Chapter 59 – Not Good News
There were very few clues to be found on the bodies. Even though it was confirmed that the death of the Luoluo Kingdom envoy was too strange and there must be a trick, progress had stalled due to a lack of substantial evidence.
As Gu Qing was due to depart that day, he did not stay in the morgue for too long before preparing to set off for the battlefield.
His purpose for coming this time, besides wanting to understand the progress of the case, was to see off Gu Yu and Mengyao. With his backing, they would not be bullied by others.
It wasn’t that Gu Qing was overthinking, but Gu Yu and Mengyao were too young, and it was inevitable that they would be looked down upon by others.
Later, when Gu Yu and Mengyao wanted to see Gu Qing off as he left the capital, Gu Qing shook his head and waved his hand, telling them to focus on investigating the case and not to see him off.
Partings were always sad, so it was better not to send him off.
He wasn’t leaving forever. It was more important to quickly investigate the case thoroughly, which would be a great help to him.
It would also stop the war from continuing and prevent more people from losing their lives.
Mengyao, watching Gu Qing’s retreating back as he rode away, saw the sadness in her eyes gradually disappear after he left. She then regained her spirit and prepared to investigate the case thoroughly!
Who was secretly causing trouble and trying to instigate a war between the two countries!
“Father, do you need my help?”
“What? Aren’t you disgusted by these bodies? You couldn’t even get close earlier, but now you’re like a different person.”
“It’s just that I was worried about you getting tired! So I forced myself to overcome my disgust and came to see if I could help.”
Vice Minister of Dali Temple, Maoyuan Tang, looked at his son who was shamelessly approaching him, very surprised by his son’s unprecedented initiative to help. His words clearly showed that he did not believe Tang Maoyuan would be so enthusiastic.
Previously, when investigating cases, Tang Maoyuan always kept his distance from the bodies. Now, the bodies of the Luoluo Kingdom envoys had rotted due to being left for too long, and the smell was even more unbearable.
Even when he got close, he felt like he was being choked.
Why was Tang Maoyuan acting as if nothing had happened now, as if his sense of smell had been lost and he couldn’t smell the stench around him at all?
Could it be that something was wrong with his son’s body… after all, he was always forced to investigate cases, so it wasn’t impossible for something to go wrong.
Tang Maoyuan, of course, was not thinking what his father thought. His body was fine. It was just that the deodorizing pills given by Gu Yu made him feel much better.
He couldn’t smell anything bad at the moment, and felt refreshed both physically and mentally!
Tang Maoyuan didn’t mind the rotten corpses that needed to be blurred out. He just didn’t want to smell the stench. Now that the pill given by Gu Yu had successfully eliminated the smell, he couldn’t help but want to show off to his father.
However, he didn’t expect… Maoyuan Tang was worried about his son’s physical condition due to his unusual behavior.
Although he wanted his son to shoulder the responsibility, he did not wish for Tang Maoyuan to break down.
“Maoyuan! Go out with Xiaofeng for a walk. You don’t need to help here anymore.”
“Father, you know Chengfeng is here!”
“He looked like he was going to throw up the moment he walked in, so I couldn’t help but notice.
“Hehehe.”
Then, after shaking his head, Tang Yaowen quickly asked Tang Maoyuan and Chengfeng Shan to leave, lest they continue to stay and develop any psychological trauma, which would not be good.
Beside them, Chengfeng Shan, upon hearing that Tang Yaowen had recognized him, chuckled. He then, unlike Tang Maoyuan, didn’t show off but quickly slipped out of the morgue with the wind, going outside to breathe fresh air.
His purpose for coming this time was simply to see if he could help.
But in reality, he had overestimated himself.
Facing highly decomposed corpses, Chengfeng Shan felt that another glance would make him vomit, let alone investigate the case.
He used to mock Tang Maoyuan for being too sensitive, thinking, “What’s wrong with just looking at a corpse?” But now he thought Tang Maoyuan was truly amazing!
He could endure it for so many years. If it were him, he couldn’t even last a day.
Gu Yu also really wanted to leave with them when he saw that Chengfeng Shan and Tang Maoyuan were about to leave. However, Tang Yaowen noticed Gu Yu at this time, foiling Gu Yu’s plan to sneak away. He could only stay and discuss the case with Tang Yaowen in a methodical manner.
Because Gu Yu was familiar with Xize Town and had some understanding of the envoy from Luoluo Kingdom, his words during the conversation with Tang Yaowen made Tang Yaowen nod with satisfaction. He thought that although Gu Yu was young, his insights were very thorough.
Sometimes his words were sharp and to the point, making Tang Yaowen feel that he was a good seedling worth cultivating.
