Chapter 498 Inquiry
"How is the situation at the Marquis of Yi'an's residence?"
Yun Yichen left in a hurry earlier, and his expression seemed very unusual, so Lu Changqing sent someone to investigate.
"A white sail is hanging outside the gate of the Marquis of Yi'an's residence. I inquired and found out that the deceased was a concubine's daughter from the second branch of the family, but the funeral was presided over by the Marquis of Yi'an's wife."
"But how did he die?"
Lu Changqing's face remained expressionless, as if nothing could disturb him in the slightest.
"They said the horse was startled and there was an accident, but when our people came back, they said it was because of that concubine from the second wife who had tampered with things and intended to set Miss Gu up to fall off the cliff."
As soon as the man finished speaking, Lu Changqing sat up abruptly. He narrowed his eyes and asked with a hint of danger, "Bring the person here. I want to question him myself."
At the Yi'an Marquis's residence, the members of the Gu family wore expressions of grief in the mourning hall. Even the Second Master Gu, who usually only knew about fleeting pleasures and women, rarely showed such sorrow.
"Yuxin, don't be too sad. It's not our wish for our sister to suffer this calamity. We just hope that she won't encounter this kind of thing in her next life."
Gu Yuxin was the most heartbroken of all. Knowing that the two sisters had a close relationship, Second Master Gu couldn't help but step forward and pat Gu Yuxin on the shoulder.
Gu Yuxin merely glanced at him, nodded, and then remained silent.
She had long since given up hope for this father, but seeing that he could grieve for Yuhe's death, Gu Yuxin felt that he still had some conscience.
However, as a man, he couldn't control his wives and concubines, couldn't protect his children, and even after his daughter's death, he could only wipe away a tear. Gu Yuxin really looked down on Second Master Gu.
Master Gu was heartbroken. He thought that by offering a few words of comfort to his daughter, the two of them could put aside their past grievances and console each other. But little did he know that Gu Yuxin had no such intention at all.
Seeing this, Master Gu could only stand silently to the side, looking at the coffin and sobbing softly.
"Miss, they've confessed over there."
Yu Fei came in from outside, looked around, and then whispered in Gu Shuyan's ear.
At the same time, Gu Renjie also received the news.
Originally, both he and Xu Yunzhi wanted to go to the palace with Yun Yichen, but before they even reached the palace gate, Xu Yunzhi was first called away by the envoy from Jin, and then he was asked to leave by his colleagues.
When he returned to the Marquis's residence after finishing his business, he learned that Gu Shuyan and the others had encountered such a terrible thing on their way back.
The brother and sister slowly left the mourning hall. When they reached the corner, they exchanged a glance and walked towards the woodshed where Aunt Qiao was imprisoned.
Inside the woodshed, Aunt Qiao was tied to a pillar, and an old woman was standing in front of her, holding out ten-inch-long needles.
As soon as Gu Shuyan and Gu Renjie entered, the old woman hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Miss and young master, she has confessed everything."
After finishing her sentence, the old woman respectfully stepped aside, waiting for her two masters to ask her questions.
Looking at the weak Aunt Qiao, Gu Shuyan didn't even raise her eyes. She naturally knew what kind of suffering Aunt Qiao had endured. After all, these methods, such as inserting needles, applying salt water, and tightening ropes around the waist, were all provided to the old woman by Gu Shuyan.
In her past life, Gu Shuyan didn't learn anything else from Lu Youming, but she learned a whole bunch of torture techniques, so she wasn't afraid that Aunt Qiao wouldn't tell me the truth.
"Tell me! Who has been giving you advice all this time?"
Given Aunt Qiao's personality, Gu Shuyan simply didn't believe she could come up with so many roundabout methods.
Moreover, there are many ways to startle a horse, but Aunt Qiao chose this method.
So Gu Shuyan had Yun Yichen examine the medicines, and they eventually found clues in them.
"It's honeysuckle, the maid who used to be by my side." Aunt Qiao had just suffered, but she answered the question quickly.
Seeing this, Gu Shuyan continued, "Then who instructed you to put a drug in the sachet that would drive the horse mad?"
"It's also honeysuckle. She said that kind of medicine is a local medicine from her hometown, and the doctors in the capital wouldn't recognize it. Moreover, that medicine can only drive animals crazy. As long as people are fine, it's impossible for them to find out that there's something wrong with the medicine."
Aunt Qiao's voice was a little weak, but her pleading eyes told Gu Shuyan that she was not lying.
"So, you didn't know there was someone behind Honeysuckle?"
Gu Renjie did not immediately believe Aunt Qiao. Instead, he narrowed his eyes dangerously and stared at her, making Aunt Qiao feel as if she were exposed to the sun with nowhere to hide.
"I don't know." Aunt Qiao's eyes flickered, and she quickly lowered her head.
Seeing this, Gu Renjie became even more certain of his guess. "No, you actually knew all along, and you even deliberately kept Ren Dong. You wanted to take revenge on everyone in the Marquis's mansion, and you wanted to support your son to take the throne, but you knew you weren't capable enough, so when you saw that Ren Dong had a powerful background, you simply kept Ren Dong to help you deal with everyone in the Marquis's mansion, right?"
Gu Renjie approached step by step, and Aunt Qiao's thoughts were gradually exposed by him, making her increasingly nervous.
She did know that Ren Dong was a traitor, and she did want to use Ren Dong to deal with the people in the Marquis's mansion, but how could she admit it?
"No, I didn't know that honeysuckle harbored malicious intentions, and I don't know what you meant by those words." Aunt Qiao shook her head like a rattle drum.
Gu Renjie had long known that Aunt Qiao wouldn't admit it. With a smirk, he said, "It doesn't matter if Aunt Qiao doesn't know. Anyway, Ren Dong is still locked up. She'll probably be happy to tell us the answer."
Gu Renjie paused deliberately at this point, and continued, "I forgot to tell you something. My second uncle had previously asked my father to let my third brother go to Rongde Academy, but now it seems that I should ask my father to change my third brother to another academy."
The academy Gu Renjie mentioned was the best academy in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. Countless scholars had passed the imperial examinations there, and nearly a third of the current officials came from Rongde Academy.
It was precisely because of Rongde Academy's fame that young men from the capital were scrambling to get in.
“Young Master, you can’t do this.” Concerning her son’s future, Aunt Qiao immediately retorted.
But when she met Gu Renjie's gaze, Aunt Qiao realized that Gu Renjie had mentioned Gu Zongjie in order to force her to compromise.
Seeing Aunt Qiao hesitate again, Gu Shuyan spoke up: "Gu Zongjie is just a son of a concubine in the second branch of the family. He is only favored by the second uncle because of his status as the eldest son. But if the second aunt gives birth to a legitimate son, I don't know if the second uncle will still care about this eldest son of a concubine."
Gu Shuyan's words immediately aroused Aunt Qiao's vigilance. Although she knew that Gu Shuyan said this on purpose, it was indeed the truth.
The Gu family values rules and regulations, and the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is naturally their top priority. Currently, her son is favored because of his seniority, but it's hard to guarantee that Uncle Gu will remain as respected in the future.
Therefore, whether or not he could get into Rongde Academy was extremely important to Gu Zongjie.
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