Xu Yixing pretended to be surprised: "Dad, does that mean someone stole Mom's things? Who is so bold!"
There was nothing wrong with Xu Yixing calling her mother. Bai was the legal wife and Yi Yan's legal mother. Even if he had never met her, she was still Yi Yan's legal mother, so his father didn't think too much about it.
"Xu Qian, go check." Dad's eyes widened, his hands clenched, as if he'd just learned of this. This was the expression he should have when someone stole something he'd treasured for his deceased wife.
Xu Qian received the order and immediately turned around to go out and investigate. Xu Yixing held his father's arm and sat on the small round stool in the warehouse, looking at each other in silence.
Xu Yixing looked around the house, comparing it with her memory, which might not be very accurate, searching for something missing from the room.
There was a large self-propelled clock, a tribute from overseas, as tall as a man, but it is now missing.
There was also a silver plate with a pattern of birds paying homage to the phoenix. The mouth of the plate was as thick as a water jar, perfect for storing ice cubes to cool down in the summer. My father had originally wanted to give it to Xu Yixing, but she didn't like silverware, so he gave up and it's not in the room anymore.
There seems to be a pure gold leopard statue, but that one is really expensive and is not in the room either...
Bai Shi is so bold! These items are all unique. If they were taken out and traced, they would definitely be found. Why did she dare to do that? Or is it because Huixiang didn't know the importance of things and took whatever she saw as valuable?
While he was thinking, Xu Qian came with a group of people to report, which shocked Xu Yixing. Where did these people come from?
"General, I've checked. The keyhole shows signs of being pried open. It wasn't opened with a key. There must be a thief. Speak one by one!"
The first one to come up was an old man. Xu Yixing remembered him, or to be more precise, Yi Yan remembered him. He was the gatekeeper at the corner gate.
"Master, I am the gatekeeper at the corner gate. I did notice something unusual a few days ago and I dare not hide it."
"explain."
"It was around the New Year when a batch of boxes were sent out from Madam's room. They said they were old and useless. But I saw the horses were struggling to pull them, so they didn't look empty. But I didn't dare ask."
The second person was a maid. Yi Yan remembered that she was the woman who took over from Cai to look after the horses.
"Master, I have also noticed something. On the road that we use for horses, there were traces of maids coming in and out before the New Year last year. They seemed to be the maids of the main courtyard, but I didn't see them clearly."
"Go down."
The third one was the lady working in the kitchen, and the fourth was the boy sweeping the main courtyard. Anyway, they all said that the people in the main courtyard were acting suspiciously. They didn't mention Gu at all, but every word pointed directly at her.
I didn't expect that my father was quite talented in being a judge. He was able to produce so many witnesses in such a short time. It's really amazing.
The fifth and final one was Dad's confidant, the same person as Xu Qian. Seeing him come out, Xu Yixing knew that this was the last witness.
"General, I've been ordered to investigate the whereabouts of lost property. I found our family's lost gold in a small pawnshop in the capital. I've confirmed with the owner and the clerk that it was pawned by a young man. This is a portrait."
Old Man Xu took the paper and saw at a glance that the young man was clearly a woman disguised as a man!
Xu Yixing also saw it. It seems that Huixiang is not that stupid. She even knows how to put on makeup to change her appearance.
"Yan'er, who does this look like to you?"
Are you dragging me into this? You can see it right away.
"This one seems a bit like the maidservant sister beside my mother."
"Hmph! Xu Qian, go and invite the Madam to my study, and then go and tie Huixiang up." The old man waved his hand, stood up from the stool, and took the group of people to the study in front, where he sat quietly waiting for Gu's arrival.
Gu was out today as well. As soon as she came back, she was called to the study by the master. She didn't know what had happened yet.
"Master, what happened? Why is it like a trial in court? It's so lively." Gu originally wanted to laugh it off to lighten the atmosphere, but when she saw the people outside the study and the silence in the inner room, she suddenly had a bad idea.
Seeing that no one paid attention to her, Gu Shuang felt bored, so she asked Huizhi to move a stool for her, sat at the desk, and waited for the master to speak.
Just as he was sitting down, he heard the guards from the outer courtyard come in and hurriedly report:
"Master, Huixiang has hanged herself."
Xu Yixing was shocked. What was going on? Didn’t Gu just come back? How could he have time to kill people to silence them?
Thinking of this, he immediately looked at Gu. Her mouth was open so wide that an apple could be stuffed in it, and she looked even more shocked than he was.
Gu quickly stood up and said, "What? Master, Huixiang is someone close to me. She should have come with me to the banquet today. But she said she was not feeling well and asked for leave. How could she hang herself?"
Old Man Xu ignored her expression and said businesslike, "She got it easy. She probably just heard about the commotion here and realized she couldn't hide it anymore, so she ended it herself!"
Gu immediately understood what this was all about and her face turned pale with fright, but she quickly calmed herself down.
"Master, what's the matter? Why don't I understand a word you say?"
"You don't know?" Old Man Xu quickly glanced at Gu Shuang's face, full of disdain. "Your good girl actually stole things from my warehouse and sold them! The pawnshop owner recognized her. She has no way to deny it with evidence."
Gu Shuang clenched her handkerchief: "Master, the security of the storehouse in the mansion is so strict, how could she, a maid, get in?"
Oh, this Gu Shuang is pretty good, she even knew to hide herself first. The warehouse in the mansion and Dad's warehouse are not in the same place. Gu is determined to put the blame on Huixiang.
"What storehouse in the mansion? It's the storehouse behind my study. Madam has been in the mansion for sixteen or seventeen years, so you must know it."
"The master has personally ordered that no one is allowed to enter the room at the back. I don't even have a key, so of course I don't know where it is."
Xu Yixing saw that Gu's words were so perfect that he knew it was time for him to speak. He stepped forward and bowed:
"Mother, this is what happened. Today, my father mentioned my dowry and said he wanted to take some of the things mother left behind for me, so he came to this warehouse. I didn't expect that when I came in, I found that it had been robbed.
There are many witnesses here who can prove that Sister Huixiang stole and sold things here. Who would have thought that the girl heard about it and hanged herself.
But my daughter finds it strange. The sisters of the Hui generation were all orphans that my father bought five years ago. Unlike the Si generation, they have been in the mansion for many years. This Huixiang sister has no friends or relatives, so what does she need so much money for?
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