Old Madam Gu stretched out her neck, pounded her chest with both hands, letting out a tragic wail, her eyes bloodshot like a mother wolf full of ferocity protecting her cubs, the sound was so piercing it didn’t seem to come from a human throat.

Everyone’s hearts were filled with bitterness, anger, and sorrow.

Marquis Gu couldn’t help but choke up.

"Mother, it’s this useless son, mother!"

Sixth Master Gu hung his head in shame.

Not being able to protect the women in the family, can he still be considered a man?

It’s all due to his incompetence as a son!

At this moment, Qin Yuan also couldn’t care about anything else. She quickly pulled out a silver needle from her sleeve and swiftly pricked a few acupuncture points on the old madam’s face and hands. Seeing her breathing calm down, she said with relief, "Fortunately, Doctor Li often comes to check the peaceful pulse, and he has examined the food we eat. Mother is overcome with anger; she will be fine once she calms down. Mother is getting older, and can’t be too shocked or frightened."

Marquis Gu hurriedly wiped away his tears, gently placed Old Madam Gu on the couch to sit, and said, "Mother, please don’t get angry. Our family is neither bloodless nor without plans. These days, I have uncovered the truth about the Mo family affairs and have even teamed up with Prince Qi to cut off Yelv Guza’s finance. Today, King Jin and Yelv Guza dared to join forces against my face; how could I let them off easily? The accounts with the Crown Prince and Empress Lin also need to be settled one by one."

He spoke each word slowly and clearly, and everyone present heard him clearly.

After a long moment, Old Madam Gu said, "If that’s the case, explain your plan. Now that Sixth Master and Treasure Bead have grown up, you can’t face the storm alone."

Marquis Gu hesitated, "About the Mo family..."

Old Madam Gu said, "Just tell me. How is that girl doing? Don’t hide anything from me."

Marquis Gu glanced at everyone.

Qin Yuan’s face showed no panic, Sixth Master Gu looked astonished, and Gu Baoshu seemed ready to jump in.

Marquis Gu lowered his eyes, pondered carefully, then said, "Mother is right; Sixth Master has improved a lot, and even Treasure Bead has become more sensible. In the future, they can’t blindly seek revenge without knowing whom to blame."

Nanny Rong, without being told, guarded the door to let them discuss quietly.

After a pause, Marquis Gu said in a deep voice, "I went to the family temple for a detailed examination of the place. That courtyard was originally used as a guest yard for housing women; later, it partially collapsed, and the host said it was too old and ruined to be used, so fewer people went, and it’s been abandoned since."

Old Madam Gu nodded, "You’ve been away for so many years, not just the mansion but the clan members were also cautious everywhere. The family temple was visited less frequently, and even clan funerals weren’t held as grandly."

Dingbei Marquis Mansion held several funerals, and people thought the Dingbei Marquis Mansion was going to fall apart. People attending the family temple for funerals decreased with each time, and it wasn’t as grand as Mrs. Xu’s funeral.

Everyone in the world flatters the high and treads on the low.

Marquis Gu nodded, "I ordered people to look thoroughly and found several unusual places. The magistrate of the Capital Governor Mansion also said the house didn’t look like it collapsed but seemed to be pushed down to hide something. There was only half a skeleton in the dry well, and that gold ornament was a personal item of my fourth brother. I couldn’t understand and ordered people to investigate the Mo family, but they had already disappeared.

The Mo family daughters who were married off were also gone, and even Little Ni’s engagement was taken over by her maid who married in her place. The maid asked me if her mistress had met with misfortune, otherwise, why seek them only now."

Old Madam Gu felt dizzy and barely held herself up to ask, "You, you, what exactly did she say?"

Marquis Gu glanced at his mother’s expression and said, "The maid said she didn’t know anything; the engagement was arranged by Mr. Mo, and Little Ni didn’t refuse. On the wedding day, she asked the maid for a stand-in. Later, even coming home after three days was delayed by various means, and she worried about what to do next, but unexpectedly, the Mo family quietly moved away."

Qin Yuan lowered her head and contemplated.

After a long while, Old Madam Gu trembled as she asked, "How could this be? Isn’t she Little Ni’s personal maid? How could she not know anything? Is she lying? The Mo family girl, she..." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Everyone knew in their hearts that Miss Mo had likely met with misfortune.

The personal maid might have been involved somehow.

Hearing these words, Marquis Gu sighed heavily, "I’d rather she lied to me. She said she initially didn’t serve beside Little Ni, but the Mo family managed all of Little Ni’s personal maids, leaving none, and since then, she had been promoted to Little Ni’s personal maid and later went along as part of the dowry.

After I questioned her, she took her own life that night. She was also a pitiful person, leaving no children, always waiting for Little Ni to send word to bring her back home."

Old Madam Gu wailed, "My poor child, you have such a hard life..."

Qin Yuan quickly eased Old Madam Gu’s breathing.

Sixth Master Gu also secretly shed tears.

After a long time, Old Madam Gu finally stopped crying and chokingly asked, "Third son, are you trying to say that the person in the dry well is Little Ni?"

Marquis Gu’s eyes were red, and after a long struggle, he finally spoke, "I’m afraid so. I guess she was likely murdered by Zhi Guang and others. Now, Zhi Guang is on the run; he denies any knowledge of the murder, and even attributes the silver theft and melting operation to his deceased master. However, the people from Black Wind Village rescued him. That night, I saw clearly not only were Earl Chengen’s death warriors involved, but there were also Yelv clan members."

Only by catching Monk Zhiguang can the full details be discovered.

Marquis Gu swallowed the cause of death determined by the magistrate — that the neck bone of the corpse appeared to have been strangled — to spare Old Madam Gu further grief.

Old Madam Gu cried again, "Why would that child elope to the capital, why didn’t she seek us out but went to the family temple, why did she provoke those bandits?"

Marquis Gu hesitated without answering.

Sixth Master Gu sniffed, his voice nasal and heavy, "I didn’t think of it until Mother mentioned it. Sister Mo was quite favored at home; if she didn’t want to marry, she could just refuse. Why let a maid take her place? The Mo family’s actions are indeed strange; on the day of returning home, when the daughter didn’t come back, they didn’t worry and just quietly moved away. Could it be they found out and were afraid the other party might cause trouble?"

Gu Baoshu nodded.

"It is indeed bizarre; if Mo’s family went to visit their daughter or if the groom took the daughter back home to see her parents, wouldn’t the lie be exposed? They managed to keep this a secret for so many years. The maid lived so cautiously all these years, not knowing her mistress had long passed away in a foreign land. Waiting all these years for such an outcome is truly pitiful."

After speaking, she glanced at Qin Yuan, who remained silent with her head down, asking, "Third sister-in-law, do you think what I’m saying makes sense?"