Chapter 14 Just how much do they hate her?
Bai Xiuming did not answer Achan's question, but simply said, "I am never interested in other people's family affairs."
"When will the master become interested?"
"When needed."
Achan wasn't disappointed, but she began to scrutinize her uncle more closely. She had a feeling that the man's words just now weren't spoken casually.
However, investigating cases is ultimately the responsibility of the Mingjing Division. Even if there are problems, they will investigate. For now, she can only wait for the result.
Achan quickly shifted her attention back and asked Bai Xiuming, "Is there anything else you would like to know, sir?"
"No, you explained it in great detail."
"Can I ask you a question, sir?" Achan asked.
Tell me about it.
"Are you going to take my aunt's body away in a little while?"
"Since this involves supernatural elements, her body needs to be taken back to the Mingjing Division to confirm that it will not cause any abnormalities."
"Can I see my aunt?"
Bai Xiuming was somewhat surprised, but did not refuse, only reminding him, "The appearance of a dead person is not very pleasant."
Achan's attitude was firm: "I want to see her."
“Okay.” Bai Xiuming led her inside, and A Chan followed him, trying to avoid the large pool of blood on the ground.
Kobayashi died in her bedroom. There was less blood in her body, and it seemed that she had cut open her stomach in the outer room and then ran back to the inner room.
As Chan walked in, she saw that Kobayashi's body was laid out neatly on the ground. It seemed that someone had examined the body before, and after the examination, it was covered with a white cloth covered with red talismans.
She stepped forward and lifted a corner of the white cloth, revealing Kobayashi's bloodless face. Her expression was one of terror, her eyes wide open, as if she had seen something horrifying before she died.
Asan slowly squatted down beside Kobayashi, the harsh words she had spoken during their first meeting still echoing in her ears.
It turns out that humans are so fragile and can die so easily.
Bai Xiuming stood not far behind A Chan, looking at her squatting motionless beside the corpse for a long time, and said, "Please accept my condolences."
Achan only came to her senses when she heard his voice, but she did not turn around.
"My lord, you can't tell I'm sad. I'm not close to my aunt. She wants to dress me up nicely and marry me into a wealthy family as a concubine so that the Zhao family can gain more benefits."
Bai Xiuming didn't reply, but just listened quietly to her.
"But... when a person is desperate, if someone is willing to lend a hand, even if that person isn't so kind, they should still be considered a good person, right? It's a pity she died like that."
Achan covered the white cloth back up and slowly got up.
She turned around, tilted her head slightly, and looked at Bai Xiuming: "Will you find out the truth as soon as possible, sir?"
Even if the truth may not bring solace to those who died unjustly.
Bai Xiuming didn't answer her, but simply said "Let's go" and walked away first.
Achan took a few steps and then stopped, turning her head to look at the quietly lying Xiaolin. Now that she also possessed a human body, would she one day die like this?
Even if one doesn't die a violent death, even if one dies of old age, a person's life is only a few decades long.
She seemed to suddenly understand why people always fantasize about immortality; she didn't want to die so young either.
Achan lingered for a while before finally leaving.
The Mingjing Guards hadn't finished questioning the Zhao family members, so she had to continue waiting outside.
After waiting for more than half an hour, Achan felt as if the cold wind was blowing through her whole body. She couldn't help but think that if she could go back early tonight, she would have to brew some medicine to dispel the cold, otherwise she would definitely have a fever again tomorrow morning.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but look enviously at the man standing under the porch, listening to his subordinates' reports from time to time. His official robes were so thin, yet he didn't seem to be cold at all.
Having cultivation is good, but unfortunately her body is not suited for cultivation.
About fifteen minutes later, the people who had been taken away returned to the courtyard one after another. At first glance, their faces were not very good. They were probably terrified because it was the first time in their lives that they had been taken away and questioned by the Mingjing Guards.
The last to be brought back were members of the Zhao family. Zhao Ming's expression remained unchanged, but his face was tense, as if he was suppressing his anger.
Zhao Wenyue seemed very dissatisfied with the Mingjing Guards who were shoving her, but dared not speak up. As for Zhao Wensheng, he was dragged back by Jiang Qianhu, who grabbed him by the neck.
He was the most disheveled of them all. After entering the courtyard, Jiang Kai threw him to the ground.
At this moment, Zhao Wensheng sat on the ground like a lump of mud, his face pale and his teeth chattering.
