As she spoke, she had already stood up and went to the Imperial Master's Mansion.
Speaking of which, the National Master hasn't been seen for a while, and no one knows what he's been doing.
Even at my last wedding, he just came hurriedly to drink a few sips of wine, left a gift and left. I really don't know what he was busy with.
Gu Yunni came to the house in person. Logically, he was supposed to see her, but in the end, she couldn't even get into the house.
"When did he go into seclusion?" Gu Yunni looked at the servant at the door in surprise.
The servant replied politely, "It's been a long time. If the Crown Prince's Consort has anything to do, I will report to you as soon as the Imperial Preceptor comes out of seclusion."
In that case, Gu Yunni had no choice but to go there on her own.
She waved her hand, got back on the carriage, and rode quickly to Changning Village, with the Minister's son following beside her.
Changning Village was in ruins. Officials had come to count the death toll, and traces of blood could still be seen.
The son of the Shangshu also followed Gu Yunni and told her about the clues that the government had recently found.
No suspicious persons were seen near Changning Village.
The villagers died in the same way, basically at home. It must have been multiple people who committed the crime to massacre the village in such a short time, leaving the villagers no time to react.
Gu Yunni looked around Changning Village. Although there were many mountains nearby, there were not many places suitable for many people to hide.
There were no extra clues, and she was confused.
At this time, there were several hurried horse hoof sounds. It was Sheng Mingyu who rushed over after learning about the situation.
As soon as Sheng Mingyu returned home, he heard the servants report that Gu Yunni had gone out with a man, so he rode a fast horse over.
Seeing the Minister next to Gu Yunni, Sheng Mingyu looked unhappy.
The Minister smiled knowingly and bowed to Sheng Mingyu, saying, "The case in Changning Village is somewhat unusual, so I asked the Crown Prince's wife for help. Now that the Crown Prince is here, I have other things to do, so I'll leave first."
The Shangshu Gongzi left tactfully, which also made Gu Yunni smell the jealousy on Sheng Mingyu. She took his hand and said softly, "Mingyu, I'm just helping with the investigation. There are so many lives lost in Changning Village. I can't just sit there and do nothing."
"How is the investigation going now?" Sheng Mingyu naturally couldn't let go.
"I just checked around and didn't find anything unusual. I'm waiting for dark."
After saying that, Gu Yunni looked at the sky, then looked at Sheng Mingyu and pulled him towards Changning Village. "You are so capable, help me investigate too."
Sheng Mingyu was very pleased with Gu Yunni's submissive attitude, so he completely let go of the previous matter, "Yunni, I am worried about your safety."
The two explored Changning Village together until dark, but they did not find any useful clues.
Gu Yunni stood in the village and waited until the moon came out before she began to prepare. "I can only summon the souls. The dead are always the most honest."
She picked up a few suitable stones, set up the formation with the help of moonlight, and took out the talisman paper in her arms and pressed it down on the center of the formation.
A red line connected the stone and talisman paper, and a simple spirit-calling banner stood beside it.
Gu Yunni stood in the formation, holding a talisman in her hand, chanting the mantra to summon souls.
After a few incense sticks, sweat dripped from Gu Yunni's forehead to the ground, her brows were furrowed, and her knuckles turned white.
The soul-calling flag did not move at all. In a village where all the people were killed, it was impossible to call back the souls of the dead.
"Yun Ni, be careful of backlash." Sheng Mingyu was worried about Gu Yun Ni and couldn't help but remind her.
Gu Yunni put down the talisman and shook her head. "Changning Village can't attract any wronged souls. I searched for souls for a long time, but couldn't find any."
Sheng Mingyu let her lean on his arms to quickly recover her strength, and said distressedly: "The case in Changning Village is probably not as simple as we thought."
The two rested for a while, and when Gu Yunni recovered, they started walking up the mountain again.
Changning Village was quiet and silent, with a few birds flying down from the sky from time to time.
She frowned and walked up the mountain step by step. When they reached the mountainside, they found a path.
It seemed to be stepped on step by step by someone, and there were some muddy footprints.
Follow this path directly to the back mountain of Changning Village.
At this moment, there was a faint yellow light flashing in front, which seemed to be an oil lamp.
Gu Yunni gradually approached and saw that the thatched hut was a bit simple and its location was extremely hidden.
"Be careful, everyone in Changning Village is dead. The sudden appearance of these people might be suspicious."
Sheng Mingyu looked around vigilantly.
The two men approached step by step, and heard a creaking sound. An old lady holding a bamboo stick slowly opened the door.
"Who is it?"
Gu Yunni looked at the old lady in tattered clothes, with cloudy eyes, using a bamboo stick to feel the way. It turned out that she was a blind old lady.
Sheng Mingyu stepped forward and said softly, "Old man, it's late. I wonder if I can stay at your house for a day?"
The blind old lady pushed the door, hesitated for a while, and finally slowly made way in front of the door.
"My place is small and shabby, I hope you don't mind."
Sheng Mingyu and Gu Yunni both entered.
Although the old lady was blind, she swept the shed very cleanly. There were two large vats in the yard, and the corners were green, but they were still kept very neatly.
The blind old woman shook the well water and brought them a bowl of water.
Seeing that the bottom of the bowl was a little turbid, Sheng Mingyu shook his head at her.
Gu Yunni thought for a moment and then revealed her true identity. "Old man, we are here on the emperor's orders to learn about the affairs of Changning Village."
The blind old lady, who was originally a little timid, trembled like a sieve and knelt down immediately.
"I greet you, sir."
Gu Yunni lifted the person up gently. "We have no ill intentions. This is just a routine inquiry. You just need to answer."
The blind old woman nodded and waited respectfully for questions.
"Have you been in the mountains behind Changning Village all day? Did you hear anything?"
The blind old lady suddenly became emotional and knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
His already tightly closed eyes and pale cheeks looked even more terrifying due to the tears streaming down his face.
"Your Excellency may not know that I am originally from Changning Village. I married into my husband's family and gave birth to a son and a daughter twenty years ago. However, they both died of illness two years ago. In the same year, my mother-in-law and her husband also died under mysterious circumstances. The village head believed I was an evil spirit and drove me out of the village."
As the blind old woman spoke, tears fell in sorrow.
"Since then, I left the village and came to the back of the mountain not far from the stream. I built a thatched hut and lived there until now. I didn't pay attention to what was happening outside."
After listening to the blind old lady's story, Gu Yunni fell silent for a while.
I couldn't find any words to comfort him. There were too many suffering people in this world. I vaguely grasped the clue in my mind, but it was gone in a flash.
"Sir, let me make the bed for you." The blind old lady walked into the house, trembling, leaning on a bamboo stick.
"Let's go." Gu Yunni didn't ask any more questions and returned with Sheng Mingyu the same way.
Walking on the mountain path, she kept thinking about the truth of the blind old woman's words just now.
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