Li Zhensheng then asked, "Are you sure, or has anyone in town seen Grandma Gong lying in the coffin? Is it possible that she is still alive?"
Li Fu'er and his wife both looked up in surprise and asked, "How did the master know that Old Madam Gong was not dead?"
"What did you find out?" Li Zhensheng asked instead of answering.
Li Fu's wife quickly said, "Yesterday afternoon, we went out for a walk, bought some candy, and scattered it among the children in the neighborhood, hoping to get a few words out of them."
"The children all said that there was a jinx in the Gong family, that everyone in the family had died. Later, as we were walking toward the inn, a naughty boy stopped us. He said that Suozi's grandma wasn't dead, that he had seen her!"
Li Fu's wife, afraid that her master wouldn't understand, explained, "Suozi is the nickname of that boy from the Gong family. They always play together. The boy said that he went to the back mountain to collect firewood, got lost, and met Suozi's grandmother in a wooden house. Suozi's grandmother even asked him for something to eat."
"He was terrified. When he ran home and told his family about it, they didn't believe him. They said he had seen a ghost, and they even had someone burn talismans for him and force him to drink the talisman ash water. They also told him never to go up the mountain again!"
"We both felt that the child was telling the truth and wanted to go up the mountain to take a look, but we were afraid of attracting attention, so we thought of going back to report and asking the master to send someone up the mountain to take a look."
Li Zhensheng had a plan in mind, so he instructed them, "Don't leave today. Go outside and inquire around. There's a local thug named Liu who likes to take people to the casino in Xindu."
"This thug's cousin is in charge of the casino. Remember to find out his name and the casino's name. I'll take some men to scout the mountains first, and let you know if anything happens."
"Yes, boss." Li Fu and his wife quickly replied.
Soon, they pretended not to know each other, ate breakfast separately, and then Li Zhensheng led his personal guards to take a detour and climb up from the other side of the North Mountain.
At this time of year, the weather is cold, the roads are snowy and difficult to walk on, and climbing mountains is even more stumbling.
Fortunately, everyone had already stored up their firewood for the winter, and the northern mountain was not high, so there were no wild animals to hunt.
Therefore, the mountains are very quiet, and the only small wooden cabin that provides temporary accommodation is not hard to find.
The guards were cautious. Two stayed behind to protect Li Zhensheng, while the other four slowly approached the wooden house. They hid behind a tree and threw a stone at the wooden door, but there was no sound from inside.
One of the guards approached and coughed, but there was still no response, so he peeked through the crack in the door.
When he turned back, his expression changed, and he quickly retreated.
Seeing this from afar, Li Zhensheng walked over and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
The guard took a deep breath and replied, "Sir, there is indeed only an old woman in the room, but she is lying by the door and looks like she's not breathing."
Dead?
Li Zhensheng quickly led his men over. The door to the wooden house was locked, but the soldiers pried it open with daggers without damaging it in the slightest.
The two wooden doors were pushed open from the inside out. Without the brass locks to support them, the doors suddenly opened wide, and an old woman fell out.
He was wearing a blue brocade jacket that was filthy and disheveled, his hair was messy, and he was lying on the threshold without making a sound.
One of the guards lifted his foot and flipped the old woman over, causing everyone to gasp in shock.
This can no longer be called a human; it's practically a skin and bones humanoid stick.
It's unclear how many days she's been starving; the old woman's face is ashen, her eyes are sunken, and the skin on her neck is pressed against her bones, as if her head would fall off with the slightest touch.
Li Zhensheng silently calculated the dates in his mind. According to Gong Yunshu and the innkeeper, the Gong family held a funeral half a month ago.
In other words, this old lady conspired with her nephew to trick her grandchildren into being secretly brought out and hidden here.
It seems that from that day on, no one brought her food, and no one remembered to set her free!
You brought this on yourself; you were incredibly stupid!
Li Zhensheng really didn't know what to say. He couldn't possibly mock a dead man.
But those eight words kept echoing in his mind!
This old woman wanted to use her nephew to force her granddaughter to become an inside agent, get into the Li family, cling to the Li family, and then kick her nephew out.
But why didn't she think of the consequences of trying to negotiate with a tiger?
Once they've used her, they naturally won't bother to coax her anymore.
As a result, despite his advanced age and a life of comfort and security, he starved to death here!
"Alright, see if she has anything that can be used as a token, take one back to Broken Gold Beach and ask to confirm the old lady's identity, hurry back!" Li Zhensheng waved his hand and said.
The guards quickly got to work, and soon a silver bracelet on the old lady's wrist was removed.
Two guards rode back to Broken Gold Beach, closed the gates, restored the wooden house to its original state, and stood guard there.
The last two followed Li Zhensheng back to the inn, while Li Fu'er and her husband had already inquired about the situation.
"Boss, that thug surnamed Liu is very unpopular here. I heard that many people have lost money because of him. His cousin has never been to town, but it's not hard to find out about him."
"His brother's surname is Bao. His casino is called Siji Ruyi Casino. It's in the north of Xindu. It's not big, but it's very popular."
Li Zhensheng nodded, becoming even more certain in his heart.
Because the place Zhang Jin lured the villagers to gamble was the Siji Ruyi Gambling House, and the casino manager whom Zhang Jin had close ties with was indeed surnamed Bao.
But ever since Wei Dajun was injured, the old soldiers of the Marquis's mansion had been keeping an eye on this steward surnamed Bao, but they did not see him do anything unusual.
I initially thought my family was overthinking things, but now it seems they just changed their strategy and found another way!
If their family hadn't been vigilant, and if the Gong siblings hadn't had a change of heart and confessed early on, these people's scheme might have actually succeeded.
Gong Yunshu is not bad-looking, and he seems to be literate. Given the fact that she saved his life, she might actually win the villagers' favor and even win over the second son's heart during her few months in Suijintan.
After all, the second son's biggest regrets in life were not getting an education and marrying a stupid wife...
This Gong Yunshu can fulfill all of the second son's beautiful fantasies about a partner!
Li Zhensheng's brows furrowed more and more deeply.
It must be said that the person behind this scheme put in a lot of effort and thoroughly studied the Li family.
However, the one thing the person behind it didn't foresee was that these brothers came from a farming family and grew up slowly, but they were constantly growing.
These past few years, facing life and death several times and struggling to survive, have forged an extraordinary unity in them and made their determination to protect their family exceptionally strong.
They are like squirrels with fruit in their hands, craning their necks to observe their surroundings after each bite.
They have no ambition, no envy of others, but they will absolutely not allow anyone to take away their "fruits"!
Therefore, while others might not notice the slightest disturbance, they would already be holding long knives, ready to fight off any invading enemy!
Leaving aside Li Zhensheng's situation in Qingmu Town, it was already afternoon when the two bodyguards returned to Suijintan at top speed.
Last night, Jiayin ruined a lot of potatoes on her social media, trying to make some starch for her mother.
Although she succeeded, she was also extremely exhausted.
Now that she has finished eating, she lies on the kang (a heated brick bed) and takes a nap while hugging her beloved cloth tiger.
Grandma Li sat to one side, watching over her granddaughter, while also doing needlework...
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