After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 173 Running Around
The housekeeper also realized what was happening, "Sir, did Lord Lin already know about us?"

Master Fang frowned deeply. "What difference does it make whether we know or not? There are some things we'll just deny to the death. Lin Yunche has only been in Huaizhou City for a few days."

"And what about Bai Wanqing's side?"

Master Fang's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "We can't act rashly for now. Let's continue searching for those assassins. At least we need to find them alive or dead. We can't let the higher-ups think we're so useless."

The housekeeper had a headache just thinking about it. Those assassins were all highly skilled in martial arts, and it was like a mouse chasing a cat for his men to find them.

Difficult!

But at this moment, he had no choice but to agree reluctantly, after all, he needed to give his superiors an explanation for the whereabouts of these assassins. He hoped that fate would be kind to him.

Although the Fang family did not intend to harm Bai Wanqing, they did send people to follow her.

When Fengniang went out to buy groceries in the morning, she noticed someone lurking suspiciously at her door.

"Madam, these people probably have ill intentions!" Feng Niang said to Bai Wanqing as soon as she entered the room.

Bai Wanqing nodded slightly, "Finally, they've turned their suspicions to me."

"Fengniang, if I want Pan Hu to testify against the Fang family, would you be willing?" Bai Wanqing turned her head to look at Fengniang.

Fengniang thought of the Fang family and said, "Madam, let him go as long as you need him."

“You saved his life in the first place,” Fengniang said after thinking for a moment, looking up.

Bai Wanqing smiled and nodded, "I won't let anything happen to him."

"By the way, Fengniang, I'd like to go to the estate later, and I'm afraid I'll need your help."

Without a second thought, Fengniang replied, "Madam, please give your orders."

Bai Wanqing pulled Fengniang into the house. A little while later, Fengniang came out wearing Bai Wanqing's clothes. Ruixin didn't recognize her at first glance.

"Madam, where are we going?" Ruixin asked with a smile, standing next to Fengniang.

Fengniang was a little embarrassed. "Ruixin, why are you so mischievous? You always tease me."

Feng Niang felt a little uncomfortable wearing Bai Wanqing's clothes. She was used to wearing restrictive linen clothes, and now that she was wearing such fine silk and satin, she felt a little restricted.

"I never expected that you would look so beautiful dressed like this, Lady Feng!"

"Madam, don't you think so?" Ruixin turned around and asked Bai Wanqing, who had changed into Fengniang's clothes.

Bai Wanqing smiled and praised, "It looks beautiful!"

Feng Niang blushed instantly. "Madam, if you tease me too, I won't wear it."

Bai Wanqing covered her mouth and said, "That won't do. This play really needs Feng Niang."

"Ruixin, you and Fengniang should take a carriage and go for a stroll in the streets now."

"Put on the veil."

Fengniang and Ruixin nodded, and then went out first.

Sure enough, as soon as Fengniang and Ruixin's carriage left the house, all the Fang family members around the Lin family followed them.

Bai Wanqing waited for a while, and when everyone had gone far away, she led her horse out from the side gate, nimbly mounted it, and headed straight for the manor outside the city.

When Bai Wanqing arrived at the manor, Pan Hu was feeding medicine to those people.

"You've come!" Pan Hu caught a glimpse of a garment and, assuming it was Feng Niang, spoke with a hint of impatience.

Bai Wanqing hummed in response, and Pan Hu turned his head to see Bai Wanqing dressed in hemp clothing.

"why you?"

"I came here to check on them. How are they? Are they all awake now?"

Pan Hu put down the medicine bowl, stood up, and pulled Bai Wanqing out of the room, leading her to a long corridor.

"They're sober now, but they seem very hostile towards us. Even though they're tied up, you still need to be careful later," Pan Hu kindly reminded him.

Bai Wanqing nodded slightly. "I understand."

As she spoke, Bai Wanqing looked up at Pan Hu, causing him to take two steps back. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, "What is it? Just say it directly. Staring at me like that scares me!"

Bai Wanqing was quite straightforward and asked, "Do you dare to identify the Fang family?"

Pan Hu was taken aback. "Are you sure?"

"The people behind the Fang family are not simple. There are at least a thousand assassins like us."

"Aren't you afraid that if I go, you won't even leave behind any bones or dust?"

Bai Wanqing smiled faintly, "If you're scared, just be scared, why say so much!"

Pan Hu blushed and said, "Are you and I afraid? I'm worried about you."

"So?" Bai Wanqing looked at Pan Hu.

Pan Hu clenched his fist. "Go! Fine, I'll go!"

Bai Wanqing nodded, and without waiting for Pan Hu to say anything more, she went back to her room.

She took the pulses of all thirteen assassins. "These assassins' wounds are more serious than Pan Hu's, especially some of the knife and arrow wounds, which look like they've been there for years."

"The toxins in your bodies aren't too deep yet; three more days of medication will completely clear them out."

Bai Wanqing spoke softly to the thirteen men, but they did not respond. They lowered their heads, looking at their toes, like dolls who had lost their souls.

"The knife and arrow wounds on your bodies weren't inflicted at the training camp, were they?"

Bai Wanqing had wanted to ask this question a few days ago.

Pan Hu was taken aback. Which of these assassins didn't have some kind of injury, and all of them were wounds from sharp weapons? How could he possibly tell where the wounds weren't from?

