A few curious minds gathered, "For what reason? Tell us quickly."
"I heard that a few days ago, the eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Qianying, and her mother, the First Madam, were driven out by the Third Miss's mother, who is now Madam Han. When they left the mansion, the eldest daughter Gu seemed to be seriously injured. The First Madam held her and sought medical treatment everywhere in the pouring rain. Somehow, that night, the First Madam suddenly jumped to her death from the second floor of a medical clinic, and the severely injured eldest daughter of the Gu family mysteriously disappeared.
This eldest daughter of the Gu family was originally favored by the Ninth Prince. A few days ago, news came from the Ninth Prince's manor that he was going to marry the eldest daughter of the Gu family. Now that she is nowhere to be found, and with today's events, the Ninth Prince has naturally come to demand her return."
"Oh, so that's how it is. Alas, I never thought this Ninth Prince was such a devoted man! A man with wealth, power, and such good looks, why hasn't he taken a fancy to me?"
"Bah! Fancy you? Go home and look in the mirror!"
"You!"
"You are all mistaken. For years, the beautiful imperial consorts in the palace have sent many people to the Ninth Prince with gifts. Not to mention the princesses from the royal family, each more beautiful than the last. Not far away, consider the arrogant Princess Xuanning in the palace. She has been in love with the Ninth Prince for many years, and her beauty is considered one of the best in the capital. Yet, why is the Ninth Prince unmoved?"
"Why?"
"Why? You group of simpletons, have you heard that a few days ago, Old General Gu and the eldest son of the Gu family were both imprisoned? The reason was colluding with the enemy and treason. The crime of colluding with the enemy and treason is punishable by execution of the entire clan. Yet, the entire Gu family was not implicated in the slightest. Do you know why?"
"I know this! It's not because Master Gu defected to the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince protected him!"
"Yes, but why did the Crown Prince protect Master Gu?"
"It's all for the Gu family's invincible elite Gu family army. It is said that this Gu family army only obeys Old General Gu. And precisely because of the Gu family army's presence, Old General Gu never lost a battle when fighting outside for many years. It is also because of this that after he brought his troops back to the capital, no one dared to provoke him. Even more so, after he returned to the capital, various forces became restless, and the princes in the palace were all on edge, wanting to ally with Old General Gu.
However, a few months ago, news came from the Gu mansion that the eldest daughter of the Gu family was to become the Ninth Prince's consort. This indirectly told everyone that Old General Gu favored the Ninth Prince Nangong Mo more."
"Oh, now that you put it that way, we understand completely. The Ninth Prince doesn't truly like the eldest daughter Gu, but rather covets the power behind her. But now, Old General Gu is imprisoned, so why would the Ninth Prince still get involved in this mess?
And the Crown Prince, this Gu family army only obeys Old General Gu. Moreover, even if the other members of the Gu family are innocent, the culprits are still members of the Gu family. Yet, the Crown Prince is trying to win over Master Gu at this time, isn't that openly telling everyone that he wants to associate with the family of a traitor?"
A few days ago, the Ninth Prince's manor had also announced to the public that their Ninth Prince was going to marry the eldest daughter of the Gu family as his consort. Now that the eldest daughter of the Gu family has encountered such a situation, the Ninth Prince has naturally come for his reputation today. After all, abandoning a penniless young lady would tarnish his reputation, and he still had to pretend to care for a few days.
Furthermore, Old General Gu is only imprisoned, not dead. The military strength he commands is something every powerful person desires. Thus, the Crown Prince associating with Master Gu at this time is for the same reason."
"Oh, so that's how it is. All in all, the most innocent and pitiable person in this entire affair is the eldest daughter of the Gu family. For several consecutive days, the relatives who doted on her have met with misfortune one after another. If this were to happen to anyone else, they would surely not be able to bear it. I heard that Old General Gu, the eldest son of the Gu family, and the deceased First Madam all doted on the young lady of the Gu family the most. Now this..."
"That's why they say outside that the eldest daughter Gu is destined for misfortune, and anyone who comes into contact with her will have a bad end."
Amidst the crowd.
A woman wearing a bamboo hat and a dark black dress stood in the crowd for a long time.
Her eyes, seen through the brim of the hat, looked towards the Gu residence.
Her gaze shifted from shallow to deep, gradually turning cold.
