Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

"Human life?"

Gu Yuan and Wang Heng jumped up together, looking fierce as if they wanted to tear Gu Hua apart.

Mu Junyan stepped forward, blocking Gu Hua's path, and calmly raised his eyes, saying slowly, "Don't you two believe me?"

Seeing Mu Junyan's protectiveness, Wang Heng naturally couldn't be the first to speak out.

She turned and glared angrily at Gu Yuan: "You don't know your woman? Just how many murders have been committed against her!"

Gu Yuan's face turned bright red; even his ancestors on the ground would jump up and beat him to death.

He stammered, "They're just servants. It's not illegal to beat one or two of them to death if they make a mistake."

Gu Hua scoffed.

“Silver Branch’s parents and Golden Sunflower are slaves, but the stable boy, Old Six, is not. And the private tutor’s son, Ji Xuanyu, is not a slave either!”

"You think you can convict me with just a few words? Do you have any evidence? Yinzhi is accusing me of killing her parents based on a so-called blood letter? That's laughable."

Aunt Pei burst into wild laughter: "And another thing, your father ordered the coachman Lao Liu to be beaten to death. Are you going to go to the yamen to sue your father?"

Gu Yuan angrily said, "Old Six, the coachman, was beaten to death for trying to humiliate you. How can you say it was your aunt who killed him?"

Gu Hua said coldly, "Because it was Aunt Pei who arranged for the stable boy, Lao Liu, to sneak into my room, and then used Father to kill him. Father, you can take the blame for her murder if you want."

Gu Yuan was so angry that he couldn't speak.

"Bring the person in."

Gu Hua was trembling slightly with extreme anger, but she tried her best to stand up straight.

Before coming, Mu Junyan explained all the witnesses and physical evidence he had to her in detail.

She was grateful to Mu Junyan for doing so much for her in secret.

But she couldn't hide behind Mu Junyan forever; she had to learn to face things on her own.

Otherwise, your previous life would have been in vain.

A short while later, Chi Yan and several guards brought in a few people, along with a pile of evidence.

Chi Yan led the investigation, and he knew the background of everyone involved best.

Before Gu Hua could speak, Chi Yan explained the people and events clearly with a blank expression.

"The couple were Yinzhi's neighbors. They heard that there had been a fight in the house before Yinzhi's father died. They saw Granny Lu leading two strong men out of Yinzhi's house through the crack in the door. The two of them had a good relationship with Yinzhi's parents. Out of concern, they pushed the door open to check and found Yinzhi's father strangled to death on the bed."

But they dared not utter a sound. Not long after, the Marquis of Wenchang's household sent people to arrange a simple funeral for him, telling the neighbors that he had died suddenly from an illness. His mother, who worked at the Marquis's residence, was taken away that very night and her whereabouts became unknown.

Aunt Pei glared with her large, terrifying, scarlet eyes: "You took the money and still spew filth from your mouths!"

“That’s right. On the day of the funeral, Granny Lu gave each of the surrounding neighbors a tael of silver as a reward, telling them not to spread rumors.”

Chi Yan then produced a testimony: "This was written by Yinzhi's mother herself, but she knew that someone would not let her go. In order to protect her daughter, she hanged herself the next day and left a letter in blood to let Yinzhi know the truth about her parents' murder."

Chi Yu took the testimony and presented it to Gu Yuan and Wang Heng, whose expressions changed simultaneously.

"As for Ji Xuanyu, he did fall off the cliff, but was rescued by a local tiger hunter, leaving behind a blood-stained garment. The tiger that rescued him has also been found. He said that the person he rescued told him that someone lured him to the edge of the cliff and pushed him off the cliff."

Gu Hua continued, "Brother Ji was harmed because of me. Because Madam Pei didn't want me to escape her clutches and wanted me to continue suffering, she tried to stop Brother Ji from taking me away. Brother Ji was a scholar who had passed the imperial examination. What crime is it to murder a scholar? I'm sure my uncle and father know, right?"

Mu Junyan's expression darkened slightly.

Brother Ji.

Such a warm call.

Killing a slave is no big deal, but murdering a student is a serious crime.

Gu Yuan and Wang Heng were both speechless, a chill running down their spines.

