Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Xie Licheng followed Xuan Cui to the inner courtyard. Since the previous Xie Licheng had never been inside, he was unfamiliar with the Gu family's inner courtyard.

They took the back paths the whole way, so they didn't run into anyone along the route.

Meanwhile, the front courtyard was still making a fuss over the thief, which made this path in the inner courtyard seem especially quiet.

Xie Licheng quietly followed Xuan Cui and the others forward, his lowered eyes carefully studying the surroundings.

Whether or not he'd ever get another chance to visit the inner courtyard, he made a habit of memorizing every path he walked.

Xie Licheng had assumed that once he reached the inner courtyard, he'd get to see Gu Zhangyuan right away.

But to his surprise, Xuan Cui led him to a courtyard, and the first order of business was a bath.

Xuan Cui found him a change of clothes and even had a servant come over to attend to him.

It was only then that Xie Licheng realized how dirty and rank he smelled.

He'd just been trying to clean up the blood moments ago, and his whole body was caked in it.

In this state, he couldn't possibly meet the timid Gu Zhangyuan right away.

That person was both delicate and cowardly—he felt that his stench alone could make the guy cry.

Xie Licheng still had wounds on his body, so of course he couldn't bathe normally. Fortunately, a servant came over to assist him, and he sat by the tub giving himself a sponge bath.

Once he'd finished cleaning up and changed into fresh clothes, Xuan Cui finally brought him to see Gu Zhangyuan.

By this time, Gu Zhangyuan's nanny had already returned, and Gu Zhangyuan naturally knew the corpse had disappeared.

So when Xuan Cui brought Xie Licheng over, the first thing Gu Zhangyuan asked when he saw him was: "Where's the body?"

He had clearly seen Xie Licheng emerge from the fake mountain alone.

The corpse should still have been inside—so where the hell did Xie Licheng hide it?

At that, Xie Licheng looked up at Gu Zhangyuan.

Gu Zhangyuan had washed and dressed by now, no longer looking like the mess he'd been in the rockery, and had resumed the same haughty, noble air he'd had when they first met.

Xie Licheng only glanced at him once, saw that he was doing fine, then lowered his eyes and put on a look of dumb honesty.

His face didn't even twitch as he said: "Thrown into the lake in the outer garden."

There was indeed a lake in the garden in the outer courtyard, and that lake connected to a river beyond the estate walls.

If the body had been thrown in, the current would easily carry it out of the estate.

Moreover, that river ran straight through all of Lingzhou—it was a massive river.

Even if someone knew there was a body there, finding it would be next to impossible.

Gu Zhangyuan frowned upon hearing this. He'd been so scared and panicked at the time that he'd actually handed the body over to Xie Licheng.

Now, looking back, he deeply regretted it, because the man hadn't been killed by him at all, yet he'd asked Xie Licheng to dispose of the body, which put him in a really bad spot.

If Xie Licheng used this to blackmail him, or...

Before he could dwell on it any longer, Xie Licheng knelt down before him.

Xie Licheng knelt and said: "Eldest Young Master, rest assured. You gave me my life, and I'll do whatever you say. In the future, no matter what trouble you run into, you can leave it to me. I'll never spill your secrets."

This time, Gu Zhangyuan remained silent, but Xuan Cui spoke up, smiling.

"That sounds pretty loyal of you. But there's no way you don't have some ulterior motive—after all, this involves someone's life. Speak up. What else are you scheming? And why would you go to such lengths for the Young Master?"

Xie Licheng glanced at Xuan Cui upon hearing this, then said, calm and unhurried: "When I say I wish to repay the Young Master's kindness, I'm not lying about that. If the Young Master hadn't saved me from the Second Young Master, I'd probably be dead by now. Of course, I do have a few selfish reasons of my own. As they say, men die for money, birds die for food. I'm willing to work for the Young Master—first, to have some money on hand, and second, mainly because I hope to get in the Young Master's good graces, so I won't have to worry about being caught by the Second Young Master and beaten within an inch of my life again."

There was definitely some truth to what Xie Licheng said.

For instance, repaying Gu Zhangyuan's kindness, and wanting to climb into Gu Zhangyuan's good graces.

As for what he'd said earlier—about being willing to work like a dog for the Young Master—that was merely to fit his current persona.

He was now a horse slave, a criminal slave from the slave camp.

With such a low, humble status, facing a noble young master like Gu Zhangyuan, he had to grovel as much as possible.

Of course, this wasn't Xie Licheng's true nature. His real nature was anything but good, and he wasn't nearly as meek as he was acting.

