Placing a lit oil lamp by the bedside is a significant safety hazard.

The room was cramped and small, and the body was hanging in the middle of the beam. The doorway was right next to the bed, which meant that when a person entered the room, they would subconsciously move towards the bed.

If the village chief wants to check the situation, he has to deliberately avoid the corpse, which inevitably means he will be closer to the head of the bed.

No one wants to get too close to a corpse; that's human nature.

In addition, the room was dimly lit, and an oil lamp could not illuminate the top of one's head at all, so a flashlight was definitely needed.

The village chief had one clipped to his waist just now, which means he brought a light source with him when he entered.

More importantly, the village chief was left-handed, and the oil lamp happened to be placed on the left side of the bed.

He had to move around while avoiding the corpses, so the probability of him knocking over the oil lamp was indeed quite high.

There is also an even bigger question.

The village chief said that the bed was covered with straw, which is why the fire started so quickly.

But Jiang Linchuan noticed that the ashes on the ground were clearly layered.

The ashes from the burned fabric were all concentrated at the foot of the bed, as if someone had deliberately lifted them up.

Why would someone determined to commit suicide deliberately lift up the bedding to expose the straw underneath before taking action?

This is completely illogical.

After listening to Jiang Linchuan's analysis, Political Commissar Wang nodded repeatedly, "You're right, this is indeed a key point of doubt, but... this alone is not enough to constitute evidence."

Who can guarantee that Erlaizi's father doesn't have a habit of lifting up his bedding and sitting directly on the straw?

Rural people often have this habit: after a day's work, they are too tired to move and their clothes are dirty. Afraid of getting their blankets dirty, they will deliberately lift the cloth and sit directly on the straw at the bottom of the bedding to rest.

Moreover, the house was only temporarily renovated, and Erlaizi's family was poor and didn't use a heated kang (a traditional heated bed), relying instead on thick straw for warmth, making this possibility even higher.

Ultimately, these seemingly glaring doubts can always be explained reasonably.

Looking around more closely, they couldn't find anything else unusual.

Commissar Wang's heart sank. If it really was murder, then the mastermind behind it was too powerful.

He not only figured out that the village chief was left-handed and would check the house immediately after an incident, but also found out the details of Er Laizi's house. Using these readily available conditions, he created a fire, disguised everything as an accident, and erased all traces of human intervention to the greatest extent possible.

"Now we just need to see if we can find any evidence..." Political Commissar Wang looked at Jiang Linchuan, his eyes full of distress.

He knew better than anyone the consequences of not being able to find evidence.

Erlaizi insisted that Jiang Linchuan killed his father, and the villagers overheard his last words and the gold inside the chicken at the military gate all became evidence pointing to Jiang Linchuan's crimes.

In the end, even if he cannot be convicted, the suspicion against him cannot be cleared.

That's the trickiest part.

If no one is killed, this matter is not difficult to resolve.

But once human life is involved, the phrase "the death of a person is the greatest tragedy" is enough to suffocate people.

No matter how profound the truth, it cannot compare to human life.

If it really comes to that, the best outcome would probably be that Jiang Linchuan is suspended or even demoted, and Er Laizi is given a large sum of compensation. Only after the turmoil has passed in three to five years can he slowly start over.

Thinking of this, Political Commissar Wang angrily slammed his fist on the charred wall, sending dust and debris falling down.

"If someone is really pulling strings behind the scenes, I'll dig three feet into the ground to find them!"

The investigation lasted a full hour before the group emerged from the blackened room, followed by soldiers carrying the corpses.

Although the body was charred and carbonized, it still barely retained a human shape.

Seeing this, the village chief secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could be buried in a coffin, which was better than being burned to bones and ashes.

He planned to find a carpenter to make a coffin and give him a grand burial. As for the funeral clothes, he would skip them. In this state, even Old Yang, who was in charge of funeral arrangements, probably wouldn't know where to begin.

"Father, you died so tragically!" Erlaizi rushed to the body, slapping his thigh and wailing loudly, but all he did was make a lot of noise.

He secretly pinched his thigh hard, the pain instantly bringing tears to his eyes, and his sobs became more genuine. "Even if the family heirloom is gone, you shouldn't have taken your own life. Your son will definitely get justice for you!"

