Ji Xiu'e's words stunned the crowd, Ji Huan included.
'Huang Juncai is dead?'
'Really dead?'
Ji Huan's first instinct was that this was a trap set by Ji Xiu'e. Or was it a counterattack, launched because she'd sensed something?
Right then, Huang Junping rushed over.
He pushed through the crowd, his face ashen, and looked at Ji Huan. "It's true."
For the two days Huang Juncai had been gone, Huang Junping had stayed in Juncai's room to look after Ji Xiu'e, rather than returning to the mill.
This morning, he had planned to do the same as yesterday: give Ji Xiu'e her medicine, then make another trip to Yeyang.
The sky had just begun to lighten. Ji Xiu'e was still asleep, and it was too early to start cooking, so he decided to go check on the mill.
But when he pushed open the courtyard gate, he saw something dark and indistinct lying across the entrance.
