Chapter 1431: 1431: Unexpectedly Like This

Chapter 1431: Chapter 1431: Unexpectedly Like This

Upon hearing what Luo Ziling said, Wuyue hesitated for a moment, unsure how to respond.

“What’s going on?” Luo Ziling noticed Wuyue’s uneasy expression, growing more puzzled. “Did something unexpected happen again?”

“Where is Miss?” Wuyue still didn’t answer Luo Ziling’s question and instead asked another.

“My mom went upstairs to take a bath,” Luo Ziling had just uttered this when he saw Ling Ruonan, freshly bathed, emerge from the staircase.

“Ling’er, go take a bath and get some sleep,” Ling Ruonan instructed Luo Ziling. “Will you be staying here tonight?”

“I’ll take a bath in a little while,” Luo Ziling said as he pointed at Wuyue. “Sister Wuyue is back, and it seems like she’s encountered some trouble.”

“What happened?” Ling Ruonan, drying her wet hair with a towel, descended the stairs.

“Miss, those people have confessed,” Wuyue said, lowering her head, not daring to meet Ling Ruonan’s eyes.

“Did they reveal who was behind it?” Ling Ruonan’s brows furrowed ever so slightly. She could see from Wuyue’s expression that something was wrong. She immediately guessed that the culprits had probably named someone unexpected, something that was likely going to become a troublesome mess.

“They confessed that it was all orchestrated by you!” Wuyue finally mustered the courage to speak the words aloud.

“What?” Luo Ziling was instantly stunned. “How could this be?”

“It has to be nonsense,” Wuyue quickly added, seeing Ling Ruonan’s face change as well. “They must be doing this deliberately.”

“Do you believe them?” Ling Ruonan gazed at Luo Ziling with a half-smile.

“I wouldn’t believe it even if they beat me to death,” Luo Ziling replied without a shred of hesitation. “How could you possibly use such methods against Yuqing?”

“But there will be people who believe it,” Ling Ruonan chuckled softly. “And I also believe that by tomorrow—or rather, tonight—rumors will start spreading, claiming I couldn’t tolerate your father’s illegitimate daughter from another woman, so I hired assassins to kill her.”

“I’ll go interrogate those captured people,” Luo Ziling said angrily. “I’ll get to the truth no matter what.”

“Don’t go,” Ling Ruonan grabbed Luo Ziling’s arm, smiled faintly, and said, “Those people are just hired assassins. When their employers contacted them, they were told it was a woman named Ling Ruonan who ordered them to do it.”

Hearing this, Luo Ziling finally stopped, realizing Ling Ruonan had a point.

Otherwise, Wuyue wouldn’t have come to report this news.

Interrogations wouldn’t be conducted with just one person but separately with multiple individuals. Wuyue must have questioned several people, and when they all consistently implicated Ling Ruonan, she had no choice but to report it.

“Mom, who do you think is behind all this?” Luo Ziling softly asked Ling Ruonan.

“It could be anyone,” Ling Ruonan sighed lightly. “Perhaps they’re retaliating, or maybe someone is intentionally trying to stir up more chaos.”

After thinking for a moment, Luo Ziling suggested, “Mom, how about tomorrow night—or during the day—I’ll go with Yuqing to take you shopping? I’ll pay for everything. You women love shopping and buying things, right? I’ll accompany you, especially since school hasn’t started yet.”

Ling Ruonan saw through Luo Ziling’s intentions behind the suggestion and eventually agreed.

“Alright,” she nodded helplessly. “Tomorrow, you and Yuqing can accompany me to the streets. Since she’s your dad’s daughter, I should at least give her a gift. Tomorrow night, you’ll also go treat Great Grandfather, and bring Yuqing along to meet him. After all, she’s your sister no matter what.”

Then she instructed Wuyue, “Alright, let’s leave it at that. No matter what happens afterward, ignore it.”

“But Miss, if such rumors actually spread, wouldn’t that damage your reputation?” Wuyue asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Let them think whatever they want. As long as we—the people involved—understand the truth, everything will fade away with time,” Ling Ruonan replied calmly.

“Alright then,” Wuyue said, resigned, and prepared to leave.

But as Wuyue stepped out, Luo Ziling followed her.

He didn’t give her specific instructions but instead called for Yang Xiaodong and Wang Zhenjun.

They had been involved in today’s events, including interrogating the people captured. In other words, they were fully aware of everything. Just like Luo Ziling and Wuyue, they also couldn’t believe Ling Ruonan would ever mastermind such a thing.

If Ling Ruonan had done this, it would only mean she’d gone completely insane, with a negative IQ to boot.

Knowing that this was likely a deliberate setup, they were furious.

As Luo Ziling summoned them, they were still grumbling indignantly.

Luo Ziling asked bluntly, “Who do you think is most likely behind this?”

“It could be the Yang Family, or the Ling Family,” Yang Xiaodong replied directly. “But I think the Ling Family is the most likely culprit. They weren’t completely destroyed, but they’ve been humiliated and can’t swallow their anger, so they pulled off this stunt.”

“What’s your view?” Luo Ziling turned his question to Wang Zhenjun.

Wang Zhenjun shared his speculation as well: “I also believe the Ling Family is the most likely culprit, followed by the Yang Family, and then the Chen Family. But we can’t rule out others who might be taking advantage of the chaos.”

“I’m sure you’ve been busy with this for the past few days, and I’m guessing your tasks are related to what’s happening now.” After receiving confirmation from the two, Luo Ziling stated his demands directly: “Since they’ve made their move again, we must retaliate without hesitation. Based on your assessments of who’s most likely involved, target them with varying degrees of counterattacks. And complete them tonight. Can you do it? If not, I’ll go with you personally to take action!”

“Relax, Young Master, just wait for our news,” Yang Xiaodong chuckled. “Since you’ve decided so resolutely to fight back, we promise not to disappoint you. An eye for an eye—it’s only fair. I doubt they’re better than us at playing dirty tricks.”

“Well said,” Wang Zhenjun agreed. “Trying to use their weaknesses against our strengths? Their intelligence is truly questionable.”

“Their strengths haven’t come into play yet. Once they do, that’ll be the moment things tear wide open,” Luo Ziling laughed and then slapped Yang Xiaodong and Wang Zhenjun hard on their shoulders. “Go! Time is running out. Tomorrow morning, I hope to hear about plenty of amusing events in Yanjing City. Someone unlucky, someone scared—whatever. I’m someone who loves a good show anyway.”

“Young Master, we’ll make sure it happens,” Yang Xiaodong said, slapping Luo Ziling’s shoulder before striding away.

Wang Zhenjun did the same, giving Luo Ziling’s shoulder a heavy slap before silently walking off.