Chapter 61: Miss Gu

An hour later, the Changning Hou, Gu Huai, arrived at the Xuanjing Division in person.

Gu Huai had only galloped back to the capital early this morning. Upon his return, he discovered that a bizarre murder case had occurred within his mansion.

He immediately sent men to invite the Xuanjing Division to handle it, but naturally, he failed to secure their help. After further inquiry, he learned about what had happened yesterday.

Given the gravity of the matter, Gu Huai came himself.

Gu Huai was a handsome man with refined features and a tall, upright stature. Even though he had reached the age of destiny, with the traces of time etched into the corners of his eyes and brows, one could still see that he had been a rare beauty in his youth.

Yet, at this moment, his gaze was clouded with a touch of sorrow, revealing a sense of aged weariness.

"Oh my, Marquis Gu, why have you come in person? Please, sit. Someone, bring tea!" Xie Shouzheng hurried forward with fawning attentiveness to exchange pleasantries with the Changning Hou.

Gu Huai said, "Official Xie, I have come specifically to apologize for yesterday's events. I have been away on business, and my wife was in charge of managing my daughter's funeral. Only after returning last night did I hear that the foolish woman had actually ordered the Xuanjing Division's people to be driven away, hiring outside exorcists to handle my daughter's affairs instead."

"Women are short-sighted and lack experience. If there was any offense, I hope Official Xie will not hold a grudge. Furthermore, my wife... she was murdered last night..."

At this point, Gu Huai's eyes reddened, his face full of grief. "Alas, what a misfortune for my family! From here on, I must trouble Official Xie to lend a hand."

Xie Shouzheng replied, "Our Xuanjing Division is an official government office. Whenever bizarre matters are involved, whether it concerns the wealthy or the poor, we are duty-bound."

He looked at the case files on the desk with a troubled expression. "But we are truly busy! Look, there are dozens of cases piled up here; they must be handled one by one, must they not? Besides, the brothers in the office have all been sent out on tasks; we truly have no manpower to spare today!"

In truth, this was not an intentional obstruction; the Xuanjing Division was indeed very busy. Every morning, the subordinates would report for duty and then head out to handle their respective assignments.

Even Xie Shouzheng had to handle a "Flying Head" cold case today, which also involved human lives and could not be neglected.

Only Lin Qingyue had not yet received an assignment today. She sat to one side, leisurely sipping her tea without interjecting.

After Xie Shouzheng exchanged a few more words with the Changning Hou, he grabbed his official hat and hurried away.

Before leaving, he whispered into Lin Qingyue's ear, "The Gu family case involves human lives; we must look into it. Deputy Envoy Lin, I leave it to you."

"Official Xie! Official Xie!"

Gu Huai called out a few times, but failed to bring Xie Shouzheng back. Turning his head, he saw Lin Qingyue and asked politely, "You are..."

Lin Qingyue placed her teacup on the table and said indifferently, "The newly appointed Deputy Envoy of the Xuanjing Division, Lin Qingyue."

Because the Xuanjing Division did not involve itself in court politics and held no real power, the upper classes had always looked down upon it, only seeking help when they had no other choice.

Thus, they knew little about the internal personnel of the Xuanjing Division. Furthermore, Dongfang Yan did not like Lin Qingyue to be in the public eye, so even fewer people knew that Lin Qingyue was the Concubine of Prince Jin.

At this moment, the Changning Hou, Gu Huai, only assumed she was a minor official here, just like Xie Shouzheng.

Under normal circumstances, Gu Huai would have looked down on them. But at this moment, there was no one else available in the entire Xuanjing Division.

He had no choice but to turn to Lin Qingyue for help. "Deputy Envoy Lin, the situation at my estate is truly urgent and cannot be delayed! I beg you to go and help; otherwise, I fear the entire Gu family will be slaughtered tonight!"

This top imperial merchant of Da Qi had tears in his eyes, looking truly pitiful.

"Is that so? Then it is indeed urgent and cannot be delayed." Lin Qingyue brushed some non-existent dust off her skirt. "Let's go, then. I'll go to your home and take a look."

Gu Huai had expected to spend more effort persuading her; he hadn't expected Lin Qingyue to be so agreeable and accept immediately.