His current obedience, honesty, and simple-mindedness were all just to earn Gu Zhangyuan's trust and to make life easier for himself down the road.

Once Lingzhou fell into chaos, he could go back to being his real self then.

Gu Zhangyuan: "Are you sure they won't find him?"

Xie Licheng: "Certain. Even if I died, they still couldn't find him."

If Xie Licheng himself died, his portable dimension would vanish—how could anyone possibly find that person?

"Very well. You said you want to work by my side—I could use a male slave around me."

When Gu Zhangyuan said this, his nanny shot him a disapproving look.

But in the presence of a low servant, she didn't dare interrupt him.

Gu Zhangyuan: "From now on, you'll stay in the outer courtyard as a horse slave. I'll give you a pass to come and go from the Gu estate as you please—I'll have plenty of things for you to do."

With that, Gu Zhangyuan glanced at the nanny beside him. Not daring to openly defy him, she frowned and went to get the pass.

Gu Zhangyuan continued: "You handled this matter well—it saved me a lot of trouble. As a reward, I'll give you ten gold taels."

As he spoke, Gu Zhangyuan's lovely eyes were appraising Xie Licheng.

He felt that Xie Licheng wasn't just some ordinary guy. Giving him a pass and a hefty sum of gold was all a test to see how the man would react.

Xie Licheng had guessed as much, and immediately kowtowed to Gu Zhangyuan, looking humble and reverent, thanking him over and over.

Seeing him grovel like that, Gu Zhangyuan felt relieved but also a little disappointed.

He always felt that someone with eyes like those shouldn't be the type to grovel and fawn.

But... the guy's act right now was flawless.

It was exactly how a poor, scared low servant would act if he suddenly came into money.

He... wasn't as hard to control as he'd thought.

Having successfully obtained the identity token and the ten taels of gold, Xie Licheng was escorted out of the inner courtyard.

On the way back, Xuan Cui told him what to say if anyone asked about the commotion with the thief in the outer courtyard.

Xie Licheng nodded along, agreeing to everything she said without a word.

It wasn't until he returned to his stable and watched Xuan Cui and her attendants walk off with their lanterns that he finally looked down at the heavy gold in his arms.

Ten taels of gold—this handsome Eldest Young Master was indeed generous.

Probably to buy his silence, though he wouldn't have said anything anyway. Still, receiving hush money put him in good spirits.

Xie Licheng took the gold back to his quarters. By then, it was already very late.

He latched the door from the inside and was about to retreat into his private space to rest.

But just then, he noticed that his quarters seemed to have been searched.

Xie Licheng's gaze turned cold, and he decided not to enter his private space to rest as he normally would.

...

As dawn approached, a sudden pounding on the door jolted him awake.

Xie Licheng wasn't surprised by the noise. He rose calmly and got dressed.

Before he could even get to the door, his flimsy wooden door was kicked open.

The people outside didn't say why they were there. The moment the door swung open, they barged in, making a racket.

They searched the place frantically, like they were hunting for something.

Someone grabbed Xie Licheng to check him out, and upon discovering he was lame, a flicker of disappointment flashed in their eyes.

They didn't interrogate him at all—they seemed to be in a big rush.

Finding nothing they wanted, they hurried off just as fast.

Xie Licheng thought it was strange that they hadn't questioned him. Since he lived alone, if something happened in the outer courtyard, he should've been the first suspect.

It wasn't until two days later that he understood why they hadn't questioned him.

Because Xuan Cui had set things up beforehand. She had the male slave guarding the stable yard vouch for Xie Licheng, confirming that he had never left that night when it happened.

Xie Licheng wasn't the only one living in the stable yard. At the entrance to the yard, there was also a guard.

That man was also disabled—both legs were useless.

His situation was different from Xie Licheng's. Xie Licheng's limp was temporary, from an injury that would heal in time.

But the other man's legs were permanently crippled. It was said he had them crushed by a horse while protecting the Second Young Master of the main house.

That Second Young Master of the main house was none other than Gu Zhangyuan's full brother—the one with poor health.

Having been injured protecting the young master, the Gu family, mindful of his service, gave him an easy job: keeping watch at the stable gate.

Though it was called gatekeeping, there wasn't much actual watching to do.

It was essentially a sinecure, and he rarely came out.

In the few days Xie Licheng had been living there, he had never even encountered the man.

Thanks to his testimony, coupled with Xie Licheng's injury, the thief from that night—who appeared in one place and vanished in another, clearly skilled and agile—couldn't possibly be Xie Licheng. Everyone agreed on that, so they didn't waste time on him.