After a pause, Gu Xin continued, "There's one more thing. Whether their wives know or not is unimportant. What's important is whether Bai Shijun, the eldest son of the second branch, knows. Think about it, with the death of the Prince of Donglin and Bai Shijie, the title certainly won't fall to Yu Ge'er; it will only go to Bai Lao Er. We were just analyzing whether the real Bai Lao San would kill Bai Lao Er so that the title would be his. Now it seems that this Bai Shijun is also suspicious."
Officer Gao chimed in, "Third Miss, taking the position of heir apparent as an example, the fourth branch of the family is also quite suspicious. Think about it, if the second son of the Bai family is truly infertile, then the two sons of the second branch must be the third son of the Bai family. If this gets out, it will be an absolute scandal. If it reaches the Emperor, whether it's the petition written by the Prince of Donglin before his death or the petition written by the living Princess Consort, the Emperor certainly doesn't want someone with such a scandal to become the heir apparent. The only one in the Bai family who can barely qualify as the heir apparent is the fourth son, Bai Jiasheng."
Gu Xin gave Officer Gao a thumbs up: "You're right, Bai Laosi's behavior just now was also a bit suspicious."
Officer Gao was overjoyed to receive the affirmation and excitedly asked, "What do we do next?"
Gu Xin waved her hand: "Go to sleep now. Have the brothers keep a close eye on the remaining three brothers of the Bai family. Oh, and keep an eye on the Princess as well. We'll talk about the rest after you wake up. You and Bai Yi didn't get much rest last night, so don't overwork yourselves."
Rest is of utmost importance. Gu Xin and Zheng Qiu were alright; they slept for a while in the carriage last night. But Officer Gao, Bai Yi, and Bai Er had been driving the carriage the whole time, and had barely closed their eyes since yesterday afternoon.
Gu Xin had just added jade beads to the tea, and all four of them got some. It was a pity that Bai Er was still out on business and couldn't drink any. Gu Xin would have to wait until tomorrow to give him some.
After agreeing on the terms, everyone went to make their own arrangements and then rest.
I slept soundly until dawn, when the man in white arrived early.
"So? What did you find?" Gu Xin asked.
“Last night, Bai Lao Er, Bai Lao San, and Bai Shijun were all in the study and didn’t rest. We couldn’t peek. But we’ve already checked Bai Lao Si and Bai Shilin, the second son of the second wife. They didn’t have any scratches on their bodies,” Bai Yi said.
Gu Xin twitched her lips, "It's really tough on you guys, giving someone a physical exam right off the bat."
"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream rang out. Gu Xin and Bai Yi exchanged a glance. Gu Xin quickly headed towards the sound, while Bai Yi stayed behind to call Zheng Qiu and lead the way for her.
The sound came from the courtyard of the third house.
When Gu Xin arrived, she heard the cries of Madam Jiang, the third wife of Bai, and her two daughters.
"My husband, my husband..."
"Father, Father!"
Gu Xin walked into Bai Laosan's study and saw the same scene she had seen in Bai Shijie's room the night before.
Bai Sanye lay hunched over, his head turned toward the roof, his eyes wide open in death.
The tea on the table hadn't been spilled. Gu Xin walked over and smelled it, then went to the window and looked outside.
Just like the layout of Bai Shijie's study, there was also a lotus pond outside the window of Bai Sanye's study.
Gu Xin checked the windowsill but found no trace. She climbed out and went to the lotus pond, where there was another puddle of water.
A morning breeze blew, and the surface of the pond shimmered.
At this moment, Zheng Qiu arrived carrying a box and dressed in white.
Madam Bai's scream was so loud that the other branches of the Bai family heard it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com