At this moment, a man in black attire walked through the crowd and approached the woman.
As he got closer, he whispered something into her ear.
After listening, the woman weaved through the crowd and left.
A moment later.
The woman followed the man to a closed pharmacy.
The pharmacy's plaque read "Du Yi" Pharmacy.
"Du Yi" was also known as the Poison Doctor.
This place was under the jurisdiction of the Poison Doctor's Sacred Hall. For convenience and to provide a useful location for their master, it had become a secret outpost exclusively for the Poison Doctor's divine son. Such secret outposts were spread throughout the capital and even in other countries.
Within the secret outpost, the front hall was the most ordinary pharmacy, staffed by ordinary physicians and supplied with common and rare medicinal herbs.
In addition, there were a few busy medicinal apprentices at work.
The backyard of this place was the most secretive.
The man and woman passed through the front shop and went directly to the backyard.
"Master, you've returned."
An old man with white temples walked over with two cups of medicinal tea.
After placing the two cups of medicinal tea down, he reached for the bamboo hat the woman had taken off her head.
After the woman removed her hat, she sat at the desk, picked up a cup of medicinal tea from the table, took a sip, and asked, "Has Old Man Shen returned?"
"Not yet."
"Although that old man is a master of both poison and medicine, his internal energy has disappeared, and he's a disoriented wanderer. If you send him to do errands for you, especially to Dongwu alone, it would be good if he could return alive, so don't expect him to get things done for you."
The man in black robes, who had followed the woman in, sat opposite her and naturally picked up the other cup of medicinal tea from the table. He played with it without drinking.
His handsome face, illuminated by the light shining in from the window, was as if it were gilded, dazzling and radiant.
"Who is speaking ill of this old man? You brat, you don't want to live!"
An old man in white robes entered. As he came in, he carried a sack over his shoulder.
Something inside the sack seemed to be struggling and wriggling.
After the old man in white robes entered, he unceremoniously threw the sack from his shoulder onto the ground and turned to approach the man beside him, raising his hand for a slap.
The palm print did not land on the man's face; the man nimbly dodged it and shouted, "Old Man Shen, you're going to hit me again. If you hit me like this every day, you'll make me stupid."
The old man in white robes glared at the man, "If you become stupid, you become stupid. If you're stupid for life, I, your old man, will support you."
The man chuckled, "You support me? Do you understand? Your glorious Poison Doctor's Sacred Hall is no longer yours. From the inside out, from top to bottom, it all belongs to your good disciple. Oh, and I don't know who it was yesterday who gambled away all his silver in the gambling dens.
Now, your pockets are cleaner than your face. You still say you'll support me? With what will you support me? Are you expecting me, the dignified Pavilion Master of Xifeng Pavilion, to go and eat the northwest wind with you?"
The old man in white robes was rendered speechless by the man's retort. He grunted and walked to the woman who had not spoken. He tugged at her sleeve and said in the most affectionate tone, "Little Qianqian, little Yingzi, my dear disciple, Master's wine is gone. Do you think..."
The woman frowned, shook off the old man in white robes, and looked up at him, "You haven't paid the wine money you owed yesterday. What, do you old man want to sell yourself for wine?"
"Hahahaha, no, no, disciple. Master knows you love Master the most. So today, Master has decided to abstain from alcohol for a day."
Hearing this, the woman couldn't even be bothered to look at him. She simply extended her hand, "Where is it?"
"Here, here..."
As he spoke, the old man in white robes handed the item from his embrace to the woman.
It was a white lotus, rootless yet still able to bloom, as pure white as snow.
The woman placed the white lotus aside, then glanced at the "sack" wriggling on the ground, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, "What is that thing?"
"Oh, this. My good disciple, didn't you say yesterday that someone betrayed you and took possession of what was rightfully yours? And that person who snatched your things should be a princess in the palace. Since she snatched your things, I, as your master, naturally cannot stand for it. So, I've tied up this thief for you. You can kill or dismember her as you please. If this scoundrel dies, won't your things be returned?"
Saying this, the old man in white robes opened the sack.
It was a woman dressed in a luxurious pink gown.
Her limbs were bound, and half of her body was exposed from the sack.
After the bound woman wailed, she timidly looked around.
When she saw that the person standing before her was someone she knew, she was stunned and suddenly exclaimed, "Gu Qianying! How could it be you!"