Wang Heng deeply regretted receiving the wedding invitation, and even more so, he regretted trying to curry favor with the Duke of Yong to attend the banquet in person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to face this mess of troubles.

"And...my mother."

Gu Hua looked at her mother, who was crying her eyes out and leaning softly in Zhou Mama's arms.

"If I hadn't brought Miss Shen, who is skilled in poisons, back to the manor and discovered that my mother had been poisoned, she would probably be terminally ill and not long for life now. My mother is a fifth-rank official; what crime would it be to plot against a noblewoman of the court?"

Gu Yuan and Wang Heng were ashen-faced.

Upon hearing this, Wang cried even harder.

Her daughter, living such a miserable life herself, still thinks about her unfit mother.

Gu Hua suddenly smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, and she looked at Gu Wanru.

"Eldest sister, how many people have you killed?"

Gu Wanru stared at her in horror: "I didn't kill anyone. It was all Pei who did it. It has nothing to do with me."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Pei laughed and then burst into tears.

The biological daughter she had painstakingly nurtured now only knew how to shift all the blame onto her.

Suddenly, Aunt Pei knelt on the ground, her scarlet, crazed eyes fixed on Gu Hua, crying and laughing at the same time, appearing completely insane.

"Ru'er didn't kill anyone. She really didn't know anything. She always thought she was the legitimate daughter. It was all me, all of it was me! But am I wrong? I am the most noble eldest daughter of the Pei family, the richest family in Jiangling. Why should I be a concubine?"

So many noble young men have sought to marry me as their principal wife, yet the Pei family forces me to abandon my happiness and become a lowly concubine! Who can I turn to for justice? You all hypocritical hypocrites, taking my money and then looking down on me—what right do you have?!

Ignoring her rant, Gu Hua, with a half-smile, went straight to the heart of the matter.

"Oh? So, who arranged for the kidnappers who tricked me into going out, elder sister? And Jin Kui? Did you kill her too? If someone hadn't arranged for the kidnappers, Jin Kui wouldn't have died. I'm just curious, who exactly were the kidnappers planning to take? And who arranged it?"

Gu Wanru's face turned deathly pale. She looked at Aunt Pei in horror, signaling her to admit to everything.

Aunt Pei's gaze slowly fell on her biological daughter, her face filled with utter despair.

She nodded slowly, tears streaming down her face as she spoke: "Yes, I bribed the kidnappers. I had them kidnap you. Jin Kui died because of me, it's all my fault. It's all my fault!"

Gu Wanru bit her lip hard, tears streaming down her face, and looked away from Aunt Pei.

Gu Hua raised her voice: "Oh? But... Jin Kui was killed by Gu Wanru. I saw it with my own eyes."

"No! You can't kill my daughter!"

Suddenly, Aunt Pei went berserk and lunged at Gu Hua, extending her sharp nails to scratch at her face.

Before she could get close, Mu Junyan swung his arm, and a gust of wind rushed straight at Pei Shi's face.

With a scream, she was thrown to the ground. The guards bound her tightly, and then, with a snap, her arm was broken, causing her to scream in agony.

Akabane frowned, stepped forward and grabbed her chin. With a twist of his hand, her jawbone dislocated. He then stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth. Pei trembled all over in pain, but could no longer make a sound.

"No, I didn't kill Jin Kui. Why would I kill her? She was there for me as I grew up..." Gu Wanru cried out in distress.

"Yes, she and Yinzhi both grew up with you. One was almost beaten to death, and the other was killed by you."

Gu Wanru's crying stopped abruptly, and she looked at Gu Hua as if she were a stranger.

No, he looks like a vengeful demon from hell!

Gu Hua said calmly, "Because the kidnappers wanted to take the young mistress's place, and you pushed me out to take the blame, Jin Kui shouted that I wasn't the young mistress. So, you killed her."

"Huh? Didn't the kidnappers kidnap Gu Wanru?" Gu Yuan and Wang Heng came to their senses.

Mu Junyan looked at the girl.

She's disregarding her own safety in pursuit of revenge.

Gu Hua indeed disregarded it.

But she bet that the people present wouldn't dare to go out and say anything, because they wouldn't dare to oppose the Duke's Mansion.