Xiao Yi did not answer.
She didn’t know how to answer.
She had never expected the horse to go that mad. She had only… wanted to scare her.
When she saw the horse running wildly, she had already begun to regret it. She only hated Gu Wuyou—she had never wanted her to die. She was just unwilling to accept it… unwilling to accept how, every time this woman appeared, she stole all the attention.
Unwilling to accept that everything she had schemed and struggled for, Gu Wuyou could always obtain effortlessly.
But she really, truly, had never meant for her to die.
Gu Yu looked at her, and there was nothing left to say. She seemed to let out a deep sigh, then finally grasped Xiao Yi’s hand and said, “Ah Yi, come with me to see my uncle. Apologize to Gu Wuyou.”
“And then?” Xiao Yi’s face was deathly pale as she murmured, “Gu Wuyou won’t let me go.”
Gu Yu frowned, her voice carrying a rare note of sternness. “You did something wrong. No matter how she chooses to deal with you, you deserve it.” After a brief pause, her tone softened, as if realizing she had spoken too harshly. She sighed. “I will be with you.”
Xiao Yi knew that Gu Yu was right, but when she thought of the consequences, her face grew even paler. “No, I can’t…”
Gu Yu didn’t catch what she said and asked, “What?”
Xiao Yi lifted her head, grasping Gu Yu’s hand in return—just like a drowning person clutching onto their last piece of driftwood. Her voice trembled as she pleaded, “No one can know it was me, Ah Yu. Help me. No one knows I had that needle…”
“As long as you don’t say anything, no one will ever find out.”
Gu Yu seemed to be stunned.
She stared at Xiao Yi in disbelief, staring at this girl who was now begging her. After a long moment, she finally murmured, “What… did you just say?”
At the same time, just on the other side of the wall—
Gu Jiufei straightened from where he had been leaning against the wall. He cast a faint glance at the barrier between them, his face unreadable, his dark eyes deep and ink-like.
He said nothing, only turned and continued walking back the way he had come.
On the way, he encountered a few personal guards and finally stopped in his tracks.
“Ninth Young Master.” The guards saluted him.
Gu Jiufei gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over the saddle in one of their hands. Then, in an indifferent tone, he said, “Go to Pingshuo Hall. Bring the Princess of Changning here.”
The guards were momentarily stunned. “What?”
“Go.”
He then added casually, “Search her desk. If you find any needles, bring them as well. If anyone tries to stop you—” Gu Jiufei paused, thinking of Gu Yu, and his eyes darkened slightly. “Bring them along too.”
“Yes, sir!”
“When Father asks later, do not say it was me.”
This was the last sentence Gu Jiufei left before departing.
The personal guard was momentarily stunned. He looked at Gu Jiufei’s retreating figure before finally responding, “…Understood.”
By the time Gu Jiufei returned to Madam Zhang’s place, he happened to hear Gu Wuyou speaking.
“Father suspects that someone deliberately tried to harm me?”
His footsteps briefly halted. It seemed he hadn’t expected this sister, who had never been considered particularly clever, to have already thought this far.
However, he said nothing. He simply continued walking into the room.
He was always like this—when he didn’t want others to notice him, he rarely left any presence at all. So when he entered, the only person who seemed to sense him was Li Qinyuan, who glanced at him briefly before shifting his gaze away again without saying anything.
Gu Jiufei also said nothing, simply returning to his seat, holding a teacup, and drinking slowly with his head lowered.
Gu Wuji also hadn’t expected his daughter to have figured it out. He had never wanted her to witness the ugliness of human nature. He had always wished for his Manman to be happy forever, to remain carefree. But when he looked into her eyes now, he found himself unwilling to deceive her.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke, “Let’s observe first. If it was just an accident, then all the better. But if it wasn’t… then we will root out the source of the trouble entirely.”
Hearing this, Gu Wuyou smiled faintly.
She wasn’t someone who had never encountered the filth of the world, nor was she as naive as a blank sheet of paper. Perhaps the Gu Wuyou of the past had been that way—so much so that she had been trampled on again and again, bullied repeatedly, and… thrown into the mud without a chance to rise.
But she knew. She understood just how vile this world could be.
