His subordinates sweated, after all, they knew how cruel the man was and what kind of methods he would use to get the things that he wanted. They prayed for the woman who caught their master's eyes ah~! They felt that the woman wouldn't get a good ending --- especially with their master's tendency to be cruel.

How many married women that he had taken over the years just to satisfy him? Too many to count! After all, their master had that unparalleled handsome look --- so most of the women were throwing themselves on him too. This was also because of those women's shallowness --- they couldn't see pass through their master's facade.

No one dared to comment when their master was talking to himself... They could only listen to him because they were afraid of his moodiness.

"No worry... It's easy to find her and I will make her mine sooner or later..." The esteemed guest smirked to himself. "Haish... if only that Aunt Yue didn't disappear, that pretty woman would already be under me now... Too bad... too bad..." He shook his head in defeat, but the smirk on his face didn't fade away, making his subordinates become more scared.

Because of Aunt Yue's disappearance, he needed to stay and try to find her with a lot of efforts. After all, this was a good opportunity to have this Aunt Yue for himself. The real kidnapper would be the one who would take the blame and it was the main reason he couldn't follow Yao Ling.

How could he let go such a good chance?

The handsome man licked his lips when he thought of Yao Ling, but he knew what his responsibilities were --- recruiting this important piece of chess called Aunt Yue. No matter how lewd he was, his ambition was bigger than his lust. Once he grasped her power, he would conquer this world.

"Find out more about that woman!" The esteemed guest ordered leisurely. His best subordinate had been trying to find out Aunt Yue's whereabouts, so it left him with a few subordinates that were pretty ordinary. However, it didn't mean that they were stupid. Trying to find out more about that woman was supposed to be an easy job.

This was actually the reason why he didn't find out about the jade pendant --- his mind was preoccupied with Yao Ling and made him lower his own guard down. He was too confident!

----------

Rong Qiu played his part really well --- he demoted and chased away a few servants and maidservants that made several wrongdoings in front of everyone. He didn't forget to make a scene. The ones that he released weren't only the ones who played a part in planting the evidence but they were mixed with some servants that really did something wrong. This was done to avoid suspicion.

Rong Qiu also announced each of their wrongdoings loud and clear --- some were only fake evidence, some weren't. Those people that were dismissed with fake evidence didn't mind because they would receive some money as compensation and went to another place to start a new life. This was what Zhuo Li guaranteed for them and it was better than to stay in Crescent Lake with no bright future.

The list was also provided by Zhuo Li. The others would only think that Rong Qiu was cleaning the Crescent Lake from wicked servants and maidservants. The trigger was of course because of Aunt Yue's disappearance.

As long as Hong Wen wasn't here, he was still in charge and he wouldn't let this opportunity go to waste.

Rong Qiu couldn't help but applaud for Zhuo Li's cleverness --- the latter's mind was really deep. It would be good if he was able to serve his daughter wholeheartedly. He had heard about Zhuo Li's background and it was right for his daughter not to believe in him easily. If she believed Zhuo Li right away, then he would question her judgment.

Rong Qiu also heard that the news about the esteemed guest's involvement had circulated among the guards. It spread like a wildfire and the esteemed guest's spies also heard about this. The latter quickly reported this matter to his master.

The esteemed guest asked his subordinate, "What happened? Why are you in a hurry?!" He disliked unruly people and this stupid subordinate should have known this.

The spy quickly apologized and fortunately, his master was in a good mood and didn't have a plan to punish him. The spy told his master the news that was spread among the guards. The esteemed guest furrowed his eyebrows in displeasure. "Who started this rumor?!"

He had thought that he could use the real kidnapper as a cover-up, however, someone was trying to frame him first. This matter really annoyed him.

The spy shook their head in confusion. "We couldn't find the source. It seems like someone was pulling the string behind the scene..." It meant that they couldn't underestimate the person behind this matter.

His mind fleeted to Uncle Qiu, after all, he was the only one who had the power to do that here. "What about that Uncle Qiu? Could it possibly be his doing?" The esteemed guest asked in a serious manner.

The spy shook his head. "No... although he holds the current power, he didn't have any power back then. He didn't have the capabilities because he only has one loyal person works for him. We also couldn't find anything suspicious about him. Yesterday, he only spent time with his goddaughter and friends."

The esteemed guest didn't say anything, but he knew... even if he only had one capable person, if both of them were clever, doing this was an easy feat. However, he didn't see any benefits for Uncle Qiu to frame him... They had never crossed path before, thus, he ruled out the possibilities of Uncle Qiu doing this.

"Find out about where the rumor comes from once more!" The esteemed guest ordered. He wondered why suddenly there were a lot of troubles brewing all at once.

"Yes, Master," the spy nodded and quickly went out to do his job.

The esteemed guest asked his right-hand man when his spy was already gone, "I heard a loud commotion just now. What happened?"

His right-hand man explained about Uncle Qiu's anger which directly fired several servants and maidservants. The esteemed guest felt that something wasn't right. Even though it seemed to be normal, Uncle Qiu's behavior was still a little out-of-character. It was better if he sounded out Uncle Qiu.

"Hmm... It seems like it's time to meet Uncle Qiu," the esteemed guest muttered to himself. He had been staying here for quite some times, but he had never tried to meet with Uncle Qiu. He had never put Uncle Qiu in his eyes, after all, he didn't have any special position at Crescent Lake --- only the sacred pet's caretaker.

"Should I call him over?" His right-hand man asked when he saw his master's intention.

"No... I will be the one who goes to him and introduces myself," the handsome man said leisurely. He didn't have anything to do anyway. "Where is he?"

His right-hand man answered, "He's still handling the servants and maidservants near the lake..."

"Then, let's go there!" The esteemed guest said. He wanted to see what the commotion was all about because he guessed that this matter was related to him too.