No wonder he was recommended to the Emperor by Gu Qing…
Such talent, even if he came through the back door, would not arouse any ill feelings.
Instead, it gave Tang Yaowen many ideas at once, even making him want Gu Yu to replace his incapable son and become a pillar of the Dali Temple.
Although Tang Yaowen wanted his son to take over his position, the position of Vice Minister of Dali Temple was not easily taken. Tang Maoyuan needed to demonstrate his ability, otherwise, it was all talk!
Meanwhile, Gu Yu tried his best not to look at the rotten bodies. He was unaware of Tang Yaowen’s thoughts while talking to him.
If he had known, he would have felt depressed and thought, “I just came to help investigate the case this time, why am I being implicated in taking over the position of Vice Minister of Dali Temple???”
He was only thirteen years old now. Wasn’t it too early to talk about this?
Moreover, Gu Yu had no desire to be an official.
The imperial court was too restrictive. It was better to be a villager, free and without any worries… As for the troubles that would come his way, with the father-in-law Gu Qing, the Vice General, and the future official younger brother-in-law, Gu Yu had nothing to worry about.
He felt no shame in relying on his future official younger brother-in-law. On the contrary, he felt a sense of pride.
As for why he felt proud, did others have such a capable younger brother-in-law!
Finally, as Tang Yaowen still wanted to chat with Gu Yu, Gu Yu quickly found an excuse and pulled Mengyao to secretly slip away. He didn’t want to stay in the morgue any longer.
Although the deodorizing pills could prevent people from smelling the stench of the corpses, staying in the morgue for a long time was not good for the body.
After all, there were many bacteria in the rotten bodies. It would be bad if something unexpected happened.
“Brother Gu, you guys are out too! I thought you would come out soon, but I didn’t expect it to take so long.”
“Haha, you must have been held back by my father! My father can’t stop talking once he starts. Fortunately, I was clever just now and slipped out with Chengfeng. But who is this…”
“This is my wife, Mengyao. She is the daughter of Vice General Gu Qing. She came dressed as a man this time to help me investigate the case.”
When they walked out of the morgue, they met Chengfeng Shan and Tang Maoyuan. Gu Yu introduced Mengyao to Tang Maoyuan when he spoke to them.
Chengfeng Shan and Tang Maoyuan had a good relationship, and he had seen Mengyao dressed as a man before. So, it was better to reveal it now than to be awkward later.
Besides, Mengyao was just disguised as a man this time, not doing anything else wrong. Gu Yu felt there was no need to hide it.
However, to be safe, Gu Yu still invoked his father-in-law, Gu Qing.
“So you are the lady of the house. My name is Tang Maoyuan. My father is Vice Minister of Dali Temple, Tang Yaowen. As for my other identity, I am the owner of Chunlai Restaurant.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Tang Maoyuan was prepared, so he was not surprised to hear that Mengyao was a woman. He introduced himself to Mengyao, who smiled and returned the greeting without saying much.
In ancient times, women did not interact much with other men, except for their family and husbands. Otherwise, they would be considered frivolous.
Tang Maoyuan and Chengfeng Shan also knew this, so they continued to shift the topic to the murder of the Luoluo Kingdom envoy. After discussing with Gu Yu for a while, they all frowned, clearly finding it difficult to solve this tricky matter.
However, it was good enough to have some leads at the moment. They were afraid of having no clues, leaving them unsure of where to start their investigation.
“Young Lady, Young Master! The people the Master sent to investigate have returned.”
Just as they were wondering what to do next, Xing Zhi suddenly appeared and said something that made Gu Yu’s face light up with joy. He thought this news had come at the perfect time.
Now that the investigation into the bodies of the Luoluo Kingdom envoy had reached a stalemate, it would be best if there was a new breakthrough in Xize Town!
“Alright, we’ll go back now.”
Then, Gu Yu said goodbye to Tang Maoyuan and Chengfeng Shan and hurried back to Gu Residence with Mengyao. Upon meeting the scout sent by Gu Qing, they received not good news.
Because the local tyrants of Xize Town had all been killed, their bodies lay strewn in the Yamen, their deaths extremely tragic.
Even the places where the Magistrate and soldiers’ bodies had been were empty when the scout went there, indicating that they had been moved or destroyed.
Upon hearing this news, Gu Yu could not help but frown, thinking that the person colluding with outsiders in Linfeng Kingdom had considerable ability.
Such a person was likely very influential within Linfeng Kingdom!
At least, it would take considerable effort to wipe out all the local tyrants in Xize Town.
The reason he was able to deal with the local tyrants so easily back then was due to the efficacy of the medicinal powder. Otherwise, it would not have been easy to win based on numbers alone.
As a result, all the local tyrants had now been killed.
