Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 905: Elder Gu in Peril

"It’s a pity that Liu Shiliu was too arrogant. When she was pregnant, she sent a letter to her sister, which enraged her so much that she had a miscarriage. Mother-in-law was furious and wanted to kill her. In order to save the child, Lai Zhi married her off to Yuan Jiaman."

This sister refers to the original wife of Lord Lai.

Talking about Yuan Jiaman: "Actually, Yuan Jiaman knew about Ms. Gu Pan and Lai Zhi, and he also knew Ms. Gu Pan was pregnant at the time. But he coveted the money Lai Zhi offered and willingly married Ms. Gu Pan, even swearing he would treat her and her unborn child well."

"However, as a man, Yuan Jiaman couldn’t bear wearing a green hat for years. Before marrying Ms. Gu Pan, he stated that after marriage, she must break off with Lai Zhi. If a son was born, he would be sent to the Lai Family; if a daughter, the Yuan Family would raise her, and they would live quietly."

"Unfortunately, Ms. Gu Pan didn’t intend to live with him forever. She often met with Lai Zhi when he wasn’t home, and it eventually led to a fatal incident."

Lady Lai recounted everything at a steady pace.

Everyone listening was in shock, their mouths making ’oh oh’ sounds.

Yuan Jiagui was surprised to hear this and realized that his cousin married Granny Gu for the money... Even though he was wrong, he didn’t deserve to die.

Lawyer Wu, seeing Lady Lai disclose so much detrimental information about Lord Lai, angrily retorted: "Mrs. Lai Tao, are you a storyteller? What evidence do you have for your claims? You weren’t even married into the Lai Mansion at that time."

An elderly woman spoke up: "I can testify that everything Madam said is true. I started serving the Old Master at the age of fifteen and served until I was twenty-six. After failing to bear a child, I was sent to the remote courtyard to retire. These events, such as the First Madam’s miscarriage due to anger, causing her to be unable to conceive for seven years, before finally having the First Young Master, are all my personal experiences."

Otherwise, Brother Yan’er’s age wouldn’t be so far apart from Gu Chengxian and the others.

"You wretched woman, don’t spew lies. I don’t know who you are. Why are you helping Mrs. Tao to harm me!" Lord Lai was furious and interrogated the old woman.

"Don’t know this servant?" The old woman looked at Lord Lai, smiling: "Young Master, this servant is Xiangxiang, the maid sent by the Old Madam to instruct you, Leng Xiangxiang."

She was quite beautiful, had a good figure, and was obedient. She was favored by the Old Madam since the age of ten, used to educate the Young Master on human relations. She was his first maid, yet Lord Lai claimed not to recognize her, which was truly pathetic.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t saddened. Her feelings for Lord Lai had long disappeared over the decades in the remote courtyard.

Lai Xiangxiang?

It took a moment for Lord Lai to remember that she was indeed his maid. He thought she was long dead, not expecting her to be alive.

It wasn’t entirely Lord Lai’s fault; he hadn’t been with this woman for decades, and with the back courtyard managed by Lady Lai, he never saw these women all year round, so how could he remember.

Magistrate Gu, feeling disgusted, didn’t want to hear more of Lord Lai’s romantic tales and asked the government official to bring over the Lai Family Slave Register and the Jade Pendant. While flipping through the register, he found Liu Shiliu’s name, which clearly noted: Liu Shiliu, with parents as Lai Family servants, was born into the family and served the Young Master from a young age. At fifteen, she was promoted to a maid. Violated the rules at eighteen and was sold by the Madam.

And the Jade Pendant was clearly inscribed with Lord Lai’s name.

Lady Lai remarked: "This is the Lai Family’s Pendant. Though born to merchants, the Lai Family aspired to noble families, adopting their customs, creating custom-made jade pendants for the family descendants, each engraved with names and unique cloud patterns. This pendant belongs to Lai Zhi. If you wish to confirm whether the half pendant Yuan Jiagui submitted is Lai Zhi’s, compare its cloud patterns with this complete one."

Lady Lai made a statement that drove Lord Lai to despair: "Many share the same name, but the cloud motifs on the pendants are unique, each family’s being distinctive. The special feature of the Lai Family’s cloud pattern is that the name of the pendant’s owner is inscribed by a master at the end of the cloud’s curve."

The MI script originated in Great Zhou, passing through the former dynasty to Great Chu, turning into a craft anyone could buy for a fortune of ten thousand taels.

However, the mystery of the cloud pattern is set by the family and unknown to outsiders, serving as a fine way to verify whether a pendant or jade seal belongs to the family.

Magistrate Gu was delighted. Previously, Lord Lai had denied that the half pendant Yuan Jiagui presented was his. If it turned out to be his, he’d be the adulterer who murdered Yuan Jiaman with Granny Gu!

"Someone, please call Master Tu from the Tu family Jade Apparatus store to verify the hidden words in the pendant’s pattern." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The Tu family is among Central State’s noble families, having moved to the Capital, yet their Jade Apparatus stores span Great Chu, housing many masters.

These masters are Tu family servants. The one at He’an Prefecture is a senior craftsman skilled in the art of the MI script.

Lord Lai was nearly fainting upon hearing this and couldn’t even stop them as Squad Leader Zhang rushed out with his men.

Elder Gu, having tired himself from beating Granny Gu, sat on the ground, holding his breath, waiting for Master Tu to verify the pendant.

If even that pendant proved genuine, then even his last hope would be gone... Yes, Elder Gu still harbored hope, believing Gu Youwen and Little Sister Gu were his children, and Granny Gu only had an affair with Lord Lai while with the Yuan family.

Yet his final hope was shattered.

Master Tu arrived promptly, taking out various tools. After applying a special red dye to paper, he traced the cloud patterns and the hidden words within them from the pendants.

This was delicate work, with Master Tu and his apprentice tracing it more than ten times to finally reveal four quite clear words: Lai Zhi.

"Sir, these two pendants originate from the same family, the cloud patterns curve right, and the hidden words within the patterns are identical, upstairs Lai, downstairs Zhi," Master Tu announced.

Hearing this, no more words were needed, as it provided irrefutable evidence that Lord Lai conspired with Granny Gu to murder Yuan Jiaman.

Elder Gu coughed up blood again upon hearing this and slumped to the ground.

"Grandpa, grandpa, what’s wrong with you? Wake up!" Gu Chengli panicked, quickly seeking help from Granny Gu: "Grandma, grandma, hurry, save grandpa, he’s not going to make it!"

This was Elder Gu’s second time spitting blood today. Now his face turned pale, his body convulsing, and after a while, his face took on a golden-paper hue, looking as if he might pass any moment.

But Granny Gu, looking overhead, remained silent... Master Zhi, her beloved Master Zhi, was done for—she had ruined him. If she had known, she should have killed Yuan Jiaman herself back then, never implicating Master Zhi!

True love, truly it was true love. Granny Gu, even now, still thought of Lord Lai and completely ignored Gu Chengli.