It was rumored that his father had accepted a large sum of money from someone and married her off far away, and no one ever saw her again.
When Wu Caiwei returned to Yucheng, she passed by the Hu family's house and found it draped in white mourning banners. A brief inquiry revealed that the Hu family's eldest son had been murdered. This shocked Wu Caiwei; she had expected a tough fight upon their return, but little did she know that their opponent would be dead before the conflict even began.
She strongly suspected her husband was involved. As soon as she got home, she pulled him aside and asked if he had a hand in it.
"It's impossible to say I wasn't involved, but it was primarily his own misdeeds," Hu Lianyu sighed before recounting the events of the recent period.
Hu Lianyu had not been idle after Wu Caiwei's departure. While he was expanding his business, he was also keeping a close watch on the Hu family.
During his surveillance, he noticed a woman inquiring about the Hu family and often loitering around their gates.
Upon this discovery, Hu Lianyu did not let it slip by. He quickly made inquiries, but no one knew of any entanglement between the woman and the Hu family. They only knew that the woman's husband had died a few months prior, and his family considered her a bad omen. While they didn't verbally abuse her, they subjected her to daily sarcasm and an endless list of chores. Despite this, she still made time to gather information about the Hu family, which made Hu Lianyu suspect something.
One day, when the woman was alone in the courtyard, Hu Lianyu's men heard an abnormal sound. They rushed in and found the woman attempting to hang herself. After rescuing her, Hu Lianyu met with her personally.
The woman told him her name was Yu Niang. She and her husband had grown up together and originally lived in the same alley. However, her brother had squandered all their family's wealth, forcing her father to sell their house and return to the countryside. Even after moving, her husband would secretly visit her in the countryside periodically.
When she reached marrying age, although her in-laws were reluctant, they could do nothing as he found all sorts of excuses to refuse every arranged marriage proposal, eventually missing the prime age for marriage. His family had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
After she married into the family, she carefully appeased her in-laws, hoping to gain their approval. As they knew her well, her character was evident. Gradually, her in-laws let go of their reservations, believing that since she had joined the family, they should live harmoniously. Their lives became increasingly prosperous, and they looked forward to the future.
Unwittingly, she met the Hu family's eldest master. She could see admiration in his eyes, but she feigned ignorance since he didn't express it directly.
Not long after, her husband drowned while working outside. Everyone claimed it was an accident, but she didn't believe it. She knew her husband's little secret: he had nearly drowned as a child and avoided water whenever possible. It was impossible for him to have gone to the river alone and fallen in. Someone must have harmed him.
When she raised her doubts, everyone said, "Can the county magistrate make a mistake?" No one had seen anything, and the matter was eventually dropped.
Although her parents-in-law were also very sad, they had other sons. After investigating with her for a while, they gave up.
Yu Niang was unwilling to accept this. Thinking of her wronged husband, she wept day and night. Gradually, her in-laws began to find her unlucky. They even regretted agreeing to marry her, thinking if they had found someone from a more suitable family, he wouldn't have had to work so hard elsewhere.
Yu Niang said nothing in front of them, but when she returned to her room, she realized they were right. She had caused his death.
Unwilling to let the person who harmed her husband go unpunished, and recalling the Hu family's eldest master's interest in her a few months prior, she was reluctant to submit to him. But it didn't matter; as long as he could help her find the killer, she would then join her husband, ensuring he wasn't alone.
This was why she had been inquiring about the Hu family's eldest master's whereabouts at their doorstep in recent days. Initially, no one told her his whereabouts. She visited multiple times a day, hoping to run into him.
Unexpectedly, a Hu family servant, unable to bear seeing her travel back and forth, secretly told her that the Hu family's eldest master had gone elsewhere and wouldn't be back anytime soon. She left in despair, feeling that each passing day was a torment and she could no longer bear it.
Moreover, when she left, she saw her neighbors looking at her with ambiguous expressions. Her heart sank, knowing what was coming. Indeed, after a little inquiry, she learned that a matchmaker had visited the previous day. No wonder her mother-in-law had been scrutinizing her during dinner yesterday. She didn't need to think to know her mother-in-law had her ideas, and she would likely be married off soon.
The thought of leaving the place where her husband had spent his childhood pained her deeply, which led her to consider ending her life.
He had long suspected that this woman was connected to the Hu family's eldest master, but he hadn't expected it to be this. He sighed and looked at her with some sympathy, "Have you considered another possibility? Of course, it's not certain, but you could investigate in this direction. Perhaps your husband was murdered by someone sent by the Hu family's eldest master."
"How is that possible? My husband didn't know him at all, and they had no grudges. Besides, he wasn't even in the city," Yu Niang said, disbelieving the suggestion and not understanding why he would think that.
"Perhaps he took a liking to you, and your husband was an obstacle. If he wasn't in the city, it would be easy. A letter would suffice, and there would be plenty of people to do his bidding." Based on his understanding of the Hu family's eldest master, he was certainly capable of such a deed.
"That's unlikely. The Hu family is powerful and influential. What kind of woman haven't they seen? Why would they go to such lengths to harm me, a married woman? Aren't they afraid of legal repercussions?" Although people said she was beautiful, Yu Niang didn't believe she was so stunning that someone would commit murder for her.
"Whether you believe it or not is up to you. I'm merely stating my speculation. Shall we join forces and see if it was him?" Hu Lianyu looked at her intently.
Seeing his earnest expression, Yu Niang couldn't help but nod. Hu Lianyu had the money and the people, making inquiries much easier. He soon learned that a group of ruffians had been by the river on the day Yu Niang's husband drowned.
Hu Lianyu then took her to find these men. Naturally, they denied everything. Without a word, he had them apprehended and beaten until they confessed.
Some individuals were stubborn, but others couldn't endure the pain and revealed the Hu family's eldest master's actions. Those who mixed in the city had the most up-to-date information and undoubtedly recognized Hu Lianyu. They confessed so quickly because they were certain he couldn't defeat the Hu family and do anything to the Hu family's eldest master.