"I can guarantee that no one knows about the matter between me and Qin Huai. If it wasn't for Zhizhi, I wouldn't have paid attention to an assassin. Even if I did, it would have stopped when she died during a mission."
Gu Su stopped, and the father and son took a while to digest Gu Su's words.
"Boy, what are you trying to say?" Gu Sen frowned.
They were on edge.
"Qin Huai's last mission was to protect the Shen family son, Shen Bai. She was hired by the eldest uncle of the Shen family, Shen Chao." Gu Su's expression was grave.
The three of them looked at Gu Su in surprise.
"What did you say?" Gu Sen's voice was unstable.
Gu Su's voice became even lower, even though this was the Gu family's office and there were no outsiders around.
"Uncle Shen Chao's family died an unnatural death, and they claimed that it was an accident. But why did Uncle Shen hire a top assassin like Qin Huai to protect his only son before that?"
The breathing of the father and son trio became much lighter.
Gu Su continued to analyze. "I've also arranged for people to protect every member of our family. Our family has a special security company. However, I've never thought that I would need to hire someone like Qin Huai to protect Mother, Young Aunt, and even Zhizhi. This can only mean that Uncle Shen knew that they were in danger. Then, this accident is not an accident."
No one spoke. They were all digesting this shocking news.
"Dad," Gu An said after a long time. "What do you think?"
Gu Sen put his right hand on the table and slowly opened it. In his palm, there was an exquisite blood-red jade pendant.
Gu Su was taken aback. He hurriedly reached out to take off his necklace. It was a green jade pendant.
"Grandpa ..." Gu Sen sighed and took his grandson's jade. He placed the two pieces side by side.
"I was shocked when I received this today. I know that Shen Ke did not pass the jade pendant to his children and grandchildren because he thought that he was still strong despite his old age. Now that this token representing the head of the family has been given out and you say that there is nothing wrong with the Shen family, it can only mean that something has happened within the Shen family. It is not just because of Old Shen's poor health. I'm afraid that the Shen family will not arrange for me to meet him."
"What should we do then?" Gu Nian asked in shock. "Dad, if what you said is true, then Uncle Shen is in danger. This Shen Da, could it be that he wants to keep the family business for himself?"
Gu Sen sighed and said, "What's so strange about that? Shen Chao and Shen Da were half-brothers, so it was inevitable that they had different thoughts. Old Shen sent the jade pendant to me, which means that he doesn't acknowledge Shen Da. Sigh, I don't know what we can do for him. If Shen Chao was still alive, I could help him support Shen Chao, but now that Shen Chao must have met with a mishap, I don't know where to start even if I want to help him!"
Gu An and Gu Nian could not help but sigh.
Gu Su was silent for a while, but he still said what he was thinking, "Grandpa, Dad, Second Uncle, I only received news from Zhizhi about half a year after Qin Huai's death. I can't find out who gave me the news. Also, after Qin Huai's death, Zhizhi lived alone in that small broken house for half a year. I can't figure out how she survived."
Gu An hurriedly explained, "Zhizhi ate the most basic of meals in Peppermint Alley. I've already asked people to thank every family in Peppermint Alley. The little girl is very self-sufficient. She can cook for herself. Sometimes, people give her some rice, and sometimes, kind-hearted people send her cooked food..."
Gu An was stunned. He seemed to have realized that something was wrong.
Gu Su said slowly, " I've observed Zhizhi. She's very afraid of being alone after she wakes up. So, after Qin Huai's death, how did she get through the night? I've done my research, and no one in Peppermint Alley has been to her house to keep her company, because Zhizhi said that her sister's soul was in that house. Also, I later brought people to Zhizhi's house, and I discovered..."
His gaze swept across the faces of the elders one by one.
"What did you find?" Gu Nian asked anxiously.
"I realized that the partition in the middle of Zhizhi's room is empty. It's a secret compartment that can accommodate one person..." Gu Su said slowly.
"You..." Gu An gasped. "Are you saying that our Zhizhi is lying?"
Gu Su shook his head. "No, Zhizhi didn't lie. She just avoided the topic. Zhizhi doesn't remember what happened before she met Qin Huai. Qin Huai told me about this before. She wanted to tell me personally who abducted Zhizhi, but I didn't get to see her. But Zhizhi still has memories of what happened after she followed Qin Huai, and her relationship with Qin Huai is very good."
"Then, then are you trying to say?" Gu Nian was a little confused.