tion's burden.”“Yes, I see that too, but our families have only just settled here after moving from Kyoto. We're still recovering and don't have the strength to do anything about it.” The man beside...Li Zhensheng asked again, "Are you sure, or did anyone in the town actually see Grandma Gong lying in the coffin Is it possible she's still alive"

"Mr. and Mrs. Li were both surprised, looking up and asking, "How did you know that Old Madam Gong was still alive"

"What did you find" Li Zhensheng asked back instead of answering.

Li Fu's wife quickly said, "Yesterday afternoon, we went out for a walk and bought some candy to give to the children nearby, hoping to get a few words out of them."

"Kids say the Gong family is haunted, that everyone died off. Later, as we were heading to the inn, a mischievous boy stopped us. He said that Old Lock's grandmother wasn't dead, he saw her!"

Li Fu's wife, fearing the host wouldn't understand, explained, "Lock is just the nickname of that boy from the Gong family. They always play together. The boy said he went to the back mountain to collect firewood and got lost. He saw Lock's grandmother in a wooden house, and Lock's grandmother even asked him for food."

He was terrified and ran home to tell everyone about it, but no one believed him! They said he was seeing things, even burned some paper talismans for him and forced him to drink the ash water. After that, they wouldn't let him go up the mountain again!

"We both felt that the child was telling the truth. He wanted to go up the mountain but was afraid of attracting attention, so he decided to go back and report it, asking our master to send someone up the mountain to have a look."

Li Zhensheng had a plan in mind, so he told them, "Don't leave today. Go out and investigate some more. There's a hooligan named Liu here who likes to drag people to the casinos in Xindu on a regular basis."

"This gangster's uncle manages the casino. Remember to ask his name and the name of the casino. I'll bring some people to investigate in the mountains first. If something happens, someone will let you know right away."

"Yes, master," Li Fu and his wife quickly replied.

Soon, they pretended not to know each other, ate breakfast separately, and then Li Zhensheng led his men to climb up from the other side of Beishan.

At this time of year, the weather is cold, making it difficult to travel on roads covered in snow. Climbing mountains is even more treacherous.

Fortunately, everyone had finished storing firewood for the winter, and the North Mountain wasn't very high, nor were there any wild animals to hunt.

So, the mountains were very quiet, and the only small hut that offered temporary shelter wasn't hard to find.

The bodyguards proceeded cautiously. Two remained to guard Li Zhensheng, while the remaining four slowly approached the wooden house. Hiding behind a tree, they threw a stone at the door, but there was no movement inside.

A soldier crept closer, coughed once, but still there was no response. He then peered through the crack in the door.

When he turned back, his face changed color and he quickly retreated.

Li Zhensheng saw him from afar and walked over, asking in a low voice, "What's going on"

The bodyguard took a deep breath and replied, "Master, there's indeed only an old woman in the house. But she's lying at the door, watching... as if she has no breath left."

Dead

Li Zhensheng quickly led his men over. The wooden house's door was locked, but the soldiers took out their daggers and pried it open with a single strike, not damaging the copper lock in the slightest.

Two wooden doors swung open from the inside out. Without the support of the copper lock, the wooden door suddenly flew open, and an old woman tumbled out.

A teal satin jacket, already soiled beyond recognition, with disheveled hair lying limp on the threshold, utterly silent.

A bodyguard lifted the old woman's leg and flipped her over. Everyone gasped in shock.

This is no longer human, it's just a skin and bones figure like a burning log.

I don't know how many days she had gone without food, but the old woman's face was pale and gray. Her eye sockets were sunken deep, and her skin stretched tight over her bones like a drumhead. It seemed as if just a light touch would send her head rolling off.

Li Zhensheng calculated the date silently in his heart. According to Gong Yunshu and the innkeeper, the Gong family had held a funeral half a month ago.

That is to say, this old woman plotted with her nephew to deceive her grandchildren, secretly taking them here and hiding them.

Perhaps from that day on, no one brought her meals or remembered to let her go free!

What goes around comes around, you fool!

Li Zhensheng really didn't know what to say, laughing at a dead person, he couldn't do that.

But these eight characters, they kept echoing in his mind!

This old woman wants to use her nephew, forcing her granddaughter to become an inside informant for the Li family. She plans to climb the social ladder by joining the Li family and then discard her nephew.

But how could she have not thought of the consequences of going against a tiger

Once they were done using her, of course, they wouldn't bother to coax her anymore.

He lived a comfortable life, having enough food and clothing. In the end, he died of starvation here!

"Alright, let's see what she has on her that could serve as a token. Take something back to Broken Gold Beach and ask around. Confirm this old woman's identity. Go quickly and return swiftly!" Li Zhensheng waved his hand and said.

The bodyguards sprang into action quickly, and soon the silver bracelet on the old woman's wrist was taken off.

Two bodyguards rode back to Suijin Beach, closed the doors and restored the wooden house to its original state, guarding it here.

The last two returned to the inn with Li Zhensheng. Li Fuer's husband and wife had already inquired about the news.

"Landlord, that Liu fellow, the thug, is unpopular here. I hear many people have lost their fortunes to him. His cousin hasn't been to town before, but it shouldn't be hard to find out about him."

His elder brother's surname was Bao. The casino was called Si Ji Ruyi, located in the north of Xin Du city. It wasn't big, but it was crowded.

Li Zhensheng nodded, his heart growing even more certain.

Because Zhang Jin lured the villagers to gamble at the place where Seasons of Joy Gambling House was, Zhang Jin's close contact with the gambling house manager was indeed surnamed Bao.

But after Wei's army was injured, the old soldiers of Hou Mansion had been keeping an eye on this Pack surname manager, but they didn't see anything unusual about him.

Originally, I thought it was just my overthinking. Now it seems like they've simply changed their strategy and taken a different approach!

If it weren't for the vigilance of their family, if it weren't for the Gong siblings confessing early on out of a sense of conscience, these people's schemes might have succeeded.

Gong Yunshu wasn't unattractive, and he seemed educated and articulate. Plus, there was the debt of gratitude factor. It was possible that during his few months on Shattered Gold Beach, he could win over the villagers' favor and even capture the second son's heart.

After all, Lao Er's biggest regret in his life was that he never got to study, and marrying a foolish daughter-in-law...

This Gong Yunshu satisfies Lao Er's every fantasy about a partner!

Li Zhensheng's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

It has to be said, the person behind this truly put in a lot of effort, thoroughly researching the Li family.

The only thing they hadn't counted on was that their background as farmers meant they grew slowly but steadily.

Over the past few years, they have faced life and death many times, struggling to survive. This has made them extraordinarily united and their determination to protect their family is also exceptionally firm.

For all they have now, they are like squirrels holding onto fruit, raising their necks to observe their surroundings after every bite.

They have no ambition, no envy of others, but they absolutely will not allow anyone to take their "fruit"!

So, there's a ripple in the wind, and onlookers may not take it seriously. But they already have their swords drawn, ready to fight off any invaders at any moment!

We don't know how Li Zhensheng was doing in Qingmu Town. All we know is that the two personal soldiers returned to Suijin Beach at full gallop, it was already afternoon.

Jia Yin wreaked havoc on a lot of potatoes in the space last night and wanted to make some starch for her mother.

Although she succeeded, she was also very tired.

After dinner, she lay down on the kang, hugging her beloved plush tiger and taking a nap.

Elder Li sat on one side, guarding her granddaughter and also doing needlework...ing bird's nest porridge. At least have a few bites."The Empress Dowager raised her head, looking at the compassionate expression from before, now completely different. Her eyes were filled with hosti...