The little village girl dressed as a disaster star led the whole village astray

After the court was dismissed, Gu Jingzhi went straight back home.

He went back to the yard to change out of his court clothes, and then went to Li Xi's yard. When he arrived, she had just got up and was having breakfast in the yard.

"Are you back?" Li Xi looked up at him and picked up a bun.

"Yeah." Gu Jingzhi walked over and sat down beside her.

"Today's buns are delicious, would you like to try some?" Li Xi picked up a bun and gave it to him.

"It's really good." Gu Jingzhi took a bite, "If you think it's good, just let them make it next time."

"The five-day deadline has passed, and the case has been sentenced?" Li Xi was still quite curious about this. Although Gu Jingzhi had told her about the murderer before, she didn't know the specific details of the case.

Although she had only met Le Yang once, she could see her character even in that one meeting. She was not someone who was easy to get along with. In addition, given her status, with her character, she must have had many quarrels with others and made many enemies.

But is a dispute between teenage girls really worth killing?

How could a noble lady from a wealthy family get the courage to kill someone?

When Gu Jingzhi discussed the case with Li Xi before, everything was just speculation. Without a confession, many things could not be closed.

Gu Jingzhi knew she would be curious, so he didn't keep her in suspense.

"Liu Yuanfeng, Liu Yanran, and Jiang Jingshi were sentenced to death by beheading, and the rest of the Liu family were sentenced to exile to the southwest."

"Liu Yuanfeng?" Li Xi frowned, "Is there anything about Liu Yuanfeng in this case?"

How could she not believe that a minister of the Ministry of Revenue was planning to kill a princess who posed no threat to him?

"The case itself has nothing to do with him, but he cannot escape the blame for not educating his daughter properly. The person who died was not an ordinary person, but a princess, and the only princess in the Kangwang Mansion."

Li Xi nodded. That was true. If a son is not well disciplined, it is the fault of the father. Besides, this was in ancient times when imperial power was supreme.

"Wait, that's not right." Li Xi suddenly thought of something. The last time Gu Jingzhi told her about this case, she asked about Hongzao's Shangshu Mansion.

All she knew was that there were two young ladies and a young master in the Shangshu Mansion. Liu Yanran, mentioned by Gu Jingzhi, was the eldest daughter of the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue. It was said that she was dignified and elegant, with a gentle personality. She was the most talented woman in the capital and the dream lover of many men in the capital.

Li Xi didn't believe that such a talented lady from a famous family didn't know the consequences of killing the princess. Moreover, how could someone like her be interested in someone like Jiang Jingshi?

Although she had never met Jiang Jingshi, she could roughly outline an image of him from Gu Jingzhi's words. He should be the kind of hypocritical person in the stories of talented scholars and beautiful women who was obsessed with currying favor with the rich and powerful.

A talented woman like Liu Yanran must have never lacked suitors, including many of noble status and great talent. How could she fall for someone like Jiang Jingshi? Could she be blind?

"There must be something else going on here, right?"

Gu Jingzhi smiled. He waved his hand to signal Hongzao to leave. "There is indeed something hidden."

Li Xi's eyes lit up. She had already read all the storybooks she bought, and threw away the ones she didn't like. Now was the time to listen to stories.

Seeing her like this, Gu Jingzhi paused, "The hidden story behind this case is too dark."

"dark?"

Li Xi was silent for a moment. What could he say? Hearing him say that, he became even more curious.

She put down her chopsticks, moved her stool closer to Gu Jingzhi, and asked, "Tell me?"

Seeing her like this, Gu Jingzhi sighed and said, "Liu Yanran is also a pitiful person."

Li Xi nodded. It is said that there must be something hateful about a pitiful person, and there must be something miserable about a hateful person. It is very unusual that a noble lady like her can kill people with her delicate hands. How could there be no secrets behind how a talented woman who plays the piano, paints, and recites Song Dynasty poems turns into a murderer?

Gu Jingzhi told the story slowly, and Li Xi gradually understood the reasons that led a talented woman to become a murderer.

Twelve years ago, Liu Yuanfeng was not yet the Minister of Revenue. At that time, he was just a scholar living in Mianyang.

Although Liu Yuanfeng was born in the Liu family of Mianyang, he was only a bastard's son. However, thanks to a favored concubine, his life was pretty good. When he was old enough, he married a beautiful wife and had a young son.

However, the good times did not last long. His aunt passed away due to a serious illness. Without the protection of his mother, his father also had a new concubine. His life in the mansion gradually became less valued. Fortunately, he had a wife who came from a merchant family. He was not short of money, so he lived a decent life.

But he didn't expect that he had such a beastly uncle. After he got drunk at a family dinner one day, little Liu Yanran accidentally fell into his clutches.

Afterwards...she was not the only one who suffered a mental breakdown. The ones who could not accept it the most were Liu Yuanfeng and his wife. Mrs. Liu fainted several times and was depressed and angry. She wanted to kill that beast and drink its blood.

But how could such a shameful thing be known to others? Mrs. Liu also understood in her heart that for Yanran's sake, this matter had to be kept secret, and it had to be kept secret for the rest of her life.

Of course, Liu Yuanfeng would not let this matter go so easily. If the matter could not be known to others, then it would be kept secret, but those who had to pay the price had to pay it.

The Liu family naturally knew that they were in the wrong in this matter, and the solution proposed by Liu Yuanfeng was not excessive, but the beast was the youngest son of Old Lady Liu, whom she doted on the most. How could she bear to let him die?

If this was any other bastard in the mansion, she would not even look at him and would just put the matter aside.

But Li Yuanfeng happened to be a talented and capable person, otherwise he would not have been able to sit in the position of Minister of Revenue in ten years, so it is impossible for Old Lady Liu to do anything too excessive.

So he could only use threats and inducements to take action on both sides, and promised Liu Yuanfeng that as long as he did not pursue the matter again, the Liu family would fully support him with resources in the future. Not only that, he also promised to register him under the name of his stepmother, and he would be the legitimate son of the Liu family in the future. If he disagreed and insisted on making a scene to the death, then so be it. He could kill the person, but after killing him, everything in the Liu family would have nothing to do with him.

The Liu family offered too much, and Liu Yuanfeng hesitated, but finally agreed.

After that, the Liu family did give Liu Yuanfeng all the support as promised. Liu Yuanfeng himself was also very hardworking and soon passed the imperial examination and became an official in the court. If it can be said that the Liu family of Mianyang supported Liu Yuanfeng because of their promise before, after Liu Yuanfeng became an official in the court, the relationship between the two became complementary.

In this matter, the Mianyang Liu family benefited, Liu Yuanfeng benefited, but Liu Yanran was the only one who suffered.

Most intelligent people mature early. When Liu Yanran was in Mianyang, she knew that she had become her father's pawn. How could she not hate him?