Although Lord Gu did not speak, he looked at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

There must be some personal feelings involved here, otherwise how did Gu Laosi's gold jewelry end up on Mo's daughter, and why did Mo's daughter change her personal maid? But... is it appropriate to talk about this?

Gu Baozhu, oh Gu Baozhu.

Qin Yuan hesitated and said, "I think there are a lot of things going on here. The Mo family's reaction is really strange. There must be a hidden reason why Miss Mo ran away from her marriage to come to the capital. Otherwise, why would she stay in the family temple and run into Zhiguang and others? This is a silver theft case, involving so many people, including the Marquis of Chengen, the former Crown Prince, and the Black Wind Village. Now, the Yelü clan has been added to the list."

It's really complicated. I wonder how deep his connection is with Miss Mo.

To be honest, this matter is unfathomable on a deeper level, and perhaps just a coincidence on a superficial one.

Sixth Master Gu hastily wiped away his tears with his sleeve: "Third Sister-in-law is right. This must not be a simple murder case. Otherwise, why would there only be half a corpse in the dry well? Even if it was murder to cover up the crime, it shouldn't be like this. Zhiguang and the others killed people and even demolished the house, but they never thought of burying the body. It's really strange."

The room fell silent.

Lord Gu said, "It is indeed strange. I had people investigate the whereabouts of the Mo family carefully, and they all assumed that the two elders had moved to live near their son-in-law's house. The Mo family's son has also been nowhere to be found. This has been more than ten years."

The implication is that it's very difficult to get information from them.

Qin Yuan gasped in shock; this way of doing things…

Lord Gu continued, "The person behind the silver theft case is obviously Empress Lin. Otherwise, why would the assassins raised by Marquis Chengen participate in the prison break? I just don't know that they have colluded with the Black Wind Stronghold. I wonder if Yelü Ren was involved all along or if they joined forces later."

Qin Yuan said softly, "How long has it been since the Marquis brought the hostage to the capital? If you count the days, it's only been half a year since Physician Liu entered the manor... and Madam Zhao has been with the Marquis for three years with her child..."

Lord Gu choked.

Gu Baozhu's eyes lit up. "Third Sister-in-law, are you saying that they've been having an affair for a long time?"

Sixth Master Gu exclaimed in surprise, "Third Sister-in-law, do you mean that Zhao Shi buried that pair of twins next to Third Brother long ago?"

Gu Baozhu: "Oh right, is that what you mean, Third Sister-in-law?"

Qin Yuan looked at Lord Gu.

Madam Gu's hands trembled incessantly in her sleeves as she stared at Qin Yuan: "Yuan'er, do you know the background of those twins?"

Qin Yuan coughed lightly twice, unsure whether she should speak or not.

Lord Gu answered first: "Mother, we also know that soon, those two children are of Yelü clan blood, and..." He paused, then forced himself to say, "I'm afraid they are of Yelü clan prince blood."

"Fine, fine, very fine," Old Madam Gu was furious, slapping Marquis Gu's head hard and scolding, "How could I have given birth to such a blind brat like you? I always protect them, raising them like my own son. If it weren't for Yuan'er's alertness, you would have been assassinated by them long ago. It's infuriating! Our Dingbei Marquis's mansion has actually raised a bastard of the Yelü clan! If your father and brothers knew this in the afterlife, they would be turning in their graves. You're such a stupid and stubborn brat, you can't explain yourself no matter what I say. How did I even give birth to you? Looks like I haven't spanked you enough."

Old Madam Gu's voice grew louder and louder, while Marquis Gu's head drooped lower and lower.

Sixth Master Gu huddled in his seat, not daring to move an inch.

His third brother was scolded like this, what good can he possibly get?

However, his third brother was indeed blind and foolish, allowing the Yelü clan to send in two adopted sons. If Zhao hadn't courted death, those two adopted sons would probably have joined the Gu family army when they grew up. If they had any bad intentions, the Gu family's foundation might have been in jeopardy.

I really don't know how Third Brother defeated the Yelü clan.

Lord Gu was so scolded that he was almost out of his mind before Old Madam Gu finally stopped talking.

Fortunately, after venting my anger, much of my frustration dissipated.

Old Madam Gu cleared her throat, and her obedient daughter-in-law beside her offered her a cup of hot tea. Old Madam Gu took it, took a sip to moisten her throat, and said, "If it weren't for the fact that you married such a good wife, I really wouldn't want to look at you even once. If it weren't for Yuan'er's planning, I don't know how badly that Zhao woman would have ruined our household. It's all thanks to our ancestors' protection that you have such good fortune. The clan ancestor should really remind the ancestors of this."

Lord Gu hurriedly said, "That's right, it must be the blessing of our ancestors, otherwise my son wouldn't have been able to return unharmed and marry such a good wife."

Madam Gu snorted and said, "That's freedom. You fight a battle outside all day, and I chant Buddhist scriptures in the temple all day. What's more, it's our ancestors. With your ambition and ability, who else would they protect if not you?"

Sixth Master Gu shrank back again.

After calming down, Madam Gu asked again, "Was today's incident arranged by the Crown Prince, Prince Jin, Yelü Ren, and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion? Was the fire next door aimed at those two children?"

Lord Gu nodded: "Mother was right. Today we all went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion as guests. The Crown Prince wanted to scheme against Baozhu, the Prince of Jin wanted to scheme against Yuan'er, and the Yelü clan wanted to take advantage of our chaos to snatch back the two children."

Madam Gu sneered, "I knew that old woman had ill intentions. The late Empress Dowager treated her well, but she became the Empress Dowager's lackey and bit back. Now she's trying to scheme against the women of our Dingbei Marquis's mansion. She's really trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead. I want to see how the You family will end up."

...

The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

Old Madam You lay on the couch, refusing to get up. Ru Hua carefully served her from the side. The master and mistress of the You family stood silently on the ground, with only Madam You the eldest crying and wiping away tears.

Today, both of her children were involved.

This birthday banquet was truly a disaster.

What made things even worse was that the kind and simple Empress Dowager said as she left, "The eldest daughter of the You family seemed quite nice before, what happened to her?"

With a single, casual remark, she shifted all the blame onto her daughter.

How could her perfectly respectable daughter, the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion, possibly fall for Prince Jin?

Their scheme to harm her backfired, trapping her daughter instead, and yet they still dare to speak like this—it's utterly outrageous!

Madam You San was still trying to persuade her, saying, "Mother fainted because she was angry. When she wakes up, she will naturally stand up for her sister-in-law. The Empress Dowager loves the Crown Prince and Prince Jin. Sanlang caused His Highness the Crown Prince to fall into the water, and the Empress Dowager couldn't help but vent her anger on the eldest maid. She will be fine once her anger has subsided."

Madam You didn't want to speak.

On what grounds?

Their entire family even participated in the old lady's birthday banquet, busy from beginning to end, disregarding all dignity, and in the end, this is what they got in return.

She was just a barbarian woman presented by a southern chieftain, yet she was favored once, gave birth to the emperor, and plotted against the late empress dowager. Otherwise, what would have become of her?

A whole litter of lowly bastards.