“How could this happen? Did you report this to the local government?” Lin Mengya, who was startled by the news brought by the servant, asked.

How could such a tragedy happen in the Capital City without being noticed?

“Yes, we did. But they said that it was a very serious crime, so I came back to report it,” the servant answered.

This was indeed a very serious crime.

Of course, the local government had to deal with it cautiously. Otherwise, it could cause a storm tempestuous enough to throw all the people in the Capital City into a panic.

“You may leave now. I suppose you’ve been frightened terribly today. But remember to keep it a secret. Do you understand?” Lin Mengya said.

The servant nodded obediently although he was still trembling all over. Just thinking about it could cause him to feel a chill down his spine, let alone mentioning it.

After dismissing the servant, Lin Mengya was laden with anxiety.

She said with a frown, “Father, now it seems that you have to go and check it out in person. I have an intuition that the Shangguan Family must have something to do with what happened to Lord Shen.”

Soon after the heir of Commandery Prince Lian of the Nan’an State was assassinated and seriously injured, Lord Shen, who was likely to take over her father’s military power, and the other 14 members of his family were killed.

It was such a coincidence that she couldn’t neglect the connection between the two incidents.

What was more, although her father had resigned from his post, there was one thing that could not be ignored: If the Emperor was going to appoint someone else as the commander, her father’s opinion was definitely the most significant.

After all, only her father knew well about the situation at the border. Therefore, if Shangguan Lei intended to regain military power, the most important thing was to prevent her father from opposing it.

However, it would be too risky for him to kill her father, who was in a position of power and trusted by the Emperor.

As such, if he could get rid of all the other suitable candidates for the commander, given he was the only candidate in the imperial court, the Emperor had no choice but to appoint him as the commander even if her father opposed it.

The slaughter of the Shen Family could be done by someone else.

However, no one other than Shangguan Lei, an old jerk who did not even spare the old, weak, women and children, would humiliate the Shens by making them kneel and beheading them.

Shangguan Lei started his plan with exterminating the Shen Family. Who was going to be his next target?

In the parlor, Lin Mengya was a little restless.

She had just secretly sent some servants to deliver messages to the lords, that were on good terms with the Lin Family.

Although she couldn’t predict who was going to be Shangguan Lei’s next target, after thinking all possibilities over, she thought she could at least warn them so as to avoid the worst situation.

Soon, those servants, who had gone to Lord Shen’s mansion, were released by the magistrate.

Lin Mengya inquired them one by one and learned that nothing unusual had happened to the other lords’ families. Those she sent to deliver messages also came back successively.

Lin Mengya breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that none of them suffered the same calamity as Lord Shen did.

It was getting dark. Lin Mengya continued waiting in the parlor after taking a few bites of dinner.

However, she still got no news from her father.

Although her father was furious, he was not a reckless person. She believed that he would be able to control his emotions and find some clues of Lord Shen’s case.

Unusually the government chose to make a secret investigation this time.

The spies Qinghu sent out hadn’t heard any rumor of the extermination of Lord Shen’s family.

It seemed that the magistrate also knew that plenty of people could get involved in this case, so he had to investigate it secretly.

Lin Mengya paced back and forth in the parlor.

Since the sun went down, she had been waiting for her father’s returning in deep worries.

If Shangguan Lei dared to exterminate the Shen Family, he might dare to kill her father.

Hopefully, her father could return safely.

“I think you’d better sit down. Your pacing back and forth is going to make me dizzy,” Qinghu leaned against the door, stared lazily at Lin Mengya and said.

“Why don’t you go and check it out?” Lin Mengya, who felt uneasy, immediately walked up to Qinghu, fixed her fluid eyes on him and said pleadingly in earnest, which almost made Qinghu, who was not very strong-willed, nod in agreement.

But at the last moment, Qinghu regained his sanity.

He rolled his eyes, slightly exerted himself to press her, who was in deep worries, in a chair and said to her, “Rest assured. If Shangguan Lei doesn’t want to fall out with the Emperor at this time, he won’t be stupid enough to kill your father. Don’t forget that plenty of spies followed your father out, and now they can at least protect him. Besides, your father is immeasurably proficient in martial arts, and even I may not be his match.”

Qinghu was surprised at Lin Muzhi’s level in martial arts.