Although Pan Hu questioned her, Bai Wanqing's words still elicited a reaction from one of the assassins. He turned his head and looked at Bai Wanqing with empty eyes, as if waiting for her to continue.

Bai Wanqing did not avoid the gaze, but met the eyes of the assassin directly, and then said, "I recognize the arrow marks on your wrists."

The assassin opened his mouth, and the other assassins all looked at her when they heard Bai Wanqing's words.

"These are arrow flowers from the Northern Dynasty."

"Are you from the Northern Dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, all thirteen assassins blushed.

One of the assassins jumped up and pounced on Bai Wanqing. Pan Hu was shocked and hurriedly stepped forward to shield Bai Wanqing.

Fortunately, the assassin's hands were still bound, and Pan Hu kicked him over without hurting Bai Wanqing.

However, the anger in the eyes of these thirteen assassins was obvious, and they all jumped out of bed to rush towards Bai Wanqing.

Pan Hu was sweating profusely. "I say, are they really from the Northern Dynasty?"

"Are you angry because you found out?"

Although these people were all tied up, they were still quite agile. If so many of them rushed over together, Pan Hu might not be able to stop them.

Bai Wanqing stood still, carefully observing the expressions of the thirteen people in front of her.

Seeing that the other twelve people were about to rush over, Pan Hu said anxiously to Bai Wanqing, "Stop looking and you'd better run. I might not be able to hold them off."

Pan Hu was about to charge forward when Bai Wanqing shouted, "Are you soldiers from the Shang Kingdom twenty years ago?"

The thirteen assassins stopped in their tracks, staring at Bai Wanqing in disbelief.

Pan Hu was completely bewildered by Bai Wanqing. "What's going on? How come she's a person from the Northern Dynasty one minute and a person from our Shang Kingdom the next?"

"No, who exactly are you people?!" Pan Hu asked the thirteen men with a bitter face.

Finally, one of the older men among the thirteen stepped forward.

He stared intently at Bai Wanqing, asking warily, "Who exactly are you?"

Bai Wanqing was taken aback by the accent and the tone of voice.

"Lin Family Village!" Bai Wanqing blurted out almost without thinking. As soon as she said those three words, the thirteen people opposite her opened their mouths in surprise.

"Do you know anyone from Linjia Village?" the older assassin asked excitedly.

Bai Wanqing was also surprised; it seemed these people really were from Linjia Village.

“I am Lin Yunche’s wife and a daughter-in-law of Linjia Village, so of course I recognize her.”

The thirteen people opposite him instantly showed complicated expressions. They all retreated, lowered their heads and stopped talking, their previous aggression gone.

Bai Wanqing could now confirm that these were the people from Linjia Village.

"Why did you become the Fang family's loyal followers?" Bai Wanqing asked.

There was still no response, so Bai Wanqing decided not to ask again.

"Since we are all from Linjia Village, you can rest and recover here."

“Pan Hu is looking after you here, but he will be doing some business for me in a couple of days, so I will have someone else take care of you.”

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

The older assassin's eyes were a little red, but he still didn't say anything.

"Alright! If you have anything to say, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

After Bai Wanqing finished speaking, she made an appointment with Pan Hu for the time he would go to the yamen, and then rode her horse back to Huaizhou City.

Throughout the journey, Bai Wanqing kept thinking about everything from when she first met the Lin family to the occasional things Lin Yunche said to her later on.
Who exactly is this Lin family?
Who exactly is Lin Yunche?
Bai Wanqing returned to the Lin family home with mixed feelings, but she had not forgotten what she needed to do.

She went to the study, looked at the list of names written on the table, and felt it still wasn't enough.
Who else? Who else can step forward?
Bai Wanqing gently stroked the edge of the table, then suddenly looked up, "Oh right, and her too."

Thinking of this, Bai Wanqing turned around, went out the door, and jogged to the house next to the Lin family's.

The same butler opened the door for the Meng family. He was taken aback when he saw Bai Wanqing. "Mrs. Lin, is there something you need?"

The butler wiped the sweat from his forehead. Ever since Miss Yang entered the family, the Meng family had been in enough chaos. Why was this young lady joining in the fun?

If Yang Xiaoniang found out, wouldn't she cause a huge uproar?

"It's troublesome. Butler, go in and inform Madam Meng that I have something important to discuss with her," Bai Wanqing said calmly.

The butler rolled his eyes and then asked, "Which Madam Meng are you referring to?"

Bai Wanqing frowned slightly, "When did your Meng family have so many Madam Mengs?"

"Of course I'm looking for the Liu family."

The butler understood; he was just afraid of making a mistake! Everyone knew that Meng Zhan divorced Bai Wanqing because of Liu Feifei.

How could he not find it strange that they came knocking on his door now?
"Madam, please come with me!"

The housekeeper led Bai Wanqing into the front hall, and then went to the backyard to consult Liu Feifei.

Hearing the news, Yang Xiaoniang's face darkened with anger. "What's she doing here?"

Xiuzhi, the maidservant beside Yang Xiaoniang, shook her head. "This servant doesn't know. The steward has already taken Madam Lin over there."

"I wonder if they've come seeking revenge!"

Yang Xiaoniang recalled some rumors she had heard before. Liu Feifei had really caused Bai Wanqing a lot of trouble in order to climb up the social ladder. After all, it was the enmity of stealing her husband, which was hard to let go of.

"Xiuzhi, let's go! Let's go take a look too."

(End of this chapter)