Chapter 67: The Woman Who Knows Martial Arts

Given that fire, the body would reportedly shatter upon touch and the ashes could be packed straight into a box; trying to identify whether it was Pang Shiyuan would be a long shot anyway.

Less trouble is better than more trouble. He was about to marry Gu Xingwan, and any connection that could be severed would be cut off decisively.

A living Pang Shiyuan was a stroke of good fortune for Lu Lan, but a burned Pang Shiyuan was nothing more than a useless pile of ashes.

Seeing that no useful information could be extracted, Bai Yutang was about to leave when his gaze suddenly swept over Yourong, the maid standing behind Lu Lan.

"May I ask, Lord Marquis, does your esteemed residence employ any women skilled in martial arts?"

Lu Lan followed Bai Yutang's gaze to look at Yourong.

Suddenly caught in the gaze of two men, Yourong lowered her head shyly.

"Women skilled in martial arts? Frankly, none. Although the ancestors of our Duke Yu's manor were military nobles and I myself know a thing or two about martial arts, however..."

Lu Lan lowered his voice and said, "My mother particularly detests fighting and killing. As you know, all three of her sons died on the battlefield, and the old lady's heart condition flares up the moment she sees anyone wielding blades and spears. Therefore, it is even less likely for the women in the manor to practice martial arts."

Bai Yutang was still deep in thought.

Lu Lan called out to Yourong, "Yourong, go, gather all the female dependents of the manor in the main courtyard so that the Imperial Cat can interrogate them thoroughly."

"Yes!"

Just as Yourong was about to leave, Bai Yutang raised his hand to stop her:

"There is no need. Since Lord Marquis says there are none, then there surely are none. This subordinate still has official business to attend to, so I will take my leave."

Bai Yutang was not a fool.

Duke Yu's manor had at least one or two hundred female dependents; if Lu Lan truly wanted to hide someone, it would be far too easy.

Lu Lan smiled as he stood up to see him off:

"Very well, then go tend to your business. I won't keep you for a meal, but feel free to seek me out whenever anything comes up. I have always treated others with sincerity and spoke without reservation."

"Lord Marquis, please stay. This subordinate takes his leave!"

"I won't see you out!"

After leaving Duke Yu's manor, Bai Yutang unconsciously developed a somewhat different perception of Lu Lan.

This young man was not as foolish and brainless as rumors made him out to be.

He was as slippery as an eel.

Currently, clues were difficult to trace, and the only starting point was the "Startling Swan, Drifting Snow" rouge fragrance found inside the carriage.

The target was locked within the circle of imperial relatives.

...

The Gu Residence.

Gu Xingwan's boudoir.

Tong Yan came to find Gu Xingwan holding a handwritten note from Lu Lan.

"Has Lord Lu been busy with the black stones at Mount Dadong lately?"

"Yes. His Lordship said that winter is fast approaching, and if the black stones are not mined quickly, we won't be able to sell them in large quantities before charcoal goes on the market."

From the moment she entered until now, Tong Yan's gaze had never left Gu Xingwan's face.

She had always been confident in her own looks, believing that no matter how beautiful women in this world could be, just how stunning could they really get? Perhaps they might surpass her by a fraction, but not by leaps and bounds.

Yet, upon seeing Gu Xingwan, she realized how ridiculous she had been.

The woman before her was so flawless she lacked a single imperfection, nearly a complete ideal.

Gu Xingwan finished reading the letter, looked up, and noticed Tong Yan's strange expression, but she didn't pay it much mind, as she was already accustomed to it.

Simply put, Lu Lan hoped she could help draft a set of large-scale technological process blueprints.

After all, the production scale of fragrant coal briquettes was massive; using the ordinary large woks used for household cooking would not suffice even if there were thousands of them.

Without large-scale production equipment, it would be utterly impossible to meet the winter market demand.

Before her transmigration, Gu Xingwan had been an engineering top student whose strengths lay in mathematics, physics, and chemistry; drafting a crude and simple desulfurization process for coal was child's play for her.

"I will need time, and I will also need manpower. Lady Tong Yan, do you know how to write and draw?"

Tong Yan nodded with bright eyes, "I do."

"That's wonderful. You and Tingzheng can help together, and let's get these blueprints drawn before tonight."

In her previous life, she would have used CAD software to draft the process flow, finishing it herself in a single night.

However, she couldn't guarantee the same when drawing by hand now. The blueprints needed to be meticulously detailed, and a difference of a single millimeter could affect the quality of the coal.

Thus, the three of them locked themselves in the room, busy drafting the designs.

Outside the door, near the window, an old matron was peeking furtively.

It was none other than Matron Tang.

Originally a second-class servant of the estate, she had been promoted to a first-class servant by the mistress, Lady Song, and had taken over the late Matron Qin's place to serve Gu Xingwan. Later on, she was also scheduled to accompany Gu Xingwan to the Lu family as a dowry matron.

Called serving, her true purpose was surveillance.

However, Gu Xingwan remained on guard against her; no matter what, she would never allow her to participate in vital matters.

Matron Tang peered for a long time without figuring out what was going on inside the room, so she had no choice but to run off and report to Lady Song.

"The Lu family's maid has arrived?"

With the wedding fast approaching, Lady Song kept an even tighter surveillance on Gu Xingwan, deeply afraid that another slip-up might occur.

Last time, a match had already been arranged with the Mei family, but because they failed to keep a close eye on her at the very end, Gu Xingwan actually dared to have a clandestine affair with Lu Lan.

It caused her to lose the chance of becoming relatives by marriage with the Mei family for nothing, and when she went to call off the engagement, she was cursed to shreds by that bitch Jin.

She could not afford to play the fool again this time.

"Yes, Your Ladyship. This servant saw that maid hand the Second Young Miss a letter, and then the Second Young Miss dismissed this servant. She has been holed up inside the room for several hours and still hasn't come out."

Lady Song's seductive eyes darted around.

With her clever little brain, she truly couldn't fathom what Gu Xingwan was up to.

There was another matter that concerned her the most.

"During the days you've been following her, has she ever mentioned anything about silver notes?"

"Silver notes?" Matron Tang shook her head like a rattle-drum. "Never heard of it. The Second Young Miss has no worldly possessions to her name; even that autumn gown she wears has been on her for three years. She shouldn't have any silver notes, should she?"

"What do you know!" Lady Song snapped her handkerchief dismissively.

Of course Gu Xingwan had no money; if she were able to save up any personal wealth, it would only prove that she, her stepmother, was entirely useless.

However, her deceased mother had money.