Meanwhile, a pall of gloom hung over the Su Mansion. The faces of the many family members were filled with anger and helplessness.
In the main hall, the elders of the Su Family trembled with rage, yet they were utterly powerless.
"There's no justice in this world..."
"We all know Qinghan's character. There is no way she would ever do something like assassinate the son of the Prime Minister's Mansion."
"This is a classic frame-up! It's obvious that scoundrel coveted Qinghan's beauty and sent his men after her. That's what provoked her to fight back."
"Regardless of what actually happened, Qinghan has been arrested as an assassin and is in that villain's hands. How could anything good possibly come of it?"
"The Prime Minister's Mansion wields absolute power. In all of the great Great Xia, who would dare to defy them?"
"Even if we know Qinghan was framed, what can we do? Go to the Prefect to seek justice? Everyone knows that even the Prefect has to be polite to that scoundrel..."
The Patriarch of the Su Family, Su Qinghan's biological father, Su Changkong, sat in the seat of honor. His face was grim, and he hadn't spoken a word.
If one looked closely, they would see his hands were clenched into tight fists. In that moment, he seemed to have aged many years.
In truth, only a handful of people in the entire Su Mansion, including him, knew what had really happened.
"What a terrible fate! Why would that scoundrel set his sights on our dear Qinghan?"
A still-graceful woman wiped away her tears. Her features bore a slight resemblance to Su Qinghan's; she was her biological mother.
Sobbing, she blamed her husband beside her. "Look what's happened now! It's all your fault. If you hadn't told Qinghan that Qingyao was kidnapped, why would she have been so impulsive as to go and confront that scoundrel?"
"Now look. Not only is Qingyao missing, but Qinghan has also fallen into that scoundrel's hands. Given his personality, do you really think he'll let Qinghan go?"
"Su Changkong, if anything happens to our daughter, I will never forgive you."
Su Changkong gave a bitter smile, his face etched with sorrow. He never expected things to take such a turn.
His younger daughter, Su Qingyao, had been forcibly abducted from her academy and was now missing.
Now, his elder daughter had been arrested and imprisoned for assassinating the son of the Prime Minister's Mansion. What could he possibly do?
Before the Prime Minister's Mansion, the entire Su Family was no different from an ant beneath an elephant's foot.
Could he really be expected to go and beg the Prime Minister's son for mercy?
The man probably wouldn't even grant him an audience. Worse, if he handled it poorly, the entire Su Family could be implicated. They couldn't bear the crime of assassinating the son of the Prime Minister's Mansion—it could lead to the Destruction of their entire clan.
"Mr. Su..."
"Did something happen?"
Just then, a figure walked in from outside the Su Mansion's main hall. Seeing the scene before him, he seemed a little perplexed.
He had a handsome face and wore a long, cyan robe. His posture was ramrod straight, and his expression, normally one of calm confidence, was now filled with confusion.
Su Changkong glanced at him. The newcomer was none other than the Su Mansion's live-in son-in-law, Lin Fan.
His ancestors and the ancestors of the Su Family had been on good terms. For various reasons, Lin Fan had married into the Su Family, becoming Su Qinghan's husband.
However, the two did not get along and rarely saw each other on a normal day.
Within the Su Family, Lin Fan was widely disdained. No one was willing to associate with him, so he was like an invisible man that very few people paid any mind to.
"Sigh..."
Su Changkong sighed inwardly, then told Lin Fan everything that had happened to Su Qinghan, holding nothing back.
He didn't expect Lin Fan to be of any help.
'What could you expect from a live-in son-in-law with no cultivation?'
After hearing all this, Lin Fan was simply stunned. He never imagined that while he was away, the Su Family would run into such a huge problem.
Even his own wife, Su Qinghan, had been targeted by that spoiled heir and arrested on charges of assassination while she was home visiting family.
Although he had no feelings for Su Qinghan, she was, after all, his wife in name. Given that spoiled heir's temperament, he would certainly use this opportunity to do something to Su Qinghan.
The very thought of it filled Lin Fan with annoyance and irritation.
'I may not care about her, but that doesn't mean anyone else can touch her.'
Besides, from what Su Changkong had just said, it seemed that scoundrel had also sent people to abduct Su Qingyao.
If there was one person in the entire Su Family that he actually cared about, it was Su Qingyao.
'And yet that scoundrel dared to target her, too. He's crossed my bottom line.'
'You've already chosen the path to death. I can't let you live.'
As this Heart Thought crossed his mind, a cold glint flashed in Lin Fan's eyes. His expression remained unchanged as he asked Su Changkong where Su Qinghan was currently being held.
"Why are you asking?" Su Changkong was surprised. 'Does this Lin Fan actually want to go see Su Qinghan?'
'Even I, her father, can't get to her, let alone a useless, cultivation-less, live-in son-in-law.'
"I just want to know where Qinghan is right now," Lin Fan replied.
"It's useless even if you know. The Su Family is powerless. We don't know what to do now, sigh..."
"If Qinghan hadn't been born so beautiful, this probably never would have happened," Su Changkong lamented.
Lin Fan was speechless. 'I ask where she's being held, and he just rambles on about other things.'
He didn't have the patience for Su Changkong's thoughts.
But it seemed that even Su Changkong didn't know where Su Qinghan was being held.
'Looks like I'll have to investigate this myself.'
After that, without paying any mind to the Su Family elders in the hall, Lin Fan silently turned and left.
He was actually quite anxious. A significant amount of time had already passed between Su Qinghan's capture and his return to the Su Mansion to learn of it.
If that spoiled scoundrel was going to do something to Su Qinghan, he'd likely already be finished.
At this thought, Lin Fan's fists clenched. He could only hope he wasn't too late.
His figure quickly vanished. After leaving the Su Mansion, he soon blended into the crowd.
He then appeared at the mouth of a secluded alley. Using a Secret Technique to change his appearance, his bones emitted a series of sharp CRACKS as his figure transformed. Then he changed into a set of coarse linen clothes, ensuring no one would recognize him.
Once he was certain no one could discover his true identity, Lin Fan sped toward the Snow Moon Pavilion.
The sky had already grown dark, and ominous clouds were rolling in from a distance. For him, it was a dark and windy night—the perfect time for a killing.
Unfortunately, if he killed the spoiled heir, it would lead to a great deal of trouble later on. The Su Mansion would immediately fall under suspicion, and even Su Qingyao and Su Qinghan would be affected.
His peaceful life would be shattered as well.
He had not yet recovered his peak power from his previous life. If he had to face the retaliation of the Prime Minister's Mansion, it would be truly difficult to handle.
'The best way is to make that guy keep his mouth shut. I'll place a Restriction on his soul. If he dares to speak out of turn, I'll make sure he doesn't live...'
A cold glint flashed in Lin Fan's eyes. Taking advantage of the deepening dusk, he quickly vanished.