Given Gu Huai's current status, he would not normally need to handle such errands himself.

But after the chaos of last night, the entire Gu estate was a ghastly sight. If the Xuanjing Division did not intervene, he feared there would be even more trouble.

When Lin Qingyue arrived at the Gu estate, she saw the main gates of the mansion wide open, with servants carrying bundles and rushing to pack up.

The mansion had many family members; seeing that their home had become a haunted house, those who could flee had already left, fearing a repeat of last night's scene.

Those who could not leave were mainly servants, and heads of the family like Gu Huai, who had to stay to resolve the problems.

Upon reaching the main hall, she saw three corpses laid out on the floor. The white cloths covering them were soaked through with blood—a ghastly sight.

Lin Qingyue inspected the inside and outside of the mansion, even visiting the courtyard where Miss Gu had lived before her death.

Finally, she returned to the main hall and began examining the corpses on the floor. "Are these the people who died last night?"

Gu Huai nodded, his gaze filled with sorrow. "One is the steward, one is the exorcist we hired. And the other is my wife, Guo Shi... She was originally responsible for managing my daughter's funeral. I never expected that now..."

His voice choked slightly, unable to continue.

Lin Qingyue had already finished examining the steward and the exorcist. Finally, she lifted the cloth covering Guo Shi to take a look.

Just as the subordinates had reported, Guo Shi had died a miserable death, disemboweled. A bloody heart was placed beside her, painted black.

Guo Shi's eyes were wide open, and her mouth was stuffed with a handkerchief, seemingly to prevent her from screaming.

Even Lin Qingyue couldn't help but shake her head and sigh. "She must have been disemboweled while still alive. Truly miserable."

She stood up and asked Gu Huai, "Do you think the murderer is human or a ghost?"

Gu Huai said, "I had not yet returned last night. But according to the maid by Guo Shi's side, she saw a ghost shadow drifting by, wearing the clothes my eldest daughter wore in life. She also heard chilling cries. Therefore, I suspect it is my deceased eldest daughter returning for revenge."

"Returning for revenge? And using such brutal methods? It seems her resentment toward you Gu family members is very deep."

Lin Qingyue found a comfortable chair and sat down. "Why don't you tell me the story of Miss Gu's life, Marquis?"

Gu Huai sighed and began to recount the life of his eldest daughter.

"Gu Nianxue, that is my eldest daughter's name. She was my first child, and the only one I raised in my own arms..."

Gu Huai and his first wife had grown up as childhood sweethearts and were very loving after marriage. Naturally, their first child was showered with the couple's affection.

Fearing the servants were clumsy and couldn't care for the child well, the young Gu Huai had looked after her himself.

At night, he would gently sing lullabies and pat his daughter's little bottom to coax her to sleep.

During the day, he would hold her, unable to let go, saying that girls should be spoiled more.

Even his wife would say, "With a father like you, Nianxue will surely live a very happy life!"

Gu Huai would laugh and say, "Of course! My daughter, Gu Huai's daughter, will be the happiest girl in the world!"

Madam Gu would say, "We love her so much now, but I wonder if her future husband and in-laws will treat her as we do?"

Gu Huai would joke, "Then we must find her a top-notch man in the future!"

Madam Gu would look at her husband tenderly, her eyes full of love. "I hope my daughter can marry a man like her father."

Later, Madam Gu gave birth to a second child, a boy.

The siblings grew up under their parents' doting care.

Gu Nianxue inherited her parents' best features and grew into a graceful beauty. The line of suitors wanting to propose was so long it nearly wore down the Gu family's threshold.

"Daughters are supposed to marry into higher families, but she took a fancy to the son of my rival. I even suspected that the man was trying every possible way to seduce my daughter with ulterior motives."

"Naturally, I could not let my precious daughter marry such a man. To sever their connection, I locked her in the house and forbade her from going out."

"Because of that man, a rift grew between Nianxue and me. Later, she married the then-Minister of the Secretariat out of spite. Minister Fang was older than me, and his wife had passed away long ago. I don't know why, but he suddenly took a fancy to my daughter. He held a high position in court, and Nianxue was determined to marry him, so I had no choice but to agree."

