This could no longer be kept a secret; there was indeed someone in Yue Gu’s room.
Hu Jia did not know what his mood was at the time, but he instinctively wanted to go inside.
Yue Gu blocked his path, shook her head slightly, a pleading look in her eyes.
If it were any other time, Hu Jia might have let it go. But not now; a life was at stake.
“Xiao Jia, don’t,” Yue Gu panicked. “Don’t go in. For the sake of the ledger.”
“Sister, you’re being foolish!” Hu Jia felt a sense of exasperation that she wasn’t seeing the bigger picture. He finally pushed her hand away.
Lu Qingqing, seeing this, didn't know what to say and could only follow them.
Tong Meng stood by the door, watching Yue Gu rush back into the room, but her mind was on Yue Gu’s earlier words.
A ledger?
What ledger?
Where did the ledger come from?
Tong Meng glanced at Lu Qingqing, and finally, her gaze settled on Lu Qingqing’s cloth bag.
Heh, these two really had a plan.
Now, Tong Meng finally understood. It was likely that when they left in the morning, Hu Jia and Ouyang Wen had orchestrated a play together.
They deliberately acted as if they were going their separate ways because they knew Tong Meng and Li Han could only follow one of them.
And they weren’t worried about whoever followed Hu Jia and Lu Qingqing. Because these two would continue their act at Yue Gu’s place.
Tong Meng recalled that after lunch, Hu Jia had even sent Lu Qingqing out, saying he wanted to have a private chat with Yue Gu.
Lu Qingqing found it boring and went for a walk on her own.
At the time, Tong Meng had no choice but to follow one person. Thinking that Lu Qingqing was unfamiliar with the place, she didn't follow her.
Now, it seemed, the so-called ledger might have fallen into Lu Qingqing’s hands during that time.
It was just that she didn’t know what exactly was recorded in that ledger to warrant such an elaborate scheme by these two.
…
Pushing the door open, a man, under everyone’s gaze, appeared somewhat flustered.
He was dressed neatly, and looked no older than 40.
“Well, since guests have arrived, I’ll be going then.” The man tried to evade them.
“Stop!” Hu Jia’s shout was loud. The man trembled.
Hu Jia did not know if this man was related to the male corpse in the well, but judging by his demeanor, he clearly had something to hide.
After all, Hu Jia was a stranger, not Yue Gu’s husband. Why would he be so panicked upon seeing Hu Jia?
With a glance, Lu Qingqing understood. This was a setup for separate interrogations.
As soon as Hu Jia separated the two, Yue Gu impatiently grabbed his arm. “Xiao Jia. Listen to me, he’s a friend of mine, we…”
“You’ve been making a wedding dress for someone else recently.” Hu Jia interrupted Yue Gu, not as a question, but as a statement of fact.
Yue Gu froze, her expression clearly more flustered than before. “No, no.”
Hu Jia took out the cloth shop’s list. “Then tell me, where did these bolts of red cloth you bought two months ago go?”
“Ah?” Yue Gu was taken aback that Hu Jia had produced the shop’s transaction records. She didn’t know how to respond.
…
“Yue Gu and I are just friends. The reason I didn't dare to come out was because I feared it would affect her reputation.” In another room, Dai Bihua was also offering an explanation.
“Hmph, what reputation could someone like her possibly have?” Tong Meng rolled her eyes.
Lu Qingqing glared fiercely at her. “Don’t you also care about your reputation?”
Tong Meng was so choked by Lu Qingqing’s words that she almost fainted. If she didn’t know Tong Meng’s tendency to curse indiscriminately, she would have suspected Lu Qingqing already knew about her shameful secret.
“You’re always coming to Yue Gu’s place. Are you planning to marry her?” Lu Qingqing asked Dai Bihua with a smile.
However, upon hearing this, Dai Bihua did not answer. Instead, he stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.
“You’re not marrying her? If you’re not marrying her, then who is the wedding dress for?” Lu Qingqing, playing her part skillfully in eliciting information, had barely finished speaking when Dai Bihua exclaimed, “You know about the wedding dress too?”
Lu Qingqing pursed her lips. “We know about it now, indeed.”
…
A quarter of an hour later, Hu Jia knocked on the door of Lu Qingqing’s room. Following him was Yue Gu.
“Did the two of you coordinate your stories?” Hu Jia asked Dai Bihua.
“No, no,” Dai Bihua quickly denied. “We never expected you to investigate us.”
Hu Jia thought about it and agreed. These two certainly didn't expect them to arrive so soon. Besides, the consistency of their stories would be too bizarre to be true.
How did it happen?
According to Yue Gu, the phoenix coronet and robes were indeed hers.
No, to be precise, they were prepared for Yu Xin.
As mentioned before, Yang Shaoquan had found a widower for Liu Yu Xin and intended to marry her off. Thus, the family had prepared her dowry early, and Yu Xin had even prepared a wedding dress in town.
However, little did they know that Liu Yu Xin had run away.
This set of phoenix coronet and robes went unused.
Three days ago, the day before Hu Jia and his group arrived in Zhong County, Yue Gu returned from Yang Shaoquan’s house and encountered a man halfway.
They walked and talked, then flirted, and finally, they became intimate…
Just as they were about to consummate their union, forgetting everything else, Dai Bihua arrived.
Hearing the boisterous knocking outside the door, the man was terrified.
He thought it was the master of the house returning and, in a panic, he quickly ducked into the wardrobe.
Yue Gu wanted to stop him, but thinking it was better not to stir up trouble, she let him be.
She even helped to close the wardrobe door tighter.
As soon as Dai Bihua entered, he demanded intimacy, which Yue Gu refused. If nothing else, there was still a man hidden in the wardrobe.
This was too embarrassing.
As a result, Yue Gu pushed him away repeatedly, which only angered Dai Bihua.
Just then, he noticed the sweat-stained undershirt the man had taken off.
Dai Bihua shouted, “Tell me, do you have other men on the side?”
This startled Yue Gu, and Dai Bihua was furious. To think that he was rejected because of another man, he became enraged.
Thus, he angrily demanded to find that man.
Who would have thought that upon opening the wardrobe, he was shocked? The man rolled out with a thud, already devoid of breath.
Whether he suffocated or died of fright, no one knew.
A life was inexplicably lost, terrifying Yue Gu.
Who was this person? What was his name? Where did he come from? Where was he going?
She knew none of it.
More critically, he died in her room. Who could explain that?
Not only Yue Gu was anxious, but Dai Bihua was also in a hurry.
Dai Bihua, being a straightforward man, did not run when trouble arose. Instead, he thought of helping Yue Gu solve the problem.
So, the two of them put their heads together. Don't you have a sister who ran away?
That was perfect; they would declare her dead.
First, it would protect her reputation, as fleeing from marriage or eloping were not good things. Second, it would provide an explanation to the widower and not affect their future relationship.
Yue Gu listened. Although she felt it was a bit excessive, there was no other way at the moment.
Thus, they dressed the man in the bride’s wedding attire and put on some makeup, planning to buy a coffin and hold a funeral the next day.
But when they woke up the next morning, the man was gone.
This startled Yue Gu. Someone stole the corpse?
However, upon closer thought, wasn't this a good thing? If the body was gone, whoever stole it would take the blame.
As long as the body didn't appear in her small courtyard, it wouldn't be her fault.
Therefore, this near-funeral came to an abrupt end.
But who would have thought that two days later, the man’s body would reappear? Not only did it appear in the well, but it was reportedly stabbed.
This was corpse mutilation!