Even a Tiger Eats Its Cubs!

"B-benefactor... what are you looking at?"

Seeing Ning Que staring so intently at her, Zhuge Qing suddenly grew nervous.

She instinctively took several steps back.

Crash!

Her hand knocked the bowls and chopsticks off the table.

Ning Que had saved her life, true, but after eavesdropping earlier, she already knew who he and his companions were.

They were neither an independent faction nor bandits. They were rebels!

Rebels.

In any dynasty, they faced only one possible end: suppression!

Though she was grateful, Zhuge Qing did not know whether being saved by people like these was a blessing or a curse.

"Nothing."

Ning Que withdrew his gaze and ultimately said nothing more.

Though Zhuge Qing was the Provincial Governor's daughter, to Ning Que, she was no different from He Hua and her sister, whom he had met in Lotus Town.

They were all strangers whose paths had crossed by chance.

In fact, where Zhuge Qing was concerned, he was mostly using her.

Ning Que cleared away the broken bowls and chopsticks, then went to Yin Jiuyou's room.

"After last night's show of force, the Escort Guild and the Cave of No Worries probably won't act too recklessly..."

Mu Yuwei, however, said thoughtfully, "I'm afraid whether they make a move isn't really up to the Escort Guild or the Cave of No Worries."

Ning Que's expression shifted slightly at her words. "What do you mean?"

"Yuwei just looked into the Qingzhou Provincial Governor's family history."

Qi Shanhe paused, then continued, "Zhuge Jingcheng's first wife, Miss Zhuge's mother, died in the war surrounding the current Empress's ascension..."

Something stirred in Ning Que's mind. "And then?"

"Before his first wife died, she bore Zhuge Jingcheng a baby girl—Miss Zhuge."

Mu Yuwei explained steadily, "At first, Zhuge Jingcheng doted on this daughter born amid the war, terrified that she might suffer even the slightest bump or scrape. But as time passed and Miss Zhuge grew older, Zhuge Jingcheng gradually realized she didn't look like him..."

At that point, Mu Yuwei paused and said no more.

But her meaning was already perfectly clear.

Yin Jiuyou's and Qi Shanhe's expressions slowly darkened, while Ning Que felt a violent jolt in his chest.

Holy shit!!

Something this explosive?

Even a Provincial Governor had this kind of family history?

Zhuge Qing wasn't the Provincial Governor's child?

At that moment, Ning Que wanted to say only one thing: "Unbelievable!"

The neighbor sneaking in to steal another man's wife was explosive gossip in any era.

"Wait..."

Suddenly, Ning Que's thoughts reached a deeper level—

How would the Provincial Governor react after discovering that his wife had planted such a thick cuckold's cap on his head?

Would he fly into a rage on the spot, or swallow it without a word?

Any ordinary man would choose the former without even needing to hesitate.

But he was the Provincial Governor...

And so much time had already passed.

The grudges of one generation had nothing to do with the next.

So, had he chosen to forgive her?

No, that wasn't right either...

Then Ning Que recalled how someone had recently spent a fortune hiring escorts and hired blades from the entire Escort Guild and the Cave of No Worries, placing a bounty on the Provincial Governor's daughter's head.

His heart jolted violently. "So you suspect the person behind the bounty is the Provincial Governor?"

"He can't do it himself, so he's having someone else do it?"

Yin Jiuyou slowly nodded. "Exactly..."

Qi Shanhe and Mu Yuwei both stared at Ning Que in surprise.

They had expended enormous effort to deduce this, yet the Little Juzi had figured it out with only a slight hint?

"For now, this is all speculation. We have no conclusive evidence."

Mu Yuwei said, "If that really is the case, Provincial Governor Zhuge won't withdraw the bounty, no matter how many people die."

"In fact, sending him word that Miss Zhuge is in our hands would be walking straight into his net..."

At those words, everyone's expression changed, including Ning Que's.

Today was already the last day, and their main force would arrive outside the city before the day was over.

They had to get out!

"Report! Little Juzi, Miss Zhuge is missing!"

Just then, a subordinate from the Qingzhou Branch rushed in and delivered his report.

"What?!"

At the news, everyone's expression instantly changed.

Zhuge Jingcheng had risen early.

As Provincial Governor, he had a great many affairs to handle every day.

Over time, he had developed the habit of going to bed early and rising early.

His subordinates and servants saw it and could not help sighing. "If the young mistress hadn't died, the Provincial Governor would surely have a very happy family now..."

"If the young mistress hadn't died, the Provincial Governor would surely have been a good husband. Now, he can only be a good father..."

"..."

Zhuge Jingcheng walked silently past these servants, following the corridor all the way to the Ancestral Hall.

He lit two sticks of incense and bowed three times before his first wife's Spirit Tablet.

This was his daily ritual. No matter how busy he was, he always came to pay his respects first.

After placing the incense before the Spirit Tablet, a complicated expression surfaced on Zhuge Jingcheng's weathered yet resolute face.

"The servants were lamenting your absence again today. But they got one thing wrong. Even if you were still here, I wouldn't be a good father or a good husband..."

Though Zhuge Jingcheng was smiling, that smile held many things.

Regret, pain, and murderous intent.

"My lord, an urgent report..."

Just then, an armored officer reported from the doorway, "We still found no trace of the young lady last night, but the Escort Guild and the Cave of No Worries both lost quite a few skilled men."

"Judging by their wounds, every one of them was killed with a single blade strike. Here is the confidential report."

The officer handed over a confidential report containing detailed information about the escorts who had died.

The moment Zhuge Jingcheng read it, his expression darkened.

"So many died in a single night, including several deputy escort chiefs from the Escort Guild. That means someone is secretly protecting the young lady."

"Now the entire Escort Guild and the Cave of No Worries are wavering."

The bounty was high, true, but they had to live long enough to enjoy it.

Previously, those from the Escort Guild and the Cave of No Worries had only needed to guard against rivals turning on them to steal their prize. Now another group had appeared and killed so many of their men overnight, clearly warning and intimidating them.

Like a basin of cold water, this had extinguished the entire Escort Guild's and the Cave of No Worries' enthusiasm for the bounty.

They were weighing whether going to such great lengths to kill the Provincial Governor's daughter was truly worth it.

"Understood."

Zhuge Jingcheng's expression was placid, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

But in the next instant, his face twisted into a mask of madness.

He abruptly seized his first wife's Spirit Tablet and smashed it hard against the floor.

He roared furiously, "Bitch! Even in death, you let your red apricot branch reach beyond the garden wall! You slept with a rebel, then left me to raise the child you bore? Is this your revenge on me?"

The officer still standing there was dumbfounded. He could not understand why the Provincial Governor, who had always treated his late first wife with such respect, had suddenly become a different man today.

The officer dared neither ask nor raise his head. He simply stood there, rigid.

Once he had calmed down, Zhuge Jingcheng sat down in the Memorial Hall.

He said, "I know who has the young lady."

The officer froze. "You know, Provincial Governor?"

Zhuge Jingcheng said nothing. He merely handed over a secret letter.

There was no signature, only a single sentence—Miss Zhuge is in our hands. If you want her to return safely, open the city gates!