"That was one of your people. I remember her name was Lu Qin."
"Why did she appear there? After you left last night, did you go back to the mourning hall?"
Facing General Yuwen's relentless questioning, Jiang Cheng remained calm. "General, you've misunderstood. Although Lu Qin came to the manor with us, she wasn't one of our people, and we weren't familiar with her."
"That's right. We were all invited here by Houye," Yao Shunyu chimed in at just the right moment.
"Last night, we were all busy stealing the embroidered ball. We had no time to go back to the mourning hall."
Everyone spoke up in support of Jiang Cheng. After all, it was obvious from General Yuwen's manner that he wanted to use the incident as an excuse to make trouble.
Seeing that this approach wouldn't work, General Yuwen changed the subject. "Never mind. She's dead, so I won't pursue this matter. Our manor will still pay her share of the reward. Please take the money to her family for us."
"General, you're very generous." Jiang Cheng cupped his hands in a show of courtesy.
General Yuwen waved a hand, his expression turning subtly expectant. "Masters, how did last night's task go? That embroidered ball..."
The chubby man, quick to read the room, took the embroidered ball from the bundle and handed it to General Yuwen through Jiang Cheng.
After the chubby man had mended it, the embroidered ball showed no flaws at all. His skill with a needle had truly impressed everyone.
General Yuwen held the ball and examined it carefully from every angle. Then he handed it to the soldier beside him and nodded at Jiang Cheng and the others with a smile. "Excellent. With this embroidered ball, Houye's health should soon improve. Thank you for