"My lord, we've got the information. Zhao Wensheng admitted that he bought the fish." Jiang Kai stepped forward and bowed.
Bai Xiuming walked slowly over. Zhao heard the sound and tried to back away, but his body wouldn't obey him. He kept muttering, "I didn't know, I didn't know Mother would die. He said no one would die, really."
Bai Xiuming stopped a few steps away from him, looking down at Zhao Wensheng, and asked, "Who is he?"
Zhao Wensheng seemed to be possessed and didn't answer at all.
Bai Xiuming glanced at Jiang Kai.
Jiang Qianhu stepped forward and stomped on Zhao Wensheng's hand. The intense pain made him howl, and he instantly regained his senses.
Jiang Kai didn't care that Zhao Wensheng's biological father was also there. He bent down, grabbed the man by the collar, and said with a ferocious expression, "When we adults ask you questions, you have to answer honestly. If you dare to lie, we'll chop off one of your hands. Do you understand?"
"I understand, I understand." Zhao nodded frantically upon hearing this.
"Then answer me right now!" Jiang Kai shouted angrily.
"They were from the gambling den. I...I met a gambler there who said there were live fish in his village, and he ate them...ate them..."
How was the meal?
"If you eat the fetus of a pregnant woman, she will turn into a monster."
These words were unexpected by Achan. Zhao Wensheng fed Xiaolin the "widow fish" because he didn't want her to give birth to that child.
"You don't want your mother to have the child, why? Your younger brother shouldn't be a problem for you."
Hearing the term "brother" seemed to provoke Zhao Wensheng, and his voice suddenly rose: "He's just an unborn fetus, what kind of brother is he?"
Ever since I got pregnant with that little bastard, she's been incredibly dissatisfied with me. I only gambled a few times, and she cut off my money. I even get laughed at when I go out to eat with my classmates. She even told my father that I wasn't ambitious enough and wanted to send me back to my hometown. She said she wouldn't let me return to the capital until I passed the imperial examination.
"Heh, isn't it because she thinks I'm useless since I can't pass the imperial examinations that she wants to have a baby to replace me?" Zhao roared, venting his frustration, but no one present sympathized with him.
Even his own sister, Zhao Wenyue, looked at him with disbelief, while Zhao Ming was so angry that he looked like he was about to rush up and beat his own son to death at any moment.
To blame all the mistakes one has made on an unborn baby—it would have been better to send the baby back to his hometown and never let him come back.
"So you want her to not be able to give birth?"
"Yes, I thought about drugging her, but it was too easy to be discovered. Later, I sneaked into an underground gambling den and met that person. He told me that someone in his village had accidentally eaten that strange fish and gave birth to freaks. So I lent him ten taels of silver and asked him to deliver fish to me every day."
"How did you get your mother to want to eat fish?" Bai Xiuming asked again.
"If you grind the fish bones into powder and give it to someone to drink, they will crave fish. I heard this method from that person."
"And then, what did you do?"
Zhao looked somewhat bewildered: "No, nothing. I just took the fish to the kitchen for my mother to eat every day, and that's all."
"Then why would she cut open her own stomach?"
"I don't know." As he spoke, Zhao Wensheng knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to Bai Xiuming. "My lord, please believe me. I really didn't want to kill my mother. I confirmed with that person again and again that eating that kind of fish won't kill you. I just didn't want that fetus to be born. How could I kill my mother?"
Before Bai Xiuming could speak, Zhao Ming roared and kicked Zhao Wensheng, who was kowtowing, to the ground: "Nonsense! Even at this point, you still dare to lie!"
"I didn't, I really didn't, Dad! I didn't kill Mom!" Zhao Wensheng clung to Zhao Ming's leg, crying and protesting at the same time.
As an observer, Achan watched this absurd scene and was momentarily speechless.
Perhaps Zhao Wensheng really did not intend to kill Xiao Linshi, as he said, but simply did not want the child to be born.
But to be able to feed his own mother a monster without hesitation, just to kill his younger brother, even if he has some humanity, is rare.
Seeing the father and son fighting, Bai Xiuming raised his chin and ordered, "Separate them."
His men immediately stepped forward and lifted Zhao Ming up, and also picked up Zhao Wensheng, whose face was bruised and swollen from Zhao Ming's beating.
Zhao Wensheng seemed unwilling to get up and wanted to continue kowtowing to Bai Xiuming.
