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

"What's wrong?" Gu Ce noticed that something was off about her.

"After the four of them died, were any masters or immortals invited to perform rituals to help their souls find peace?" Rong Yingluo asked.

"Yes, this was arranged by my mother." They all came with a purpose, and they were chosen by Madam Su, so Gu Ce didn't care about these women.

If he hadn't noticed Rong Yingluo's uniqueness from the beginning, he wouldn't have given the woman in front of him a second glance.

Rong Yingluo frowned even more. How could there still be resentment after the ritual was performed?

Could it be that the Su family hired a fake master to save money? It's not impossible.

With the righteous spirit of the first Duke of Zhenguo pressing down on them, if these women had committed unforgivable sins in their lives and there was no truly enlightened master or immortal to help them pass on, it would be difficult for them to leave this world.

Rong Yingluo originally came with the intention of throwing the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion into chaos, but in just a short time she realized that it was Su Shi who was behind it all.

These men of the Gu family, whose names are engraved on the memorial tablets, are all heroes of the Southern Xia Kingdom.

Today she only met two men from the Gu family, Gu Ce and Gu Xi.

What kind of people they are remains to be seen.

She can't generalize and condemn all people based on one example.

"Tell me about your first wife." Rong Yingluo wanted to know more so that she could be sure that her analysis was correct.

"She was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Dingxi. She was arrogant and domineering in her maternal home. She fell in love with me at first sight and insisted on marrying me. My mother persuaded me to marry her out of respect for the Marquis of Dingxi. She promised to teach her well and ensure that she would become a qualified wife of the family. However, she drowned three days after entering the family." Gu Ce recounted the events of five years ago in a calm voice.

He had just turned eighteen at the time, and afterwards, rumors spread that he was a jinx to wives.

To maintain her reputation as a loving mother, Su arranged for him to marry another woman less than a year later, who also died.

Only then did he fully realize that Su's kindness was all an act, intended to prevent any woman from marrying him.

Ultimately, he lowered his goal to marrying a merchant's daughter.

This is because they don't want him to have an heir. If he does, he won't be able to inherit the title, and the title will fall into the hands of his second brother.

Before his father went to the border, he still had a pure heart for the Su family. However, as soon as his father left the capital, he kept getting into trouble.

He was only ten years old at the time and did not understand the tricks of women. It was only after being poisoned multiple times that he became more vigilant, but no matter how he investigated, he could not find any trace of Su.

When his father found out, he hired several famous teachers to instruct him, told him not to go into the inner courtyard unless necessary, and not to eat random things outside. He also assigned a subordinate who knew medicine to him, which is why he is still alive today.

However, the poison in his body has not been cured to this day, and he can only maintain a balance.

Upon hearing this, Rong Yingluo realized that the woman was an arrogant and domineering daughter of a high-ranking family. Such a woman had most likely killed servants before, which explained why she was suppressed by the righteous spirit. The others were probably not much different.

The Su family would never find Gu Ce a virtuous wife. And the Rong family, being merchants, were even less respectable in her eyes.

Having such a thing in the ancestral hall will affect the fortune of the Gu family, which is not a good thing.

"Have someone bring me some yellow paper and prepare a dish of cinnabar," Rong Yingluo decided.

"What are you going to do?" Gu Ce asked, puzzled.

You'll find out soon enough.

Although Gu Ce was curious, he still ordered his personal guard Zhong Sheng to get it.

The items were brought over quickly, and Rong Yingluo began drawing the Life-Giving Treasure Talisman in front of Gu Ce.

Her movements were fluid and graceful, as if she had painted them countless times.

"What kind of talisman are you drawing?" Gu Ce asked, unable to understand it.

"Don't speak." Rong Yingluo was completely focused.

Gu Ce was even more curious. She could actually draw talismans. Wasn't that something only Taoists knew?

Wasn't he married a merchant's daughter?

She shocked him so much tonight.

A quarter of an hour later, Rong Yingluo had finished drawing four Heavenly Treasure Talismans.

Before the ink was dry, she picked them up and pasted them onto the four memorial tablets. Then she sat cross-legged in front of the four tablets and began to chant the mantra for rebirth in a better place.

"By the Supreme Decree, your lonely soul transcends, all ghosts and demons, and all living beings receive grace..."

