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

Gu Hua returned to the manor and summoned Chi Yan.

"What's going on with the Strange Wind Hall? I heard their hideout has been wiped out, but the leader is still missing?"

Chi Yan pondered for a moment.

"My lord instructed the Duchy's government not to intervene in this matter, but to have the Patrol and Inspection Division handle it. I was merely following along. The raid did not target their main stronghold, but only one of their bases. The Patrol and Inspection Division exaggerated to claim credit. They did indeed arrest about ten people, but they all committed suicide on the spot by taking poison. Now the entire city is searching for the remaining members and their leader."

Gu Hua sat up straight in shock: "Suicide? Ordinary mountain bandits wouldn't do that."

Chi Yan paused. He shouldn't have said it, but since it concerned the villains who had kidnapped the lady, he might as well explain it clearly to make the lady more vigilant.

“They are not ordinary mountain bandits, but spies from southern Xinjiang.”

"A spy!"

Gu Hua stood up in shock and quickly lowered her voice: "So, are they kidnapping Gu Wanru to threaten the Lord?"

Chi Yan shook his head: "No, that's not true. Besides spying on military intelligence, they also take on some clandestine jobs, such as murder for money. This matter was done because someone paid them money."

"Did you investigate who gave me the money? We questioned Granny Lu, but she didn't know anything. But it was Gu Wanru and Mu An who dragged me away."

Gu Hua frowned and thought for a moment: "Could it be... Jiang Ruoxi?"

Chi Yan was somewhat impressed.

The lady isn't stupid.

All the captured bandits committed suicide on the spot, and there were no witnesses.

But the lord had long suspected that Jiang Ruoxi was the one who did it.

Gu Hua was still deep in thought: "Then, they might still have a stronghold in Bianjing City."

Chi Yan mentally gave her a thumbs up.

But he declined to go into details, simply nodding and saying, "Please be careful when you go out, Madam."

"Okay, I understand." Gu Hua replied somewhat nervously.

After all, those kidnappers were vicious and ruthless, so the young master who could intimidate them must be a cruel and ruthless person.

If a city-wide manhunt is issued, the person will be hidden away, making them harder to find.

Gu Hua was puzzled by one thing: why she kept thinking about those strange and complicated eyes.

There's a sense of déjà vu about this.

But she didn't have many opportunities to go out and meet people in both of her lives, so how could she possibly meet someone like this?

"By the way, do you know who owns the brothel, Yichun?"

Gu Hua suddenly changed the subject.

Chi Yan's eyebrows twitched, and she tentatively asked, "Has Madam noticed anything amiss at Yichun Courtyard?"

On the day Gu Hua was kidnapped, they planned to take the opportunity to raid Yichun Courtyard and arrest a few people for interrogation, because when they were investigating spies, they discovered that a lot of military intelligence about the Mu family army in the Western Regions was leaked from there.

However, the robbers had taken Gu Hua hostage, while Prince Jiang and Mu An were inside. In order not to alert the robbers, they did not make a move.

Furthermore, since the lord had to set out on an early expedition due to a sudden military emergency in the southern border, the lord ordered his troops to remain stationary and have Chi Yan secretly monitor the situation.

They had naturally investigated the owner of the brothel and knew that one of them was Prince Jiang.

But it has not yet been found out what connection Prince Jiang has with the spies, or whether Prince Jiang himself is a traitor?

If that's the case, then the Jiang family's scheme becomes quite obvious.

This matter is of great importance. Without solid evidence, the lord has ordered that nothing be done for the time being.

Chi Yan hadn't expected Gu Hua to think of this.

He thought for a moment and then said the truth: "Prince Jiang has a share."

“Young Master Jiang? No wonder, every time Mu An goes to see him, it’s at the Yichun Courtyard.”

Gu Hua's face darkened.

It seems that Yichun Courtyard is Prince Jiang's gathering place.

She remembered that Yao Yao also came from there.

Mu An?

Gu Hua was slightly startled.

Mu An and Prince Jiang are so close, and Yao Yao was redeemed from Yichun Courtyard by him, so why is Prince Jiang pulling Mu An, who has no power, along?

Gu Hua thought about it more and more and felt that this matter was not simple. She said sincerely to Chi Yan, "If you find anything, please tell me in time. Now I am family with my lord, and the rise and fall of the Yongguo Duke's Mansion is also related to me."

Chi Yan was taken aback, not expecting the lady to bring this up.

He thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly: "Whatever my lord commands, I will say."

Gu Hua paused for a moment, then understood, and didn't press him further: "Okay, thank you."

Just as they were about to have lunch, Zhou Zhilan arrived with her maid carrying a food box.

Zhou Zhilan smiled and said, "I'll add some dishes for you today."

