The servant shuddered in fear upon hearing Dai Hao's words.
He couldn't imagine what the duke's people would feel when they saw the second young master later.
By now, Dai Hao was already striding ahead in a rage.
"Husband, wait for me,"
the duchess called out, hurrying to catch up.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the front hall.
Before they got close, they could hear cries coming continuously from within the hall.
"Second young master, second young master..."
Dai Hao also saw a group of people blocking the entrance to the hall.
"It seems the second young master is quite arrogant at home. Having so many people at his beck and call, in terms of presence, I'm far inferior to him, even though I am the duke,"
Dai Hao's expression turned even darker.
"Husband, don't get angry just yet. Could there be some misunderstanding in this?"
The duchess tried to soothe him, then turned and shouted at the crowd, "What are you doing? Can't you see the duke has arrived? Move aside!"
"Ah?"
"The duke has arrived."
"Make way!"
Upon hearing the duchess's words, the crowd hurriedly cleared a path.
It was only in the final moment that Dai Hao and the duchess learned what had happened inside.
They saw a young man drenched in blood, lying silently on the floor of the great hall.
By his side were physicians and Soul Masters with healing abilities, constantly trying to save the young man.
Those cries for the second young master were from them
as they pleaded with Hua Bin not to die.
"Ah!"
After a brief silence, the duchess let out a piercing scream, "My son, what's happened to you!"
By then, she had lost all her dignified composure, and in a panic, she rushed forward,
running and crying out.
"My son..."
However, she hadn't run a few steps before tripping over her long skirt.
She fell to the ground violently.
The impact caused her head to bleed,
but she didn't give up; as if numb to pain, she immediately stood up and rushed towards Hua Bin again.
She knelt in front of Hua Bin, her hands incessantly shaking his body.
But Hua Bin gave no response.
"Son, why won't you speak?"
The duchess kept crying out.
"How could this happen to the young master?"
At some point, Dai Hao also stood by Hua Bin's side.
Anger, grief, and heartache... various expressions crossed his face.
But after all, he was the duke,
the pillar of the Duchy Residence.
So,
he couldn't show the same sorrow and madness as the duchess.
Yet the cold murderous intent in his words made everyone shiver.
They were panicked and afraid.
"Are you all mute?"
"I'm asking you, can you not hear?"
Dai Hao erupted in fury.
"Yes, yes, it was the humble one who found the young master outside the duchy,"
a guard stammered in reply.
Dai Hao's gaze hardened, and with a step, he was in front of the guard. He extended his hand, grabbed the guard's neck, and lifted him up, "How could such a thing happen outside the duke's residence? What are you all here for if not to protect your master!"
He was beyond furious,
like a ferocious beast about to devour its prey.
"Cough, cough..."
The guard's face turned red, and he coughed violently.
Seeing this, another guard kneeling on the ground hurriedly said, "Duke... my lord, when we found the young master, he was already like this. He's not lying or shirking responsibility. Many people can testify..."
After listening to the guard, Dai Hao's expression changed again.
"Duke, we also conducted an investigation and collected evidence from the site. The first to discover the young master were passing pedestrians. No one saw how the young master got injured. When he appeared, he was already lying on the ground with a knife in his chest and no breath left. We also detained some witnesses, who are now in the Duchy Residence. If you do not believe us, you may interrogate them,"
someone else spoke up through gritted teeth.
Everyone was in the same boat; if the duke's wrath descended, no one would escape.
Upon hearing this, Dai Hao, despite a raging fury inside, couldn't let it out.
He let go of his hand, and the injured guard fell to the ground with a thud, gasping for air.
Then Dai Hao looked back at Hua Bin's body. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say.
Should he act like the duchess?
He couldn't.
Leaving aside status, he had always had little contact with Hua Bin over the years and lacked a foundation of affection.
"Wait a moment."
Suddenly, Dai Hao's gaze sharpened. He looked at the knife in Hua Bin's chest, feeling it was familiar, "That knife..."
Drip, drip.
He stepped forward in three strides, took the handle of the knife, and pulled it out.
The fresh blood, not yet cold, sprayed from the wound, splattering the duchess.
"Husband, you!"
Anger appeared uncontrollably on the duchess's face.
But before she could voice her rebuke, she stifled it back.
Because she saw a look of recollection in Dai Hao's eyes.
A remembrance of the dagger.
Meaning, he recognized that dagger.
With her emotions barely in check, the duchess tentatively asked, "Husband, do you know the owner of the dagger?"
Dai Hao frowned, pondering and nodding, "It looks familiar. I need to think it over."
"Then, could it be possible that it was left by thieves from the Sun-Moon Empire?"
The duchess didn't stay idle either, reminding Dai Hao, "They can't defeat you on the battlefield, so that's why they've done such a vile deed?"