After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

"Father-in-law, you mustn't." Gu Ce immediately helped him up. How could he dare to accept Rong Zhengqing's courtesy? Even if he was a third-rank official, there was no reason for him to accept his father-in-law's courtesy; that would disrupt the established order.

"Do you agree?" Rong Zhengqing asked expectantly.

Gu Ce took a deep breath; at this moment, he was truly jealous.

He couldn't help but feel envious of Rong's parents.

"If Liuli and I are truly not destined to be husband and wife, I will set her free." Gu Ce didn't know what he was feeling.

Saying those words made him feel as if he were about to lose something very important, and a wave of sadness washed over him. But the words were already spoken, and there was no going back.

They had only been married for seven days, so it was impossible to say that he had a deep affection for Rongshi as a wife; they hadn't even consummated their marriage.

However, he greatly admired Yingluo's uniqueness.

She was completely different from the noble ladies of the capital, possessing many skills.

He wanted to take such a woman under his wing and have her do his bidding, which was the original intention behind his signing the agreement with her.

But if one day she really had to leave his side, the thought of that possibility instantly brought a sense of loss to her heart.

"Then thank you very much, Young Master Gu." Rong Zhengqing said solemnly. With Gu Ce's words, he felt half at ease.

The three chatted about everyday things until Rong Yingluo told them they could leave. Only then did they leave the study, and the family saw them off.

It was already past midnight when they returned to the Silver Willow Courtyard of the Gu residence. If there hadn't been no curfew tonight, they wouldn't have returned so late.

"You can sleep by yourself tonight, I have things to do," Gu Ce said before leaving.

Rong Yingluo didn't think much of it, washed up, and went to bed.

I talked too much with my mother tonight, and I got thirsty, so I drank a lot of water. In the middle of the night, she woke up because she needed to urinate.

I went to the latrine in a daze.

Just as she returned to the bedside and was about to lie down, she heard faint screams.

She instantly regained consciousness.

What happened?

Rong Yingluo quickly dressed and went to the outer room. Yinghong was sleeping soundly there.

She only had one personal maid, Yinghong, who slept in the outer room every night to keep watch for her. But in the past few days, Rong Yingluo had never called her.

"Yinghong, wake up." Rong Yingluo gently shook her body.

Yinghong jolted awake, sitting bolt upright. In the moonlight, she saw it was her mistress: "Miss, what's wrong?"

"Listen carefully." Rong Yingluo put her hand on her lips.

The two remained silent and listened attentively.

"Miss, I heard screams, it sounded like they were coming from our courtyard. But the sound was so faint." Yinghong's eyes showed shock.

"And it was a man's voice," Rong Yingluo added.

Yinghong got up and lit the candle.

The master and servant stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"Miss, it seems we don't have any more," Yinghong said again.

But as soon as she finished speaking, another scream rang out.

"Miss, is the Gu residence haunted?" Yinghong shuddered at the thought and clung to Rong Yingluo for comfort.

"What nonsense are you talking about? If there were ghosts, the Gu family would have spread the word long ago." Rong Yingluo didn't believe it; how could a ghost make sounds that a living person could hear?

If she hadn't gotten up in the middle of the night, such a soft sound would generally not have been heard by anyone.

The fact that no one noticed it for so long means that this matter was kept very well hidden.

The master and servant listened attentively for a while longer, the sound coming in and out intermittently.

"Miss, why do I feel like the sound is coming from underground?" Yinghong said, her voice trembling as she revealed her discovery.

"I think so too." Rong Yingluo felt the same way.

If the sound really did come from underground, then there is very likely a secret room or basement beneath their courtyard.

It's already early morning, around 1-3 AM. In two more hours, it will be dawn.

At this time, people are sleeping the most soundly during the night, no wonder no one noticed.

Moreover, although Yinliu Courtyard was the residence of Gu Ce, each of his brides never lived more than a month, so he rarely stayed there. Usually, only two maids would come to do cleaning during the day. It wasn't until Rong Yingluo married into the family that the place became a little more lively.

Rong Yingluo pondered for a while.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind, and I realized a possibility.

Today is the middle of January.

"Yinghong, you should go to sleep first. Just pretend you don't know anything." Rong Yingluo felt it was best not to let Yinghong know.

"Aren't you going to sleep, Miss?" Yinghong asked, a little scared.

"I suddenly thought of a prescription. I need to go to the study to write it down. I'm afraid I'll forget it when I wake up tomorrow morning," Rong Yingluo said, making up an excuse.

"Miss, let me grind the ink for you." Yinghong didn't dare to be alone.

"No need. If you can still hear, just plug your ears and you won't hear anything."

Yinghong had no choice but to obey.

Rong Yingluo left only after watching Yinghong lie down.

We arrived at the small study in the west wing.

Although it's called a small study, it's actually quite large. However, Gu Ce has another study, which is larger, used for his office.

Rong Yingluo lit the candle in the dark.

She had only been married into the Gu family for seven days and was not familiar with this study. She had only copied the "Precepts for Women" here for two days.

She picked up the candlestick and carefully examined every corner of the study.

If she's not mistaken, there's a secret room underground, and the entrance is usually located in the study.

But after searching around, they still couldn't find the mechanism.

Undeterred, Rong Yingluo searched three more times before discovering a stack of books on a bookshelf against the wall that looked rather unusual.

She reached out and touched it; it was indeed a book. But after removing the cover, what lay underneath wasn't a book at all. It was a piece of wood carved into the shape of a book and painted with a brown lacquer cover. Without careful examination, it was difficult to notice anything unusual.

She tried several methods, but nothing worked. It wasn't until she pushed hard that the mechanism started.

The entire bookshelf moved to both sides, making a slight sound.

When the bookshelf stopped, a hidden door appeared before Rong Yingluo's eyes.

She pressed her ear against the door and heard that the screams were indeed slightly clearer than before.

Without further hesitation, Rong Yingluo pushed open the door. In the candlelight, she saw a staircase leading downwards.

She descended the steps one by one. Counting the steps, she went down twenty-one steps in total, which meant she was already two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) below the ground.

The deeper you go, the clearer the screams become.

After climbing the last step, there was another closed door, and it was a stone door.

Rong Yingluo pushed the stone door, but it didn't budge.

There is another organization.

Rong Yingluo held up the candlelight again and saw a protruding stone on the wall by the door. She reached out and pressed it down hard.

Just as she expected, the door opened.

A sudden scream pierced Rong Yingluo's eardrums, startling her and allowing her to see what was happening inside the door.

The room was brightly lit with candles.

This was a secret underground chamber three times the size of her bedroom.

A man was chained to a heavy iron frame; his disheveled hair obscured his face.

Rong Yingluo didn't recognize the person at first.

"Who?"

With that question, a cold longsword was already pressed against Rong Yingluo's neck.