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

His gaze suddenly fell on something dark on the skirt: "Is she injured?"

Lu Laosan hurriedly said, "No, no, that's the driver's blood."

Ji Xuanyu felt slightly relieved and asked calmly, "How did you know that the person you captured was Gu Wanru?"

If it were Gu Hua who was kidnapped, it would ruin her reputation if word got out, so he decided to go with the flow and let his men think that it was Gu Wanru who was kidnapped.

Huang Lao Er replied, "There were originally four women in the carriage, two of whom were dressed as maids. When one of them pushed her out, she said that she was the young mistress. Her maid tried to argue, but was killed by the person who pushed her out."

"Tsk tsk, that woman is really brave. She looks like she's lived a life of luxury, but she kills without batting an eye."

Lu Laosan's heart skipped a beat as he looked into Ji Xuanyu's increasingly gloomy eyes.

Could it be that they've arrested the wrong person?

They cannot admit it, otherwise, the crime would be grave.

Lu Laosan added, "I heard that the one who was killed was the young mistress's maid named Jin Kui. The other one was Bi Yu."

Ji Xuanyu was aware of the people around Mu An and Gu Wanru; Jin Kui and Yin Zhi had always been with Gu Wanru.

Biyu was Mu An's concubine, and she and Gu Wanru were not on good terms.

Now he was even more puzzled. Logically speaking, Biyu would have preferred Gu Wanru to be the one to be promoted.

Back then, Gu Wanru and Gu Hua studied together. Gu Wanru was as proud as a peacock, while Gu Hua was like a pitiful kitten.

No one in the Gu family treats her like a human being.

Ji Xuanyu looked down at the person in the box. The clothes were made of luxurious fabric and had a novel style, indicating that they came from an embroidery workshop.

The woman next to Mu An that I saw today, Gu Wanru, was dressed in a new style, but the material was very ordinary, similar to what the girls in Yichun Courtyard wore. She also only wore a gold hairpin in her hair.

Ji Xuanyu frowned: "Go find an old woman and help her out."

Huang Lao Er and Lu Lao San exchanged a glance upon hearing this.

The young master actually wanted to find an old woman to help her up...

Soon, two old women were found to drag the person out of the box and carry him directly to the bed.

"Find her a simple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) to change into."

This dress is so eye-catching.

As the old woman went out to look for her, Ji Xuanyu glanced at her hair and asked, "She wasn't wearing any jewelry?"

Huang Lao Er was startled and hurriedly took out the jade hairpin and presented it with both hands: "Yes, I have it. I was afraid of breaking it, so I took it off and kept it to present to the young master."

Ji Xuanyu took it, rubbing the jade hairpin with his fingers; the jade was of the finest quality.

Huang Lao Er explained ingratiatingly, "This is made of warm jade that can only be found in the Western Regions. The carving is exquisite, and the Linlanglou logo is engraved on the end. It's worth at least five hundred gold coins. When she saw that I had taken it, she was very anxious and wanted to snatch it back. The other woman was dressed much more shabbily than her, with only a gold hairpin in her hair. So, I think she is the real young mistress of the Duke's mansion."

Ji Xuanyu didn't reply, and put the jade hairpin into his pocket.

Huang Lao Er felt a pang of heartache.

The old woman quickly found a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) for an ordinary woman. Ji Xuanyu walked out of the room, and the other men quickly followed him out.

Lu Laosan tried to figure out what the young master meant.

For the past month, he has been under orders to keep an eye on the Gu family mansion and the Yongguo Duke's mansion, mainly focusing on Concubine Pei of the Gu family mansion and the young master and young mistress of the Yongguo Duke's mansion.

Unfortunately, the young mistress rarely goes out, and every time she does, she is completely covered up, so her true face cannot be seen.

The young master seduced Prince Jiang and that woman in the palace just to set up a trap for the Pei family business, since they have money.

He also learned by chance that the young master was pushed off a cliff by Aunt Pei of the Gu family six years ago, but fortunately he was saved by the hall master.

He remained in a coma for five months, with many bones broken throughout his body. It took him almost a year to recover before he could get out of bed.

However, his health has never been very good.