And it was precisely because she understood that she wanted, even more, to find the light hidden beneath its darkness. She wanted to believe in the goodness that still existed in people’s hearts.
“When the horse was running earlier, I already sensed something was off. Although I did use some force, it wasn’t enough to drive the horse into such madness…”
In the silent room, Gu Wuyou spoke slowly.
Gu Wuji was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected that she had already figured it out. Unable to help himself, he asked, “Then do you have any guesses as to who did it?”
Gu Wuyou did not answer immediately. She seemed to be contemplating before finally speaking, “There were three academies present at the racecourse today, but if we think about it logically, it’s actually quite simple. The people from Buzhi Hall and Changrong Hall were far away at the time and had no opportunity to approach the horses.”
“Moreover, that horse had been ridden by others before me without showing any abnormal behavior. So the person who wanted to harm me could only have acted in the brief period between the last rider dismounting and me getting on.”
Her voice was slow, but clear. “At that time, the second group of riders were naturally occupied, and Ah Yu was with me the entire time… If we narrow it down, there are only about a dozen suspects left.”
“To find out who approached the horse during that time, we just need to question each of them—ask what they were doing, who they were with… By carefully cross-examining them, any inconsistencies will naturally reveal the culprit.”
In truth, she already had a few suspicions in her heart. But without concrete evidence, it wouldn’t be right to speak recklessly.
The people in the room were clearly surprised by her analysis. Whether they had been drinking tea or speaking earlier, all of them now turned their eyes toward her.
Even Gu Wuji was momentarily at a loss.
In his heart, Manman had always been a child who never grew up—someone he constantly worried about, afraid she would get hurt, be bullied, or suffer losses in silence. That was why, the moment he heard something had happened to her, he had brought his personal guards and rushed over without hesitation.
But now…
His daughter was far calmer than he had expected. Not only had she already sensed that something was amiss, but she had also devised her own method for uncovering the truth. Even if he hadn’t come today, she would have been able to track down the culprit on her own.
Gu Wuyou felt a little embarrassed under everyone’s scrutiny.
In reality, this was something she had learned from traveling with the Great General in the past. Once, when they were visiting Jiangnan, they got caught up in a murder case. At first, they thought they would have to wait for the local magistrate to handle it, but the Great General solved the case in just a few steps.
The perpetrator had always thought they had covered their tracks perfectly.
But as long as one peeled away all the layers of mist and deception, no matter how well the culprit thought they had hidden their actions—there would always be a flaw to expose them.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but turn her gaze toward Li Qinyuan.
The brilliant red sunlight filtered through the windows, casting a warm glow on his figure. The young man in white sat in his chair, looking at her. He had been watching her even before she looked over. His long, narrow phoenix eyes were filled with laughter—proud, unabashed laughter. It was as if he was saying, “My little girl is truly impressive.”
Her face instantly flushed even redder.
In the room, those who were already aware of their feelings exchanged knowing glances, while those who had only suspected them now had their guesses confirmed.
Jing Yubai and Qi Xu sipped their tea without saying anything. Fu Xian, still immersed in the matter at hand, wore an expression of deep distress. As for Gu Jiufei… he simply observed their silent exchange, his thin lips pressing together slightly, but he made no comment.
The only one completely oblivious to everything was Gu Wuji, who was still caught up in the realization that his daughter had grown up. His expression was a strange mix of joy and sadness, as though he couldn’t quite decide how to feel about it.
After a long silence, a sigh finally broke the stillness.
“Manman has really grown up.”
Gu Wuyou withdrew her gaze and turned to look at her father. Her smile was as sweet as ever, her eyes curved into soft crescents as she reassured him, “So, Father, you don’t have to worry that learning about these things will trouble me. You also don’t need to hide them from me.”
“I have always believed—”
She paused, then, in a voice that was light yet unwavering, she continued.
Her eyes drifted back toward Li Qinyuan as she spoke, her words firm and resounding, “No matter how much darkness there is in this world, there will always be countless people striving to create light.”
The room fell silent once more.
Everyone looked at her, absorbing her words.
A moment later, just as Gu Wuji was about to respond, Changshan entered the room and addressed him.
“Duke, we have found the culprit.”
Hi everyone~ How are you all doing? I just added 15 new chapters for this book. Hope you enjoy reading! 🥰