Thinking of all this, Chief Secretary Xie sighed softly: "Does Your Highness know the terrible situation you might face after the death of the Princess Consort of Chu?"

He understood that the reason why the young prince thought it was a good thing that the Princess of Chu had hanged herself was because if she hadn't, she would have been imprisoned.

It's alright with them watching over her, but if she's handed over to someone else, who can guarantee that the Princess of Chu won't encounter anything?

Although the young prince was young, he had seen several times how the escorting officers treated exiled prisoners.

Men are alright, they only suffer superficial injuries, but it's a different story for women...

If Xinliang hadn't been the prince's fiefdom these past two years, those escorting constables would never have been so obedient.

However, before her death, the Princess Consort of Chu remained obstinate, deliberately displaying the burned evidence to mock the Prince, and even plotting to use her own death to trap him.

Chief Secretary Xie suddenly stood up, turned around and looked at the luxurious and elegant Chu Prince's mansion. A chill ran down his spine. He felt that the Chu Prince's mansion was a monster's lair that would devour people without spitting out the bones. It was opening its blood-red maw, trying to swallow them whole!

As expected, the elite soldiers who searched the mansion returned with bad news: "Your Highness, not even a dog survived in the entire Chu Prince's mansion."

What Jiang Kangming didn't mention was that the women in the backyard of the Chu Prince's mansion died in various ways: some threw themselves into wells, some into lakes, some died from poisoning, and some committed suicide by cutting their throats or hanging themselves.

After the elite soldiers finished their report, Gu Yuzhi's expression turned grim. After a long while, he said, "The Princess Consort of Chu and the others are all courageous."

He waved his hand: "Chief Secretary Xie, have someone give the Princess of Chu and the others a proper burial."

Since he's already dead, my elder brother certainly won't pursue the matter any further.

Shu Xiaohan sighed softly, and after a long while said, "This way, the young prince won't have to worry about how to plead with the emperor."

Wen Xiuzhu didn't have any particular thoughts, only pursing his lips and saying, "Your Highness is right, suicide is the best choice for these women."

To prevent them from being sold into brothels or forced into military prostitution, they could at least preserve their chastity upon death.

Gu Yuzhi didn't have time to think about these women's suicides. He turned around and went to Gu Yufan's study, hoping to find Gu Yufan's secret room.

Jiang Kangming pulled Xie Changshi aside and whispered, "Xie Changshi, the Princess Consort of Chu is doing this on purpose!"

Chief Secretary Xie's expression changed slightly: "What do you mean?"

These women, if they don't die now, they will die later.

Especially the Princess Consort of Chu, she must have known she couldn't escape the death penalty, so she must have committed suicide on purpose.

But why do these elite soldiers look so grim?

Jiang Kangming said anxiously, "I heard from a naval officer that the whole mansion is full of people who died violent deaths, and there is a curse drawn in blood in the backyard."

Chief Secretary Xie said with a stern face, "Get to the point!"

Jiang Kangming swallowed hard: "They say it's a curse that anyone who enters this house will suffer a terrible death for all eternity."

Chief Secretary Xie angrily flicked his sleeve: "Nonsense!"

They say they're cursing everyone who enters this house, but it's nothing more than a way to curse the young prince and frighten him!

Xie Changshi turned around and glared fiercely at the still-hanging corpse of the Princess of Chu. He sneered and said, "I'll show you who will ultimately suffer a terrible death!"

Jiang Kangming frowned, turned to look at the Princess Consort of Chu, suppressed his deep worry, and whispered, "Chief Secretary Xie, this news hasn't spread yet. If it does, I'm afraid His Highness..."

It will definitely affect His Highness's reputation.

Xie Changshi paused for a moment, then whispered a few instructions. Jiang Kangming quickly left, while Xie headed towards the study.

The study, as it appeared, was completely empty. All the drawers that could be opened were open, and even the most basic books had been burned.

Gu Yuzhi was counting the number of bricks in the room using a clumsy method. After counting, he found that there was no difference, indicating that there were no secret rooms on the side and back of the room.

When Xie Changshi came in, he was tapping the bricks one by one with a wooden stick.

As Mr. Huo said, if the secret room is underground and the entrance is in the floor tiles, the sound of the floor tiles when you tap them will not be deep and resonant, but rather have a hollow quality.

Hearing Xie Changshi's footsteps, Gu Yuzhi didn't even turn his head and said, "Xie Changshi, come and listen, could this brick be the entrance to the secret passage?"

He scratched his head: "I've only heard Mr. Huo mention this method before, but I haven't tried it myself."

He chuckled, looking a little embarrassed: "So I feel this piece looks like it, and that piece looks like it too."

Seeing that the young prince had lost a lot of weight but still had fair and tender cheeks, Chief Secretary Xie felt his bad mood instantly disappear.

The young prince is a prince, as the master himself asserted. He is the emperor's capable assistant and is protected by the emperor. It is impossible for him to be entangled by such a baseless and filthy curse!

Chief Secretary Xie took a deep breath, a smile on his face, and slowly walked in: "Your Highness has been busy all morning. I have already sent someone to the city to buy breakfast. Your Highness, please go back to the yamen for breakfast first. I will return once I have found the evidence."

If Xie Changshi hadn't mentioned it, Gu Yuzhi wouldn't have noticed, but once he did, his stomach started growling again.

He quickly shook off the stick: "Then I'll go back and have my meal first. Chief Secretary Xie, you should also come back and have your meal soon."

As he walked, he muttered to himself with unease, "Anyway, Jiangzhou is under our control now, so it doesn't matter if we find this secret room a few days later."

Chief Secretary Xie nodded and escorted Gu Yuzhi onto the carriage. They then quietly entered the street through the back gate of the Prince's Mansion.

Gu Yuzhi lifted the curtain and glanced at it a few times, but quickly lost interest.

There was no one on the street. Whether they were vendors or ordinary people, everyone kept their doors and windows tightly shut, fearing that King Wen's soldiers would rush in and kill them indiscriminately.

Gu Yuzhi and Wen Shu grumbled for a while, completely unaware that the skilled soldiers driving the carriage had taken him on a roundabout route before carefully placing him in the backyard of the yamen.

As soon as Gu Yuzhi entered the yamen, the carriage started moving again.

Just like on the way back, the coachman only gave the horse's leg a light kick, and the horse trotted softly, with a hint of a dog's furtiveness.

Gu Yuzhi scratched his head, feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure it out for the time being, so he simply stopped thinking about it and happily went inside to have breakfast.

Meanwhile, Xie Changshi quickly finished knocking down all the bricks and finally found the entrance to the secret room under the soft couch in the study.

Looking down at the pitch-black expanse, Chief Secretary Xie raised an eyebrow and ordered several torches to be lit. Two elite soldiers escorted him down the mountain, and they soon arrived at their destination.

There are three secret rooms in total. One of them is filled with various documents, ledgers, picture albums and other evidence.

The other two rooms are filled with jewelry and gold.

The golden light even reflected off the walls of the outer room.

Not only were the two elite soldiers dumbfounded, but even Chief Secretary Xie did not expect that there would be such an unexpected gain in this secret room!