Chapter 374: Case Issues

epare gifts for her natal family, after all, there is still a younger brother at home.Gu Jingxi accompanied her back, as for Gu Xiuming, probably because he was feeling irritable lately, and couldn't...The next day, the sun was high in the sky.

Meng Jin Yao slowly woke up, opening her eyes to instinctively look around. She found that the place beside her was empty. Looking outward, she saw that the room was bright, obviously it was already sunny outside.

She sat up, just about to pull the bell to summon her maid, when she suddenly felt a twinge in her waist. She instinctively reached out and rubbed it, then yawned. Despite waking up now, she still felt drowsy. Last night's exertions and late sleep had taken their toll.

Then Meng Jin Yao saw Gu Jing Xi walk in. When she saw Gu Jing Xi looking refreshed and energized, she suddenly felt down. It was them all who had been working hard together, so why did she feel tired

Gu Jingxi saw that she had woken up, but was still listless. He strode forward and asked softly, "Ayao, how do you feel"

Meng Jin Yao glared at him with accusing eyes: "My waist hurts, I'm tired, and I'm a little sleepy. It's all your fault for making me stay up so late."

Gu Jingxi sat down and held her in his arms, apologizing: "It's my fault. Let me rub your back for you." He then flipped her over so she was lying on her stomach on the bed and began massaging her lower back.

He's got good technique, his strength is just right, and the pressure feels really nice.

After a long time, Meng Jinyao felt that her waist pain had eased considerably. She then got up and called for a maid to attend to her.

After washing up, combing her hair, and dressing neatly, it was noon, lunchtime.

Gu Jingxi ordered the maidservant to set out the dishes.

After lunch, Yu Chuan came to inform him: "My Lord, Fang Xuan and Fang Ce are back."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi told his young wife and went to the front yard study. Fang Xuan and Fang Ce were sent by him before he left the capital. They arrived in Huizhou Prefecture earlier than him, tasked with investigating some matters under his orders. He didn't know if they had made any progress.

After he left, Meng Jiny Yao told her trusted maid Qingqiu about last night's events. Last night, after she came out of the clean room after bathing, she saw the menstrual supplies that Qingqiu had prepared, and she knew that Qingqiu probably misunderstood her menstruation, after all, in this situation, Qingqiu wouldn't think it was falling petals.

Upon hearing this, Qing Qiu was greatly shocked: "Madam, did you consummate your marriage with the Marquis Has the Marquis' illness also recovered"

Meng Jinyáo nodded: "The Lord's illness is cured, thanks to Dr. Wen."

Qingqiu was stunned for a long time before digesting the news, a happy smile spreading across her face. She cheered for her, "Madam, this is really wonderful! This way, you and the Marquis can live like normal couples, and even have children. Perhaps there's already a little prince in your belly."

Meng Jinyáo instinctively reached out and touched her flat abdomen, smiling. "I guess it's not that soon, but my cold has already been cured, so there shouldn't be any problems with having children."

Qing Qiu pondered for a moment, then said: "It would be better to conceive the young master later. Returning to the capital by boat would take more than half a month, which is not suitable for pregnancy."

Meng Jin Yao softly said, "Let nature take its course. If we conceive, returning to the capital will be a surprise for Mother. Mother is so kind to children who aren't biologically hers, it's evident she loves them dearly."

Here's the English translation of your content, keeping HTML tags intact:

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like translated!

Front yard study.

Fang Xuan and Fang Ce had been waiting in the study for a while. They were twin brothers, about twenty-one or two years old, who looked almost identical. However, their personalities differed. Fang Xuan was calm and introverted, while Fang Ce was gentle and cheerful.

After Gu Jingxi came in, the two brothers respectfully bowed to him.