Tonight's meeting was originally intended for Mu An and Gu Wanru to negotiate a cooperation with Master Guo. Once the deal was done and they received their kickbacks, they would then join forces with Prince Jiang and Master Guo to secretly replace all the cotton-padded clothes and quilts submitted by the Pei family with counterfeit goods.

The genuine goods were then sold to the imperial court through Xuanji Hall's affiliated businesses, making them imperial merchants. This would ruin the Pei family's business and allow them to seize their assets, which would then be divided among the three parties.

However, two unexpected events occurred: first, the county princess's bestowal of a marriage was obstructed, and second, Prince Jiang wanted to kidnap the Gu sisters.

The second thing is that the young master actually forbids the binding of female sisters, only female sisters.

While they were each lost in thought, the old woman came out.

"It's been changed."

Lu Laosan gave her a string of cash to send her away, then looked at the young master, wondering what he was going to do.

Huang Lao Er and he exchanged a glance, both able to see the other's tension and fear.

What if they really arrested the wrong person...

Lu Laosan forced himself to speak: "Young Master, why don't you take another look? Don't you recognize the Gu sisters?"

Ji Xuanyu certainly wanted to see.

Six years! He's been thinking about it for six years!

Just as he turned to go inside, he suddenly saw the woman inside get up on her own and grope around.

The sight of his voluptuous figure illuminated by the oil lamp through the window made him pause.

Hua Meimei was bullied by her elder sister and abused by her aunt since childhood. She was always hungry and cold. At the age of twelve, she was so thin that she looked like a seven or eight-year-old girl. How could she have changed so much in six years?

Ever since he woke up, he has been thinking about one day fulfilling his promise to take her away from the cannibalistic Gu family mansion.

Pamper her, love her, protect her.

Later, in order to have the power to protect his beloved little girl, he did not hesitate to stain his hands with blood and betray the Great Liang, becoming a spy for the enemy country.

Later, he finally gained the trust of the hall master and returned to Bianjing. By then, Gu Wanru, who had bullied Hua Meimei, had already married Mu An and become the noble young mistress of the Duke's mansion.

Gu Hua was also brought into the Duke's mansion by Gu Wanru.

Although their network of spies had thoroughly investigated the situation of the Gu family, the Pei family, and Gu Wanru.

He both longed to see her and feared seeing her.

He was no longer the same Ji-gege he once was. Now, in order to gain support and take revenge on the Pei family, he was cunning and ruthless.

His hands were covered in blood.

Moreover, he has defected to the Western Regions and become an enemy of the Great Liang. Right now, he is living with his head in his hands.

He feared that he would drag the young girl from back then into an abyss and ruin her life.

If she likes her current life, and he selfishly takes her away, making her experience hardship and displacement again, he will feel heartbroken and guilty.

It would be better to eliminate the Pei family for her, and kill Aunt Pei and Gu Wanru.

He will see her again then.

If she's willing, he'll definitely take her away.

They are still young, and he will make it up to her in the future, cherishing and protecting her.

Ji Xuanyu hesitated for a moment.

"Lu Laosan, go in and ask her again who she really is."

Lu Laosan nodded and pushed open the door to go inside.

Ji Xuanyu stood by the window, straining to listen.

Gu Hua had just woken up when she was slashed on the neck with a knife. Her head was spinning. When she saw the kidnappers come in, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She quickly shrank to the side of the cabinet, grabbed a wooden ladle and smashed it against the cabinet, then held the sharp shards to her neck.

He shouted in a hoarse voice, "Don't come any closer, or I'll kill myself! If I die, you won't get anything. The Marquis of Wenchang's mansion and the Duke's mansion will never let you off the hook!"

Ji Xuanyu frowned.

Hua Meimei's voice is delicate and sweet, not so hoarse.

On the contrary, Gu Wanru's voice was rather low.

Hua Meimei hates the Gu family to the core, so why would she think that the Gu family would come to save her?

Moreover, Hua Meimei has always been timid, and she didn't dare to say a word when her elder sister bullied her. Has she become bolder now?

Are you not even afraid of death?

Lu Laosan quickly waved his hand: "I just came to ask a question. Just tell me the truth. I won't hurt you."

Gu Hua breathed heavily: "Ask quickly."

"Are you Gu Wanru or her sister?"