Jiang Ning followed Ma Steward through the mansion for about half an hour before reaching the study.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The study was located in the southwest corner of the Prime Minister''s Mansion, very quiet, with winter plum trees nted outside.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
A young man who looked like a guard was standing under the eaves outside the study. Seeing Ma Steward hurrying over, he stopped him and asked, "The master is busy. Ma Uncle, do you have something urgent?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The young man noticed the blood on Ma Steward''s clothes and forehead, frowning with a sh of surprise in his eyes, but didn''t ask further.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Jin Yao, I have extremely important matters to report to the master. Please go and announce me."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Ning could tell that Ma Steward was being quite polite to this Jin Yao, suggesting he must be a trusted aide of Nangong Ya. It seemed Ma Steward was only responsible for managing the affairs of the entire Prime Minister''s Mansion, like one was a "personal secretary" and the other a "logistics department head."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jin Yao nodded and said, "Alright, wait a moment." Then he pushed open the door and went in.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
After a while, the door opened, and Jin Yao made a gesture of invitation to Ma Steward.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Ma Steward cupped his hands in respect and walked into the room.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Ning followed inside, smelling the faint scent of incense at the doorway. The room was heated with charcoal, warm and cozy.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Entering the room, Jiang Ning finally saw the legendary "Prime Minister Nangong," who was also the father of this body.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Nangong Ya, sitting behind the desk, wore a dark gray casual outfit and looked to be in his fifties. His features were stern and resolute, with an intimidating aura from years in a high position.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Ning examined this father carefully, then realized that she looked quite like him, having inherited almost all of his facial features, except for the face shape.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Sigh, he really was her biological father.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Ning feltplicated. In her previous life, she had been an abandoned baby, first sent to an orphanage, then taken away by an organization around age five. She never knew who her parents were.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Sometimes she wondered why the people who gave birth to her abandoned her, as she was a healthy baby without any defects or illnesses. After much spection, Jiang Ning guessed that perhaps her biological parents in her previous life couldn''t afford to raise her.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Unexpectedly, in this new life, she had both a father and mother, giving her a chance to fill the nk parental figures in her heart. Although she had no expectations for familial affection, Nangong Ya and Lan Xu at least satisfied her curiosity.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Nangong Ya was holding a letter, reading it. When Ma Steward entered, he shifted his gaze from the paper, looking up towards him. To his surprise, he saw arge, frightening bloodstain. The wound underneath the clothes must have been severe. Even his forehead was broken, covered in blood, looking somewhat terrifying in the dim candlelight.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Old Ma, where did you get injured like this?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Nangong Ya asked with concern. Earlier, when Jin Yao came in saying he had important matters to report, it must have been rted to these injuries.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Ma Steward walked to the desk and knelt down with a thud: "Master, I deserve death! The Third Young Lady didn''t elope with someone, she was sold as a maid!"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"What did you say?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Nangong Ya stood up abruptly. These words were like a bolt from the blue, and he doubted his own hearing.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Ma Steward bowed his head to the ground: "Last year on Madam''s birthday, the Prince of Rui came to offer birthday wishes. After drinking, he harassed the Third Young Lady, and was caught by the Second Young Lady. The Second Young Lady thought the Third Young Lady was intentionally seducing him and harbored resentment. After you left for your inspection tour in Jiangnan, she tied up the Third Young Lady and took her to a house in the suburbs of the Capital City, and then..."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Ma Steward paused here, unsure if revealing those torturous methods would cause Nangong Ya to be so enraged that he''d order Jin Yao to kill him on the spot.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Then what?" Nangong Ya asked coldly, trying hard to maintain hisposure, though his trembling voice betrayed him.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Ning saw Nangong Ya''s hand gripping the edge of the desk, his knuckles white from the force, and his chest heaving. Seeing his furious gaze, she felt relieved.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He truly didn''t know.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
No need for patricide, that''s one piece of good news.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
