Three days passed in a flash.
That morning, Gu Heng arrived early at the main courtyard, only to find that Gu Changfan and the others were already gathered.
Among the crowd stood a group of unfamiliar people, led by a middle-aged man surrounded by others.
Seeing her arrive, a trace of displeasure flashed in Gu Changfan’s eyes, though he quickly suppressed it.
“Heng’er, since you’re here, why haven’t you greeted Lord Chen yet?”
Gu Heng responded softly, “Greetings, Lord Chen.”
Lord Chen looked at her with admiration and praised, “Lord Gu, you’ve raised two fine daughters. Your eldest is composed and graceful, and your second is clever and beautiful. You are truly blessed.”
Gu Changfan stroked his beard and smiled. “You flatter me, Lord Chen. My two daughters are quite mischievous, actually.”
They exchanged pleasantries before leading Lord Chen on a tour around the county. Gu Heng and the others followed close behind.
Now that the plague had passed, everything brimmed with vitality.
Many townspeople, seeing the large procession in the streets, instinctively stepped aside. But the moment they spotted Gu Heng, their eyes lit up, and they greeted her with warmth.
“It’s Second Miss!”
Once one person spoke, others joined in, and soon many were calling out to her and expressing their gratitude.
Gu Heng responded modestly and warmly, exchanging a few words with each person.
Seeing this, Gu Yue clenched her teeth in hatred.
Clearly, it had been Father who governed through the plague—and she was his only legitimate daughter. Yet these lowly peasants were all thanking Gu Heng, looking at her as if she were a goddess descended to Earth. Why?
Even Lord Chen noticed the situation and smiled. “I didn’t expect your second daughter to be so outstanding, Lord Gu. It seems she played a crucial role during the plague.”
Hearing this, Gu Changfan suddenly felt irritated.
During the worst of the plague, it was indeed thanks to Heng’er that the crisis was managed. Everywhere he went, people praised his parenting, and he had been genuinely pleased.
But now, even his superior was showering Gu Heng with praise, as if all the credit belonged to her alone—as if he had done nothing.
For a moment, he was furious inside.
But with so many eyes on him, he couldn’t show even a hint of displeasure.
“Yes, indeed. My daughter performed admirably. I praised her thoroughly afterward.”
Gu Heng simply smiled, unbothered.
After a while, they arrived at the performance stage. A large crowd had already gathered, having heard that famous opera singers were invited to perform by the county magistrate.
Seeing that the stage was ready and the actors in place, Gu Changfan nodded confidently. “Lord Chen, today is a fine day. Let’s enjoy a show together. I went to great lengths to invite these performers.”
Lord Chen smiled so broadly his eyes nearly disappeared. “Excellent.”
Soon, the curtains opened, and the performers took the stage.
They truly lived up to their reputation. The lead actress was stunning, and the opera was well-known. Everyone was captivated.
When the scene ended, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
The show was a huge success, and Gu Changfan was proud.
“Lord Gu, this opera was wonderful. With your leadership, Changle County is flourishing. Having an official like you here puts me at ease.”
Just then, Gu Heng spoke. “Is that so? But I fear you don’t know of the many scandals within the Gu household, Lord Chen.”
Startled by her sudden interjection, Gu Changfan barked, “Heng’er, what are you doing? This is no place for you to speak. Step down at once!”
Unexpectedly, Lord Chen waved her on. “Second Miss Gu, please continue.”
The next moment, Gu Heng rushed onto the stage and shouted, “Since everyone is here today, I will reveal the true faces of my stepmother and stepsister! They conspired to murder my Yiniang and tried to silence me!”
As she spoke, she pulled out the bloodstained robe from the day she fell from the cliff. “This is the proof!”
At her words, the crowd erupted.
“How could this be? How could someone like Second Miss be treated like this?”
“The Gu family’s madam and legitimate daughter are beasts in human skin!”
Hearing the murmurs, Qin Rou and Gu Yue felt utterly humiliated. Gu Yue cracked first and screamed, “Gu Heng, you shameless wretch! What nonsense are you spouting?”
Gu Changfan was livid, roaring at the servants nearby, “The Second Miss has lost her mind! Drag her down this instant!”
Hearing this, the young servants immediately rushed onto the platform, but before they could even get close to Gu Heng, they were each kicked down by Ah Zheng, one after another.
In an instant, they were all lying on the ground, groaning in pain—the scene was utterly spectacular.
Seeing this, Gu Changfan trembled with rage, his hand pointing at Gu Heng almost unable to stay steady. “Unfilial girl! Unfilial girl! All these years I’ve indulged you, only to raise you into the lunatic you are today!”
Chen Junshou, who had been standing to the side, frowned and asked coldly, “What is going on here?”