Bai Xiuming looked at him and said calmly, "I believe you didn't want your mother to die, so why did she die? Did you say anything to her that you shouldn't have?"
"No, I didn't say anything. I've been at the gambling den all this time. The fish were sent directly to the kitchen. I haven't seen my mother at all."
Bai Xiuming looked at Jiang Kai.
Jiang Kai stepped forward and whispered, "Sir, I sent men to investigate the underground gambling den he mentioned. The people there have all been brought back, and the man who sold him the fish has also been arrested."
"Hmm." Bai Xiuming raised his hand, and Zhao Wensheng was dragged aside.
Then Bai Xiuming looked at Zhao Wenyue, who was pacifying Zhao Ming.
"Zhao Wenyue".
The moment her name was called, Zhao Wenyue shuddered, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head.
"M-My lord." Zhao Wenyue turned around tremblingly, her head hanging low, not daring to meet Bai Xiuming's gaze.
Sensing his daughter's fear, Zhao Ming held her hand, seemingly offering her some comfort.
"I heard you bought a jade hairpin for your mother in Yongshan?"
Zhao Wenyue instinctively denied it: "I didn't."
Seeing Jiang Kai walk towards her, Zhao Wenyue immediately realized what was happening and almost screamed, "No, no, no, I gave the hairpin to my mother, and then I don't know anything about it. It was just an ordinary hairpin that I bought from a street stall!"
"Is it just an ordinary hairpin? What did the person who sold you the hairpin say to you?"
"He didn't say anything."
"Really? But someone saw you talking a lot with the stall owner."
"I don't."
Seeing that she was stubborn, Bai Xiuming did not ask any further questions, but simply instructed, "Jiang Kai, I need to see the person who sells hairpins tomorrow."
"Don't worry, sir, we will catch the man before dawn."
As soon as Jiang Kai finished speaking, Zhao Wenyue's face turned deathly pale.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but her hand was squeezed tightly. She glanced at her father beside her and finally shut her mouth without saying anything.
The father and daughter's movements weren't obvious, but almost everyone watching them noticed their subtle actions.
Bai Xiuming saw it, and A Chan saw it too.
Zhao Wenyue's expression was practically telling everyone that the jade hairpin she gave to Madam Lin was indeed problematic, and that she knew this clearly.
“Lord Zhao,” Bai Xiuming said coldly, “if you dare to obstruct my questioning again, I will have no choice but to send you to the town prison for a few days.”
Zhao Ming's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "Lord Bai, please forgive me. I was just worried about my daughter."
"Please escort Lord Zhao out and serve him well."
"yes."
Zhao Ming wanted to say something, but two Mingjing Guards gagged him and took him away, leaving Zhao Wenyue terrified. This time, she had no one to rely on.
Bai Xiuming took two steps forward: "Zhao Wenyue, I'm only giving you one chance. Choose one: now or wait until the person is caught and then die with him."
Zhao Wenyue had never experienced anything like this before. Seeing that even her own father had been taken away and that they were threatening her with death, she dared not hide it any longer.
She spoke haltingly, "That person said that the hairpin was carved from medicinal jade collected north of the Northern Wilderness. As long as one wears it, one's temperament will gradually change. I just want my mother to agree to my marriage with Xue Lang!"
"Is that all?" Bai Xiuming seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
"And, he also said that after wearing the hairpin, you might experience hallucinations or headaches at first, but they are not very serious and you can just take it off."
"Did she take it off?"
Zhao Wenyue fell silent.
Her mother really liked the jade hairpin she gave her, and had been wearing it on her head these past few days without taking it off.
But, but her mother seemed perfectly normal, with no abnormalities whatsoever, so she thought the boss was just exaggerating.
At this point in the investigation, the truth seemed to be on the verge of being revealed.
After eating the fish given to her by her son and wearing the jade hairpin given to her by her daughter, Kobayashi ate the fish that her son had given her and then put on the jade hairpin that her daughter had given her. One day, perhaps she had a terrible hallucination, or perhaps some unknown change had occurred, she terrified and collapsed, cutting open her own stomach and died.
Achan stopped watching as the innocent Zhao siblings continued to recount their story. If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Lin's body was still lying in the main room, she would have almost thought it was all a farce.
How could such a ridiculous thing happen in this world?
How much do their own children hate their mother?
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