Xie Licheng followed Xuancui to the inner courtyard. Since the original owner had never entered the inner courtyard, Xie Licheng was unfamiliar with the Gu family's inner grounds.
They took the small paths along the way, so they didn't encounter anyone on the road.
At this time, the front courtyard was still making a racket about catching the thief, which made this small path in the inner courtyard seem especially quiet.
Xie Licheng quietly followed Xuancui and the others forward, his lowered eyes carefully taking in his surroundings.
No matter whether he would ever have the chance to come to the inner courtyard again, he habitually committed every path he walked to memory.
Xie Licheng had thought that once he followed them to the inner courtyard, he would soon be able to see Gu Changyuan.
But to his surprise, the first thing Xuancui did after leading him to a courtyard was to have him take a bath.
Xuancui found him a set of new clothes and even had a servant come over to attend to him.
It was only at this moment that Xie Licheng realized how dirty and foul-smelling he was.
He had just been dealing with the bloodstains, and his entire body was covered in blood.
In this state, he was indeed unfit to immediately meet the timid Gu Changyuan.
That person was both delicate and cowardly—he felt that the smell on him alone could make the man cry.
Xie Licheng still had wounds on his body, so naturally he couldn't bathe normally. Fortunately, a servant came over to attend to him, and he sat beside the bath tub, wiping himself clean.
After he finished washing up and changed into a fresh set of clothes, Xuancui finally brought him to see Gu Changyuan.
By this time, Gu Changyuan's wet nurse had already returned, so Gu Changyuan naturally knew that the corpse had disappeared.
Thus, when Xuancui brought Xie Licheng over, the first thing Gu Changyuan asked upon seeing him was: "Where's the corpse?"
He had clearly seen Xie Licheng emerge from the rockery alone.
The corpse must still be inside the rockery—where exactly had Xie Licheng hidden it?
Hearing this, Xie Licheng raised his head and looked toward Gu Changyuan.
At this moment, Gu Changyuan had already washed and groomed himself, completely free of the disheveled state he'd been in inside the rockery. He had resumed the noble, lofty appearance he'd had when they first met.
Xie Licheng only glanced at him once, confirmed that he was in decent condition, then lowered his eyes and put on a look of honest obedience.
Without changing his expression, he said: "I threw it into the lake in the garden."
There was indeed a lake in the outer garden, and that lake connected to a river outside the estate.
If the corpse had been thrown into the lake, the water would easily carry it out of the estate.
Moreover, that river ran straight through all of Lingzhou—it was an extremely large river.
Even if someone knew there was a corpse there, finding it would be extremely difficult.
Gu Changyuan frowned upon hearing this. At the time, he had been too consumed by fear and anxiety, and had truly handed the corpse over to Xie Licheng.
Now, looking back, he deeply regretted it, because that person hadn't been killed by him at all, yet he had asked Xie Licheng to dispose of the body, putting himself in a very unfavorable position.
If Xie Licheng used this matter to blackmail him, or…
Before he could continue thinking, Xie Licheng knelt down before him.
Xie Licheng knelt and said: "Young Master, rest assured. This one's life was given by you, and I will follow your lead in all things. In the future, no matter what difficult matters you face, you can entrust them to me, and I will never reveal your secrets."
This time, Gu Changyuan remained silent, but it was Xuancui who spoke with a smile.
"That sounds like loyalty, I suppose. But it's impossible that you have no ulterior motives—after all, this involves a human life. Speak up. What other schemes do you harbor in your heart, and why would you go this far for the Young Master?"
Hearing this, Xie Licheng glanced at Xuancui before speaking calmly and unhurriedly: "When I say I wish to repay the Young Master's kindness, that is no falsehood. Had the Young Master not saved me from the Young Master's younger brother, I might well be a corpse by now. Of course, I do have some small selfish motives. Men die for wealth, birds perish for food. I am willing to work for the Young Master—first, to earn some silver to have by my side, and second, mainly because I hope to gain the Young Master's favor, so that in the future I won't be caught by the Young Master's younger brother and beaten half to death again."
There was indeed some truth in Xie Licheng's words.
For instance, repaying Gu Changyuan's kindness, and wanting to latch onto Gu Changyuan's coattails.
As for what he'd said earlier—about being willing to work like an ox or horse for the Young Master—that was merely to fit his current persona.
He was now a horse groom, and a criminal slave from the slave camp at that.
With such a lowly, despicable status, facing a noble young master like Gu Changyuan, he naturally had to be as servile as possible.
Of course, this wasn't Xie Licheng's true nature. His true nature was not that of a good person, nor was he as docile as he appeared now.
His current obedience, honesty, and simplicity were all just to earn Gu Changyuan's trust and to make his own days easier in the future.