The village chief had already heard about the farce at the military headquarters from the villagers and didn't believe Jiang Linchuan would accept bribes; it was probably a misunderstanding.

Maybe the chicken pecked at the gold and swallowed it, and it just happened to be delivered there?

He quietly approached Political Commissar Wang and whispered, "Commissar, how's the investigation going? No one in our village would ever commit murder. Someone passed by Erlaizi's house earlier and heard his father crying, saying that he had given away the family heirloom and was too ashamed to face his ancestors. I reckon he hanged himself."

Political Commissar Wang didn't respond. If he did, wouldn't that be tacitly admitting that Jiang Linchuan was responsible?

"The investigation is still ongoing, so we cannot conclude that it was suicide." Even if there is only a slight possibility of homicide, we must investigate to the end.

Moreover, Erlaizi is the key breakthrough point. We must not bury the body too early; we must delay and buy time for the investigation.

The village chief immediately realized his slip of the tongue and quickly tried to salvage the situation, "Look at my mouth! Who is Commander Jiang? Why would he want that kind of thing? Besides, if Er Laizi's family really had a family heirloom, would they have been penniless for decades? Everyone in our village knows that if they really had gold, he would have gambled it all away long ago. How could they still have it now!"

Political Commissar Wang narrowed his eyes. "Then who do you think gave him that gold?"

"This... I can't really explain it." The village chief's eyes darted around. His family actually had an ancestral gold ingot, left by his ancestors who were officials in their early years. They had always treasured it and dared not tell anyone.

It's possible that other families also have similar hidden treasures.

“Tell me about the situation in the village in detail,” Political Commissar Wang said, changing the subject. “Also, who heard Erlaizi’s father crying? Call over everyone who passed by his house today; I want to question them one by one.”

Since no physical evidence can be found, we can only rely on eyewitness testimony.

Those so-called eyewitnesses might be hiding crucial clues.

An investigation is never a one-off event; it requires meticulous unraveling of the mystery to uncover the truth.

Their military can even uncover spies, so they're sure they can find out who's behind this mess!

"Yes, I'll take care of it right away!" The village chief nodded repeatedly, then hesitated before adding, "It's just that Erlaizi just lost his father, so when you question him... could you please not be too harsh?"

"I know what I'm doing." Political Commissar Wang said in a cold tone. He didn't need outsiders to teach him how to do things.

It's only because he has such a good temper that people keep causing trouble at the military headquarters!

The village chief wisely kept quiet and turned to gather the people.

Erlaizi was still wailing and lamenting, while the villagers gathered around him, sighing and lamenting.

People who were perfectly fine yesterday are gone today; it's hard not to feel a sense of loss, truly a testament to the unpredictability of life.

In the educated youth settlement.

When Ye Wenshu heard that Jiang Linchuan had arrived, she felt so distressed that she covered herself with the blanket and refused to come out.

She didn't want to see the man who had rejected her, and she didn't want to face Xu Xinghe standing next to him.

Moreover, once she goes out, people will remember what happened before, and there will probably be more gossip.

Thinking of this, Ye Wenshu glared at Lin Wanqiu again.

Lin Wanqiu pretended not to see it. In the first few days, she was upset about the outsiders' attitude, but as time went by, she gradually felt that it was nothing.

She had also gotten used to being alone, and even went out to watch the excitement on her own.

She had never seen a dead person before in all her life!

Xu Xinghe glanced at Lin Wanqiu's figure, then quickly looked away.

I can't just stand here; I have to do something to help Jiang Linchuan.

This is too strange. Too many coincidences mean it's not a coincidence, but a deliberate design!

That fire was definitely set on purpose!

She happened to have built up good relationships with people during the previous snow disaster, so she could go to the village and ask around.

Ordinary people might not dare to tell the truth to someone in military uniform, but they might be willing to chat with her for a while.

She ran quickly to Jiang Linchuan's side, stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, "I'll go to the village and ask around to see if there are any strange people or things."

Jiang Linchuan felt a warmth in his heart. He loved how Xu Xinghe trusted him unconditionally, and how she would never choose to leave alone, no matter how difficult things got. "I'll have Lian Xiao and Zhang Cishu accompany you."

"No need." Xu Xinghe waved her hand. "There's no danger here. Besides, they're with me. When people see two tall, strong men, they definitely won't dare to tell the truth. It's different for me."