A Piece of the Truth Puzzle

If Shen Tang had inner thoughts at this moment, only a standard head-clutching scream could express her feelings.

Why didn't they give her a guaranteed transmigration buff!!!

Flips table (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Fine, they didn't give her the original body's memories, but they also made her run into people connected to the original owner every other day. First, there was Tian Shouyi's mistaken "niece-in-law," then Gong Cheng's shocking "wife's elder brother." If it were anyone else, they might have been led astray by these two.

Shen Tang clenched her fists, her jaw tight, her expression so dark it could drip water. To an outsider, this would look like her outward display of suppressed inner rage, and all that rage was caused by Gong Yun Chi alone. The male courtesan saw this and stepped forward at an angle.

He used his body to separate Shen Tang and Gong Cheng.

He turned his head and asked, "Brother Yun Chi, is this your wife's elder brother?"

He knew that on the day of Gong Cheng's wedding, his entire clan suffered a disaster, was exiled, and sent to the brothel, which naturally included the bride who hadn't even completed the wedding rites. He heard that the Shen Clan, from which the bride hailed, was even more unfortunate, with Zheng Qiao ordering the extermination of nine generations of their family, hundreds of people dyed red on the executioner's block.

Gong Cheng replied, "He should be."

Shen Tang's voice suddenly rose.

"Gong Yun Chi, what do you mean 'he should be'?"

She was about to be angered to the point of laughter by this big brother. Does he not even know how many people are in the family of the woman he's about to marry?

Even if it was an arranged marriage, he's too careless!

Shen Tang didn't mean to question him, but her words, spoken without thought, were taken to heart by Gong Cheng, changing their meaning entirely.

Gong Cheng thought that every word Shen Tang spoke was laced with sarcastic questioning, as if she were asking—[The Shen Clan suffered a great calamity and was exterminated, while the Gong Clan was merely exiled. Now, the relationship between the two families is merely 'should be' in his words. Is he disowning this marriage?]

Thus, Gong Cheng was overcome with shame. His body, which had barely stabilized, swayed significantly, nearly causing him to fall. The young man and the male courtesan were quick to react, reaching out to support him from the left and right. The larger movement still tore at his wound, and bright red blood soaked through the bandages.

The male courtesan urged anxiously, "Brother Yun Chi, calm down!"

The young man said, "Adding injury to injury, even a miracle doctor couldn't save your life. We can talk about whatever it is slowly."

Shen Tang, without a script or memories: "..."

Because the damn plot wasn't following the script, she could only rely on her acting skills now, guessing and improvising as she went.

The clever servant had already taken the shopkeeper out earlier.

After clearing the room, only the four of them remained inside.

Whatever needs to be said can be said openly.

She snorted coldly, placing her right hand behind her back. "Gong Cheng, considering your injuries, I won't haggle with you over minor details."

Her mind raced, and her acting skills kicked in.

Gong Cheng was currently the person who best understood the original body's identity. As someone who personally experienced the confiscation of his family's property and the extermination of his clan, the information he possessed was more detailed and reliable than Qi Shan's rumors. Shen Tang planned to bluff, at least to understand who the original body was and what its identity was.

Perhaps she could learn some secrets from Gong Cheng.

"Thank you, brother-in-law."

Gong Cheng's pale face improved slightly upon hearing Shen Tang's words. He sat down on the cushion, exhausted, and cupped his hands towards Shen Tang.

Shen Tang didn't buy it, her attitude remaining cold. "Since you call me 'brother-in-law,' then I'll ask you, where is she?"

Who this "she" referred to was for them to understand.

Hearing the term "brother-in-law," Shen Tang's teeth ached.

Gong Cheng's face, which had just regained some color, turned ashen again.

As he was about to speak, the male courtesan beside him said, "Mr. Gu and I rescued Brother Yun Chi. At his request, we also immediately sent people to that brothel to search for sister-in-law. However, we were too late, and sister-in-law was not among that group of female convicts. They said..."

"That person died on the way to exile," the young man finished the male courtesan's sentence and added, "A month of walking in shackles is a near-death experience even for an ordinary strong man, let alone a weak woman who hasn't yet reached her hairpin ceremony..."

The dangers faced during exile were not just walking in shackles, lack of food and water, wild beasts and insects, but also the guards escorting the prisoners.

The survival rate for female convicts was far lower than for male convicts.

Dying en route was within expectations.

"So, it seems I was being unreasonable?"

