Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 241 The Killing Knife, Every Strike Deadly

Unexpectedly, the next second they heard Gu Qingyue's soft laughter.

"How dare you!! Do you think I'm some fat pig who would dare to slander me!"

"Have you found the person? Who spread the rumors earlier?" After a moment of silence, Gu Qingyue suddenly calmed down and spoke.

If it were just her, she really wouldn't care much about these rumors.

But times have changed. In this ancient society where men were superior to women, these rumors were no longer rumors!

For an unmarried woman, it is a murderous knife, each cut fatal!

"I didn't dare let the Wen brothers know. They're young, and with you not here, I was afraid they'd cause a big problem if they found out. I sent Steward Wang out to inquire, and it was the Qin family's steward who spread the news. They bribed many thugs and even some beggars in Lizhou City to spread these rumors everywhere. We also spent money to hire many people to clarify things everywhere, especially in teahouses and restaurants, but the effect wasn't great. This morning, Steward Wang came over and said that it's spread throughout the city, and many young gentlemen say they want to see your beautiful face and whether you deserve to be called the number one beauty in Lizhou..."

There were even harsher things to say, but Rong Qingqing won't go into them.

After all, those words only offend the ears and don't get you anywhere; they just make you angry for no reason.

Originally, she planned to send someone to tell Liu Feng what to do if Gu Qingyue didn't come back today.

It's perfect timing that Gu Qingyue is back; it will be more satisfying for her to handle this personally.

Gu Qingyue's ears were ringing as she listened to these words.

She was so angry she wanted to kill someone!

It's not that I'm angry at how outrageous these rumors are.

Instead, she was angry that the Qin family would so brazenly ruin a woman's reputation. Just how deep was their hatred?

Isn't it just that she can't marry Qin Yuanyuan?

If she hadn't been in such a hurry to go to Nanchong Pass that day to deal with those men in black who were trying to harm Mu Yun Chu, she wouldn't have tolerated the Qin family's antics; she would have dealt with them long ago!

"Yue Ling!" Gu Qingyue was truly angry this time.

"Master," Yue Ling immediately appeared, having also heard Rong Qingqing's words.

This is absolutely outrageous! What a scoundrel the Qin family is!

"Investigate what exactly happened, and also, find out the relationship between the Qin family and Prefect Li's family."

After speaking, Gu Qingyue narrowed her eyes, which were filled with turbulent emotions.

"Find twenty people and also get information on all of the Qin family's shops; I need them tonight."

"Yes," Yue Ling said, and immediately flew away.

Gu Qingyue stood up. "Fourth Brother, why don't you go and rest too?"

"Sister Rong, please arrange for my fourth brother to stay. Let's set out dinner now, I have important business to attend to after we finish eating."

After saying that, Gu Qingyue strode back to her own courtyard to wash up and change her clothes.

Rong Qingqing stood up, stared at Gu Yuanen, and sighed helplessly. Something big was about to happen!

Gu Qingyue returned to her room, went into her spatial dimension to wash up, and dried her hair.

Only in this space could Gu Qingyue feel that she was still a person from that civilized era.

Having lived there for twenty-six years, she still misses the life of complete relaxation when she wasn't working.

But here, oh dear, it's a real headache!

If this happened in my past life, it wouldn't be a big deal at all.

However, once she arrived here, she also had to abide by the rules.

For example, by easily spreading such rumors, they essentially want her to die infamous.

She could neither tolerate it nor back down.

After the group finished dinner, Yue Ling returned.

She recounted the whole story, explaining that Qin Yuanyuan felt Gu Qingyue's refusal to marry her had caused her and the Qin family to lose face, and wanted to teach her a lesson.

They returned the favor after they threw feces at us before, which made us feel even more ashamed.

So they started to slander her reputation, trying to ruin it completely.

"And what about his relationship with Prefect Li?"

Yue Ling paused for a moment and said, "We don't have direct evidence yet. We asked around from the second master of the Qin family. He got drunk at the tavern and said that the reason the Qin family is where it is today is related to doing shipping with Lord Li."

In fact, Gu Qingyue had learned about the geographical location and the situation of various countries since she came to this world.

Beyond the Nanzhao Kingdom, hundreds of kilometers of continuous mountainous terrain lie a vast, boundless sea.

This is quite different from the geographical map of the ancient Chinese kingdom.

Gu Qingyue has always suspected that the place she is in now is not in the same space as Earth in her previous life.

Perhaps it's a different material plane.

Although time and space may intersect, they move along different trajectories. Therefore, some cultures, traditions, and even customs are the same.

Of course, this was just Gu Qingyue's wild speculation.

Therefore, to the west of Nanzhao, and to the south and east of Dachu, there was also the sea.

It's not surprising that there is maritime transport.

The question is, the Qin and Li families' shipping routes most likely departed from ports in Nanzhao. Is this related to Nanzhao?

Otherwise, going to the southern or eastern seas of the Great Chu would be far too far.

"Shipping? It seems these two companies are quite wealthy. Only the super-rich can afford to do shipping here, otherwise where would they get the capital? Shipping is very expensive."

“Yes, but I heard that their shipping fleet only sent a ship out to sea at the beginning of winter this year and hasn’t returned yet,” Yue Ling added.

"Very well, so you're saying their relationship with Prefect Li's family is based on self-interest? Send someone to investigate whether the two families have any connections in the imperial court?"

Gu Qingyue paused for a moment, "We probably can't find out about this in a short time. Let's go first. It won't hurt to teach them a lesson today."

"Yes, how should we arrange the twenty people?" Yue Ling knew that she would definitely have to go to the Qin family tonight, but how to use the people still needed the Pavilion Master's arrangement.

"Have you investigated the shop's situation thoroughly?" Gu Qingyue asked.

"Yes, these are the documents," Yue Ling said, taking out a stack of papers.

“Very good, keep it. We’ll need it later. We’ll do it together later. Have them wait near Zhengyuan Street and act after midnight.”

After giving her instructions, Gu Qingyue got up and left the Gu residence with Gu Yuanen.

They headed towards Zhengyuan Street, where the Qin family lived, while Yue Ling went to make arrangements for the others.

Watching his younger sister arrange everything in an orderly manner, Gu Yuanen felt not only admiration and relief, but also respect as a peer!

My sister must have suffered a lot to have developed such a comprehensive and thoughtful ability.

"What should I do?" Gu Yuanen looked at his sister with shining eyes, waiting for her to assign him a task.

Gu Qingyue thought for a moment, then lowered her head and whispered something in Gu Yuanen's ear.

Gu Yuanen raised his head, looking at Gu Qingyue with a complicated expression, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, I heard it with my own ears. I'll leave this to you now," Gu Qingyue said, waving her hand before disappearing in a moment.

Gu Yuanen was left looking hesitant.

Gu Qingyue left the Gu residence with light steps and strolled around the street.

The streets were indeed bustling. With the New Year approaching, lanterns and decorations were everywhere, and shops were crowded with people. The sounds of people laughing and joking constantly reached Gu Qingyue's ears.

Gu Qingyue couldn't help but recall the New Year celebrations of her previous life.