Early the next morning.
While Shen Menglan sent people to tidy up her courtyard, Gu Jiangyue slipped out.
The streets were bustling with peddlers' cries, people's laughter, and an endless stream of carriages and horses. It was extremely noisy.
Gu Jiangyue hadn't seen such a scene for a long time. Looking at it all, she couldn't help feeling nostalgic. If she hadn't been instigated by Gu Zhengwan to marry Xie Chengrui, she might have lived a peaceful life.
"For the sake of our twenty - year marriage, I'll grant you a whole body. Do you prefer the white silk or the poisoned wine, Miss Gu?"
Xie Chengrui's sinister voice from her past life kept echoing in Gu Jiangyue's mind. Every time she thought of it, her head hurt a little more.
Gu Jiangyue shook her head vigorously. Since Xie Chengrui and Gu Zhengwan were determined to kill her, she wouldn't show them any mercy.
She had just punished Gu Zhengwan, and of course, there was still a big gift waiting for Xie Chengrui.
"Miss, where are we going?"
Zhi Yuan was confused. She followed Gu Jiangyue curiously and asked.
A smile played on Gu Jiangyue's lips.
Xie Chengrui was not an honest man. He was arrogant and ambitious. It was just that Gu Jiangyue was too stupid in her past life and was used by him. In this new life, she knew exactly what he cared about most, and she was going to destroy it.
Didn't he care most about power? Didn't he dream of ascending the throne? Gu Jiangyue would never let him fulfill his wish. She would gradually undermine all the forces around Xie Chengrui.
She wanted him to realize that without her desperate support, Xie Chengrui would always be a weak second prince who could never make a name for himself.
Gu Jiangyue took Zhi Yuan into a restaurant opposite the Lin Mansion. They chose a window seat from which they could just see the main gate of the Lin Mansion.
Gu Jiangyue poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip. Memories of her past life kept flooding back into her mind.
Gu Jiangyue remembered that after she married Xie Chengrui, he told her that the Lin family had been supporting him for many years. So, according to the timeline, the Lin family should have already established contact with Xie Chengrui by now.
The head of the Lin family used to be a bandit, who once dominated a mountain area. By chance, he saved the emperor who was out hunting. Seizing this opportunity, the Lin family managed to climb up the social ladder and finally got involved in the court. Over the years, they had amassed quite a lot of power.
However, the Lin family's reputation in the capital was far from good. Since they used to be bandits, they had offended many prominent families in the capital.
As far as Gu Jiangyue knew, the downfall of the Lin family was due to the discovery of their bribery. But at that time, with her help, Xie Chengrui had already gained enough power to protect the Lin family. Since then, the Lin family had been even more loyal to Xie Chengrui and became his right - hand men.
This time, Gu Jiangyue's goal was to expose the Lin family's bribery scandal earlier. Since Xie Chengrui was in urgent need of the Lin family now, she had to eliminate this threat quickly.
As Gu Jiangyue was thinking, she looked out of the window. After drinking two cups of tea, she finally saw the person she was looking for.
A woman walked out of the main gate of the Lin Mansion alone.
She had a graceful figure and was wearing a bright red silk dress. Her creamy skin showed a faint blush of rouge. Her hair was coiled up high, adorned with various delicate hairpins. Her lips were as red as cherries, and her eyes were charming.
This woman was the concubine of the second young master of the Lin family, and also the key to the exposure of the Lin family's bribery case, Liu Yunyan.
If it were the Gu Jiangyue of this life, she might not know the inside story. But having been reborn, Gu Jiangyue still remembered everything about Liu Yunyan from her past life.
In her past life, when Liu Yunyan was about to expose them with the evidence she had collected, she was secretly killed by the people sent by Xie Chengrui, and the matter was then dropped.
But this time, Gu Jiangyue was going to make good use of this opportunity. She only needed to get the evidence in Liu Yunyan's hands, and as for how to bring down the Lin family, she had her own clever plan.
Gu Jiangyue sent Zhi Yuan to call Liu Yunyan up.
Liu Yunyan sat opposite Gu Jiangyue. Her hands kept playing with her hair, and her alluring eyes looked at Gu Jiangyue arrogantly.
"Miss Gu, if you have something to say, just say it. The second young master of the Lin family is waiting for me."
A smile curved Gu Jiangyue's lips. She didn't answer this question immediately. Instead, she reached out and poured a cup of tea for Liu Yunyan. Placing the teacup in front of Liu Yunyan, Gu Jiangyue's voice rang out slowly.
"I'm not sure whether I should call you Miss Liu or Miss He."
In Gu Jiangyue's memory, Liu Yunyan was not an ordinary woman of the pleasure quarters. She was originally the eldest daughter of the He family. The He family was wrongly accused by the Lin family and was exterminated. But the eldest daughter of the He family, now known as Liu Yunyan, managed to survive.
As far as Gu Jiangyue knew, in order to avenge her family, Liu Yunyan changed her name to Liu Yunyan and managed to become the favorite concubine of the second young master of the Lin family.
Hearing the words "Miss He", Liu Yunyan was stunned. Her pupils dilated involuntarily, and she was so shocked that she couldn't move. She stared at Gu Jiangyue, who was smiling naturally and amiably.
How did she know her identity!
"Miss Gu is joking. I'm Liu Yunyan. There's no such thing as Miss He."
The arrogance in Liu Yunyan's eyes disappeared, leaving only deep fear. She couldn't tell whether the woman in front of her was a friend or an enemy.
She could feel the aura emanating from Gu Jiangyue. Since she knew her background, she was definitely not an ordinary young lady from a boudoir.
She had endured so much humiliation in the Lin family for so many years and must not let it all go to waste here. With a stiff smile on her face, Liu Yunyan was about to say something in defense when Gu Jiangyue interrupted her.
"Miss He, do you know the relationship between my father and Minister He? Minister He saved my father's life many years ago. When the He family was exterminated, my father was heart - broken. So he had been looking for the whereabouts of the He family's descendants and finally learned that Miss He was still alive. But since my father has passed away, he had to entrust me with the task of helping Miss He."
Liu Yunyan looked at Gu Jiangyue. She seemed to have heard something like this from her father.
"Miss Gu, are you saying that General Gu sent you to find me?"
Gu Jiangyue reached out and took a sip of the tea in her cup. Her eyes were firm and sincere. She nodded seriously.
"Yes, I can help Miss He. I wonder if Miss He is willing to trust me."
Liu Yunyan lowered her head and thought. Her father had found a maid who looked similar to her to take her place, which was how she managed to escape. She was sure that no one in the capital knew her real identity.
If someone really knew, it was very likely to be the Gu family.
Moreover, recently when she was collecting information in the Lin family, she found that some people were starting to avoid her. Her identity might be exposed soon. The He family had already been wiped out. If Gu Jiangyue didn't really want to help her, she could just reveal the news to the Lin family and gain greater benefits.
Since she didn't do that, it proved that the Gu family also hated the Lin family.
Liu Yunyan frowned and thought for a while, then looked directly into Gu Jiangyue's eyes.