Gu Zhi got off the car and Ling Qingwan watched him leave.
Seeing Gu Zhi coming, the coachman put down the step stool, but because the step stool was too far away from the carriage, Gu Zhi lost his balance and almost fell.
"Why!"
Ling Qingwan was startled.
Fortunately, Liusu helped Gu Zhi get on the carriage.
"Why does this coachman look unfamiliar?" Ling Qingwan looked the coachman up and down.
She had known Gu Zhi for a long time, and Gu Zhi's groom had never changed. Ling Qingwan had seen him so many times that she remembered what he looked like.
The grooms before were all middle-aged men, but the one in front of him was almost the same age as Ling Xiao.
"To answer Miss Ling's question, the original groom took a leave of absence because he was sick and went home to recuperate. This is his son, who is here to help replace him."
Liusu told Ling Qingwan.
No wonder even the most basic step stool can't be placed steadily. Ling Qingwan understood.
Then she returned to the carriage.
The figure of the groom appeared in her mind, and Ling Qingwan always felt that there was something strange about it, but she couldn't tell exactly what was strange about it.
That's all. I must have been overthinking it.
Ling Qingwan rubbed his temple and called the coachman back to the general's mansion.
After walking a few steps, there was a loud noise outside and the carriage stopped.
Ling Qingwan opened the curtains and looked outside, and saw people gathered in a group not far away. It seemed like something was happening and the place looked particularly lively.
These people were blocking the road and Ling Qingwan couldn't get through for a while, so she asked Hong Shang to go and take a look.
What on earth happened that attracted so much attention
After about a while, Hong Chang came back in high spirits.
"Miss! Big news! Huge news!"
Hong Chang has always been carefree, and Ling Qingwan has gotten used to it.
"Do you remember what happened last time we went boating? The lady of the Mo family wanted to drive Cheng Qianxin away, but Cheng Qianxin refused, so the Cheng family sent someone to pick her up. Unexpectedly, Cheng Qianxin was very stubborn and refused to listen to any persuasion. After finally dragging her outside, guess what happened? She hugged the eldest son of the Mo family and refused to let go, crying and begging him to marry her."
Hong Chang's eyebrows danced with joy as she described the story vividly. Ling Qingwan couldn't help laughing as well.
Ling Qingwan knew that Cheng Qianxin liked Mo Cheng in her previous life, but she never expected that Cheng Qianxin would be so absurd that she would even lose her dignity in order to stay with Mo Cheng.
"It seems that Cheng Qianxin really likes Young Master Mo very much." Qiao'er sighed.
"It's not entirely because I like Young Master Mo." Ling Qingwan spoke slowly.
The two little girls looked at Ling Qingwan, both with bewildered expressions.
"It's a long story. Anyway, the Cheng family didn't want her at first, and now that she's gone back, the Cheng family won't treat her any better. It would be best for her to stay in the Mo family, where she has food and clothing, and can see Mo Cheng every day."
Unfortunately, Cheng Qian was not satisfied. She wanted to be liked by Mo Cheng, but she used the wrong method.
Ling Qingwan had no interest in watching the excitement, so she simply closed her eyes and took a nap. People were blocking the middle of the road, and she couldn't get through.
By the time we arrived at the general's mansion, it was already getting dark.
After Ling Qingwan had packed up, she went to the hall to have dinner with Shen Chengzhou, Ling Shenshi and Ling Xiao.
"Master, Miss, Master Sun, Miss Sun."
While they were eating, a gate guard came in and reported to them.
"A maid came to the Zhang residence and said she wanted to see Miss Sun. I saw that the maid looked hurried and seemed to have something urgent to do. I didn't dare to delay and hurried to tell Miss Sun."
A maid from Zhang’s house
The people at the table looked at each other.
"Did that maid tell me her name?" Ling Qingwan couldn't help but become nervous.
"Her name is Xiao Cui." The gatekeeper answered truthfully.
Ling Qingwan's heart skipped a beat.
Xiao Cui was Zhang Shuying's personal maid. If she came to see him for something, it must be that something happened to Zhang Shuying.
Ling Qingwan immediately asked the gate guard to bring Xiao Cui in.
"Ms. Ling Er."
Xiao Cui didn't bother to greet the others.
"Someone just came from the Scholar's Mansion and said that Miss Gu had not returned yet, and they came to look for her. But Miss Gu left with you after dinner. My lady didn't know if Miss Gu was with you, so she asked me to come and ask."
"What? Zhier is missing?"
Ling Xiao couldn't sit still and stood up immediately.
"After Zhier and I came out, we didn't go anywhere else. We parted ways at the fork in the road." Ling Qingwan told Xiao Cui.
But Gu Zhi was not with her, and he did not go back to find Zhang Shuying, so where would she go...
"I'll take some people out to look for it."
Ling Xiao asked Shen Chengzhou for instructions.
You can see that he is very anxious, but he still tries to calm himself down.
"Go ahead." Shen Chengzhou nodded.
He was very satisfied with Ling Xiao's reaction.
If it were the Ling Xiao of the past, he would probably be so anxious that he would tear down the general's mansion.
Ling Qingwan was not idle either. He immediately asked Hong Shang to go to the Bachelor's Mansion.
"Grandfather, I think I know who took Zhier away."
Ling Qingwan told Shen Chengzhou all the strange things she had noticed about Gu Zhi's groom during the day.
"You mean, the coachman might have approached Miss Gu on purpose?" Shen Chengzhou was shocked.
In this way, Gu Zhi’s murder was a foregone conclusion.
Moreover, if Gu Zhi’s disappearance was really related to the groom, it would prove that the matter had been premeditated and the real murderer was definitely not the groom.
"Yes." Ling Qingwan nodded. "So I asked Hongshang to go to the Scholar's Mansion and ask Master Gu to check on the groom."
"You've thought it through."
Shen Chengzhou patted Ling Qingwan on the shoulder.
Gu Zhi was a low-key person, and no one had ever had a grudge against her except Liao. But Liao did not have the courage to persecute Gu Zhi under the eyes of Master Gu.
After all, once this matter is discovered, not only will her daughter be unable to marry into a wealthy family, she may also be kicked out of the house.
If it's not Liao, then who could it be...
Ling Qingwan actually thought of Shang Wu first.
But Shangwu can't even live a good life now, so how can she have the energy to plan to harm Gu Zhi
Ling Qingwan was puzzled.
Soon, Ling Xiao and Hong Shang came back.
Ling Xiao searched all over the capital but couldn't find Gu Zhi's whereabouts. The news brought back by Hong Chang also confirmed Ling Qing Wan's guess that there was something fishy about the groom.
The previous groom had no son at all, and the new one's identity was completely fabricated.
If you didn't want to do anything wrong, why would you sneak into the scholar's mansion
"It must be that crazy woman Shangwu!"
Ling Xiao gritted his teeth.
He wished he could cut Shangwu into pieces.
"Don't worry." Ling Qingwan comforted. "If it was Shangwu who kidnapped Gu Zhi, it's actually a blessing in disguise."
"What do you mean?" Ling Xiao was puzzled.
"Shang Wu has no grudge against Gu Zhi, have you ever thought about why she wants to hurt Gu Zhi?" Ling Qingwan asked Ling Xiao.
Although Ling Xiao was much calmer than before, his brain was still not very sharp. When something happened, his mind went blank and he couldn't think seriously.
"Because of me." Ling Xiao answered at last.