Gu Jingxi waved his hand, indicating they needn't be so polite, and then had them sit down. He then asked, "On your trip to Deqing County, did you find any leads"

"Reporting to Your Lordship, we went to Deqing County and investigated the deaths of the previous two county magistrates and the first official who came to investigate this case. They died as stated in the files: sudden illness. Before their death, they were incoherent, had difficulty breathing, and became paralyzed throughout their bodies. Prior to their illness, they all experienced the same thing: getting up in the middle of the night around 3:30 am, saying that someone was crying out for help and wanting to see who it was. However, there was actually no one calling out. Then, the next day, they fell ill. Everyone said it was a ghost haunting them, that they were harmed by vengeful spirits."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi frowned slightly. This wasn't any useful clue. He had seen this in the case files as well. Before their deaths, all three had heard someone shouting for help. It was definitely someone playing tricks, deliberately creating these coincidences to mislead them.

"Is there anything else" Gu Jingxi asked.

Fang Xuan replied, "Both county magistrates were considered good officials by the people. They were just and strict, and served their posts with integrity. However, there was a merchant who had a feud with the former magistrate Sun."

Gu Jingxi asked, "Why did they have a grudge against each other"

Fang Xuan recounted the story: "It was a merchant surnamed Li. His only son, due to his lewdness and wickedness, had defiled a virtuous woman and killed her. The woman's brother reported him, and Lord Sun sentenced Li's son to death by decapitation. After the case was closed, it was submitted to Governor Wei."

After a thorough review, Wei found discrepancies. This woman had a past relationship with the young master of the Li family, who was planning to take her as his concubine. However, when her brother discovered this, he, consumed by jealousy, raped and murdered the woman, then framed the young master of the Li family.

This senior brother initially refused to plead guilty, claiming that it was the son of the Li family who committed the murder. Later, after being subjected to corporal punishment, he confessed. Upon hearing that he was sentenced to beheading and displayed publicly as a warning, he feared being beheaded and having his body dismembered. He smashed his head against a pillar and died. The case was closed.

But Mr. Sun was not rigorous in his judgment, nearly letting Master Li be sentenced to death. Because of this, the merchant surnamed Li held a grudge against Mr. Sun and even said to others that Mr. Sun was incompetent and that countless people had died innocently because of him.

However, this was also drunken talk. The merchant's status was low and he didn't dare to openly accuse the imperial officials. Besides, Mr. Sun was considered a good official by the common people. They only thought that the woman's brother was cruel and cunning, causing Mr. Sun to make a wrong judgment. Therefore, these words did not cause any ripples. The woman's parents also left this heartbreaking place and went to live elsewhere.

Gu Jingxi, after hearing the ins and outs of the matter, initially felt that there was nothing wrong. However, he had a doubt in his heart: "But as a brother, why would he harbor resentment out of love"

Fang Xuan replied: “He is not the woman’s biological brother, but an orphan adopted by her parents. The woman’s parents considered having the two children marry, but the woman had no romantic feelings for her adoptive brother, so they gave up on the idea.”

Gu Jingxi nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Has that Mr. Li done anything harmful to Sun after this"

Fang Xuan shook his head. "The Li merchant did nothing else, only felt resentment towards Sun's misjudgment that nearly killed his son. By the way, Your Lordship, the Li merchant has a good relationship with Chen, the new magistrate appointed after Sun, because although the Li merchant is a businessman, he also understands poetry and songs, able to converse with Magistrate Chen."

Gu Jingxi, after hearing this, tentatively set aside the possibility that the Li merchant had murdered the imperial officials. After all, one was an 恩怨 (恩怨 - grudging) Sun official, and the other was a Chen official with whom he had a good relationship. However, both Sun and Chen's deaths were due to sudden illnesses with the same symptoms, and the first imperial officer sent to investigate the case could not have been murdered by the Li merchant.

One of the officials asked, "Master Hou, is there anything else you need us to investigate"

Gu Jingxi pondered for a moment, then ordered: "Fang Ce, you go and bring the woman's parents back. Fang Xuan, you go and investigate Young Master Li, he has a past with that woman, find out their relationship."

Both brothers said in unison, "Yes, Lord."

After Fang Xuan and Fang Ce left, Gu Jingxi instructed Yu Chuan again: "Yu Chuan, the thing I asked you to investigate before, hurry up."lso present.Gu Xiumin bowed to the three elders, before they could speak, he started accusing Meng Jin Yao in front of the maidservant: "Mother, when I came back just now, I passed by the back garden...