Chapter 1089: Inner Demon

"Does the servant know the contents of the letter?" Chen Guanlou asked curiously.

"The servant never saw the contents. But he guessed that the letter must have been full of threats against the second Miss Qin. The young lady was already disheartened, and after being threatened, it is understandable that she couldn't see a way out for a moment."

Chen Guanlou let out a cold snort. Liu Changrong had quite the methods; with just a few words, he destroyed a young girl, and with one letter, he took a life, all without having to bear any responsibility.

On the contrary, the Qin family had to swallow their teeth along with the blood, unable to do anything at all.

He had Lu Datou lead the way, went down to the C-grade prison, and met the eldest of the Qin family.

The eldest of the Qin family was named Qin Zheng. He was in his thirties, looking disheveled and covered in blood. He looked quite serious and pitiful.

"Greetings, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen!"

Chen Guanlou nodded slightly. He didn't rush to ask questions but sent someone to call Mu Yiguan Mu.

Mu Yiguan Mu personally examined Qin Zheng. "No major problems; they are all superficial wounds. Fortunately, no bones were broken."

Qin Zheng himself let out a sigh of relief, feeling very fortunate.

Chen Guanlou had been observing him the whole time, and only at this moment did he speak up to ask: "Do you know who sent people to beat you up?"

"It must be Liu Changrong! Apart from him, there couldn't be a second person." Qin Zheng, who had been emotionally stable, suddenly became agitated and exceptionally resentful.

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow slightly. "Does your Qin family have no other enemies? Have you not made any enemies in the officialdom?"

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, you might not know, but we in the Qin family have always upheld the principle of being kind to others and have never actively made enemies. When working in the yamen, we never try to stand out. I dare not say how good our reputation is, but at least I can be certain that no one in the yamen would frame our Qin family in such a deranged manner.

Only Liu Changrong. That man surnamed Liu has a paranoid personality. Even though our Qin family treated him like our own son, he insisted that our Qin family was humiliating him, insisted that he had suffered humiliation in our Qin family!

My second sister lost her life because of him, and now my eldest sister has been driven to death by him! In this world, there is only this one person who holds such deep hatred for my Qin family and wishes for us all to die!"

Qin Zheng gritted his teeth, wishing he could eat his flesh and drink his blood. He was full of resentment, hating that his father had chosen to break off the engagement back then, yet still took in the man surnamed Liu, only to end up harboring a disaster.

He hated that the man surnamed Liu returned kindness with enmity, used vicious methods, and didn't think of even a shred of gratitude. He was simply worse than a pig or a dog.

He punched the wall in anger, his knuckles scraped and bleeding, yet he felt no pain. He only hated that he was of low status and had little influence, with the heart to act but lacking the strength. Let alone taking revenge, he couldn't even see Liu Changrong's face.

Going out to handle affairs today and getting beaten up halfway there—it was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.

"The people who beat me up said with their own mouths that our Qin family offended someone who shouldn't have been offended. I ask myself, I have never offended anyone, and my father has been cautious his whole life. Apart from the man surnamed Liu, I really cannot think of a second person."

Chen Guanlou gave an "oh."

He suddenly asked, "How did your second sister die?"

"Hanged herself." Qin Zheng's expression was evasive, but in the end, he told the truth.

Chen Guanlou nodded; the information Lu Datou had gathered was not wrong.

"Regarding the matter between your second sister and Liu Changrong, did you investigate it carefully afterward?"

"We asked. We asked all the maids and matrons who served my second sister. The situation was more or less like that. Sigh, it has been over ten years, and I can still vaguely remember my second sister's appearance." Qin Zheng forced a bitter smile. "May I ask, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, why are you so well-informed about my family's affairs?"

Chen Guanlou had thought the other party wouldn't ask.

Since he asked, he told the truth: "Your father begged before me, so I took some time to understand your family's situation and learned that your second sister passed away in the prime of her youth. It is truly a pity."

"My father..." Qin Zheng's lips trembled a few times. "My father, the old man..."

"Your father is very well! He is only worried about Liu Changrong's revenge, worried that he cannot protect the lives of his whole family."

Upon hearing this, Qin Zheng's clothes were instantly soaked with tears, and the grown man cried so sorrowfully.

"It's all because I am useless! If I had known today would come, back when I was studying, I should have thought of a way to block that man's official career so he wouldn't have had the chance to harm people. It's also my fault; at my age, I am only a seventh-rank official. The other party is already a noble Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices! What do I have to fight him with!"

Chen Guanlou listened quietly. Recently, he had been encountering crying men quite often, and he seemed to have gotten a bit used to it. He wasn't as annoyed as he was at the beginning.

The two Qin brothers, the eldest a seventh-rank capital official, the second an eighth-rank capital official, were both inconspicuous minor officials. Master Qin had struggled for most of his life, yet he had only barely reached the fourth-rank position, with little power in his hands.

For two generations of the Qin family, if one were to say their luck was bad, they were all working in the yamen. If one were to say their luck was good, their official careers were very ordinary. Compared to the neighbor Liu Changrong, they were just scum.

Liu Changrong was the typical configuration of a protagonist in a satisfying novel: fatherless and motherless, supported by noble people all the way, slapping faces and abusing scum...

Chen Guanlou pinched his chin. "Since you are here, just live here with peace of mind. No matter how fierce Liu Changrong is, he wouldn't dare rush into the Heavenly Prison to kill people."

"But my family..."

"You are you, and your family is another matter. Alright, if you have any needs, just tell Lu Datou. I'm leaving first."

Before the deal was settled and the price was set, he would not interfere with the life or death of the Qin family.

He was also in no rush to go and talk business with Master Qin.

Instead, that very night, he acted as a gentleman on the beam, went to the Shi family, and stayed up all night interrogating several people.

The Shi family was the maiden home of the eldest Qin daughter.

According to the interrogation, back then, the eldest Qin daughter was framed by human hands. At the critical moment, she was rescued by a son of the Shi family, but she still lost her purity. The Shi family, upholding the attitude of taking responsibility, proposed marriage to the Qin family.

Since the eldest Qin daughter had lost her purity, she could only break off the engagement and marry the son of the Shi family. This was the best path and the best choice.

The Shi family was an ordinary official family, slightly stronger than the Qin family.

According to the news he gathered, the eldest Qin daughter lived a decent life after marrying into the Shi family, and the couple got along quite harmoniously.

Master Qin was thrown into prison, and the Qin family suffered a disaster. Just a few days ago, the Shi family was also implicated, and everything was going wrong. Later, someone sent a message to the eldest Qin daughter, forcing her to commit suicide so that she could preserve both her maiden home and her husband's home. If she refused, then both the Qin family and the Shi family would be ruined.

What could the eldest Qin daughter do?

If sacrificing her alone could preserve both families, she was willing.

Therefore, she resolutely went to her death, taking poison and committing suicide!

But she didn't know that even though she died, the man surnamed Liu still didn't intend to let the Qin family go.

It was equivalent to dying in vain!

If her spirit were in heaven, she would surely turn into a fierce ghost and fight the man surnamed Liu to the death!

Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue twice!

So it is said that the hearts of officials are all black; they don't need a knife to kill, just a few threats were enough to drive a woman to death.

The man surnamed Liu's methods were vicious enough.

Chen Guanlou went to the Liu residence again and interrogated the Liu residence steward, obtaining a definitive answer: Liu Changrong was indeed heading toward destroying the entire Qin family, with absolutely no room for compromise or concession!

According to the martial path, the Qin family was Liu Changrong's inner demon. If the inner demon is not removed for a day, the martial path will not be achieved for a day! ===== CHAPTER 1090 =====