"Later, Minister Fang was convicted of corruption and exiled. To prevent my daughter from being implicated, I used all my connections and pulled strings to have Nianxue divorce him before he was sentenced, sparing her the suffering of exile."

"By then, Nianxue's mother had long passed away, and I had already taken Guo Shi as my second wife. Nianxue and Guo Shi had never gotten along, and they would quarrel from time to time."

"After Minister Fang's incident, Nianxue suffered a great blow. After I brought her back to the mansion, she became deranged and spoke incoherently, turning the house upside down. Guo Shi complained every day that I shouldn't have brought her back. But no matter what she became, she was still my daughter; I couldn't just ignore her!"

"I always thought that with time, Nianxue's heart would heal and the house would slowly return to peace. Even if she never married, it wouldn't matter. Our mansion could afford to support her."

"But she became increasingly unruly. Three months ago, she inexplicably got involved with a servant on our farm."

"I am the dignified Changning Hou; what great storms have I not seen? Yet this rebellious daughter was truly disappointing!"

"So when she insisted on marrying that servant, I was truly exhausted and didn't want to control her anymore, so I let her leave the mansion to marry him."

"I just never expected that she... she would actually hang herself!"

"Alas!" He sighed.

At this moment, this richest man in Da Qi, a man holding the title of Marquis, seemed to have lost all his glory, appearing only as an old father grieving for his daughter.

"What I never expected was that even after death, she wouldn't rest, returning to take revenge on her family and using such cruel methods!!"

Speaking of his sorrow, this man who had been strong his whole life choked up and shed tears.

"Forgive my lack of composure, Deputy Envoy Lin." He took out a handkerchief to wipe his tears.

"I heard about Nianxue's incident and galloped back to the capital. I only arrived at the gate this morning to hear that a murder had occurred! Had I known, I shouldn't have helped her divorce and escape punishment when Minister Fang had his incident! I should have let her go into exile and pretended I never had this wicked daughter!"

Lin Qingyue said, "Judging by your expression, Marquis Gu, you still hold fatherly affection for Miss Gu. Then why did your wife, Guo Shi, hire someone to replace the Xuanjing Division's people yesterday? If not for that, Miss Gu would have been sent to the afterlife yesterday."

"My wife was handling the funeral arrangements. As for why she changed people..."

Gu Huai said apologetically, "She was likely deceived by some charlatan. She was truly foolish, so foolish! Deputy Envoy Lin, although my wife is dead, I still apologize to your division on her behalf!"

Lin Qingyue stood up and said, "Enough, I have a general understanding of your family's situation. Now, we should go to Miss Gu's grave—Marquis Gu, shall we go together?"

Gu Huai then called for the second steward of the mansion. "Where was the eldest miss buried after the funeral yesterday?"

The second steward said, "The funeral arrangements for the eldest miss were handled entirely by Steward Gu under the Madam's orders. It seems... it seems she was buried on Chang Qing Shan!"

Chang Qing Shan was the primary burial ground for ordinary residents in the capital when they had a funeral in the family.

For high-ranking families like the Gu family, the selection of ancestral graves was very particular. Descendants would always be buried in the ancestral tomb, emphasizing reunion after death and blessings for future generations.

Yet for Miss Gu, as the legitimate eldest daughter of the Gu family, not only was her grave squeezed in with commoners on Chang Qing Shan, but Gu Huai, as her biological father, didn't even know where his daughter was buried.

"Marquis Gu is truly a good father!" Lin Qingyue remarked with sarcasm.

Gu Huai couldn't save face, but still explained, "Nianxue was a married daughter; she couldn't enter the ancestral tomb..."

Chang Qing Shan was not very high. Walking up a winding path for a while, one could see scattered tombstones of various sizes.

The families of these deceased were mostly merchants or laborers who had no land of their own and could only bury their family members on Chang Qing Shan.

The advantage was that it was close and convenient for sacrifices, so each grave was kept tidy, and most still had remnants of offerings.

Gu Huai walked panting for a long time, looking at almost every tombstone on the mountain, but still couldn't find Miss Gu's grave.

He was a bit strange. "Chang Qing Shan isn't big, and there are only a few new graves. How can I not find Nianxue?"