Only after seeing Lian Youming withdraw unscathed did Yang Qing reveal herself, her eyes filled with amazement.
In that single trip in and out, more than forty corpses had been left lying in the courtyard, every one of them killed outright.
"How did it go?"
Holding his umbrella, Lian Youming said with a mild expression and an ordinary tone, "An old hand, after all. Not so simple."
Situ Changhen had been nothing but a third-rate wastrel, reckless and perverse in his actions.
That old madam, however, was the truly formidable one.
Yang Qing's gaze sharpened as well. "I wasn't the one who put out the lights."
"I know." Lian Youming walked out of the Manor and stood in the street, but after only a few steps, he suddenly stopped again.
Yang Qing's delicate brows creased slightly. She hesitated. "Situ Changhen was a direct descendant of the Hongmen, wasn't he? And he just died like that? Could that old madam really be on our side?"
Lian Youming's eyes were inscrutable as he said softly, "That's where her cleverness lies. Getting something done while arranging everything to unfold naturally-that takes skill."
Yang Qing looked stunned for a moment, then immediately caught on. "It was deliberate?"
Lian Youming raised the brim of his umbrella and looked back into the depths of the rain, toward those dark, towering buildings, his gaze traveling all the way up.
"I only just figured it out myself. That old madam was using my hands to clean house, testing me, and showing me goodwill all at once. Tsk, tsk. Interesting."
Of course, that depended on him gaining the upper hand.
If the situation earlier had spiraled out of control and he had been unable to contain it, that would have been another matter.
Lian Youming spoke unhurriedly, but his