Her voice was soft and low, and her eyes were slightly closed.

Gu Ce was even more shocked; she was actually performing a ritual to help the souls of the dead find peace.

He also knelt down and looked at the four memorial tablets.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.

Dazzled?

He felt as if the four memorial tablets had shaken slightly, and something like smoke was swirling around them.

After Rong Yingluo finished reciting the incantation for rebirth, she got up and lit the four talismans with candlelight.

As the talisman burned, she hurriedly made a few more hand gestures: "Go, be a good person in your next life."

As she spoke, Gu Ce seemed to see the mist swirling around the memorial tablet slowly drifting towards the gate.

At that moment, he was completely petrified.

Was the mist he saw the soul of a person? That's incredible, it can't be real.

What exactly was the background of the wife he married?

After doing all this, Rong Yingluo felt that the air in the entire ancestral hall was warmer.

But she still put on the cloak that Yinghong had brought, chose the largest futon, sat cross-legged, and closed her eyes.

Gu Ce had many questions he wanted to ask, but seeing that she didn't want to talk to him anymore, he had no choice but to give up.

He also knelt down before his ancestors, kowtowed three times earnestly, and then knelt down and closed his eyes to rest.

As time went by, he opened his eyes several times to look at Rong Yingluo beside him, but each time he saw her motionless, as if she were asleep.

Rong Yingluo had traveled for a day and a night, only sleeping for half an hour in the bridal sedan chair. After marrying into the Gu family and being tormented by Madam Su, she was already at her breaking point.

She fell asleep as soon as she sat down on the cushion.

She was a Taoist priest, and sitting cross-legged in meditation was an essential skill for her; sleeping while sitting was also a common occurrence.

But as the night passed, Gu Ce looked at her countless times, but she didn't move an inch until dawn.

He then realized that she had been asleep for a long time.

How could she fall asleep just by sitting cross-legged? My doubts grew even stronger.

I'll have to ask around again later.

"Rong Liuli," Gu Ce called softly, "it's dawn."

Rong Yingluo slowly opened her eyes when she heard the sound. She was a little confused. When she saw the portrait of the Gu family ancestor, she remembered that she had spent her wedding night in the ancestral hall last night.

I stretched and then slowly loosened my legs to move around a bit.

"Let's go."

The two returned to their new home after their wedding, and after washing up, they hurriedly went to the main hall of the courtyard.

Su Jingyi, dressed in the robes of a first-rank noblewoman, sat regally in the main seat, waiting for the new bride to serve her tea. She wanted the new bride to understand that she was a first-rank lady with an official title.

Last night, she thought about it for a long time, and even analyzed it with her personal attendant, Granny Zhao, but they still couldn't figure out how she fell ill. The doctor still couldn't find out.

Both of them believed that Rong Yingluo was the most likely culprit, but they had no evidence and could only speculate.

Early in the morning, she sent someone with a visiting card to invite the imperial physician to her residence for another examination.

She had never experienced such excruciating pain in her life before, and she needed to make sure she was truly not sick.

She was terrified that one day it would come again, and she wouldn't even know how she died.

Just as she was racking her brains, Gu Ce led Rong Yingluo in gracefully.

There were also two middle-aged couples and several young men and women in the guest seats.

"Madam, these are my second uncle and aunt, these are my third uncle and aunt, and these are my younger brothers and sisters," Gu Ce introduced.

Rong Yingluo gave a polite bow.

All the people there were living in the Duke's mansion; not a single member of the Gu family was present. It was clear that they didn't value her as the bride. Perhaps in their hearts, she was destined to die sooner or later, so it didn't matter whether they acknowledged her as a relative or not.

The two walked up to Su Jingyi, and Zhao Mama immediately moved a prayer mat and placed it in front of Su Jingyi.

Rong Yingluo had a sharp eye and felt that there was something under the cushion, which didn't look very smooth.

Is she planning something new?

Just then, a figure jogged in from outside the door.

"Mother, I'm late." Gu Qingya, relying on being the only legitimate daughter, disregarded her image and ran straight to Su Jingyi, hoping to use her charm to avoid punishment for being late.

As she passed by Rong Yingluo, Rong Yingluo's foot shifted slightly, and Gu Qingya, caught off guard, tripped and fell heavily onto the prayer mat.