A "corpse" was found!
These four words, spoken by Lin Wanwan, carried an undeniable resolve that caused the air in the entire room to freeze.
Grandma Liu finally realized what was happening. She grabbed Lin Wanwan's hand, a startling light flashing in her cloudy eyes, and asked in a trembling voice, "Madam...you mean...my daughter...she was murdered?"
“Grandma, this is just our guess.” Lin Wanwan took her cold hand in return and comforted her softly, “But only by seeing your daughter can we find evidence. Don’t worry, we will never let her die in vain.”
Xiao Che's gaze sharpened. He looked at the darkening night outside the window and said in a deep voice, "The Gao family ancestral hall is heavily guarded. It will be nearly impossible to sneak in unnoticed before noon tomorrow."
“Forced entry is obviously not an option.” Lin Wanwan’s lips curled into a meaningful smile. “But don’t forget, Your Majesty, you are now ‘Master Xiao from the capital’.”
Xiao Che was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized.
Yes! He's a "wealthy businessman"!
And what are businessmen best at?
It costs money!
That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high, with dark clouds obscuring the moon.
Most of Suzhou was already asleep, with only a few barks occasionally breaking the deep night.
However, deep within the vast Gao family mansion, in a secluded courtyard, two dim lanterns still shone.
This is the ancestral hall of the Gao family.
Inside the ancestral hall, the memorial tablets of the Gao family's ancestors were enshrined, and incense smoke filled the air; it should have been a solemn and dignified place. But at this moment, in the very center of the hall, lay a thin-skinned coffin. Inside the coffin lay Liu Yu, the maid who had been falsely accused of "adultery."
At the entrance of the ancestral hall, two burly servants were idly keeping watch at night.
"Ugh, what bad luck! A perfectly good birthday banquet, and we can't even get a bite to eat or drink, but we have to guard this dead man!" One of the servants, with a thick beard, spat on the ground and complained irritably.
“Who says otherwise!” Another servant with a pointed chin rubbed his hands, which were a little cold from the night wind. “However, I heard that this young lady Liu Yu was quite beautiful. It’s such a pity that she died like this…”
As he spoke, a lewd glint flashed in his eyes as he glanced maliciously at the tightly closed ancestral hall door.
"Bah! Don't get any funny ideas, you brat!" the bearded man cursed. "The second young master gave the order: anyone who dares to cause trouble will have their legs broken and be thrown out! This young lady is going to be drowned by noon tomorrow. The important thing is for us to keep watch tonight and collect our reward!"
"Hehe, I know, big brother, I was just saying..."
The two were chatting casually when suddenly, a light footstep sound came from outside the courtyard gate.
"who?!"
The two men immediately stood up alertly, their hands resting on the swords at their waists.
Two figures, one tall and one short, slowly emerged from the darkness.
Leading the group was Xiao Che, dressed in a brocade robe and exuding an extraordinary air. Behind him followed the slender Lin Wanwan.
"Is it you?" The bearded man recognized the newcomers as the "Master Xiao from the capital" he had seen in front of the mansion during the day. His wariness instantly turned into undisguised contempt.
"What are you doing here? This is the Gao family ancestral hall. Unauthorized persons, leave immediately!" he shouted sternly, his attitude even more arrogant than the steward during the day. In his view, a "poor rich merchant" who couldn't even afford a congratulatory gift had no right to be polite to him.
Xiao Che ignored his shouts and didn't even bother to give him a second glance.
He simply stood there quietly, and then slowly took two things out of his sleeve.
That was neither a weapon nor a token.
Instead, it was two... silver notes.
Under the dim lantern light, the three large characters "One Thousand Taels" on the two silver notes shimmered with a dazzling golden light!
Two thousand taels!
His thick beard and monkey-like eyes instantly went blank!
In their entire lives, they had never even seen or heard of banknotes with such a large denomination! These two thin pieces of paper were worth countless times more than all the money they had earned in their entire lives!
The air fell into a deathly silence.
Only the heavy, bellows-like breathing of the two remained.
"What...what do you mean by this?" The bearded man's voice became dry and hoarse, his eyes filled with greed and struggle.
Xiao Che then slowly raised his eyes, looking down at them with a condescending gaze, as if he were looking at two ants.
Without wasting words, he directly revealed his identity as "Master Xiao," and said in a matter-of-fact tone:
"I, Xiao Da, come from the capital."
Then, he waved the silver note in his hand, his tone calm yet carrying an irresistible allure.
“I have some past acquaintance with the girl Liu Yu in the coffin. I heard that she will be leaving tomorrow morning, and I couldn’t bear it, so I came here to see her one last time and send her off on her journey, so that she can leave with some dignity.”
A final farewell? A respectable send-off?
The bearded man and the man with the pointed snout and monkey-like face exchanged a glance, both seeing a strange and knowing look in each other's eyes.
They "understood" instantly.
So this high-ranking official from the capital has some peculiar hobby!
Such things were commonplace among the servants of wealthy families. Some perverted rich lords just had a penchant for it!
Having figured this out, the last trace of concern in their hearts completely vanished.
What rules? What instructions did the second young master give?
Two thousand taels of silver are nothing compared to that!
"Ahem!" The bearded man cleared his throat, his contempt replaced by a fawning smile. "So it's Master Xiao! Look at this... it's like the flood washed away the Dragon King's temple, we're all family now! You want to come in... of course, no problem! Absolutely no problem!"
He rubbed his hands together, but his eyes were fixed on the silver note in Xiao Che's hand, and he was practically drooling.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Che's lips curled into a barely perceptible cold smile.
He casually flicked one of the silver notes over.
The bearded man caught it like a hungry dog pouncing on its prey, examined it closely, and once he confirmed it was real, his smile became as radiant as a blooming chrysanthemum.
“However…” Just then, Xiao Che spoke slowly again.
"But what? My lord, please give your orders!"
Xiao Che waved the remaining thousand-tael silver note in his hand and said slowly, "My wife is timid and can't stand these things. She'll be waiting for me outside. You two, stay away and don't get in my way, and don't peek, understand?"
"Understood! Understood! We'll definitely stand far away! We promise not to peek!" the monkey-faced man said eagerly, his eyes practically glued to the silver note.
Xiao Che nodded in satisfaction and tossed over the last silver note.
The two men were overjoyed, thanking him profusely and stepping aside with the utmost respect, as if they were seeing their own father.
Having dealt with the guards, Xiao Che turned around and looked at Lin Wanwan, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.
"Are you alright all by yourself inside?"
"Don't worry." Lin Wanwan nodded to him, her eyes firm. "I've learned some first aid and I'm better at examining wounds than you are."
After saying that, she no longer hesitated, took a deep breath, and walked forward alone, stretching out her hands and slowly pushing open the heavy and cold ancestral hall door.
"Squeak—"
A sickening scraping sound rang out, and a smell mixed with rotten wood and incense ash wafted out from the crack in the door, carrying with it a sinister chill.
Lin Wanwan's figure disappeared into the deep darkness without the slightest pause.
Xiao Che stood quietly outside the door, watching the door slowly close behind Lin Wanwan, completely isolating her from the outside world.
His heart clenched with anxiety.
Although he believed in Lin Wanwan's abilities, the thought of her having to face a potentially gruesome corpse alone and find evidence in such a short time filled him with unspeakable tension and worry.
He subconsciously raised his head and looked up at the top of his head.
There, a pixelated little figure is holding a sign that says "Go for it!" and is jumping back and forth anxiously, sweat dripping from its forehead.
Below the sign, a line of small print clearly revealed his truest feelings at that moment:
[Go, wife! .gif]
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