Old Madam Gu stretched her neck, pounded her chest with both hands, and let out a miserable scream. Her eyes were bloodshot, like a mother wolf full of ferocity protecting her cubs. The sound was so shrill that it didn't seem to come from a human throat at all.
Everyone felt a mix of bitterness, resentment, and anger.
Lord Gu couldn't help but choke up.
"Mother, it's because your son is useless, Mother!"
Master Gu was so ashamed that he couldn't lift his head.
Is a man who can't protect the women in his family even a man?
This is all because of his incompetence as a son!
Qin Yuan didn't care about anything else at this moment. She took out a silver needle from her sleeve and quickly inserted it into the old lady's philtrum and the key acupoints on her hands. Seeing that her breathing had calmed down, she said with relief, "Fortunately, Doctor Li often comes to check on your health. He has also looked at the food at home. Mother was just overwhelmed by anger. It will be fine once you calm down. Mother is old and should not be overly excited or frightened."
Lord Gu hurriedly wiped away his tears and gently placed Old Madam Gu on the couch, saying, "Mother, please don't be angry. Our family isn't spineless, nor are we without a plan. These past few days, I not only investigated the Mo family's affairs but also joined forces with Prince Qi to cut off Yelü Guzha's financial resources. Today, Prince Jin and Yelü Guzha have come to bully me, so how could I let them get away with it? Of course, the debts owed to the Crown Prince and Empress Lin will be settled one by one."
He spoke very slowly, one word at a time, and everyone present could hear him clearly.
After a long pause, Madam Gu said, "Since that's the case, then tell me your plans in detail. Now that Sixth Prince and Baozhu have grown up, you can't bear the storms of life alone."
Lord Gu hesitated before saying, "The Mo family's matter..."
Madam Gu said, "Just tell me. How is that girl doing? Don't hide anything from me."
Lord Gu scanned the crowd.
Qin Yuan showed no sign of panic, while Master Gu looked astonished, and Gu Baozhu was itching to get involved.
Lord Gu lowered his eyes, considered carefully for a moment, and then said, "Mother is right. Sixth Brother has improved a lot since before, and even Baozhu has become much more sensible. In the future, he can't be so confused about who to seek revenge on."
Without needing to be told, Rong Momo stood guard at the door so they could discuss matters.
After a pause, Lord Gu said in a deep voice, "My son went to the family temple and carefully examined the terrain. The courtyard was originally a guest courtyard used by the family temple to house the women of the household. Later, several parts collapsed, and the abbot said that it was no longer usable due to disrepair. Fewer people went there, and it has been abandoned since then."
Madam Gu nodded: "Since you left, not only have you been living a secluded life in the mansion, but the clansmen have also been very careful in everything they do. Naturally, you've visited the ancestral temple less often, and the clans haven't held many grand funerals."
The Marquis of Dingbei's mansion held several funerals in a row, and everyone thought that the mansion was about to collapse. The number of people who went to the ancestral temple for the funerals decreased each time. In fact, the funerals of Xu Shi were not as grand as those of the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion.
Who in this world doesn't flatter the powerful and belittle the weak?
Lord Gu nodded and said, "My son ordered his men to search the house carefully and found several unusual things. The magistrate of the Jingzhao Prefecture also said that the house did not seem to have collapsed, but rather that it had been pushed over to cover up the evidence. There was only half a skeleton in the dry well, and the gold ornament was the fourth son's personal possession. My son was completely puzzled and ordered his men to inquire at the Mo family, but the Mo family had already disappeared."
All the daughters of the Mo family who had married out were gone. Even the marriage arranged for Mo Xiaoni was done in her place by her personal maid. When the maid saw me, she asked if her mistress was in grave danger, otherwise why had she only come looking for me now?
Madam Gu felt dizzy and, barely managing to support herself, asked, "You, you, what exactly did she say?"
Lord Gu glanced at his mother's expression and said, "The maid said she didn't know anything. This marriage was arranged by Master Mo. Mo Xiaoni didn't refuse, but on the wedding day, she asked the maid to marry in her place. Later, she used various methods to delay the return visit three days later. She was worried about what would happen next, but she didn't expect the Mo family to move away quietly."
Qin Yuan lowered her head in deep thought.
After a long pause, Old Madam Gu asked with trembling lips, "How is this possible? Isn't she Mo family girl's personal maid? How could she know nothing? Is she lying? Mo family girl, she..."
Everyone knew in their hearts that Miss Mo's chances of survival were slim.
The personal maidservant must have done something in between.
Upon hearing this, Lord Gu sighed and said, "I would rather she had lied to me. She said that she did not initially serve Mo Xiaoni, but the Mo family dealt with all of Mo Xiaoni's personal maids and did not keep any of them. It was only then that she was promoted to be Mo Xiaoni's personal maid, and later she accompanied her as part of the dowry."
After I finished questioning her, she committed suicide that very night. She was a pitiful woman, having left no children, and was waiting for Mo Xiaoni to send her a message to come and fetch her.
Old Madam Gu burst into tears, saying, "My child, you have such a miserable life..."
Qin Yuan quickly and gently patted Madam Gu's back to help her breathe.
Sixth Master Gu also secretly shed tears.
After a long while, Madam Gu finally stopped crying and asked, choking back tears, "Third son, are you trying to say that the one in that dry well is Mo Xiaoni?"
Lord Gu's eyes reddened, and it took him a long time to speak with difficulty: "I'm afraid so. I guess she was probably killed by Zhiguang and his men. Zhiguang is on the run now, and he claims he doesn't know anything about this murder. He even blames the theft and melting of silver on his deceased master. However, the Black Wind Stronghold kidnapped him. I saw it clearly that night. Not only were there the Marquis of Chengen's assassins, but also members of the Yelü clan involved."
Only by capturing the monk Zhiguang can we get the details.
Lord Gu swallowed the cause of death determined by the magistrate—the neck bones of the corpse looked as if they had been snapped—so as not to cause Old Madam Gu further grief.
Old Madam Gu cried and cried, "Why did that child run away from her arranged marriage to come to the capital? Why didn't she come to find us but went to the family temple? And why did she offend those thieves?"
Lord Gu hesitated and did not respond.
Sixth Master Gu sniffed, his voice thick with nasal congestion, and said, "I hadn't thought of this until Mother mentioned it. Sister Mo is quite favored at home. If she didn't want to marry, she could have simply refused. Why send a maid to marry in her place? The Mo family is really strange. Their daughter didn't return on her wedding day, and they didn't seem worried at all, just quietly moved away. Could it be that they discovered it and were afraid the other party would cause trouble?"
Gu Baozhu nodded.
"This is indeed strange. If the Mo family went to visit their daughter, or if the son-in-law took his daughter home to see his parents, wouldn't the secret be exposed? They managed to keep it a secret for so many years. That maid lived in fear and trembling for so many years, never expecting that her mistress had already died far away. She waited for so many years, only to receive this result. It's truly pitiful."
After saying that, he glanced at Qin Yuan, who was bowing her head and remaining silent, and asked, "Third Sister-in-law, do you think what I said makes sense?"
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