Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 273 My Little Sister Was Murdered

In the capital, many people were curious about the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's family, who had been brought back from the countryside, and all wanted to find out more about her.

As for the ultimate goal, Gu Qingyue told Yue Ran and the others not to worry, they would find out soon.

In addition, she ordered Yu Mo to try to contact Granny Wu, but they have not yet obtained any useful clues.

Gu Qingyue instructed them to simply keep an eye on things and not to make a move, as it was not advisable to do so now.

If there's still no progress before Princess Qing'an's marriage, then we'll have to resort to force; we can't let Granny Wu leave the capital with the secret.

Gu Qingyue is that kind of person; she doesn't cause trouble, but she's definitely not afraid of trouble.

She will definitely learn the secret from more than ten years ago when the time comes.

She had a feeling that day wouldn't be too late.

More than twenty days passed in the blink of an eye, and all was calm.

In addition to the Duke's mansion opening an ancestral hall and personally adding Gu Qingyue's name to the family genealogy, and respectfully informing the ancestral tablets, Gu Qingyue kowtowed until she was dizzy.

As for Madam Qin, she seemed like a completely different person compared to the night she returned to the Duke's mansion.

The hollows in her cheeks had disappeared, her skin was fair and radiant, her eyes were large and bright, she looked energetic, and she had a slender figure.

She looked exactly like a beautiful and dignified young woman, not at all like someone in her early forties who had given birth to five children.

Generally speaking, even for imperial physicians, it would take at least three months to improve a person's health and complexion to achieve this level of improvement.

Therefore, Qin's recovery not only surprised everyone in the mansion with Gu Qingyue's miraculous medical skills, but also made some people increasingly uneasy.

During these twenty-odd days, Lady Liu visited Lady Qin no less than six or seven times, either personally or by sending someone to do so.

Gu Qingyue merely snorted coldly at this, becoming increasingly certain that the person who cast the Gu curse was definitely related to the Liu family, but she didn't know whether it was the Liu family herself or someone else behind the scenes who instructed them.

Gu Qingyue's deduction infuriated the four brothers. If Gu Qingyue hadn't stopped them, Liu would have been arrested long ago.

"We need concrete evidence, or her own confession. Otherwise, we can't touch her now. She is the future Duchess of the State, and we can't convict her with just words. It would also be difficult to explain to Grandfather and Uncle."

Seeing her brothers' faces dark and gloomy, Gu Qingyue still tried to persuade them.

"Furthermore, I suspect that my disappearance back then was also related to the Liu family," Gu Qingyue said, and the four brothers immediately flew into a rage.

"Little sister, do you have any evidence?"

Gu Qingyue shook her head, "I've already sent people to investigate. The nanny next to Princess Qing'an might be the key."

Just as the siblings were discussing, Jiang Wan came in with a note, "Master, there is a letter for you."

The five people, their expressions solemn, turned around in unison. "Give it to me," Gu Qingyue said, reaching out to open it. It was a small note handed to her by Yu Mo.

Gu Qingyue read through the text in a few lines, a mocking smile playing on her lips—a smile that was unsettling no matter how you looked at it.

"Little sister?" Gu Yuanjin stood up with concern and walked towards Gu Qingyue.

"Brothers, take a look," Gu Qingyue said, handing the note over.

The four brothers huddled together and looked at Gu Qingyue with suspicion.

“Wu Mama, who serves Princess Qing’an, returned to her hometown eleven years ago and stopped by Lingyun Temple to offer incense and pray. I guess—” Gu Qingyue glanced at her brothers with a serious expression, “She must have discovered something, which should be related to my disappearance.”

"What?" Gu Yuanchen slammed his fist on the table, which cracked with a dull thud.

No wonder he was the martial arts champion!

Gu Qingyue gestured for everyone to sit down and then recounted how she had treated Princess Qing'an at a villa near Lizhou.

The main points are about "hearing" Granny Wu's self-talk and the changes in her expression after seeing herself.

Putting everything together, Granny Wu was at least a witness to the incident back then. As for whether she was the real culprit, further investigation is needed.

Yu Mo's letter mainly reported on all the suspicious activities he had discovered about Granny Wu from eleven years ago.

Based on what she had 'seen', Gu Qingyue had basically guessed most of it.

The most important clue is that the time she went to Lingyun Temple and the time when Qin and Liu entered Lingyun Temple coincided perfectly with the time she 'got lost,' indicating that at least several groups of people had encountered her.

After hearing Gu Qingyue's analysis, the group clenched their fists so tightly they cracked.

Gu Yuanjin stood up and patted the brothers on the shoulders reassuringly, saying, "My guess is pretty accurate. In other words, it's highly likely that either the Prince An's Mansion or Liu Shi was behind it. My sister was harmed, not lost on her own."

If you think about it for a moment, you'll realize that if no one interfered, how could the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, with a large number of maids, servants, and guards following her around, suddenly disappear in the temple?

But the problem now is that we need evidence, or strong witnesses!

Gu Qingyue pondered for a moment, "I suggest that we secretly arrest and interrogate Granny Wu. It's not easy to contact her openly now. After all, she is from the Prince An's mansion. If we contact her, she definitely won't tell the truth. We can only use extreme measures."

What Gu Qingyue didn't say was that if she couldn't get any useful information from Granny Wu, she would have to ask Qin Shi about the situation back then. Presumably, Qin Shi was now able to recall the events of that year.

Gu Yuanming once said in Qihe Town that after he went missing, his mother was so traumatized that she forgot about the incident and didn't even remember that he had been to Lingyun Temple.

Gu Qingyue understood that this condition was medically known as selective amnesia.

For Qin, that memory was too painful, which is why her brain selectively forgot it.

It is said that he was later treated by an itinerant doctor. Although the doctor was somewhat abnormal, his medical skills were quite good.

Gu Yuanjin readily agreed, "Then let's send the Duke's mansion's secret guards over there?"

"No way!" Gu Yuanming objected. "Many of the secret guards and bodyguards in the Prince An's mansion are from the Imperial Guard, the Divine Dragon Guard. They are highly skilled in martial arts. Apart from Commander Gu, probably no one in our mansion can match our secret guards."

"I'll go myself," Gu Yuanchen said, standing up with a cold expression.

“You’re no good either,” Gu Yuanjin pressed down on his shoulder. “Putting aside your martial arts skills, once exposed, it won’t just be a simple matter of kidnapping servants, but a matter between the Duke’s Mansion and the Prince An’s Mansion.”

For a moment, the four brothers fell silent.

In terms of martial arts skills, Gu Yuanchen and Gu Yuanming are stronger.

But they may not be as good as the Royal Dragon Guards, who are skilled in the open, direct combat of real enemies on the battlefield.

Compared to people like secret guards, they don't even share the same martial arts style.

When it comes to assassination, they're really no good.

"Why think so much? I'll send my men. Who said we're going to enter Prince An's residence? What if Granny Wu goes out? We'll always find a chance to arrest her."

After a pause, Gu Qingyue revealed a restless expression, her eyes burning with a determined flame.

"Otherwise, I will personally lead a group to Prince An's residence."

"No way!!" Gu Yuanjin and Gu Yuanchen said in unison.