Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Mrs. Chen's expression was quite peculiar, a face filled with both shock and joy, yet tears kept falling as she hugged Gu Yumei's corpse, scolding, "Are you scared now? Will you listen to orders from now on? Alright, don't be afraid, your family hasn't blamed you this time, Auntie Er won't hit you either, let's go home. We've saved a roast duck leg for you; haven't you always been craving it? Come on, get up quickly and let's go back to eat it, or else Brother Wang and Brother Fa will finish it off."

As she spoke, she tried to lift Gu Yumei's corpse, but it was stiff and very heavy, impossible for her to lift.

Angered, Mrs. Chen berated Gu Yumei, "You lazy thing! Even when your own mother has come to fetch you, you still stubbornly refuse to get up. What are you trying to do? Didn't you say you wanted to make something fresh to sell so the whole family could live a life waited on by servants? Didn't you say you wanted to marry into a scholar's family and enjoy the good life of an official's wife? Get up for goodness' sake, how else will your death let the family live a better life?!"

By the last sentence, Mrs. Chen could no longer hold back, holding Gu Yumei's corpse she burst into loud weeping, "Sister Mei, Sister Mei, oh, why is your fate so cruel, can't you have a bit of good fortune?"

Gu Dafu had now understood what had happened, knowing that Gu Yumei had died and had died such a tragic death. He spat out blood and collapsed to the ground with a thump; as he fainted, he murmured, "Ru Niang, I'm sorry..."

"Dad, Dad, what's wrong with you?" Gu Dexing had already been frightened out of his wits by Gu Yumei's death, seeing Gu Dafu fall over, he immediately panicked and, crying, shook Gu Dafu while helplessly calling out to Gu Dagui, "Uncle Er, Uncle Er, what's wrong with my dad? Please come and take a look."

Seeing that Gu Yumei had died, Gu Dagui too was crying inconsolably. Hearing the call, he hurried over and grabbed Gu Dafu, pinching his philtrum desperately, "Brother, brother, wake up, you mustn't collapse, we haven't avenged Sister Mei yet!"

He then consoled the inconsolably weeping Gu Dexing, "Brother Xing, don't be afraid, your dad will be fine, he'll be fine."

Gu Dexing, terrified and at his wit's end, pushed Gu Dafu with one hand while desperately clinging to Gu Dagui with the other, frightened that Gu Dafu would die, and equally scared of Gu Dagui abandoning their family.

Gu Jinli ran over and took Gu Dafu's pulse. After a short while, he said, "Uncle Dafu is fine; there's no need to wake him. Let him stay unconscious, if he is awakened, he'll surely faint again. He can't endure such torment."

Multiple fainting fits in a short time would be too much for a person to bear. Given the shock that Gu Dafu had received, letting him stay unconscious and get a good sleep would actually help him calm down.

Having heard this, Gu Dagui breathed a sigh of relief, holding Gu Dexing's hand and comforting him, "Brother Xing, your dad is alright, don't be afraid."

Gu Dexing nodded his head continuously with tears streaming, unable to utter a word.

The Government Officials, upon finding the body, immediately set off smoke signals to inform the others to stop the search and hurry over to this location.

Mrs. Chen continued to weep while holding Gu Yumei's corpse. Ms. Chu promptly brought over a bundle and suggested to Mrs. Chen, "Let's change Sister Mei into new clothes; this state doesn't look good."

Last night, upon hearing that Gu Yumei and Luo Huiniang were abducted by evildoers, they had anticipated the possibility of bad news and had brought along two sets of clothes. Now that Gu Yumei's clothes were torn, they needed to change her into a clean set before carrying the body back.

"Shut up, you poisonous woman, get away from me!" Mrs. Chen, like a hen protecting her chicks, glared sharply at Ms. Chu, as if scared that Ms. Chu would cause harm to Gu Yumei.

Ms. Chu was not annoyed; having lived in the same village as Mrs. Chen for so many years, she knew the bond between Mrs. Chen and Sister-in-law Ru. And Gu Yumei bore a strong resemblance to Sister-in-law Ru. Mrs. Chen was already deeply saddened by the death of Sister-in-law Ru; now, Gu Yumei had died too.

Ms. Chu, patiently and gently, coaxed Mrs. Chen, "Sister Mei always cared about her appearance; she wouldn't like wearing tattered clothes. Quickly change her into new garments, lest she becomes unhappy with you and starts a fuss."

After much persuasion, Mrs. Chen was finally convinced.

The two moved Gu Yumei's body into the cave to change her clothes.

Qin San Lang and Father Luo had already dragged Yang Laosan's body to one side, and the rest of the government officials gathered around to examine Yang Laosan's body with Qin San Lang.

A little over a quarter of an hour later, Qin San Lang said, "He has a fatal wound from the back, and his valuables are missing. He must have been ambushed by an accomplice."

He looked up at the group of government officials and said, "There's at least one accomplice who has escaped."

Qin Er Lang and Luo Wu, who were close by, rushed over with help after about three quarters of an hour and upon hearing the news, asked, "Is there anything that can prove his identity?"

Qin San Lang shook his head: "Nothing. Whatever was of value has been taken. The perpetrator seems to be a professional."

It looks like this wasn't the first time they killed a partner to escape.

He pulled up some grass nearby, and after cleaning his hands with the moist grass, Luo Wu said, "Looking at the direction, the person has fled towards Daxing Town. We need to chase immediately, or we risk him escaping from Daxing Town to Hukang County."

Once across the county border, it would be much harder to capture him.

Luo Wu immediately turned to two older government officials and said, "Uncle Ping, Uncle Fu, there's no time to delay. We must chase after and capture him immediately. What do you think?"

Luo Wu, highly regarded by County Magistrate Xu and County Captain Jiang since his meritorious service in suppressing bandits and after Squad Leader Zhu made a mistake, had been leading a group of government officials in solving cases. He held great respect for the elder officials within the group, always consulting them first about his intentions.

Old Ping and Old Fu were quite pleased with the respect Luo Wu showed them. They also knew that he was favored by County Captain Jiang and County Magistrate Xu, and had been acknowledged by the Magistrate and General Guo, so they wouldn't cause trouble for him intentionally. They nodded and said, "Brother Wu is right; we should set out immediately to capture the criminal and not let him escape."

Luo Wu continued, "Uncle Ping, Uncle Fu, since there has been a murder here, we cannot leave without someone from the county government overseeing. Can you two stay with ten brothers to help with the remaining matters?"

Old Ping and Old Fu naturally had no objections: "You go ahead and catch the criminal; leave the rest to us."

Luo Wu nodded gratefully, stood up, and said to his father and the others, "Dad, Uncle Da Gui, Hui Niang, some of the culprits have escaped, and we are going to capture them. While it's still light, quickly take the bodies out of the mountains. At night, wild animals come out to hunt and drink water, which is very dangerous. If anything happens, ask Uncle Ping and Uncle Fu for help."

Upon seeing Gu Yumei die tragically, Luo Huiniang also cried inconsolably. Although she disliked Gu Yumei, after all, they had been companions for so many years, and she didn't wish for Gu Yumei to die. Hearing Luo Wu, she clung to him and said, "Brother, you must kill the escaping bad guy and seek revenge for Gu Yumei!"

Luo Wu replied, "Don't worry, I won't let the criminal escape. Stay home and don't go wandering until they're caught, understand?"

After seeing Luo Huiniang nod, he immediately gathered his men, ready to chase after the escaped Yang Laoer.