Chapter 216: Let the Dead Speak

Seeing the old lady rush toward Su Wanrou, the guards beside the Third Prince's mansion hurriedly came forward and directly blocked her.

Only then did Su Wanrou step back repeatedly to the side, her face already changed considerably.

Originally she hadn't intended to burn so many people to death, but later the fire spread and many died in the village.

Afterwards those people left this sorrowful place in dribs and drabs; Su Wanrou sent people to look for them but found none, never expecting Xiao Yin could actually find these people.

She discovered that this man's hidden strength was far greater than what she had seen before.

Su Wanrou now had a plan in mind; at this moment she absolutely could not admit even a single word.

Xiao Wei standing nearby also darkened his expression, his gaze toward Su Wanrou carrying a hint of suspicion.

No matter whether today's matter is true or false, Su Wanrou cannot be allowed to admit it.

Once Su Wanrou is a fake, the scheme I painstakingly devised to humiliate Xiao Yin will backfire and become a humiliation of myself.

I actually married a country bumpkin fake as a concubine—if this isn't slapping my face, what is? How will I ever hold my head up in Shang Jing thereafter?

Although merely a concubine of the Third Prince's mansion, it's not something just any nobody can enter the prince's gates.

Moreover, she's a country girl, vicious and ruthless.

To humiliate Xiao Yin this time, he has almost invited all the influential figures of a city.

He is preparing to watch Xiao Yin make a fool of himself, not to watch his own embarrassment.

"Come! Throw these troublemakers out!"

"How dare you rabble come and go as you please in my Third Prince's mansion?"

"Wait!" Xiao Yin slowly rose and stood before those witnesses.

He himself is the War God of Southern Qi, decisive in killing, his aura tinged with a hint of killing intent; the guards of the Third Prince's mansion were instantly cowed by Xiao Yin's presence and dared not move.

Xiao Wei's face sank: "Xiao Yin, what do you mean?"

This time he didn't even call Imperial Uncle, faintly showing the posture of tearing faces openly.

Xiao Yin coldly said: "Imperial Uncle means nothing, I just want to help my nephew!"

"You are a member of the imperial clan; taking wives and concubines is not for you to decide alone—we cannot let the imperial bloodline become impure, I am merely supervising you."

Xiao Wei couldn't help but sneer: "Nephew should thank Ninth Imperial Uncle for his affection."

"But Ninth Imperial Uncle, you brought a slave from Fu Yu Guo here today just to make things unpleasant for me, right?"

"You clearly know today is my Xiao Wei's big day, yet you stir up this trouble—do you Ninth Imperial Uncle do it on purpose?"

"Moreover, these so-called witnesses of Ninth Imperial Uncle are all brought by you; Gu Jiu Ling indeed had some grudge with my concubine before."

"Imperial Uncle dotes on Imperial Aunt so much, but you cannot use my concubine as a pawn!"

"General An died tragically; his daughter cannot be casually recognized, and moreover Su Wanrong is the one Ninth Imperial Uncle personally raised beside him—for over ten years you never discovered she was fake, why today at my banquet does she cause such a commotion?"

"Ninth Imperial Uncle, give me an explanation, otherwise we will have to take this before the Emperor Father."

Gu Jiu Ling took over Xiao Wei's words, her expression light as she looked at Xiao Wei.

"Your Highness, I and your Ninth Imperial Uncle are your elders; how could we possibly frame you in this matter?"

"Precisely because we worry you might be slandered by some ill‑intentioned people, we offer you a bit of advice at this crucial point."

"Let's do this: since Your Highness doesn't trust my words, these people are indeed witnesses I and your Ninth Imperial Uncle had people find."

"Since the living you don't believe, let us let the dead speak."

Everyone froze there, a low murmur rose: "Let the dead speak? Is the Princess Consort of Rui gone mad?"

Gu Jiu Ling should have extracted DNA from General An's remains and compared it with Jinzhi, but this high‑tech procedure is still unacceptable to people of this era.

Instead she recalled an ancient prescription mentioned by Zuo Feichen; since it is so, she will try this prescription today.

Xiao Wei's face sank slightly, he coldly laughed: "Imperial Aunt, are you joking?"

"How can the dead speak in this world?"

Gu Jiu Ling slowly scanned the crowd and instantly spotted An Chengren, General An's brother.

An Chengren now holds a minor post as a clerk in the Ministry of Justice, daily sorting documents and copying, with no real authority.

This time the Third Prince's taking of a concubine has invited nearly all the nobles of Shang Jing; every family, regardless of origin, sends some juniors to attend.

The An clan is fallen nobility, but still a nobility after all.

Thus now only An Chengren, the second son of the An family, stands in for his elder brother to manage the An household; he and his third brother have come to the Third Prince's mansion, never expecting this fire to reach the An family—he was stunned.

Earlier the elder brother quarreled with their father over a singer; these years the father died of depression after the elder brother's death, the two An brothers both respect and resent the elder brother who died in Qi Sha Gu.

They respect him because he died for the country.

They resent him because his death brought many troubles to the An family.

Some say the elder brother fled the battlefield, was chased and killed by enemy troops in Qi Sha Gu, but he does not believe his elder brother was such a person.

But the person is already dead, dead men tell no tales, their old father was also angered to death by the elder brother's affair.

Now the An household has no one able to uphold the door; he actually knows Xiao Yin has been quietly helping him and his third brother.

Yet the An family, though poor, still has a bit of backbone; having incurred this favor from Prince Rui, they don't know how to repay it.

Never expected the elder brother's biological daughter would appear twice, and one of them is a fake.

At this moment he looked at the Jinzhi maiden standing beside the Prince Rui couple, half her face destroyed, looking pitiful—could this really be the elder brother's biological daughter?

If she is the true daughter, then the other Su Wanrou has brought disaster upon the elder brother's bloodline to this extent.

Although this woman was raised outside by the elder brother, her blood still flows with An lineage.

An Chengren gazed at the scene before him, his face gradually turning grim.

Before coming, Gu Jiu Ling had made thorough preparations with Xiao Yin, naturally knowing who the two brothers of General An are; the An family members are all good‑looking.

From Jinzhi's appearance one can see that if her face weren't ruined, she would be a national beauty.

An men are all handsome and graceful, An women all lovely and charming.

Although An Chengren is now middle‑aged, one can still see the outstanding bearing of his youth; in a crowd he stands out by looks alone, instantly recognizable.

Gu Jiu Ling walked over to An Chengren, An Chengren hastily bowed and saluted Gu Jiu Ling, after all Gu Jiu Ling is the Princess Consort.

Gu Jiu Ling stared at him and said: "Lord An, today's matter, the An family surely cannot avoid getting involved."