Chapter 391 Suddenly Enlightened

Acting swiftly, Gu Jingxi didn't waste any time. He instructed Chan'er to handle the matter while he went to find Lord Du. After their brief interaction yesterday, he could tell that Lord Du was an upright person, and his demotion was due to mistakes in his duties, not to his character.

Seeing that Yaoling looked solemn, as if he had something important to tell him, Lord Du took the initiative to ask, "Yaoling, is there something you want to tell me?"

Gu Jingxi nodded and said, "Uncle, I do have something to discuss with you."

Lord Du replied, "Yaoling, just say what's on your mind."

Gu Jingxi went straight to the point and asked, "Uncle, have you replaced anything in the county government office since you arrived? And have you replaced any of the people working there?"

Upon hearing this, Lord Du was somewhat bewildered, not understanding why he was asking these questions, but he still told him the truth: "The people who were originally working in the county government office have not been replaced. As for the new people, there is only a new constable. The servants in the backyard of the county government office are people I brought with me, people I was used to working with before. But apart from the things I brought, everything else in the backyard is the original and old. Why are you asking these questions?"

Gu Jingxi then asked, "When the previous two magistrates passed away, the items inside were not changed?"

Lord Du replied, "The commonly used items have been replaced. The tables, chairs, and bed are all old. However, after I arrived, I paid for a new bed myself, and the old bed is now in the storage room."

Gu Jingxi said gently, "Uncle, I need to thoroughly investigate the study, offices, and your residence in the county government. I will need your cooperation."

"Yaoling, why are you investigating this?" Lord Du frowned, feeling that he might have been misunderstood, and continued, "I am an honest and upright official, I do not embezzle or accept bribes. If you have any doubts, you can ask me."

Gu Jingxi shook his head slightly: "Uncle, you misunderstand. This matter has nothing to do with you. It is related to the previous two county magistrates. I'm sure you know how they died."

Upon hearing this, Lord Du was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He also understood Gu Jingxi's purpose in coming to Deqing County. One reason was to visit him, but there was something more important: to investigate the cause of death of the previous two county magistrates and the official sent by the imperial court.

Lord Du replied, "Yaoling, to be honest, I also felt that their deaths were suspicious. I secretly investigated the cause, but I couldn't find anything. I even asked the people working in the county government, and they all said the same thing: they encountered something evil and were harmed by it, which caused them to suddenly fall ill and die."

Gu Jingxi was quite surprised: "Your uncle also investigated?"

Lord Du did not hide anything from him and said truthfully, "There is something wrong with their deaths. Since I was transferred to this place as an official, I was afraid that I would become the next magistrate who suddenly died, so I investigated this matter."

Gu Jingxi frowned, feeling that the situation was more troublesome than he had imagined, but that was normal. After the second magistrate died, all the evidence was destroyed. The people sent by the court afterward probably found some clues, but they also died, and those traces were erased once again. Now, it is definitely not easy to find anything.

He asked, still unwilling to give up, "Besides that, we haven't found any other clues? Not even the slightest bit of anything unusual?"

"No."

Lord Du shook his head and sighed. Deqing County was a prosperous county. Although he was somewhat disappointed to be demoted to this place, he was more fortunate that he had not been demoted to a poor and remote place, which proved that the emperor did not dislike him. However, being the magistrate of Deqing County was a dangerous position, as there was always the possibility of suddenly dying from an acute illness.

Gu Jingxi said, "Uncle, I'd like to investigate further."

Lord Du nodded: "I will cooperate with whatever Yaoling needs."

-

Gu Jingxi carefully examined the county magistrate's office, study, and resting place, but found nothing unusual. He gained nothing, and the investigation reached a stalemate.

The first person the imperial court sent to investigate this case was Lord Liu. Lord Liu knew that the previous two county magistrates had both heard someone cry out for justice in the middle of the night, and then suddenly fell ill the next day.

Therefore, when Lord Liu heard someone cry out for justice, he must have known that his life was nearing its end. A normal person in this situation would not be willing to die like this and would leave clues in advance.

Not only Lord Liu, but also the former magistrate Lord Chen, because of the example of the magistrate before him, Lord Sun, Lord Chen must have known that his days were numbered, and he would leave some clues no matter what.

However, he found no clues, and he didn't know whether the clues had been destroyed or whether he had overlooked something.

When Meng Jinyao entered the room, she saw him sitting by the window with his brows furrowed, as if he were worried about something. She walked over to him, reached out and touched his brow, as if to smooth it out.

Gu Jingxi looked up at her, then reached out and hugged her waist, letting her sit on his lap. He carefully explained the case to her, then asked gently, "Ayao, do you think I overlooked something? Or have I fallen into some kind of trap? I've searched all the places I should have searched. Before this, my uncle also investigated, and like me, he found nothing."

Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao pondered for a moment and asked in return, "Husband, you may not know Lord Chen, but Lord Liu is an official in the capital, and you know him. Do you know anything about Lord Liu?"

Gu Jingxi said, "I understand you fairly well. What's wrong?"

Meng Jinyao organized her thoughts and slowly said, "Given that the previous two magistrates died knowing certain things, if the clues they left behind were easy to find, they would probably destroy the evidence. So they would definitely leave them in places that are not easy to find. Husband, think about where there are places that are hidden but are most easily overlooked? Or where there are places that seem not hidden but are most easily overlooked? If you know Lord Liu's personality, and considering his character, where do you think he would leave the clues?"

"Moreover, if someone else can't find the case, the Emperor might send Lord Qi to investigate it. If Lord Qi can't find it, he'll probably send you. Do you think he'll include everyone who might be investigating the case in his calculations? And when leaving clues, he'll also think about how to make sure you find them. I don't know if my calculations are correct, but if it were me, and I knew I was about to be killed, I would definitely leave clues that you could find, based on our mutual understanding."

Gu Jingxi seemed to be deep in thought. After a moment, he seemed to have thought of something, his brows relaxed, he cupped her face and kissed her, and said, "Ayao is so smart, her words have awakened me from my dream. I will go and look for her again."

Meng Jinyao asked softly, "Husband, have you made any progress?"

Gu Jingxi replied, "I have a clue, but I still need to look into it to know for sure."