Once Lingzhou descended into chaos, it wouldn't be too late to return to his true self then.
Gu Changyuan: "Are you certain they won't find him?"
Xie Licheng: "Certain. Even if I myself were dead, they still couldn't find him."
If Xie Licheng himself were dead, his Portable World would vanish—how could anyone possibly find that person?
"Very well. You said you wish to serve by my side, and I do indeed have need of a male servant."
When Gu Changyuan said this, his wet nurse shot him a disapproving look.
But with the lowly servant present, the wet nurse dared not interrupt his words at that moment.
Gu Changyuan: "From now on, you'll continue staying in the outer courtyard as a stable hand. I'll give you a waist token that grants you free access in and out of the Gu estate. There will be quite a few matters I'll need your help with."
Having said this, Gu Changyuan glanced at his wet nurse beside him. Not daring to defy Gu Changyuan's orders in public, she could only furrow her brows and go fetch the waist token.
Gu Changyuan continued: "You handled this matter well—it helped resolve a trouble for me. As a reward, I can give you ten taels of gold."
As he spoke, Gu Changyuan's beautiful eyes were appraising Xie Licheng.
He always felt that Xie Licheng was no ordinary person. Giving him a waist token and heavy gold was all meant to gauge his reaction.
Xie Licheng had guessed as much. He immediately put on a humble and reverent expression, kowtowing repeatedly to Gu Changyuan in thanks.
Seeing him so servile and useless, Gu Changyuan felt both relieved and somewhat disappointed.
He always felt that a person with such eyes should not be someone who would grovel and fawn before him like this.
But… the man's current appearance truly showed no flaw.
It was exactly how a poor, frightened lowly servant would behave upon suddenly coming into wealth.
It seemed he was… not as difficult to control as Gu Changyuan had imagined.
Having successfully obtained the waist token and the ten taels of gold, Xie Licheng was escorted out of the inner courtyard.
On the way back, Xuancui instructed him on how he should explain his whereabouts that night if anyone asked about the thief incident in the outer courtyard.
Xie Licheng nodded obediently, agreeing to whatever she said.
Only after he returned to his stable and watched Xuancui leave with her attendants carrying lanterns did he look down at the heavy gold in his arms.
Ten taels of gold—this handsome young master was indeed generous.
Probably to buy his silence. Though he truly wouldn't speak of it, receiving a hush payment still pleased him greatly.
Xie Licheng took the gold back to his quarters. By then, it was very late.
He barred the door from the inside and was about to return to his Portable World to rest.
But just then, he noticed that his quarters seemed to have been disturbed.
Xie Licheng's eyes darkened slightly, and he did not enter the Portable World to rest as he normally would.
…
He rested until nearly dawn, when a sudden pounding on the door came from outside.
Xie Licheng was not surprised by the commotion. Calmly and unhurriedly, he rose and dressed himself.
Before he could go down to open the door, his flimsy wooden door was kicked open.
The people outside said nothing of their purpose—the moment the door opened, they flooded in.
They searched through everything, seemingly looking for something.
Someone grabbed Xie Licheng to inspect him, and upon discovering he was a cripple, a flicker of disappointment passed through their eyes.
They did not interrogate him at all, appearing to be in a great hurry.
Having found nothing they wanted here, they hastily left.
Xie Licheng found it strange that they hadn't questioned him. He lived here alone—if something had happened in the outer courtyard, he should have been the prime suspect.
It wasn't until two days after the incident that he understood why they hadn't questioned him.
Because Xuancui had made arrangements in advance. She had the male servant guarding the stable yard testify on Xie Licheng's behalf, confirming that Xie Licheng had never left on the night of the incident.
Xie Licheng wasn't the only one living in the stable—there was also a gatekeeper at the entrance to the stable yard.
That man was also a cripple, with both legs disabled.
His situation differed from Xie Licheng's. Xie Licheng's lameness was temporary, caused by an injury that would heal in time.
The other man's legs were both permanently crippled. It was said he'd had his legs crushed by a horse while protecting the Second Young Master of the main branch.
This Second Young Master of the main branch was none other than Gu Changyuan's full-blooded younger brother—the one in poor health.
Because the man had been injured protecting the young master, the Gu family, mindful of this debt of gratitude, had given him an easy job: keeping the gate at the stable.
Though it was called "keeping the gate," there wasn't much actual watching required.
It was a sinecure, and he rarely came out.
Xie Licheng had lived there for several days without ever encountering him.
Because of his testimony, and because Xie Licheng was injured, the thief from that night—appearing in one place, then vanishing without a trace—was clearly someone with excellent martial skills.
Everyone thought it couldn't possibly be Xie Licheng, so they didn't waste any time on him.