After getting along with Lin Muzhi in the past few days, he found that Marquis Zhennan, who usually kept a low profile, was a top master in martial arts.

In the martial arts circle, there were only a few people capable of surpassing him at his peak.

As such, he was a little curious about Lin Muzhi, who as a general in the imperial court was supposed to be proficient in unrestrained movements suitable for fighting on the battlefield.

Although his strength had declined, he was still sharp-eyed when it came to judging others’ martial arts.

Anyway, he considered Lin Muzhi was immeasurably proficient in martial arts.

Only two people had left such an impression on him.

It seemed that the master of the Lin Family had a lot of secrets, but he didn’t want to explore them.

“Nevertheless, but the situation is unstable. I’m still worried that my father will run into danger. Alas, I shouldn’t have let him go out. It’s my fault for being so reckless,” Lin Mengya patted herself on the head and said with regret.

Qinghu could only say something to reassure her for now. After all, in such a serious situation, he couldn’t promise her father would return safely.

Finally, under the clear moonlight, the entire courtyard was brightly lit.

Lin Mengya could no longer suppress her anxiety. Not only her father but even Long Tianyu, who should have returned earlier, didn’t show up.

The two men she cared about the most in the world did not show up in front of her as they promised, which caused her to be unable to restrain herself.

“I can’t wait any longer. Prepare a sedan for me. I must go out and check it out!” Lin Mengya gave an instruction.

However, at the sight of Lin Mengya’s anxious look, the guards around her turned to look at Hongyu, who was standing beside her.

Hongyu shook her head quietly as a hint for them to remain inactive.

After exchanging glances with Qinghu, Hongyu held on to Lin Mengya’s right hand clenched unconsciously out of nervousness. “Don’t panic, Miss. Master and His Highness may have been delayed by something. Besides, the Capital City is vast. You will try in vain to go out to look for them if you miss them on the way. In that case, they will have to look for you while you are looking for them, and you probably won’t be able to find them until dawn. Why don’t you stay here and let Qinghu send some people to look for them? At least, if Master and His Highness come back, you will know immediately, right?”

Hongyu’s words enlightened Lin Mengya, who was flustered by over concern.

Lin Mengya forced herself to calm down. What was wrong with her? Why was she so impetuous? She had experienced more dangerous situations than this before.

Finally, Lin Mengya, who had paced back and forth, sat down.

Glancing at those, who were staring at her with concern, she said, “Sorry for making you worried. It’s getting late. You’d better go to bed. I think they should be back soon.”

Those closely involved couldn’t see as clearly as those outside.

It was probably because Shangguan Lei’s brutal means had frightened Lin Mengya a little.

She was not intimidated by him, but was just surprised at his moves.

After regaining her sanity, she quickly analyzed the current situation.

Her father did not come back perhaps because he wanted to find some clues in the dark.

After all, the 15 members of the Shen Family, who were killed in a ruthless and strange way, must have struggled desperately before dying.

Although Lord Shen, who was highly skilled in martial arts, was defeated in the end, he might have left some traces.

Lord Shen’s mansion must have been sealed during the daytime, so her father couldn’t get in for investigation until nightfall.

It was impossible for the Emperor to be unaware of such a serious crime in the Capital City.

Therefore, Long Tianyu was probably kept in the Imperial Palace by the Emperor for discussing countermeasures.

After all, it was best to entrust his son with this confidential case.

Besides, the victim was a general loyal to the Emperor. Judging from the Emperor’s temperament, it was impossible for him not to get furious.

Thinking of this, she felt most of her anxiety was dispelled.

At least she could avoid making blind and disorderly conjectures when thinking seriously.

Lin Mengya’s analyses and conjectures were reasonable.

Nevertheless, in order to force herself to calm down, Lin Mengya opened the music score for green stringed instrument in the Shen Nung System.

Since she got this book, she had read it countless times.

However, every time she read it, it gave her new inspiration.

Soon, Lin Mengya benefited from forcing herself to read and concentrated on the music score for green stringed instrument.

Those around her thought that she was thinking, so they all kept quiet.

After a long while, Lin Mengya rubbed her sore temples.

She had spent a long while reading the book and had learned a lot of things, and even felt a little numb after sitting for a long while. But she still got no news from her father and Long Tianyu.