted her teeth and glared at Shen Qianmo, speaking hatefully.
"That's the expression I should have. That's how you looked when you were cursing me with voodoo dolls." Shen Qianmo looked at Shen Qianxin, smiled with apparent satisfaction, and said calmly.
"What did you say?!" A look of astonishment appeared in Shen Qianxin's eyes. Was this woman human or demon? How could she even know about her voodoo doll practice?
"What are you afraid of?! It's just sticking pins in a voodoo doll. Compared to the other things you've done to me, this doesn't seem like much, does it?" Shen Qianmo looked at Shen Qianxin with a hint of sarcasm.
"Shen Qianmo! What exactly do you want to do?! If I dare to hurt Xin'er, I will haunt you even as a ghost!" Su Luoyan's expression changed drastically upon hearing Shen Qianmo's words. She stood protectively in front of Shen Qianxin, her eyes filled with hatred as she spoke.
"Even as a ghost, you won't let me go?! I don't mind having two more ghosts!" Shen Qianmo's eyes were devoid of any emotion, her expression remained unchanged, and she was not intimidated by Su Luoyan's words at all.
"What do you mean?!" Su Luoyan looked at Shen Qianmo with suspicion and uncertainty. Her eyes seemed panicked, but in reality, they contained a hint of inquiry.
"I know what you just said was just to frame me. But you're right, I did kill Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu!" Shen Qianmo's dark eyes held a hint of amusement as he glanced at Su Luoyan and Shen Qianxin.
"What! You killed them, killed them?" Su Luoyan said in surprise, seemingly unable to believe that this seemingly frail woman had killed Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu without anyone noticing, and her eyes were filled with even more calculation and doubt.
"Of course! You must be wondering where their bodies went, right? The Demon Palace's sacred medicine, Corpse Dissolving Water, you know? Just one drop can make a corpse completely disappear, turning it into a puddle of clear water." Shen Qianmo walked step by step toward Su Luoyan and Shen Qianxin with a wicked smile on his lips.