The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 296 Uncle Lang: My eldest niece thinks I'm a good-for-nothing!
Lang Jiuchuan had no intention of revealing the true cause of Lang Zhengfan's death to Cui Shi for the time being. All the suffering she had endured over the years was due to the Marquis of Zhenbei killing her husband, and Cui Shi knew nothing about it and had trusted the wrong person. She would go crazy.

Moreover, to deal with the Marquis of Zhenbei, we need to wait for him to return. Revealing the information prematurely would alert him.

She didn't know much about the Marquis of Zhenbei yet, so she didn't intend to cause any trouble. As for Uncle Lang, she could give him a little hint first, just in case the truth came out and no one could hold their own. She also wanted to see what his opinion was on the matter.

If they were useless and cowardly, there would be no need to say anything; she could just throw the Marquis of Zhenbei off his horse and then talk to them.

Lang Jiuchuan sighed; she carried so much on her shoulders!

The hatred for her father, the original owner's murder, and her past life's grudges, how she was taken away, how she died at such a young age, and how her soul wasn't even fully recovered—these are all mysteries waiting for her.

Is it hard work? No, it's just a tough life!

Could it be because she was too reactionary during her time in the underworld that Judge Cui wanted to give her such a hard time?

I'll invite him over for tea tonight and catch up.

Uncle Lang, holding his teacup, seemed lost in memories. He said to Lang Jiuchuan, "Every general has his own personal guards, and your father was no exception. The one he trusted most was the servant boy Hetun, who joined the army with him. Oh, he should be called He Zhongbai now. He's a military officer in Guicheng. Besides him, there was also the Marquis of Zhenbei, who wasn't a personal guard back then but a deputy general. There were also a few others, Liao Fangquan, Chen Dajun, and Zhang Yong, who all started as soldiers with him."

Are they all still alive?

Uncle Lang shook his head: "Not entirely. Apart from He Zhongbai in Guicheng and Zhang Yong serving under the Marquis of Zhenbei, the rest died in battle."

Lang Jiuchuan held the teacup between his fingernails and said, "That means He Zhongbai and the others were there when Father died in battle."

"Yes," said Uncle Lang. "He Zhongbai lost his left hand protecting your father, and he was the one who escorted your father's coffin back to the capital."

"He was both a close servant who grew up with me and a personal guard. Did he say how the man died? What did the army doctor say?" Lang Jiuchuan asked these questions to see if Lang Zhengfan's personal guard felt anything was amiss in Lang Zhengfan's death, or if he was involved in it.

The Heart-Eating Gu was planted by the Marquis of Zhenbei. Who fired the cold arrow used to conceal the Gu worm's attack? This needs to be investigated.

No matter who he is, everyone involved will be punished by her.

Uncle Lang felt a chill run down his spine. Hearing this, he sensed something was wrong and asked how she died. Didn't she know she died in battle? That was common knowledge.

But she asked anyway. Lang Jiuchuan had been back in the mansion for so long, and she never asked about Lang Zhengfan. People might think she was cold-blooded, but they might also wonder if she was afraid to mention it. After all, she was a posthumous child, and it was normal not to ask about such a sad thing.

Now, she asked about Lang Zhengfan's past, not his youth, but his death in battle.

How did the person die?

Uncle Lang's face paled slightly as he asked, "Do you know something?"

He was neither good at literature nor martial arts. Even the old man said that he was good enough to maintain the status quo, and that he should not make mistakes on major issues. He should be able to keep the family's peace by holding onto his title and living a wealthy and leisurely life. However, he was not entirely stupid; he was also capable of thinking outside the box.

Although Lang Jiuchuan asked the question casually, it made people feel that there was something strange about it. Moreover, she had the ability to calculate with her fingers. Could it be that she had discovered something wrong, and it was related to her second brother's death?
Seeing that Uncle Lang's expression had changed, Lang Jiuchuan said, "We need to investigate some things." He paused, then added, "It concerns his death."

Uncle Lang's face instantly turned pale, and the teacup in his hand fell and shattered. Lang Jiuchuan looked at the shards on the ground, thinking, "See? I knew it would happen."

The servant outside heard the teacup fall and shatter and called out, "My lord!"

"The teacup fell. Clean it up and get a new one," Uncle Lang said, taking a deep breath and trying to appear calm.

The servant quickly came to clean up and soon replaced the tea with fresh tea.

Uncle Lang instructed him to stand guard outside and prevent anyone from approaching the study, and the servant went immediately.

"There's more to your father's death than meets the eye?" Uncle Lang asked bluntly.

Lang Jiuchuan nodded.

Uncle Lang, in a panic, said, “But he really did die in battle. He Zhongbai grew up with your father, and they were as close as brothers. He was also the most loyal. It was your father who helped him escape slavery and rise to prominence. He personally examined your father's body at the time. The arrow was deeply embedded in his back, almost piercing his heart. Moreover, the arrow had a hook, making it extremely dangerous to pull out. This was also mentioned by the army doctor, who was trusted by our Lang family. Your father's injuries were too severe, causing a high fever, and he didn't make it.”

He paused, then continued, "Now that things have come to this, I'm not afraid of upsetting you. In fact, your grandfather and I personally dissected and examined your father's body, fearing that someone had sabotaged it. But there was no poisoning, and the bones didn't turn black. Only the arrow wound was extremely deep."

Lang Jiuchuan was somewhat surprised; had he actually performed an autopsy?
Uncle Lang's eyes were red as he said, "When a person dies, they should be laid to rest in peace. We shouldn't disturb the body unnecessarily, so that the departed soul can rest in peace. But your grandfather said he was afraid something might happen. Your father was very skilled in martial arts and was also very alert. It's one thing if he died from an arrow, but he fears he might have died at the hands of someone else. If that's the case, we certainly can't let him die unjustly. It's just a pity..."

"His heart was also dissected?"

Uncle Lang froze, staring blankly at her, and asked in a trembling voice, "What do you mean by that?"

"The pain of being devoured by a Gu worm is not poisonous, but the heart should still be affected." Can a heart devoured by a Gu worm still be intact? Impossible!

What kind of heart-wrenching pain?
He thought of the rumors circulating in the past two days about Sheng Huai'an colluding with evil sects to use sinister arts to harm people, and also thought of Lang Jiuchuan's methods, and said, "Do you mean to say that your father did not die from an arrow wound, but from evil magic?"

Lang Jiuchuan paused for a moment, then nodded.

Seeing her nod, Uncle Lang felt dizzy and his throat tighten. He asked, "What was it? Who did it?"

Lang Jiuchuan hesitated.

"Speak up now!" Uncle Lang slammed his hand on the table, his voice stern. "That's your father, my second brother. Now that you know the truth, you're not going to keep it from me!"

Lang Jiuchuan looked at him without saying anything. Actually, she also wanted to throw a straight punch, but it was better to be cautious about a straight punch that might hurt her own people. The Marquis of Zhenbei held real power, but what did her uncle, the Marquis of Kaiping, have?

He's neither good at literature nor martial arts, so he's relegated to a sinecure and is currently in mourning. None of his children and grandchildren are successful, and his children haven't even found many powerful marriage partners.

Uncle Lang: "!"

The way my eldest niece looked at me was exactly like she was looking at a good-for-nothing, and that probably wasn't just her imagination.

As I write this, I recall waking up yesterday with severe pain in my left sternum. Breathing hurt, coughing was excruciating, and I felt palpitations. For the first time in my life, I swallowed two nitroglycerin pills, regardless of whether it was actually a heart problem or not! Later, I read an article on a public account titled "The Heart Is Actually in the Middle?"