"Brother Ling, could you please take Xuan'er out for a stroll first? I'd like to have a few words with Brother Gu."
Upon hearing this, Ji Lingchuan's expression tightened instantly. His gaze towards Gu Yunzheng grew sharper.
Gu Yunzheng met his eyes and gently raised his eyebrows, the provocation in his eyes evident.
It was as if he were saying to Ji Lingchuan, "Look, even though you're like family, there are some things she won't let you, her'sister-in-law', know. Only I, an 'outsider', can help her."
Ji Lingchuan felt as if a huge rock was weighing on his chest. He couldn't understand why she needed to talk to Gu Yunzheng alone. Moreover, she even addressed Gu Yunzheng as "Brother Gu"!
His pride forced Ji Lingchuan to hold back his questions. Without saying a word, he picked up Song Yixuan and walked out. For a moment, only Song Yihuan and Gu Yunzheng were left in the consulting room.
When facing Song Yihuan, Gu Yunzheng put away all the sharpness and provocation he had shown towards Ji Lingchuan and became the gentle and refined second-place scholar again.
Before Gu Yunzheng could speak, Song Yihuan asked, "Brother Gu, was what you said to me in the inn just now true? Have you really found some clues?"
Gu Yunzheng didn't answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "You have to tell me first what the doctor just said to you. It might be similar to what I've found."
Eager to find out the cause of her stepmother's death, Song Yihuan didn't hide anything and told Gu Yunzheng what Doctor Xue had said.
After listening, Gu Yunzheng's expression turned solemn. "Coincidentally, the clues I've found are very similar to your stepmother's symptoms."
"That day after you asked me to look into this matter, I took the time to go to the archive room to look through the files. I found a case from seven years ago about a woman who died during a difficult labor. This is a copy of part of it. Take a look." Gu Yunzheng took out a stack of papers from his bosom and handed them to Song Yihuan.
Since it was related to Stepmother Rou's death, Song Yihuan eagerly took them.
The papers stated that seven years ago, the mistress of a family on the outskirts of the capital gave birth a month earlier than expected. She couldn't give birth no matter what. Even after inviting midwives and doctors, it was of no use. Although she finally managed to give birth to the child with great effort, she died. The child, having held its breath in the womb, was alive but cried as weakly as a mosquito.
The husband noticed something was wrong and invited a doctor. Only then did they discover that the child was born with a heart disease. They originally planned to take good care of the child, but it died before it reached a hundred days. Then the husband noticed that a concubine in the mansion looked strange, so he reported it to the authorities for a thorough investigation.
However, as soon as the yamen runners arrived, the concubine hanged herself out of fear of guilt, and the case was closed like this.
To this day, no one knows what the concubine did to the mistress that caused her difficult labor and the birth of a child with a heart disease. They only knew that this case was related to the power struggles in the inner courtyard.
Song Yihuan closed the papers in her hand, her face extremely solemn.
She was right in her guess. Her stepmother's death was definitely not an accident. As for who had done this to her stepmother, she didn't need to guess. The person who had killed her stepmother was probably related to her biological mother, Meng.
But why?
At that time, her biological mother was also pregnant, even earlier than her stepmother. She also had a child in her womb. Why did she do this to her stepmother? Wasn't she afraid of retribution?
Also, what had her stepmother taken that caused the fetus to suddenly grow so big that she had a difficult labor? She had handled her stepmother's food every day, and she was sure that the food was fine.
"Yihuan? Yihuan?" A hand waved in front of her eyes. Song Yihuan came back to her senses and saw Gu Yunzheng's worried face.
"Are you okay? I see that your expression seems wrong. Did it bring back sad memories for you?"
Song Yihuan shook her head and said to him, "Thank you, Brother Gu, for helping me find the clues. I'll remember your great kindness. I'll find a chance to repay you."
Gu Yunzheng clenched his fist and summoned up the courage to say, "Yihuan, your stepmother's death doesn't seem to be an accident. Do you want me to help you investigate this?"
But Song Yihuan laughed. "Brother Gu, this is a family matter of the Ding'an Marquis Mansion. You're just a small assistant magistrate in the capital. You probably can't even enter the marquis mansion. What identity will you use to investigate? The marquis won't admit that your stepmother was killed either."
"Moreover, this incident happened four years ago. All the evidence that should have been destroyed has already been destroyed. It's useless."
The year her stepmother died, she had also tried to investigate on her own, but she hadn't been able to find any clues at that time. How could it be different now?
Seeing Song Yihuan speak so lightly, Gu Yunzheng couldn't imagine how she had endured it alone back then. His heart ached.
He then thought of the hairpin in his sleeve. He looked up and said, "You said you wanted to repay me just now. I only have one request."
Song Yihuan looked at him through her veil hat. She guessed in her heart that he might say something like he wanted to marry her. Just as she was about to refuse, she saw him take out a hairpin, the one she had just loved so much in the market.
"I saw that you liked this hairpin just now, so I bought it. If you want to thank me, just accept this hairpin."
Song Yihuan laughed. "You said it was me repaying you, but why are you spending money to buy something for me instead?"
"This is my only request." Gu Yunzheng said.
Song Yihuan thought for a while and still refused his hairpin. "I'll buy my own jewelry. Although I love this hairpin, I don't have to have it. Brother Gu, thank you for your kindness. There are many noble ladies on this trip to Xingzhou. There are many who match your family background and have gentle personalities. Keep this hairpin for your sweetheart."
After saying that, she curtsied, then held her veil hat and turned to walk out.
Gu Yunzheng held the hairpin in his hand and watched her leaving back, feeling a bit dazed.
He had been rejected again. This was the third time she had rejected him, and so straightforwardly, leaving him no hope at all. Could it be that there was really no possibility between them?
As Song Yihuan walked out of the medical hall, she heard her younger brother's cheerful voice. She followed the sound and saw Ji Lingchuan standing behind a group of common people, letting Song Yixuan sit on his shoulders and watch a monkey show on a stage.
Ji Lingchuan was already tall and straight. With Song Yixuan sitting on his shoulders, he was even taller than others, allowing Song Yixuan to see the whole show. The four-year-old child had never seen such a fun show before and laughed happily.
Song Yihuan suppressed the heaviness in her heart, put on a smile, and walked towards them.
As if sensing something, Ji Lingchuan steadied Song Yixuan and turned his head. He said nothing, and his expression seemed to be infected by Song Yixuan's cheerfulness. Song Yihuan even felt a bit of gentleness from him.
At this moment, she suddenly had an inappropriate thought.
At this moment, he looked like a husband waiting for his wife to come back.