Gu Chengyu heard this, and felt that his previous life was quite peaceful. Listening like this, there really seed to be no doubts. As it appears, if anything is amiss, it should be why they ca to the Capital; this matter is of utmost importance.
"Explain in detail why they ca to the Capital." Gu Chengyu soaked his body in the hot water, feeling very comfortable.
His hair was long; he usually used homade soap to wash it, and would change the water again after washing.
The bathing tub was specially made, with a wooden stopper at the bottom. After a bath, there was no need to lift water, saving a lot of trouble.
"There is sothing strange here. They’ve been in the Capital for over half a month, yet their purpose is unclear. If they truly just ca to find their eldest granddaughter, I find it unlikely. Their family’s financial situation is not good; it is unknown if they could even afford the silver coin for the boat. Yet, they managed to take a boat to the Capital and still had money to stay at an inn."
Gu Chengyu mused on this, thinking that although they were poor, it couldn’t an they had no silver coin for the boat. Maybe it was accumulated over the years.
However, from Yingnan Mansion to the Capital is even farther than from Jingyuan Prefecture to the Capital; one person might need at least ten or so silver coins.
Children are counted like adults, those aged seven or eight at six or seven silver coins, so calculating this way, Gu Changbai and his party spent three to four dozen silver coins on the boat.
Can a impoverished farming household have such savings? Even if they do, they might not be willing to spend it on a boat.
Moreover, coming to search for a granddaughter sold away doesn’t require bringing the whole family to the Capital; bringing young children would only be a burden.
And yet, they brought the second aunt along too, which is even more baffling.
"Not to ntion, there was a major incident in their family right before they ca. The youngest son of Second Old Master’s eldest son supposedly caught a sudden illness and passed away overnight. The burial was done hastily, and even the neighbors were astonished. They saw that little one playing in the village just the day before!"
Gu Chengyu found it suspicious hearing Ming Mo’s account. What kind of sudden illness led to such a swift passing?
"Continue!" Gu Chengyu temporarily set aside this doubt, planning to thoroughly analyze it later.
"Lord Prefect in Yingnan Mansion indeed captured the child trafficker, coincidentally on the day the child caught the sudden illness. The day after Second Old Master’s grandson’s sudden illness and death, the family trekked all the way to the Capital to seek relatives."
"I had previously had soone follow my second uncle; did they see him et any particular person?"
Gu Chengyu heard this, finding several points of suspicion.
"Reply, Lord! As of now, nothing has been seen!" Ming Mo respectfully answered.
Gu Chengyu found the water a bit cold, so he got out of the water. As he patted off the water droplets from his body, he contemplated the oddness of this situation.
"Has anyone in the neighborhood seen the child’s body?"
He suddenly rembered the deceased child. If a child dies, the family would be heartbroken to an extre. Even if they don’t keep the body for long, there’s no reason for a hasty burial overnight.
Of course, unless it’s a contagious disease, they would bury quickly.
"The pigeon ssenger did not write in such detail, only saying the neighbors were unaware of this matter."
Ming Mo saw Gu Chengyu was in white innerwear with a robe draped over his shoulders, and hurried forward to take the cloth towel, starting to dry Gu Chengyu’s hair.
"From what it sounds like, it’s likely no one saw it."
Gu Chengyu analyzed this, simultaneously tying these doubts together in his mind.
He needed to make the next step of planning, while people in Yingnan Mansion awaited his instructions.
First, the child’s death was suspicious, dying supposedly from a sudden illness and then buried late at night, unseen by neighbors.
Given that the neighbors were surprised upon learning about it, it indicates that the previous night, there was no commotion at the second uncle’s house, like crying. If a child died in the family, they couldn’t be unshaken, right?
Second, the timing of the Magistrate capturing the child trafficker and the child’s death was very coincidental; such a coincidence prompts associations.
Third, why did Gu Changbai bring the granddaughter and the second aunt to the Capital for the search? Wouldn’t it have been better to leave them in the care of his second son?
If these doubts are linked together, the hidden truth can be understood.
After sending Ming Mo to rest, he lay on the bed and pondered over the matter repeatedly.
The only possibility he could think of was that Gu Changbai had soone behind him, soone who operated cautiously with every step interconnected.
Starting with capturing the child trafficker, this was a trap with the ultimate goal of providing Gu Changbai and the others a legitimate reason to co to the Capital.
Why co to the Capital? Naturally, it was for him. In the Gu Family, the only one holding an official position in the court is him.
The other family mbers are not even rchants; there’s no basis for scheming.
It’s not that he is self-important; given Gu Changbai already approached him, the target is obvious.
Gu Chengyu suddenly sat up thinking, could the child have been kidnapped by the person behind Gu Changbai? To threaten Gu Changbai and his family, making them more compliant.
Otherwise, it cannot explain why Gu Changbai ca to the Capital, yet remained so impoverished.
Those people didn’t give Gu Changbai silver coin to get closer; they likely intend to move into his mansion!
Because the first ti Gu Changbai approached him, he said he wanted to stay at his mansion.
Gu Chengyu pondered for a while, concluding that he still needed to investigate the child trafficker matter.
After all, the timing was too coincidental, and perhaps a trail of the child trafficker could reveal sothing.
He got up, donned his clothes, and went to the inner study. Preparing to grind ink, he wrote his instructions on paper and would have Ming Mo send it via pigeon ssenger the next day.
Just like Gu Chengyu, Xia Qing, the Grand Secretary of the court, had not yet fallen asleep.
As soon as he returned from the palace, he imdiately convened advisers and so trusted officials in the mansion’s study to discuss the matter. Yet, after half a day had passed, it was now the second quarter hour of the evening, and none of them had co up with a good solution.
"Lord! I believe the Emperor does not an what you think!" Adviser Zhang Xiansheng thought for a long ti before speaking to Xia Qing.
Seeing Xia Qing turn around to look at him, he continued, "Lord! There is currently no one in the court who can rival you, the Emperor still needs your help to stabilize the court, and temporarily there may be no thought of replacing you."
Nowadays, Lord Xia’s power in the court is imnse. Without a foolproof plan, the Emperor absolutely cannot act against Lord Xia; they had analyzed this before.
Xia Qing cald down at this point. He had considered half a day and felt that maybe he was worrying too much. Even if the Emperor wanted to act against him, it wouldn’t be now.
"Indeed! Lord, I believe Mr. Zhang has a point; you need not worry excessively. Currently, the most pressing issue is still to resolve the matter of border salaries."
User Comments
0 comments from readers