Daming Lake's Yanbo Tower

"What did you say?"

Kong Shangzhao sprang to his feet, his face deathly pale.

"Who is this...?" Shopkeeper Qian froze for a moment before asking quietly.

Fatty Lin shook his head. "He's my brother—and also Shopkeeper Kong's son."

"Oh."

Shopkeeper Qian immediately understood. Glancing around, he lowered his voice. "This matter happened just two days ago, and it practically tore the heavens open! The whole of Jinan Prefecture was roused."

As he spoke, he looked at everyone. "I only heard this secondhand, but at dawn that day, the servant responsible for sweeping the ancestral hall had just pushed open the door when he found Yansheng Duke lying inside. He was already stone-cold."

"And this little brother's father was lying beside him. He wasn't dead, but no matter what they did, they couldn't wake him..."

"The entire Kong family exploded! You all know that the Yansheng Duke's residence carries the bloodline of Confucius and enjoys an exalted status. How could this matter be covered up? They immediately wanted to carry out private punishment, but for some reason, they instead had him brought to Jinan Prefecture for interrogation."

When Kong Shangzhao heard this, his body swayed violently. His face turned pale, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his nails nearly sank into his flesh.

Li Yan pressed down on his shoulder without showing any emotion, then asked in a deep voice, "The man was unconscious in the ancestral hall too. If the culprit had fled long ago, wouldn't anyone have noticed the suspicious points?"

"Suspicious points?"

Shopkeeper Qian sighed. "There's far more than that—there are plenty!"

"First, the Kong family has no shortage of expert guards. The ancestral hall is heavily guarded at night. Forget a person—even a rat would have trouble sneaking in. How did the culprit get inside?