Chapter 78

Hearing Gu Qiancheng's words, all the previous deductions about the government and the Six Fans Gate were overturned, but Qin Jiyi did not feel anything was wrong...

Previously, they had been stuck in the dilemma of a single perpetrator, constantly pondering who could enter eleven households and install murder weapons inside.

After receiving the case, they investigated everyone who had contact with the eleven victims but could not find anyone they all knew. The case was at an impasse, and it seemed there was no hope of solving it...

Now, Gu Qiancheng said the murderer was not one person but orchestrated by the same person behind the scenes. This undoubtedly provided them with a new line of thought. Qin Jiyi immediately instructed them to investigate suspicious people around Mei Girl.

As long as they found the murderer of Mei Girl, it would be much easier to investigate related cases, and he believed the families of the victims would fully cooperate.

"If you find the murderer, I will credit you with a great deed." Ignoring the previous mishap, Gu Qiancheng's method of examining the body indeed amazed Qin Jiyi.

He had never seen any coroner who, after performing an autopsy, could still keep the body intact and take the trouble to sew it up for the deceased.

"Credit is unnecessary; Your Highness, give me a practical benefit instead." Gu Qiancheng was always pragmatic. Verbal thanks or mental notes meant nothing to her; they were too insubstantial.

"What benefit do you want?" Having known Gu Qiancheng for so long, Qin Jiyi understood her character.

This woman was very smart and measured. Her requests would never put him in a difficult position, but they wouldn't be too easy either.

"Please introduce me to a merchant, I have a batch of items to sell, and the merchant can take a ten percent commission from the sale price." Gu Qiancheng said calmly.

Her stepmother would soon be out, and the first thing she would do upon release would probably be to target her dowry. Gu Qiancheng admitted she lacked the ability to protect those items, so she might as well convert them into silver.

Silver, kept close to her, could not be moved by anyone, even Lady Gu.

"Will the Gu family agree?" Qin Jiyi did not think the Gu family would let Gu Qiancheng sell those items.

To put it bluntly, although those items were in Gu Qiancheng's courtyard, they would eventually be stored in the Gu family's warehouse. Once in the warehouse, they naturally belonged to the Gu family.

"That's why I need Your Highness to intervene." Otherwise, she could find a merchant through Uncle Three and handle the batch of items without paying a ten percent commission.

"Do you really believe that Old Master Gu will give this face to me?" Qin Jiyi stared at Gu Qiancheng, always feeling that she was hiding something.

Gu Qiancheng let Qin Jiyi look at her openly: "As long as Your Highness is willing to intervene, I will handle the rest." She had already thought of how to persuade the old master.

The old master probably wouldn't mind investing in another heir, and Prince Zhao was not as promising as the old master thought.

Qin Jiyi saw nothing unusual and had to suppress his suspicions, telling Gu Qiancheng to prepare the items, and he would send someone to fetch them.

Is that a yes?

Gu Qiancheng smiled and thanked him generously: "Thank you, Your Highness."

"No need." Qin Jiyi did not take credit; for him, this was a trivial matter, insignificant compared to the case.

The carriage stopped at its original position, and Qin Jiyi and Gu Qiancheng got out one after the other. Gu Qiancheng obediently stood by the wall, waiting for Qin Jiyi to take her in...

She had a thick skin; since she had been carried once, being carried again was no big deal.

Qin Jiyi, however, was different. He had barely suppressed his previous discomfort, and the thought of physical contact with Gu Qiancheng again made his heart race, and his palms were already sweating...

This uncontrollable feeling was half exhilarating and half worrying...

"Your Highness?" After a long wait, Gu Qiancheng reminded him.

"Cough, cough..." Qin Jiyi cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment: "I will take you in."

Qin Jiyi suppressed his discomfort, stepped forward, and wrapped his arm around Gu Qiancheng's waist. With a light step, he lifted her into his arms...

The softness of her waist made his mind wander, but the smell on Gu Qiancheng made Qin Jiyi less than appreciative.

Perhaps from her recent contact with the dead, Gu Qiancheng had a faint scent of blood, which Qin Jiyi disliked. What annoyed him more was that her hair was wet...

He hadn't noticed it before?

"Next time, dry your hair before going out." Qin Jiyi put Gu Qiancheng down and stepped back, increasing the distance between them.

"My hair... I'll wash it later, no need to bother." Gu Qiancheng knew it was bad to go out with wet hair, but she was lazy.

Her hair was too long; drying it would take forever.

"Where are your servants?" Qin Jiyi knew Gu Qiancheng was too lazy to do these things.

Gu Qiancheng frowned: "I don't like them serving me closely." Those maids had loose lips; they even told Second Aunt about the box, and it eventually reached the old lady's ears.

If not for the old master telling her, she would have been in the dark. But she had returned the box to Qin Jiyi, so the old lady and Second Aunt couldn't find anything.

"Learn to cultivate your own confidants." Qin Jiyi accompanied Gu Qiancheng to her courtyard, leaving this advice before leaving.

Gu Qiancheng stood at the door, staring at the direction Qin Jiyi disappeared for a while, then muttered: "Are we friends now?" Only friends would give such a reminder.

She quickly pushed this thought aside, returned to her room, and, feeling the cold water, sighed as she looked at the dark Gu residence. She resigned herself to using cold water to clean herself.

Back in her room, Gu Qiancheng was freezing, and even wrapping herself in several layers of blankets didn't warm her up...

"I swear, when I have money, I will build an estate with hot water available 24/7."

Fortunately, the weather was still mild, and after a while, Gu Qiancheng warmed up. However, when she woke up in the morning, her nose was a bit stuffy. She immediately asked the maid to fetch hot water and have the kitchen prepare ginger soup for her.

In the past, Old Lady Sun would never dare to go to the kitchen. The people there never took Gu Qiancheng seriously; getting a hot meal was already a luxury. Don't even dream of getting hot water early in the morning, let alone having the kitchen prepare ginger soup for her.

But now, with Second Lady and Third Lady in charge, the kitchen staff had been replaced. After Qin Jiyi brought Gu Qiancheng back yesterday, everyone in the Gu residence saw the importance of the young miss. The kitchen did not dare to neglect her requests.

Not only did they not neglect her, but they even moved a stove that was cooking bird's nest to prepare ginger soup for Gu Qiancheng.

There was nothing wrong with this; with so many masters, the kitchen staff was limited, so they naturally prioritized the requests of the favored masters.

Of course, if someone was completely out of favor, even if they made a request, the kitchen would ignore it, like the old Gu Qiancheng...

However, the cook who prepared the ginger soup for Gu Qiancheng did not know that the bird's nest she removed was specially ordered by Lady Gu, who was waiting to drink it...