d, he heard a woman's cries of agony and fury echoing from within the house. His brow furrowed involuntarily. This morning, she had consulted him, and this afternoon, she was already putting his advic...In the evening, after dinner, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jin Yao returned to their guest rooms after chatting with Mr. Du for a while.

As soon as Gu Jingxi entered the guest room and closed the door, he said, "Ayao, I'm going out for a bit. If you get tired, just go to sleep first; don't wait up for me."

Meng Jinyao knew the purpose of his trip and nodded lightly: "Be careful, my husband."

Gu Jingxi was a cautious person. After slightly changing his appearance, putting on a set of dark clothes, and covering his face, he looked around. Seeing that no one was around, he directly climbed over the wall and went out.

Meng Jiny Yao just stared at him as he leaped onto the wall and then disappeared over the top, unable to help but wonder how he had managed to get up there.

After leaving the county office, Gu Jingxi went to a small courtyard in Dongcheng. It was a house he had rented for Fang Xuan and Fang Ce. It was convenient for discussing matters or other purposes.

Fang Xuan and Fang Ce were capable of handling things. Fang Ce had already brought back the parents of the girl who was raped and murdered, and they were staying in this house, not allowed to see anyone or go out. They had left Deqing County, a place filled with sorrow for them, but hadn't gone far; they had only moved to the neighboring county.

When Gu Jingxi heard this, he nodded in satisfaction. The girl had been raped and then murdered. This case might be a breakthrough, so he took it very seriously, but he didn't rush to see the girl's parents.

He first saw Fang Xuan and directly asked, “Fang Xuan, how is the investigation going on the matter I asked you to look into”

Fang Xuan recounted the matter: "My lord, I've investigated. The reason why the young master of the Li family had a past with that young lady is because she was good at embroidery. One day, the young master saw her providing embroidered goods to his own shop, so he introduced her to Miss Li, who is the young master's sister, specifically for her to make clothes for Miss Li."

“The young lady was beautiful and had a unique personality. Master Li developed a liking for her and wanted to take her as his concubine. This matter had also been approved by Master Li's elders, and they were already preparing to send a matchmaker to speak with the young lady's parents. However, before this could happen, the young lady was raped and murdered. Before this incident, Master Li and the young lady had no grievances against each other; their interactions were always polite.”

Gu Jingxi frowned, this didn't seem like much of a problem. He had been investigating for so long and it was still similar to what he had learned before, as if it really had nothing to do with Young Master Li. But based on his years of experience solving cases, he felt that something wasn't right, the case still had loopholes. Even though the girl's brother had confessed, he asked: "Is there anything else"

Fang Xuan nodded slightly and continued, "But there's a coincidence. The young lady and the son of her neighbor died on the same day. The young man had already recovered from his illness. The doctor said that with another period of rest, he would be fine. But for some reason, his condition suddenly worsened, coming on fiercely. He died the second day his condition worsened. The young man was found dead in the morning, and the young lady went out in the afternoon and did not return. When she was found, she had been raped and murdered, discovered by her brother who had gone out to look for her."

Gu Jingxi heard the new clue, his eyes lit up, he pondered for a moment, and asked again: "What is the relationship between that young man and this girl"

Fang Xuan replied, “They grew up together as childhood sweethearts and have a very close relationship.”

Gu Jingxi, upon hearing this, had a vague guess in his heart.

Perhaps the young lady had a sweetheart she didn't want to marry Mr. Li, and that sweetheart was the deceased youth. Mr. Li learned this and murdered the youth. The young lady guessed the reason and went to question Mr. Li, leading to an argument. In the end, Mr. Li, consumed by love turned to hate, raped the young lady. Enraged, he then killed her.

However, these are just his preliminary guesses.

A moment later, Gu Jingxi asked again, "What are their names"

Fang Xuan replied, "The young lady's name is Shen Qinghe, her brother's name is Shen Qingshan, the neighbor's son's name is Yang Yingjie, and Li Gongzi's name is Li Xin."

Gu Jingxi nodded and ordered, "Go and bring their parents here. I have something to ask them."

Fang Xuan responded and turned to leave, taking the middle-aged couple with him. The couple had lost their only child, who was a foster son they had adopted. He had been raped and murdered by their own foster son, leaving them deeply devastated. They were in their thirties, but looked like they were in their forties due to the immense grief they had endured.

When the couple was brought back, they had already been informed by the policy that officials from the court were coming to investigate the cause of death of their child. They were bewildered, as the case had already been closed and their daughter had been killed by the adopted son. Why was there another investigation

The couple entered the hall and saw a young man of extraordinary appearance. Dressed in dark robes, he exuded an air of authority. They hurriedly knelt down and bowed: "Commoners/Subject woman greets you, sir."

Gu Jingxi said warmly, "No need for formalities, please sit down and talk. I have something to ask you."

At hearing this, the couple was astonished.

Mr. Shen quickly waved his hand and said, “No, no need for that, sir. We can just stand here. If you have any questions, please ask. We will answer truthfully.”

Gu Jingxi didn't press the issue and immediately asked, "I heard that you once considered matching your biological daughter with your adopted son"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Shen couldn't help but feel remorse and anger. She said, "It was we who invited the wolf into our home. We shouldn't have saved that beast in the first place and raised it to adulthood! At first, we thought since we only had one daughter, giving her away to another family felt unbearable. So we tried to match them up, but unfortunately, our daughter wasn't willing. She said she considered Qing Shan as her older brother, so we gave up. But Qing Shan liked Qing He. After being rejected by Qing He, he became depressed. A few days later, something happened to Qing He."

Then Gu Jingxi asked, "Does Miss Shen have feelings for Young Master Yang"

As soon as he said this, both Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen were stunned and shook their heads instinctively.

Shen Fu said: "Yingjie and Caomin's family, these two children grew up together, just like brothers and sisters. Qinghe treats Qingshan like a dear brother and definitely doesn't have any other thoughts about Yingjie. Yingjie is a few months younger than her, and she treats Yingjie as her younger brother."

Gu Jingxi said: "But Yang Yijie and Miss Shen died on the same day."

Mrs. Shen's eyes were wet with tears, and she said sadly: "Yes, the two children died on the same day. Heaven is unjust! Our Shen family and the Yang family have done no wrong, but both of our only children are gone that day. Young Yingjie was fine at first, but we don't know why his condition suddenly worsened. Our poor Qinghe was also harmed by that beast."

Mr. Shen recalled that day with immense grief. He had helped the Yang family handle the funeral arrangements for Young Jie, and as dusk approached, news of his own child's death arrived. The couple fainted on the spot.

Gu Jingxi said leisurely, "Miss Shen's body appeared in the Li family's courtyard. That courtyard only had a deaf-mute couple and their twin children taking care of it. On the day of the incident, their children went out shopping. The deaf-mute husband was injured, and the wife who was deaf couldn't hear anything was busy in the kitchen. When she came out, she saw your adopted son, Shen Qingshan, holding Miss Shen's body, and the deaf-mute servant fainted on the ground."

Upon hearing this, Father Shen nodded: “He originally wanted to frame Li Gongzi for Qinghe’s death, secretly throwing Qinghe's body into Li Gongzi’s small courtyard. Unexpectedly, the servant saw Qinghe's body and wanted to find someone, but this animal was afraid and wanted to silence him. Unfortunately, he failed, and the mute servant survived. At first, he did not admit to framing him, but finally confessed. My lord, this case has been closed, why do you still want to investigate”as they entered the room. She was surprised that he had returned earlier than her, asking, "Husband, weren't you going out to visit friends today Why are you back so early"Gu Jingxi nodded and said, "...