Chapter 263.2

Gu Qingsong frowned, a sense of unease lingering as if something didn’t quite add up.

Xu Chou seemed too calm. His affair with Lady Liu and the impersonation incident had already been exposed before he was thrown into the dark prison. Earlier, when told that Lady Liu had confessed everything, Xu Chou was clearly nervous.

But after being observed for a while, he suddenly became tranquil and proactively confessed everything.

Moreover, considering their illicit relationship, even if he had escaped, Lady Liu wouldn’t have dared to publicly take any drastic actions against him.

Qin Luo conducted an investigation and discovered that over the years, Lady Liu hadn’t assigned anyone to monitor Xu Chou. He had plenty of opportunities to escape, yet he didn’t.

When his identity was first exposed, Xu Chou even defended Lady Liu, as if she had some leverage over him.

If Xu Chou truly loved Lady Liu, then when Gu Qingsong claimed that she had confessed, Xu Chou would have reacted differently. Normally, he would either refute the claim or try to distance himself from her, perhaps by insisting that he had coerced her or something along those lines.

There must be something important he was overlooking.

Suddenly, Gu Qingsong recalled that Xu Chou had said he had known Lady Liu for seven years.

Seven years…

At that time, he and Lady Liu weren’t even married yet.

It was later because Lady Liu became pregnant…

Gu Qingsong’s face darkened, his expression like iron. He desperately wanted to dismiss this absurd notion, but once the thought surfaced, it grew uncontrollably.

After all, Gu Yunzhen was born a month early. Lady Liu had deceived him by claiming it was a premature birth. Thinking about it now, there were clues all along!

He grabbed the red-hot branding iron from the guard’s hand and pressed it against Xu Chou’s chest, his gaze dark and foreboding. “Xu Chou, I told you, if you confessed truthfully, I would grant you and your family of three a chance. You squandered that opportunity, so don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Xu Chou let out a blood-curdling scream, and upon hearing Gu Qingsong’s words, a flash of terror crossed his eyes.

Gu Qingsong caught that fleeting expression, and it felt as if a block of ice had lodged itself in his heart.

There was no need for further explanation, he already understood.

“Kill him,” Gu Qingsong ordered coldly, tossing the branding iron aside as he strode out of the dark prison.

At that moment, a guard approached to report, “Your Highness, Divine Doctor Su’s people have delivered a group, they are the ones who ambushed and tried to assassinate them on the road.”

Gu Qingsong’s gaze turned icy. How could he not grasp the situation?

Lady Liu had sent people to assassinate Gu Huaizhi to silence him!

“Bring them here,” Gu Qingsong commanded, leaving those words behind as he headed to Lady Liu’s dark cell.

Lady Liu was curled up in pain, her entire body trembling. Her clothes were soaked from being doused with cold water, and the chilling wind swept through the room, leaving her shivering uncontrollably.

Hearing the commotion, Lady Liu opened her eyes. The moment she saw Gu Qingsong, a spark of hope lit up in her eyes, igniting a trace of vitality. Could it be that Gu Qingsong was here because Gu Yunzhen had pleaded for her, willing to spare her life?

“Your Highness, I know I was wrong. Please, I beg you to forgive me this once. Zhen’er cannot be without his mother. I am willing to spend the rest of my life in repentance, praying to Buddha under the flickering lamplight, atoning for my sins, and offering blessings for my sister (Mother Gu) and Huaizhi.”

A sudden flash of inspiration crossed Lady Liu’s mind. She reached out and grabbed the hem of Gu Qingsong’s robe. “Your Highness, I can go to the Great Zhou and explain everything to my sister. I’ll admit it was my foolishness that led me to take you away back then. You’ve always thought of them, never abandoning your wife and child. I’ll beg her to forgive you…”

Gu Qingsong suppressed the urge to kill her with one stroke, his voice icy. “Lady Liu, do I need to tell you whose child Yunzhen really is?”

He crouched down, his hand suddenly gripping her jaw with a force so strong it seemed it might crush her. “Xu Chou has confessed everything. Do you still think you can deceive me into raising a bastard child for you?”

Lady Liu’s heart was filled with terror, her eyes brimming with fear. She opened her mouth, attempting to explain, but at that moment, a group of guards carried in the unconscious assassins and threw them onto the ground, splashing cold water on them to wake them up.

When she saw these men, her soul seemed to leave her body in fright.

If these men had fallen into Gu Qingsong’s hands, could it mean the assassination of Gu Huaizhi had failed?

“Y-Your Highness…” she stammered.

Gu Qingsong wished he could cut this woman into a thousand pieces!

If not for her, his family would never have been torn apart.

His wife and child had endured endless suffering, and his youngest son had died prematurely.

Yet he had prayed for a bastard child, seeking renowned doctors far and wide!

Gu Qingsong’s words were almost forced out through gritted teeth: “What else have you deceived me about? Confess everything today. If you dare to withhold the truth, Yunzhen and the Liu family will all accompany you to the grave!”

Lady Liu’s neck seemed about to snap under his grip. She let out a choking sound, her hands clutching Gu Qingsong’s wrist as she struggled and pleaded painfully, “Don’t… don’t kill them… I… I’ll tell you… we… we never consummated our marriage… I… I lied to you… ah…”

Gu Qingsong flung Lady Liu to the ground and turned to the guards, who had just regained consciousness and were pale with fear. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Give her the ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ punishment, a total of three thousand cuts. If even one cut is missing and she dies too soon, you will take her place.”