"You have mistaken me. My surname is not Yelv; it’s Li. I’m called Li Laozhuang, and I live in a village twenty miles outside the city."

The hunter still insisted.

Gu Shiliu laughed wildly, "Li Laozhuang, hahaha, if it were anyone else, I might have mistaken them, but you... I would never be wrong."

Gu Shiba secretly smiled and quickly hid his smile, staring sternly at the hunter.

The first fierce general beside Yelv Guza, Yelv Xianyong, is exceedingly ugly, unforgettable to anyone who has seen him even once.

The hunter still wanted to argue when suddenly the sound of a whip slicing through the air reached his ears. He bowed his head slightly, but still couldn’t avoid it.

The tightly wrapped headscarf was whipped away, revealing his face completely.

Now there was nothing more to say.

"I have only one question. How did you know it was me?"

Yelv Xianyong was puzzled.

Gu Shiba was about to answer when Gu Shiliu said, "You confess what you need to, and then I’ll tell you."

Gu Shiba hurriedly swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue.

So close, almost let it slip.

"Kill me if you will, flay me if you wish. I have nothing to say." Yelv Xianyong faced death unflinchingly.

Gu Shiliu chuckled, "Say that after you’ve stayed a couple of days; coming is easy, leaving is hard."

With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Take him away and take good care of my old acquaintance from the Northern Border."

"Understood, Sixteen Brother."

A few guards laughed as they dragged Yelv Xianyong away.

Gu Shiba, still uneasy, said, "Luckily, the lady’s keen nose sensed something was wrong, and with her meticulous mind, acted with precision. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been captured so easily."

If this person had been alarmed, he would not have been easy to catch.

Catching Yelv Xianyong without a single soldier lost is quite a feat.

Gu Shiliu laughed, "The lady’s skill is beyond ours."

Giving Gu Shiba a glance, he added, "It shows that you must use your brain more often. Otherwise, Yelv Xianyong might walk right under your nose, and you’d still let him escape. If he had succeeded, who knows how we’d be mocked behind our backs for being incompetent."

Gu Shiba was briefly stunned before he said, "Who doesn’t want to use their brain? But you need talent to move it, right? I know I’m foolish, so I’ll earnestly do what the clever ones instruct."

Even this little bit is much stronger than many others.

Gu Shiliu had nothing more to say.

Gu Shiba then asked, "Why did you catch up now? We waited for you at the city gates for at least half an hour; are General Jin and the others still waiting at the temple?"

Gu Shiliu replied, "The lady pointed out several monks and the Firework Taoist. We’ve ordered them to be individually interrogated. The earth from the dry well has been dug up, and the collapsed houses have been re-investigated. Only found this."

He said, taking out a small gold ornament from his person, engraved with "Never Lose, Never Forget," and a tiny emblem at the end resembling an animal.

This craftsmanship was exquisite and appeared quite valuable.

Gu Shiba asked, "Is it possible it’s a woman?"

"I don’t know," Gu Shiliu said, "The other bones are nowhere to be found; we need to keep searching. From this alone, we can’t tell. It could be a man as well."

So this gold ornament could be a gift from his lover, always carried closely.

Gu Shiba inhaled sharply, "This person may not have died in that courtyard, just had their head thrown into the dry well?"

Gu Shiliu said, "The silk has rotted away, and other bones are present but can’t be pieced into a complete human."

"Hiss..."

Gu Shiba frowned.

This was even more terrifying.

Is this dismembering?

To bear such a grudge against the deceased, you’d have to do such a thing?

"...So...should we tell the lady?"

So frightening... women are all timid.

Gu Shiliu was indifferent, "Of course tell her; the lady isn’t an ordinary powder puff. I’ve already reported this to the Marquis; he told me to report it to the Capital Governor Mansion and have them send someone to verify. For now, only General Jin keeps his troops guarding outside the temple, ensuring that even a fly inside can’t escape."

...

Gu Baoshu, ever since returning to the mansion, has been lounging in Wutong Garden without leaving.

"Good sister-in-law, we’re the best in the world together. You must help me, you can’t let mom beat me again and make me kneel in the shrine."

Qin Yuan was helpless, "You still haven’t changed and gone to see mom, Nanny Rong has already finished complaining."

Gu Baoshu said, "She and mom are in it together. No matter how fast I am, I can’t be faster than her mouth."

Qin Yuan said, "Then I’m going to change clothes; once changed, I’ll see the Old Madam. What about you?"

Gu Baoshu hesitated, "...Then I..."

Qin Yuan said, "Actually, you needn’t worry so much. Did you forget the Xu family’s child picked up a skull in the family temple? The Old Madam likely has no time for you."

"But, but, you can dodge the first, not the fifteenth!"

Gu Baoshu looked pitiful.

"What first? What fifteenth? Gu Baoshu, what have you done again?"

The voice of the Marquis suddenly rang out.

Startling Gu Baoshu into chanting babble until she realized that the couple was already standing together affectionately.

If she weren’t around, they might be embracing.

Gu Baoshu felt embarrassed, "...Third Brother, aren’t you in the government office attending to important matters? What are you running back for?"

The Marquis said, "The lady returned from the family temple and encountered an attack by Yelv Clan. If that’s not a major issue, what is?"

"Yelv Clan? Attack?"

Gu Baoshu said dumbly, "How come I know nothing about it? Third Brother, did you get it wrong? I was with Sister-in-law the whole way back, sitting in the same carriage."

The Marquis sighed, "Gu Baoshu, sometimes the difference between people isn’t just in the name, nor just in clothes or speech, but rather in the brain. You came back all the way and didn’t realize your sister-in-law silently captured Yelv Xianyong, right? He’s the first fierce general beside Yelv Guza."

Gu Baoshu’s mouth hung open, taking a long time to close.

"You, you mean that hunter was Yelv Xianyong?"

But no one paid attention to her.

Qin Yuan had already gone to the clean room to change clothes.

The Marquis leisurely paced around the room with hands behind his back, humming a tune casually. Gu Baoshu knew her Third Brother was in a great mood at the moment; suddenly thought of a saying—absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Then she inwardly mused, "Isn’t it said my Third Brother couldn’t manage? Maybe it’s false."

Feeling uneasy under her gaze, the Marquis asked, "Just now, what did you ask your sister-in-law for? Did you do something at the family temple?"

Gu Baoshu guiltily replied, "Isn’t it true? Back then, I just thought if Third Brother were in such a situation, he wouldn’t be afraid; he’d protect the old, young, women, and children well, so I dashed out. Now what? Might as well be blamed by mom. Third Brother, I’ve only recovered from my injuries for a few days, do I have to get beaten again?"