Before nightfall, blood was already seen in Duke Lu's mansion.
Gao knew something serious had happened when she saw Duke Lu was about to take all the men away from the mansion. She went to his study to ask what had happened, but the servant told her that he had gone to Concubine Liu's courtyard.
Aunt Liu was terrified. "Master, what's going on? Why are we leaving? When will we be back?"
"We won't be coming back. We have to get to the southwest as soon as possible. Don't bring any messy things with you. We can buy more when we get to the southwest."
Wan Guochao still dreamed of becoming an official. "Dad, when we get to the southwest, can you let me do some meritorious service and earn an official position?"
Duke Lu was about to scold Wan Guochao when Gao came in. "Why are you here?"
"I came to ask the master, when will we leave for the southwest?"
"We'll leave tomorrow. You and Guoxing will stay in the mansion first. I'll come pick you up after I've settled down in the southwest."
Gao was filled with hatred and anger. "How long are you going to keep lying to me, Master? You've taken all the men away from the mansion. Is he planning to abandon this Duke's Mansion?"
"What nonsense are you talking about! I'm only going to the southwest on the imperial order. You're the mistress of the house, and Guoxing is the crown prince. What's wrong with staying in the capital?"
Gao laughed and then burst into tears. "I just heard you say you wouldn't return to the capital. Wanhong, you and I have been married for thirty years, and I believe I have never wronged you. Why are you so cruel to Guoxing and me?"
Duke Lu didn't want to cause any more trouble for me. "Don't overthink it. Guoxing is my eldest son. I will never give up on him."
Gao no longer wanted to believe what Duke Lu said. "If that's the case, Master should take me and Guoxing's family with him and leave, leaving Liu and Wan Guochao to guard the capital!"
"I told you that I'll send someone to pick you and Guoxing up as soon as I get to the southwest. I'll take Hui'er with me this time."
"Hui'er is Guoxing's eldest son. What? Are you using Hui'er to threaten Guoxing and me?"
Wan Guoxing was ruined, and Wan Guochao was stupid. Duke Lu really liked Wan Hui, the eldest grandson, and he really wanted to bring him to the southwest to train him. "That's my eldest grandson, I..."
"You have more than just Hui'er as your grandson! Wanhong! I just want to ask you one thing: are you really determined to abandon Guoxing and me?"
"I told you, I'm not abandoning you. When I get to the southwest, I will..."
Gao raised her hand to interrupt Duke Lu. Her upbringing did not allow her to act like a spoiled child. She straightened her back, swallowed hard, and said, "Okay, very good!" Then she turned and left.
She returned to her courtyard and called her personal nanny, "Tell Wu Yong to take our Gao family and kill Concubine Liu and Wan Guochao!"
"Madam! This...what did the master say, why..."
Gao hugged the nanny and burst into tears, "Wan Hong wants to abandon Guo Xing and me and take those two bitches Liu and Wan Guochao to the southwest."
Madam Gao had grown up with her, and they had a deep bond. Patting Gao's back to comfort her, she cried, "My dear Madam, Wan Hong is such a worthless person! How could he... Madam is his legitimate wife."
Gao's face was full of sternness. "Wan Hong wants to take away all the men in the mansion. Humph! But he forgot that there are also men in this mansion who I brought with me from the Gao family. Madam, go find Wu Yong and ask him to kill Liu and Wan Guochao."
Wu Yong and the others' indentures were in the hands of the Gao family, their master. If the master died, the slaves would die, too. Death was the end of the matter, so what was there to fear?
Concubine Liu was pacing the room, upset that she couldn't take all her jewelry with her. Wan Guoxing was also there, angry that Duke Lu wouldn't let him take an official position. Both mother and son were in a bad mood!
Wu Yong and others rushed in, and without waiting for Aunt Liu to question her, Wu Yong slashed her neck with a knife.
Wan Guochao was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and kowtowed for mercy. Wu Yong grabbed Wan Guochao's shoulder with one hand and stabbed him in the heart with a knife in the other.
The servants in the yard ran out crying and told Duke Lu.
Duke Lu looked at the bodies of Concubine Liu and Wan Guochao and went to Gao's yard angrily.
Gao did not hide. She sat upright on the chair waiting for Duke Lu, Wu Yong and others standing in the yard.
Thirty years after their marriage, Duke Lu had forgotten that Wu Yong and the others were actually part of Gao's dowry. "Wu Yong, I'll kill you!"
Gao shouted, "Wan Hong! I was the one who killed Liu and Wan Guochao. Come and kill me if you dare!"
Duke Lu rushed into the room with a knife in hand, pointed the tip at Gao, and said through gritted teeth, "Do you think I dare not kill you?"
"Then kill me! Wan Hong, the thing I regret most in my life is marrying you!"
"Regret? What right do you have to regret? Didn't your Gao family pray for this? If your father and the Queen Mother weren't cousins, why would the Queen Mother issue an imperial decree to marry you to me?"
Gao laughed bitterly and said, "So you have always been dissatisfied with this marriage. If I had known this, why would I torture myself?" Although this marriage was planned by her father, she had feelings for Wan Hong after being married for many years.
Xie Zhi stood at the door and reminded him, "Master, this is an important matter!"
It would be fine if Concubine Liu died, but if the mistress of the house died, Duke Lu would not be able to leave.
Duke Lu put away his knife and said, "Ms. Gao, you'd better take care of yourself!" The emperor will not let Duke Lu's mansion go. If he doesn't kill Ms. Gao, she will not live long.
Duke Lu left, and the nanny asked Gao, "Madam, what should we do?"
There was no hope for her son, but her grandson still needed someone to take care of him. Gao sighed in relief, as if she had aged a lot. "Let me think about it."
At night, Duke Lu's mansion was brightly lit.
Duke Lu ordered Concubine Liu and Wan Guochao taken out of the mansion for burial. Despite his grief, he and Xie Zhi re-examined the guards and housekeepers within the mansion. He feared Gao would send someone to attack him in secret when he was least prepared.
But before he could finish the investigation, a servant came running over covered in blood, "Master, Kang Yueran is here to kill us..." and then he died.
Xie Zhi stepped forward and pulled out the iron arrow stuck in the boy's chest. "Master, it's Kang Yueran's crossbow."
Duke Lu took the iron arrow and weighed it in his hand, "This iron arrow is heavier than Kang Yueran's arrow." Kang Yueran's arrows are lighter than normal arrows, and the one in his hand is of normal weight.
"Master, you mean, it's not Kang Yueran who's here?"
Recalling Emperor Jianning's previous actions, Duke Lu quickly figured out the whole story. He sneered, "It's the Emperor's men. He wants me and Prince Ping to kill each other in order to avenge Nie Qiu'er."
Xie Zhi thought for a long time before he remembered who Nie Qiu'er was. "The female bandit from Woyu Mountain?"
Before Duke Lu could answer, Kang Yueran, dressed in black and wearing a veil, rushed in with a crossbow in hand, followed by more than a hundred men in black.
The man in black raised his knife and killed anyone he saw without saying a word.
Duke Lu subdued a man in black, snatched the knife from his hand, and killed the man in black with one blow. Then he shouted to his guards, "Kill them!"
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