At this point, Madam Gu fell silent.

Lord Gu quickly said, "Mother, I know you feel indebted to Mo Xiaoni, but it can only be blamed on the fact that the fourth son and she were destined to be apart. Now that so many years have passed, she probably already has a son and a daughter. If we go there now, we will only stir up her sad memories and hurt her again."

Madam Gu sighed heavily.

Lord Gu continued, “We’re not in a hurry, are we? I’ll have someone slowly inquire about it. We have such a thorny matter to deal with right now, Mother, don’t let me worry about this. Once we’ve found out, Mother, I’ll go see her in person after this period. I’ll arrange for Yuan’er to accompany you, how about that?”

These words truly combined reason and emotion.

After a long silence, Madam Gu smiled and said, "Third son, you've married a good wife. If it were before, you certainly wouldn't have said so many words to comfort me."

Seeing that his mother seemed to have been appeased, Lord Gu finally breathed a sigh of relief and said shamelessly, "Mother, the wife you chose for your son is naturally good. Please just think that you are being kind to your son. How about we bring this up again in a while?"

Old Madam Gu sneered, "You have no idea how pitiful Mo Xiaoni is. Our Gu family has truly wronged her. You can't explain it to her. Just remember, Mo Xiaoni's affairs are our Marquis's affairs. If she is not doing well, I won't be able to sleep at night."

“If you don’t say anything, how am I supposed to know how we’ve wronged her?”

Lord Gu thought to himself, "This is something I'm not happy about."

He smiled and said, "My son understands. When he goes out, he will instruct Sixteen to use a gyrfalcon to deliver a message and order them to be more diligent in their investigation."

Only then did Madam Gu relent and stop mentioning Qiuju packing her things to leave the mansion.

"Get up. You're so old, kneeling on the ground. What will people think if they see you like this?" Old Madam Gu told her son to get up.

Lord Gu stood up and helped her to a chair before saying, "Forget it, we don't need to worry about saving face. Your son is so old and you still beat him with a stick. Haven't you seen the servants around you, Mother?"

Seeing his shameless behavior, Old Madam Gu felt quite tired and waved her hand, saying, "I know you miss your wife, you can go now. You two brothers should be nicer to Baozhu, don't always scold her, talk to her nicely, and teach her the principles slowly. You should pay attention to her martial arts."

Lord Gu agreed to all of them.

Old Madam Gu looked tired and urged, "Go on, Mother is tired and needs to rest."

Lord Gu then withdrew and privately said to Qiuju, "Keep an eye on the old lady. If she is sad or upset, have someone come and tell me."

Qiuju agreed.

Lord Gu thought for a moment and then said, "If I am not in the manor, you should have someone call the Seventh Miss to coax her. If the Seventh Miss can't coax her, then call the Madam. We can't let the Old Madam keep it to herself; she needs someone to comfort her."

“Grandma Cheng from next door sometimes comes over to talk to the old lady to relieve her boredom. They can talk about anything.”

Lord Gu nodded: "Very well, you may go and invite her."

Qin Yuan is still young, so it's good that Madam Gu and Madam Dai can agree on things.

Lord Gu then went to the outer courtyard to find Sixth Master Gu.

"I heard you were looking for me today?"

Master Gu sighed, "Yes."

Glancing at Lord Gu's gloomy face, she asked cautiously, "Did Mother ask about Fourth Brother again?"

Lord Gu nodded heavily.

Sixth Master Gu mustered his courage and spoke.

"Third Brother, is the person in that dry well Sister Mo?"

Gu Jinghui shook his head.

Sixth Master Gu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I knew it wouldn't happen..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Jinghui said, "I'm not sure."

"uncertain?"

Master Gu was getting anxious.

"Third brother, what exactly do you know? Just tell me all at once."

Gu Jinghui said, "I'm still keeping this from my mother. Sixteen sent people to investigate, and they said that the Mo family's old house is deserted and the old couple has disappeared. This matter is suspicious."

Master Gu nodded: "I remember Sister Mo has two older brothers."

"Are you confused?" Gu Jinghui said, "Her eldest brother went to the northern frontier with our father and never came back."

Sixth Master Gu said, "And what about Second Brother?"

"Sixteen said that her second brother went to Lingnan to do business and never came back."

Master Gu's voice choked a little. So, the eldest brother of the Mo family died in the northern frontier, and the fate of the second brother is unknown.

"...This...this, for so many years, our family and the Mo family haven't kept in touch. How did things turn out like this?"

A family can fall into ruin just like that.

Gu Jinghui stood with his hands behind his back, not looking at him, staring at a painting of galloping horses on the wall, and muttered, "This is really strange. Shouldn't the Mo couple stay where they are and wait for Second Brother Mo to come home? The neighbors all say that the old couple has probably gone to look for their daughter."

Sixth Master Gu immediately said, "That's possible, Third Brother. They have no children of their own, so it's good for them to live off their son-in-law."

"However, the people sent out by the Sixteenth family inquired about the several daughters of the Mo family who had married out, and they all died one after another in the past few years. The Mo family couple also did not move to the vicinity of their daughters' homes."

Master Gu opened his mouth wide, but couldn't utter a single word.

Lord Gu lowered his head and said, "There's something even stranger: Mo Xiaoni's husband's family actually married her personal maid."

"What, what, what exactly is going on?"

Gu Liuye felt as if his heart had been thrown into a pot of boiling oil. He staggered back a few steps and fell into his chair.

Lord Gu's voice was icy cold. "Sixth son, Mother always says that our Marquis's mansion owes Mo Xiaoni a debt. Her marriage to the Fourth son was supposed to be settled, but who would have thought that something like this would happen? But this can't be blamed on the Marquis's mansion. Didn't Mo Xiaoni eventually get engaged to someone else? What exactly does Mother mean by this? Has something happened that I don't know about?"

Sixth Master Gu hurriedly said, "Third Brother, I was in the manor and knew nothing. One by one, people in the family have had their misfortunes. I came back from the Imperial Academy to observe mourning and lost contact with my classmates. Your friends have all cut off contact with me. My aunt is pregnant and just stays in the courtyard. Mother is struggling to manage the household and cries every night. You left a letter and then left. It's all a mess."

"Have you seen Mo Xiaoni since the fourth brother's accident?"

Lord Gu stared at Sixth Master Gu and asked.

Sixth Master Gu nodded: "I've seen her. She seemed to have been seriously ill, speaking weakly. After she arrived, she and my mother talked for a while, then hugged each other and cried. They are women, and I... there are some things they avoid me about. Besides, my aunt had just given birth to my seventh sister not long ago, and after her confinement period, she insisted on going to the Water Mirror Nunnery. I was also very confused, and all I remember is her..."

"Her what?"

"She held onto Baozhu tightly, crying and laughing at the same time, saying she really couldn't bear to part with her. I felt heartbroken at that moment, who knew that this would be the last time we would see each other."

By this time, Master Gu knew that Mo Xiaoni was probably in grave danger, and he became increasingly dejected as he spoke.