Shen Tang took advantage of the momentary shift in emotions, deliberately turning her back to the three of them, lest her facial expression betray her. Only her back, the slight tremor of her shoulders, and the repeated deep breaths causing her shoulder blades to rise and fall could hint at her emotional changes.

Acting truly required strong conviction!

The male courtesan couldn't help but interject, "The Shen Clan was ordered to be exterminated by Zheng Qiao. What does this have to do with Brother Yun Chi?"

It was almost as if he were saying Shen Tang "is being unreasonable."

Every word Shen Tang said to Gong Yun Chi was sharp, and even as a listener, he found it jarring. The young man, however, remained silent.

Shen Tang snorted and retorted, "Are you a party involved?"

The male courtesan was rendered speechless by the question.

Gong Cheng also quietly stopped him, saying shamefully, "Weng Zhi, although this matter has nothing to do with me, it does have something to do with the Gong Clan..."

Shen Tang closed her eyes, trying to empty her mind, Forcing herself not to think, not to analyze.

Having someone who could read minds was truly annoying.

The Male Courtesan obliged Shen Tang and pressed further, "Is it true?"

Gong Cheng replied, "Yes, otherwise why would the wedding have been so rushed?"

The mystery in Shen Tang's heart gradually cleared up with these few sentences. She took a gamble and blurted out, "If it had nothing to do with it, when have you ever seen a noble daughter of a scholarly family marry before she reached the age of golden hairpins? Why would someone so young be married off? To be a child bride?"

The Male Courtesan was so choked up he couldn't speak.

This question was indeed...

The new bride was indeed too young.

He looked to Gong Cheng for an answer, and the latter explained in a low voice, "Back then, Zheng Qiao wanted to return to his country. My father publicly supported him to make him complacent, while secretly contacting court officials, including my father-in-law, Lord Shen. Lord Shen conspired with my father. My father was in the imperial court, while Lord Shen used his hidden agents in the imperial harem to join forces with Consort Chu, who was highly favored at the time, to kill Zheng Qiao from the inside and out. Who knew it would still fail, resulting not only in the wrongful deaths of Consort Chu and her son, but also the leak of the news..."

Consort Chu, who was five months pregnant, was framed and miscarried, dying violently. Her home country was also annihilated by the enraged King of Xin with his troops. The maids, servants, retainers who managed her businesses, and her guests, totaling over two hundred people, who came to Xin with Consort Chu were demoted to slaves and sold freely.

Zheng Qiao was vengeful. If Consort Chu met such an end, how could he let the Shen Clan, who were deeply involved, off the hook?

The young man harbored doubts.

"If that's the case, the Shen Clan was merely an accomplice, not the mastermind. Why did they end up having their entire clan exterminated?"

After all, the mastermind was the Gong Clan, not the Shen Clan.

Gong Cheng shook his head, "I'm not too sure about that."

If his father hadn't persuaded him repeatedly, his usually low-key and moderate father-in-law, Lord Shen, wouldn't have stepped forward, wouldn't have provoked Zheng Qiao, and wouldn't have brought about the disaster of clan extermination. When he learned that Zheng Qiao was leading troops back, his father knew something was wrong. He and Lord Shen planned to have the eldest daughter of the Shen Clan marry in. His father was not exposed and remained Zheng Qiao's "benefactor" in name.

If Zheng Qiao retaliated against the Shen Clan, at least a sliver of their bloodline could be preserved.

Who knew--

Zheng Qiao didn't play by the rules at all.

Consort Chu was the young princess mentioned earlier, who married into the Xin imperial harem and died five months into her pregnancy.

Elder Chu was one of the talents she brought from her country, an innocent caught in the crossfire.

The young man's surname was Gu, and he was chaotic neutral disguised as chaotic evil.

The Male Courtesan, courtesy name Weng Zhi, his identity is currently confidential.

Gong Cheng, courtesy name Yun Chi, a member of the Gong Clan whose family was confiscated and exiled.

The current information about Shen Tang's body is that she is from the Shen Clan.

PS: The current plot information roughly states that the patriarchs of the Gong and Shen clans, along with Consort Chu, joined forces to kill Zheng Qiao. In the end, Zheng Qiao counter-killed them and successfully escaped back to his country, recuperated for five years, and led troops from Geng Country to annihilate Xin Kingdom. The Shen Clan was betrayed and had their entire clan exterminated by Zheng Qiao's revenge.

The Xin royal family also has the surname Shen, but they are not the same as the Shen Clan mentioned above.

PPS: Updating so early, aren't you surprised?