There aren't that many coincidences in the world; they're all just calculated schemes.
Zhang Jin from Xiaowangzhuang lured Wei Dajun into gambling and then forced Wei Dajun to take all the villagers away. This could be explained as outsiders coveting the wealth of Suijintan...
But now that the Gong siblings have reappeared, and the person behind them is also connected to the casino, it's safe to say that someone is targeting the Li family and the entire Broken Gold Beach!
"Do you know which casino that thug surnamed Liu works for, and his cousin's name?" Li Zhensheng asked coldly.
Gong Yunshu quickly shook her head, "I don't know, but many people in the town know that several families have lost everything because they were taken to the casino by someone surnamed Liu."
Seeing that Grandma Li looked unwell, Jiayin was afraid that her grandmother would be upset, so she ran over and hugged her grandmother's leg.
Sure enough, Grandma Li sat her granddaughter on her lap, and her expression softened a bit.
She thought for a moment and then asked, "Miss Gong, you've confessed to our family today, which can be considered a betrayal of the person who instigated you. Aren't you afraid they'll do something to your grandmother?"
Gong Yunshu smiled bitterly, holding her younger brother even tighter. "My grandmother only cares about restoring the prosperity of the Gong family and having others respect and flatter her as before. She doesn't care about my brother and me living or dying at all."
“She tried to push me into the fire pit time and time again, which was really unkind of her as a grandmother. Now she has conspired with her uncle to force us to go to Broken Gold Beach to harm people. This is unjust.”
“When my grandfather and father were alive, they often said that as human beings, we must be able to distinguish right from wrong, and know what to do and what not to do, otherwise we are no different from pigs and dogs. The Li family saved our lives with their kindness, and we can never repay kindness with enmity, even if we have to bear the stigma of being unfilial for the rest of our lives.”
Her words were reasonable and persuasive, and Old Lady Li's anger subsided considerably. Seeing that Li Zhensheng and Li Lao Er were also nodding gently, she said, "Get up, the ground is cold, and you're still injured!"
Does this mean we shouldn't blame them?
Gong Yunshu's eyes reddened, and she kowtowed again with her younger brother. When she tried to get up, she stumbled and almost bumped into the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) because of numbness and weakness in her legs.
Li Lao Er instinctively helped her up, and once she was steady, he carried Gong Yu onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
Li Zhensheng looked at the Marquis and said, "My lord, I only sent two old servants to Qingmu Town, which is probably not enough. Do you have any capable men you can lend me three or four? I'll go there myself to investigate and maybe even bring some people back..."
The Marquis nodded and said, "I will go straight back to the dock camp tomorrow. I won't need that many personal guards. You can send as many as you want."
"Alright, I'll be going now." The eldest brother stood up and instructed his younger brother and mother, "You two should also be careful at home. Wait for my news before making any decisions."
"Okay, be careful."
Grandma Li was worried about her son, but she also knew that at this time, not hindering him was helping him.
Li Zhensheng immediately went out and, seeing that the Marquis had twenty or thirty personal guards, selected six of them and rushed to Qingmu Town overnight.
When the Marquis saw Jiayin yawn, he picked her up and left.
Grandma Li looked at the Gong siblings with a complicated expression, then sighed and said, "You should focus on recovering first. We'll discuss everything after our family has investigated. But you can't leave this house; you'll be watched at all times."
"Also, think again, is there anything else that hasn't been explained clearly? If you remember anything, have someone come and report it to us..."
After saying that, she glanced at Granny He, and after Granny He and Shui Ling nodded, she got up and went out with Li Lao Er.
Granny He and Shui Ling quickly heated up the medicine. Shui Ling was very careful, but Granny He still slapped her twice and asked, "Will you dare to run out and watch the excitement again?"
"I won't do it again," Shui Ling said regretfully, quickly begging for forgiveness, "Granny, I know I was wrong. I didn't know they were bad people. I thought they couldn't get out of bed either..."
Granny He glared at her and warned, "As the master's family prospers, there will likely be more and more people like this, harboring ill intentions. The masters can be kind-hearted, but we can't! We are the masters' eyes and ears outside, so we should be careful even if it means offending people, understand?"
"I understand, I understand!" Shui Ling nodded vigorously, almost shaking her hair off.
Granny He then stopped saying anything and brought in the medicinal soup.
After taking the medicine, the Gong siblings quickly fell asleep.
Granny He and Shui Ling stayed by the oil lamp for a while, doing needlework, before going to sleep.
In the neighboring yard, Jiayin stayed by her grandmother's side, listening to her sigh from time to time. Knowing that her grandmother was in a bad mood, she secretly took two apples and pulled her grandmother to eat them secretly under the covers.
The sweet and sour apples made Grandma Li feel much better. When she saw her granddaughter hugging the apple like a little hamster and munching on it with juice all over her face, she smiled.
She sighed softly, "That's just how the world is. Just do your duty, be true to your conscience, and you can't worry about anything else."
Jiayin pounced on her, rubbing against her grandmother's face with a sticky, gleeful expression. This annoyed Grandma Li, who quickly found a damp cloth to wipe her granddaughter's face. The two then rinsed their mouths before falling asleep snuggled together affectionately.
Meanwhile, Li Zhensheng led his men to Qingmu Town overnight, and it was almost dawn.
There was only one inn in Qingmu Town, and Li Zhensheng found Li Fu'er and his wife as soon as he entered.
The couple came under the pretext of searching for relatives. They seemed honest and kind, and were willing to spend money. They had already gotten a lot of information out of the innkeeper and the staff. They were going home to report this morning, but then their employer arrived.
There were few people on the second floor of the inn. Li Zhensheng booked a room and chatted with Li Fu'er and his wife without anyone else knowing.
Li Fu'er is a bit clumsy with words, but his wife is quite capable, explaining everything clearly to Li Zhensheng from beginning to end.
“Master, my wife and I will pretend to be looking for relatives. We’ll say that our mother is dying and our sister married into the family many years ago but we haven’t heard from her since. We’re planning to look for her.”
"When the innkeeper heard that we were looking for the Gong family, he secretly advised us not to make a fuss. After we gave him the money, he told us in private that something had happened to the Gong family and that everyone in the family was dead."
"It seems like a few years ago, the patriarch of the Gong family, a scholar, was robbed and killed by villains while he was out. His wife, the scholar, also committed suicide after him. The patriarch of the Gong family, a scholar who had passed the imperial examination, died of illness due to the shock!"
"The old lady of the Gong family has been obsessed with finding a good marriage for her granddaughter these past two years, which has offended many relatives and friends. Those relatives of the Gong family are no good either; they are all eyeing their family and want to seize the family property."
"It was said a while ago that the old lady of the Gong family had also passed away, and not long after, the grandchildren of the Gong family disappeared without a trace. On the other hand, the nephews of the Gong family were always looking radiant. Everyone guessed that the grandchildren of the Gong family had been murdered."
Li Zhensheng nodded, these statements matched Gong Yunshu's perfectly.
He then asked, "Did your inquiries about the Gong family arouse suspicion from others?"
“No, we told them we’d come to the wrong place. My brother-in-law isn’t a scholar,” Li Fu’s wife laughed. “The young man was even happy for us, saying that the Gong family’s affairs were a murky mess and nobody dared to get involved.”
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