GBP Chapter 276 Beaten to death with sticks
Chapter 276 Beaten to death with sticks
What? They're all dead? Or did they die from poisoning?
"This is impossible!" Li Xiaonuan cried out in her heart.
The powder she used was clearly just a regular sleeping pill. Besides, none of the medications Xiaogang gave her could kill anyone.
We've fallen into their trap! That's what Li Xiaonuan realized at that moment.
It turns out that they had lured that old woman to their door to cause trouble, just for this kind of opportunity.
In any murder case, no matter who it is, they cannot escape the fate of paying with their life.
Although most of the people who had just received medicine from Li Xiaonuan were servants, the guards standing outside the courtyard gate had only signed contracts and had not actually sold themselves into servitude.
So, is Li Xiaonuan now in a situation where she can't clear her name no matter what?
No, this passive approach might lead to us being outmaneuvered and killed.
It doesn't matter if I die, what matters is that I don't implicate my family.
Who could possibly harbor such deep hatred for her, orchestrating such a scheme that left her no chance to even catch her breath?
Could it be Chu Lin?
No, if Chu Lin were still rational, he should have fled the city long ago. How could he possibly be in the most dangerous place, the Prince Jing's mansion?
I still remember waking up yesterday to see the overwhelming white snow.
Li Xiaonuan thought that the heavy snow would wash away all the bloodshed in the capital.
In retrospect, it was nothing more than a power struggle in Li Xiaonuan's backyard, a struggle that never truly ended.
Even in the high-tech era a thousand years later, the struggle between mistresses and wives has never stopped.
Looking at the menacing guards rushing towards her, Li Xiaonuan suddenly didn't want to run anymore, nor did she want to make any more futile struggles.
She wanted to see if the person behind the scenes would show up if she obediently surrendered.
However, she really didn't want this matter to implicate her parents and Xiaogang.
After glancing at Zhou Liufei, who was standing frozen in the middle of the courtyard gate, Li Xiaonuan suddenly had an idea.
Now, this is the only way to save ourselves. Li Xiaonuan gritted her teeth and thought.
Zhou Liufeng was already seriously injured, and hadn't been able to recover properly afterward. If he were to feign a severe illness and sneak out of the manor to find Prince Jing and the others, would he succeed?
However, before Li Xiaonuan could make up her mind, the people who were chasing her arrived in front of her.
Now, her only option is to stall for time until Prince Jing and the others return.
However, those people must have taken advantage of Prince Jing and the others' absence to act so recklessly against her.
"Heavens above, what did I do wrong?" Li Xiaonuan thought bitterly to herself.
"Miss Li, what exactly did our people do to offend you that you dared to poison them?" The speaker was Uncle Qing, the steward of Prince Jing's mansion.
Li Xiaonuan looked at these people who seemed to want to devour her whole, and shook her head with a bitter smile.
Perhaps her appearance has harmed the interests of many people and blocked the way for many others.
Otherwise, why would everyone in this household treat him with such a united front against him?
But whose path did she block, and whose interests did she harm? Li Xiaonuan couldn't figure it out.
"Uncle Butler, have you ever heard the saying, 'If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a reason'?" Li Xiaonuan asked without changing her expression as the two old women dragged her away.
When Li Xiaonuan finished speaking, Uncle Qing's face showed a moment of embarrassment. But he still glared at Li Xiaonuan and accused her of crimes, saying that her crimes were heinous and that she should be removed as soon as possible to avoid future troubles.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaonuan laughed even harder. It turned out that the person in this mansion who wanted to deal with her was actually the steward who controlled everything in the mansion.
No wonder, there could only be someone like this half-master who could manage such an exquisite scheme in such a large mansion.
A masterful scheme, luring the enemy into a trap—what a deep and cunning plan. No wonder the people in the manor allowed Li Xiaonuan to run around the palace so freely.
Even a lowly official is subject to the prime minister's authority, let alone a mere steward in a prince's mansion. He could probably deal with anyone with the flick of a finger.
"Butler, I wonder what promises the person who sent you to deal with me made to you that would make you willing to betray the Prince and set a trap for someone as insignificant as me?" Li Xiaonuan asked with a sneer.
She had just caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye that Zhou Liufeng had vanished from the courtyard without anyone noticing.
Not bad. Even though Zhou Liufeng didn't have any telepathic connection with her, he knew that he couldn't play the hero at this time, but instead tried to get help.
After Li Xiaonuan asked him a question, Butler Qing's face twitched slightly. But he still looked at Li Xiaonuan with a righteous and awe-inspiring expression, showing no sign of anything unusual.
Seeing this, Li Xiaonuan boldly guessed, "I bet that person promised to help the steward get rid of his slave status and even secure a career for his descendants. Is that right?"
Despite Li Xiaonuan's blunt exposure of his plan, Uncle Qing showed no sign of panic.
But he was quite surprised. After all, Li Xiaonuan was just a village girl, and it was truly rare for her to see things so clearly.
No one wants to be a slave for generations. Especially not the respectable stewards or managers of such high-ranking families.
They were all somewhat spoiled and arrogant, and their vision and common sense were broader than those of ordinary servants.
They have access to higher-ranking figures and understand the social dynamics among them. Therefore, they begin to have their own ideas.
They even began to dream that one day, they, or their descendants, could stand at such a height and bring glory to their family.
Unfortunately, class consciousness was far too strong in those days. So much so that, apart from those loyal servants who had rendered great service to their masters and were fortunate enough to receive a pardon and escape slavery, the vast majority of the remaining slaves were destined to remain slaves for generations to come.
It's not that there haven't been slaves who redeemed themselves. But those were just people who had never truly seen the world.
After redeeming themselves, they simply sought a stable life and a respectable identity.
People like Uncle Qing no longer aim for the reputation of being an ordinary citizen, which is only slightly better than the title of a servant.
What they yearned for was a high position of power, to become a person who could command servants and dominate the officialdom.
Even if they don't start with very high official positions, with their connections and social skills, getting promoted would be a piece of cake.
Furthermore, they were people who had been living in seclusion in the mansion for generations, and they were quite familiar with the secrets between those households.
Therefore, once they have the opportunity to become members of the officialdom, they will surely be able to achieve great things.
Thinking of this, Uncle Qing felt that someone like Li Xiaonuan could not be allowed to live. At the very least, he had to get rid of her entire family before Prince Jing returned to the manor.
“Miss Li, you may speculate wildly. But it is a fact that you poisoned eleven servants and six guards of the Prince Jing’s mansion. In order to get rid of such a scourge, reduce the loss of manpower in our mansion, and for the safety of the Prince and his three masters, this old servant has decided to have your whole family beaten to death on the spot.”
After Uncle Qing finished speaking, he beckoned to the menacing servants around him, who then grabbed sticks and attacked Li Xiaonuan.