CHAPTER 1118: CHAPTER 1112: HOW DID JIE ZHONGLIN DIE?

After all, there are still many eyes of the Empress in this residence. With so many people watching, it would be terrible if word got out.

"Okay, let’s find another courtyard to live in," she said.

Jin Zijin raised his eyebrows, his heart suddenly filled with doubt.

"Why is it that we are changing courtyards?"

The ancients were rather scrupulous about this; they had a clear distinction between hosts and guests. Since he was a guest, in his view, he should stay where a guest was meant to stay. How could he allow the host to change courtyards?

Gu Youyou, however, didn’t think so much. In her position, there were not so many cumbersome protocols; she just did whatever was convenient.

Considering that Miss Du’s pregnancy could not be kept secret anyway, she could only tell him the truth, saying, "Miss Du is pregnant, and it must not come to be known by others. And in this residence, there are too many eyes of the Empress that have not been dealt with. I can’t let her take that risk."

Gu Youyou bit her lip, troubled, "This matter actually does have something to do with me; had I not let her go to Xining, she would not have encountered such a thing."

Jin Zijin expressed surprise, asking, "The bandits?"

Because the people he sent had reported back that Miss Du had been captured by bandits, even to become the bandits’ leader’s wife.

"Of course not," Gu Youyou sighed. "Though she hasn’t said so, I guess it’s Jie Zhonglin’s. The sinful bond between the two of them is indeed strange. Let’s wait until she gives birth to the child before discussing what to do next... We’ll talk about it later."

Gu Youyou was thinking about the fact that Jie Zhonglin was already dead. She really didn’t know how to break this news to Miss Du.

Jin Zijin gasped, saying, "The matter is difficult yet easy to discuss. The posthumous child of Jie Zhonglin, as long as Miss Du is willing to step forward and acknowledge it, the Jie Family will naturally believe and gladly accept them. They were previously husband and wife, and with the Jie Family patriarch’s capabilities, it wouldn’t be difficult to manage the situation in a way that allows the child to be legitimately recognized as a member of the Jie Family bloodline. The difficulty lies in whether Miss Du is willing."

Gu Youyou nodded gently. The Jie Family patriarch grieved for the loss of his son. As long as he could retrieve the marriage contract and adamantly deny that they had divorced, he could claim they had a spat because of a concubine at home, who would dare to provoke the Jie Family patriarch at such a time?

But the key point was, Miss Du would not return to the Jie Family as a widow. She had always wanted a child, and she would definitely want to keep this child with her.

Truly headache-inducing.

"How did Jie Zhonglin just die?"

The letter from Jie Zhongsen was not very clear, mostly consisting of words comforting the Jie Family patriarch not to feel sorrowful and admitting his own mistakes.

Regarding the death of Jie Zhonglin, it only mentioned that they had disguised themselves as merchants entering Liangcheng, and later on, when the two armies began fighting, Xining was recruiting soldiers everywhere, and they had infiltrated the enemy’s army. Before the Xining Army invaded Liangcheng, they transmitted messages to Jie Zhongsen’s troops and were caught by the Xining Army, then hacked to death in the chaos.

Jin Zijin glanced at Gu Youyou and said in a low voice, "By the time Jie Zhongsen received the message, they were already dead. Their bodies were discarded in the wilderness, and from the remains retrieved from the jaws of wolves, they found an arm chewed by the wolf pack. On that arm, half-eaten by the wolves, they discovered a jade thumb ring belonging to the Jie Family, which was indeed Jie Zhonglin’s."

Gu Youyou took a deep breath, feeling horrified just by hearing about it.

Jie Zhonglin actually died so tragically?

Meals had been called for, and Gu Youyou and Jin Zijin stayed inside the Warm Pavilion to eat. Taking advantage of the break for the morning meal, Gu Youyou went to see Miss Du.

She also needed to talk to her about the matter of where to stay.

After Gu Youyou left, Xiang Chun came in, bringing a letter from Lun Yu.