Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie escorted Madam Luo back to the ancestral hall. On the way back to the front courtyard, servants of the manor, carrying red silk, were already beginning to decorate the estate.
“Madam Guo is truly efficient. I had barely agreed to her request, and the household staff were already busy with Guo Xin’s wedding preparations,” Zhong Li remarked as she watched the maids passing by.
Lu Wuxie swept his gaze over the front courtyard, now adorned with lanterns. “Guo Xin is Guo Qi’s only descendant. Her wedding is naturally a matter of great importance to the household. I heard she was to be married in the coming days, but unfortunately, this incident occurred. If her future in-laws were not concerned about ill fortune and were still willing to marry her, Madam Luo would surely be doing her utmost to ensure the arrangements.”
Zhong Li nodded and slowly walked towards the waterside pavilion, gazing at the koi fish swimming joyfully in the lake. “I wonder if Guo Xin is fortunate or unfortunate. Logically, with the head of the household deceased, the manor should not be holding such joyous celebrations. If possible, the wedding should have been postponed for a year. However, Guo Qi is disgraced, having been removed from the family registry. Guo Xin’s good fortune need not be delayed. I observe that Madam Luo seems very eager for Guo Xin’s marriage.”
“Indeed!” Lu Wuxie said, his fingers tightening around the few sheets of Xuan paper in his sleeve. These were correspondence between Madam Luo, Guo Qi, and the Beichuan Gang. Based on these alone, Guo Qi deserved to die a hundred times over.
“Oh, right.” Zhong Li suddenly remembered something and turned to the man beside her. “My Lord, you seem to have always been this astute. At this critical juncture, you found Madam Luo and, without a single soldier, easily apprehended Guo Qi and his subordinates. Did you experience this in your previous life?”
Lu Wuxie smiled and shook his head at her words. If he had experienced it, why would he be discussing how to apprehend Guo Qi with Lan Heng late at night? He would have already been in bed, waiting for Guo Qi’s demise.
However…
He narrowed his eyes, observing a few unfamiliar faces in red moving about the Guo manor. “As the saying goes, ‘Know yourself and know your enemy.’ This much is necessary.”
Zhong Li followed his gaze. She didn’t recognize those individuals and had never seen them in the Guo manor. Based on their status, she could guess they were from Guo Xin’s in-laws.
This thought had barely formed in Zhong Li’s mind when Steward Liu emerged from the inner hall with a smile, followed by a delicate-looking young woman. Zhong Li could surmise that it was Guo Xin.
“Let’s go take a look.” Lu Wuxie, seeing the group heading towards the inner hall, took Zhong Li’s sleeve and followed them.
Inside the inner hall.
Madam Luo, now clad in a resplendent embroidered gown, was seated in the place of honor, nodding and smiling frequently at the couple who had arrived.
“My in-laws, thank you for taking the trouble with Xin’er’s matters. Our Guo family has unfortunately encountered this incident, and we have truly inconvenienced you,” Madam Luo said, pulling Guo Xin’s hand. “Xin’er, quickly pay respects to your future parents-in-law.”
Upon hearing this, Guo Xin quickly moved around Madam Luo and addressed the man and woman seated opposite her, “Xin’er pays her respects to Father and Mother.”
The couple looked at Guo Xin. The woman stepped forward and helped Guo Xin up, patting her hand. “There’s no need for such formality. We are all family from now on.”
Madam Luo couldn’t help but smile as she observed their interaction.
The woman pulled Guo Xin to her side and settled her, then looked at Madam Luo. “Madam Guo, no one wished for this to happen, but it has. Please accept my condolences.”
Madam Luo sighed softly.
The woman continued, “Grand Governor Guo committed a grave offense. What will become of the Guo family, and how the Emperor will deal with them, no one knows. Now, all we can do is take Guo Xin away, bestow upon her our family name, and help her avoid disaster. As for matters of the court, my family is weak and has limited influence; our capabilities fall short of our desires.”
“My dear in-laws, what are you saying?” Madam Luo quickly interrupted her. “Rather, it is I who should thank you for allowing my only bloodline to be spared from this calamity.”
As they chatted more amicably, they began discussing the upcoming wedding banquet.
Guo Xin, feeling bored, casually beckoned a maid and whispered a few instructions. The maid nodded and quickly left the inner hall. A moment later, she returned with a tray holding an assortment of preserved fruits and fresh fruit.
Guo Xin glanced at the tray, picked up a few small sour fruits and oranges, and ate them with relish. After eating quite a bit, she seemed to desire more. Noticing that no one was paying attention to her, she discreetly took out a few small, yellow dried fruit pieces from her purse, stirred them into the tea bowl before her, and drank it down in one gulp, a look of satisfaction finally appearing on her face.
An incense stick later, Madam Luo and the woman were conversing with increasing animation. They linked arms and headed towards the rear courtyard. Guo Xin, who had been drinking water, saw Madam Luo give her a signal and quickly put down her cup to follow.
At this moment, the inner hall was empty, save for scattered fruit pits and untouched preserved fruits. Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie emerged from the side and quickly entered the inner hall.
Zhong Li walked to Guo Xin’s former seat and first picked up the fruit rinds she had left behind, sniffing them. Dried bayberry, sour! Then, she picked up the cup on the table, removed the lid, and examined its contents. The water was plain, with lemon slices steeped in it.
“How is it?” Lu Wuxie asked Zhong Li, walking up beside her.
Zhong Li placed the cup back in its original position and looked at Lu Wuxie. “My Lord, do you know that Guo Xin is pregnant?”
Lu Wuxie casually sat on a chair in the inner hall and looked at Zhong Li. “Yes, but I only learned of it when you were interrogating Madam Jiang. I then went to find Madam Luo.”
Zhong Li listened, recalling that during her interrogation of Madam Jiang, Lu Wuxie had been silently called away by Lin Jin. When he returned, Madam Luo was following him. She nodded. “So, you used Guo Xin’s pregnancy and the urgent need for marriage to force Madam Luo to hand over the tiger tally and, incidentally, find direct evidence of Governor Guo’s collusion with the Beichuan Gang, is that it?”
Lu Wuxie did not wish to conceal anything from Zhong Li and nodded in affirmation.
Zhong Li looked at him, feeling very fortunate that this man, whose mind was as complex as a honeycomb, was not her adversary. Otherwise, dealing with him would truly require a considerable amount of brainpower.
“But…” she thought, and her brow furrowed.
Seeing her expression, Lu Wuxie’s relaxed demeanor subtly tightened.
“Earlier, I observed Guo Xin’s in-laws. While they are not a prominent noble family, they are reasonable people. If Guo Xin were pregnant and her father had just been murdered, the wedding could have been postponed for a while. They could have completed the formalities and she could have entered their household. Why is Madam Luo so anxious?” Zhong Li said, her gaze slowly falling upon Guo Xin, who was following Madam Luo some distance away. Guo Xin seemed to have something on her mind; beneath her cheerful facade, a hint of helplessness and guilt could be detected.
“Unless…” Lu Wuxie followed Zhong Li’s gaze, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the table.
“Unless the child in Guo Xin’s belly is not from her current husband’s family!” Zhong Li finished Lu Wuxie’s unspoken sentence.
Lu Wuxie smiled and casually took a sheet of Xuan paper from his懷 and handed it to Zhong Li. “This document is of little use to me, but for you, Li’er, it can be considered the key to this case.”
Zhong Li took it and quickly scanned the contents. As her eyes landed on the last sentence, they sharpened.