Donghua and Dongqing quickly set out the bowls and chopsticks and helped serve the dishes.

"What good thing?"

Gu Hua was happy to see her, and saw the maid take out hibiscus chicken, crab-stuffed orange, and crystal sashimi from the food box.

"Wow, so good."

"It's crab season, and we received some. Since you're prone to feeling cold, we specially prepared this with oranges. Aren't I good to you?"

Zhou Zhilan chuckled and pulled her to sit down: "I'm going to eat with you too, I can't let you eat alone."

"With my older sister eating with me, I'm sure I can eat an extra bowl of rice."

Gu Hua smiled.

"Does the old lady have any?"

"The old lady likes steamed food, so we've already sent her six, which is enough for her."

The two sisters finished their meal happily, and Zhou Zhilan pulled her to lean against the soft couch and large cushions.

A maidservant brought over a ginger tea made with dried tangerine peel, goji berries, brown sugar, and brown sugar.

Zhou Zhilan took the teacup in one hand and handed Gu Hua a booklet in the other: "The business and profits of those four shops are all here."

Gu Hua hurriedly put down her teacup and opened the booklet to take a closer look.

"The profit margin is not very high."

Zhou Zhilan smiled and said, "It's not that the amount is too low, it's that someone embezzled it."

"Huh? Embezzlement? You mean the shop manager embezzled money, and the amount of silver handed over was insufficient?"

"Yes. Before, the shop was fine under Pei's management; she was a good manager. But after it was given to Gu Wanru, she didn't know anything about it and couldn't even read the account books."

Zhou Zhilan flipped to the back of the booklet: "This is the revenue of the shops since Gu Wanru married into the family. The total revenue of the four shops is two hundred taels less than the previous month. Gu Wanru has been married into the family for more than half a year. You calculate how much she has embezzled?"

"Good heavens, at least 1,600 taels! Did Granny Chen embezzle it?"

"It's definitely more than that. The shopkeeper, the waiter, and Granny Chen colluded to be so bold as to embezzle so much money."

Gu Hua couldn't help but clap her hands: "Thank you so much, sister."

"By the way, the owner of this ironware shop has changed his name to someone else. This person is not from Bianjing, and his identity has not yet been verified."

"You mean Gu Wanru sold the shop?"

"I've already sent Dongmo to the yamen to check the documents, see what the registered name is, and then check the household registration, and we'll know everything. Then we'll find a way to meet the owner and ask him, and we'll know for sure."

Gu Hua gave her a thumbs up.

"By the way, Sister Zhilan, I want to learn martial arts from you."

"Huh? Why? Martial arts training is hard work, your small body can't handle it."

"If you can do it, so can I. Although I'm not as strong as you, I can protect myself. I don't want to burden others if something happens again."

Zhou Zhilan looked at her seriously: "Are you serious?"

Gu Hua said earnestly, "Really."

"Okay. From now on, I'll come to see you at the beginning of the Mao hour every day."

Gu Hua was startled: "The beginning of Mao Shi (5-7 AM)? So early? It's not even dawn yet."

"What? Can't get up?" Zhou Zhilan glanced at her sideways.

"I can get up." Gu Hua nodded vigorously.

Unexpectedly, that very night, I received a dagger from Mu Junyan.

"Make me learn martial arts?" Gu Hua's eyes widened.

Dongmo nodded: "That's what the messenger said. Perhaps things have been rather unsettled lately, and the lord is worried about you?"

Gu Hua drew her sharp dagger and muttered, "You think I don't know martial arts, huh?"

Then practice and show him!

snort!

"Does Madam wish to send anything else to the Lord?" Dongmo asked, glancing at her.

The lord left on the first day of their marriage; it's only through this back-and-forth interaction that their relationship deepened.

"We have nothing else to give you," Gu Hua said, her tone tinged with a grumble.

"Oh." Dongmo had no choice but to leave.

Gu Hua angrily threw the dagger onto the table.

She painstakingly sewed him a set of nightgowns, even embroidering bamboo on them, yet she didn't even offer a thank you or a word of praise.

He must have forgotten everything while holding his late wife's poetry collection!

She puts all her heart into thinking of him, but he doesn't care.

"Donghua, I want to take a bath and go to sleep," Gu Hua said irritably.

Donghua asked in surprise, "So early?"

"I have to get up to practice martial arts at the beginning of the morning, so I must go to bed early."

"Hey, okay."

Donghua and Dongqing got busy, whispering to each other.

"Ma'am, are you angry?"

"Seems to be."

"Didn't you just receive a gift from the lord? Why are you still angry?"

Dongqing smiled and said, "That's called romance."

"Huh? You're still trying to be romantic when you're angry?"