Before Gu Changfan could reply, Gu Heng spoke up first: “Months ago, a band of roaming bandits entered Changle County. My legitimate sister, Gu Yue, deliberately lured them into targeting my mother. She wrote her a note, arranging a meeting in a private room at Fan Tower, using my identity as bait to draw my Yiniang out. Then she bribed the bandits to kill her! They thought their plan was flawless. But man proposes, heaven disposes! The truth always comes to light in the end!”
She spoke with such conviction, even recounting the contents of the note clearly. For the first time, Qin Rou lost her composure. She grabbed Gu Yue’s hand and whispered harshly, just loud enough for the two of them to hear: “Didn’t you say your maid saw that b*tch toss the note into the brazier with her own eyes?”
Gu Yue winced from her mother’s grip and tried to pry her hand off, but it was no use. She could only grimace and say, “Yes, yes! She did see it! Really, Mother, why would I lie to you?”
Qin Rou sneered coldly, “But did your maid see the note burn to ashes with her own eyes?”
At that, Gu Yue was struck dumb. “I… she didn’t.”
Qin Rou pinched her viciously again and snapped, “Useless thing!”
Then she looked at Gu Heng, tears brimming in her eyes as she spoke pitifully, “Heng’er, how can you say such things about your mother and sister? Even though you weren’t born of the Gu family, I’ve always treated you like my own daughter. What you’re saying now—truly breaks my heart.”
She changed her tone: “Besides, do you have any proof for all this? Even if that note exists, how can you be sure it was written by us? What if it was planted to frame us? You mustn’t let yourself be provoked by petty schemers!”
Gu Heng let out a cold laugh. “Of course I have proof. Please, everyone—look! Lord Chen, please have a look!”
Then she took out the very note from that day and had Ziyun hand it to Lord Chen.
Alongside it, she also presented samples of Gu Yue’s usual handwriting.
Chen Junshou took the materials and examined them. Though the note had been deliberately written in a distorted style, it still bore strong resemblance to Gu Yue’s regular script—clearly written by the same hand.
Gu Changfan stood to the side, clearly seeing everything, and his face immediately fell.
He had never truly believed that Fu Yiniang’s death was without suspicion—he just hadn’t wanted to tear off the illusion.
He had loved that woman. Her death had pained him.
But over the years, he had relied heavily on the Qin family to climb to where he was. Without their support, navigating the officialdom would be near impossible. He couldn’t accept losing all of that.
So, all this time, he’d been forcing himself to blame Gu Heng, shifting the guilt to make himself feel better.
He never expected his second daughter wouldn’t be easily manipulated—that she’d push the matter to such an irreparable point.
“Lord Gu, from what I can see, your second daughter is telling the truth. These two sets of handwriting are indeed identical.”
Hearing that, Gu Yue felt her world crumble. Her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees, grabbing Gu Changfan’s robe and crying, “Father! Please believe me! It wasn’t me!”
At that moment, Gu Changfan felt like he was being roasted alive. Though he still wanted to protect Qin Rou and her daughter, he couldn’t any longer.
With a hardened heart, he slapped Gu Yue across the face, knocking her to the ground. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Gu Yue sobbed uncontrollably. “Father… how could you do this to me?!”
“I should hit you! You did such a thing—take the punishment!”
He raised his hand again to slap her.
Qin Rou, though she often resented her daughter’s foolishness, still felt her maternal instinct flare up at the sight. She rushed forward to shield her.
She turned to Gu Changfan, her eyes full of bitterness. “She’s your own daughter! She’s still so young—how can you be so cruel? Strike her with such force?!”
Gu Heng sneered coldly.
“When it comes to cruelty, no one can compare to you two, mother and daughter. When I insisted on investigating my Yiniang’s death, you pushed me off a cliff on my way to the manor!”
She pulled a torn cloth from a bloodstained garment and tossed it from the platform. It fluttered in the wind before landing in front of Gu Yue.
“That day, you tried to push me off a cliff. I resisted, and in the struggle, your skirt tore. Even as I fought for my life, I held on to that piece of cloth—because I knew it was the key proof of your intent to kill!”
Gu Yue snatched up the cloth and tore it to pieces with her bare hands, shrieking with a twisted expression, “You’re lying! Lying! You think you can threaten me with a scrap of cloth? You think everyone’s a fool?!”
Gu Heng’s smile grew colder. “Still won’t admit it? Fine. Ziyun, bring them up!”
At her command, Ziyun led Qin Momo, along with Ziyun’s mother and younger brother, onto the platform.
When Gu Yue saw them, her pupils shrank in shock, disbelief washing over her.
“Qin Momo?! You were beaten so severely and thrown out—how are you still alive?!”