However, that Prince of Rui truly deserved death!<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Ning sat in front of the bamboo house, chin in hand, listening as Ma Steward stuttered on: "The Second Young Lady, she... she..."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Speak!" Nangong Ya shouted impatiently.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"The Second Young Lady broke the Third Young Lady''s arms and legs, burned her face with a hot iron, and even tried to force her to drink a potion to make her mute... Finally, she had me find a human trafficker, and we sold her as a maid who hadmitted a grave error, to somewhere outside the Capital City..."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Nangong Ya''s face turned terrifyingly dark. Ma Steward waited in fear for his punishment. After a while, he heard Nangong Ya call out to the door: "Jin Yao,e in!"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The person outside responded and entered the room, standing respectfully with hands at his sides, waiting for orders.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Go and call Dongmei here, without rming anyone else," Nangong Ya instructed gravely.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jin Yao responded with a "Yes" and turned to leave.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, somewhat impressed by this father.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Even with anger surging in his heart, he could maintain rationality, not believing Ma Steward''s one-sided ount, but quickly calming down and thinking to confront someone else. Verifying the truth before making decisions was something few people could do.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
No wonder he could be Prime Minister, Jiang Ning thought.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
This was good; she also wanted to see this "Dongmei," to recognize her face and avoid having to search for her blindlyter.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
After a while, Jiang Ning heard two sets of footsteps outside, followed by a male voice saying, "Go in." Then the door opened, and a young woman who looked like a maid entered.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Dongmei first saw Ma Steward kneeling on the ground and was startled, not understanding the situation. When she walked to the desk, she lowered her head and called out "Master" to Nangong Ya.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Nangong Ya narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing this young maid. His gaze was so sharp that it was hard to meet directly, and Dongmei unconsciously lowered her head, her heart beginning to pound.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Which year did you enter the mansion?" Nangong Ya asked, trying to soften his tone.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"In response to the master, it was the summer of the 11th Year of Chongming."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Oh, so it''s been over two years."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Nangong Ya nodded. He seemed to remember that Nangong Ling''s maid had left the mansion to get married at that time, so they found a new young maid for her.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Have you been serving the Third Young Lady since you entered the mansion?" Nangong Ya asked again.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"In response to the master, yes."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Nangong Ya slowly exhaled, his voice deepening: "You said before that during my inspection tour to Jiangnan, the Third Young Lady met a young gentleman traveling from afar, fell in love, and eventually eloped with him. Now, tell me the details carefully."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Ning clearly saw Dongmei''s body stiffen.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Ma-Master, this servant... this servant doesn''t know much..." Dongmei''s voice became much softer.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"You may not know much, but you must know something, right? You were her personal maid. Even if, as you say, the Third Young Lady sent you away every time she met with that person, you should at least know roughly when and how they met, right?" Nangong Ya stared intently at Dongmei, his eyes dark and unreadable.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"In response to the master, they... they met a few days after you left for Jiangnan."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Where did they meet?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"At Xianyi Pavilion. This servant apanied the Third Young Lady to buy hair ornaments when they met. The Third Young Lady fell in love at first sight and was immediately flirting with him. After returning, she often snuck outte at night to meet him privately and told me not to tell anyone else..."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
As Dongmei spoke, Jiang Ning was close enough to observe her expression clearly.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Dongmei was lying!<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The right hemisphere of the human brain is mainly responsible for imagination and creativity, so when people fabricate lies, their eyes tend to look up and to the right; when recalling true memories, eyes tend to look up and to the left.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
People without training are unaware of this, and just now, Dongmei kept looking up and to the right.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Moreover, the frequency of blinking can also be an indicator of whether someone is lying. If a person needs to process arge amount of information in their brain, such as weaving a lie, their blinking speed and frequency generally increase.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
In just a few short sentences, Jiang Ning counted that Dongmei blinked eleven times!<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0