Chapter 144 Test
"This area originally had a tradition of sacrificing young boys and girls to the river god. Ten years ago, the current prime minister was demoted to be the county magistrate here and strictly prohibited this practice. Therefore, few people dare to sacrifice human lives to the river god in public over the years."
"But I heard from the postman that the practice of privately sacrificing young boys and girls to the river god has not been completely banned. As long as the desire for fame and gain continues, this kind of foolish behavior will not stop."
"I guess that maybe in addition to the village head's wife, other people in the village also saw Mr. Li and his wife bringing the child back, or even saw them throwing the child into the river, which is why they came up with this saying that they got the current property and land by sacrificing their own child."
After hearing what Gu Mingda said, Zhang Yunniang's tears, which had just stopped, began to fall again.
"How could they have the heart to do that to such a tiny child..." Zhang Yunniang sighed.
Gu Mingda sighed and said, "They may not have really abandoned the child, and the child abandoned may not be Niuniu. Don't show it on your face when you meet the Li family these two days. It looks like the rain will continue for a while. I will go back and test Mr. Li again."
While the two were talking, another maid from the guest house came in carrying a large bucket of hot water.
After Zhang Yunniang took the hot water, she asked casually, "Old sister, why are you the only one in the yard? I saw another old sister earlier."
When the old woman heard this, her face immediately turned gloomy and she said, "That old woman is always sneaky and cunning. It's rare to do any work, but she insists that she is injured. Now she even asked her family to hire a doctor for her. She is really addicted to pretending. Now she leaves all the work to me alone!"
Zhang Yunniang was not surprised when she thought about the old woman who had fallen and had a bloody head.
But when the next day came, there was still only one maid serving in the guest house.
The old woman who had a gloomy face before now looked dazed.
"What's wrong with you? Have you encountered any difficulties?" Zhang Yunniang asked softly.
It was raining outside and they couldn't leave. Zhang Yunniang was still thinking about whether she could find a breakthrough from the servants in the yard.
The old woman looked pale and said, "That old woman... No, Mrs. Ding died last night."
"Gone?" Zhang Yuniang hasn't reacted yet.
The old woman said, "I called a doctor and he prescribed some medicine, but he suddenly vomited blood in the middle of the night and died while vomiting."
Zhang Yunniang took a step back in fear: "He was fine yesterday, how come he suddenly disappeared?"
The old woman was full of fear. She said, "Yes, yesterday Mrs. Ding carried three buckets of hot water by herself. It was terrible. I also carried hot water yesterday. Will I die suddenly like her... I am so scared..."
Zhang Yuniang: ...
A sudden thought popped up in Zhang Yunniang's mind: kill to silence the witness.
But in a moment she felt that she was overthinking. Most likely, Mrs. Ding told Mr. Li that Niu Niu had no birthmark on her body, and Mr. Li realized that this was not the person he was looking for, so there was no need to take action against Mrs. Ding.
The most direct follow-up impact of Mrs. Ding's sudden death was that the guests had to pay extra money to the only maid for anything they wanted.
Gu Mingda and his wife did not care about this little money. Instead, they thought it was a good thing. After all, this woman was greedy for money, and she could get the information she wanted to know as long as she spent money.
Zhang Yunniang took some melon seeds, cakes and silver to see the old woman, and the two of them worked together on embroidery for the entire afternoon.
The old woman was a chatterbox. She didn't even spend the money she brought with her. She just kept on eating melon seeds while telling all the affairs of the master's family.
"Don't you think this family is weird? If they didn't hire a lot of helpers from our village every month, our villagers would have driven them out long ago."
"The male master is weird. He either burns incense and worships Buddha all day long, or invites Taoist priests to perform water and land rituals at home. I don't know how many bad things he has done."
"The mistress is not normal either. She lies in bed all day, hanging on to her last breath. She doesn't care much about her own body, but she is afraid that her husband will die, so she takes many concubines for him. She worries about this and that all day long. When asked carefully, it turns out that none of the children are her own. It seems like she has lost her mind."
"They have a bunch of sons and daughters, all of them are sick, either with this disease or that disease. Even so, this couple still invites a teacher to sit in their school, hoping that a top scholar will emerge."
"My sons can't even speak clearly. They look like the fools in the village. The teacher has taught them for so many years, but they can't recognize a few words. So much money is wasted, why can't you give it to me? I still remember his kindness!"
Zhang Yunniang sat next to the old woman and didn't even need her to guide her. The old woman said everything she should and shouldn't say.
Gu Mingda was not idle either. He took Sun Jiaxing with him to meet Mr. Li again.
Mr. Li's mind was full of his sons. He said, "I am looking forward to my sons' success. I am very happy when they make progress in their studies, learn a few more words, or are praised by their teachers."
Sun Jiaxing was moved when he heard this: "Children are a debt. Once they are born, there will be worries in the heart. Now, I am worried about Changshou on one hand and Niuniu on the other."
Gu Mingda sighed and said, "Having children by my side is already a great blessing in this world."
Sun Jiaxing also knew about the Gu family's situation, and he comforted them softly, "Zhongde, you don't have to worry too much. Good people will be blessed by heaven, and you will definitely find Xiaoer."
When Gu Mingda thought of his lost second son, he suddenly didn't want to continue talking, but his face remained calm.
Sun Jiaxing continued, "I have a good friend whose only son has been missing for ten years. He thought there was no hope for him, but one day when he went to Guanglin Mansion to relax, he happened to see a young man across the street. He was moved and went up to recognize him. It turned out to be his lost son."
"Zhongde, maybe one day you can meet the second kid, sit down with him and ask him how he's been doing these years."
Listening to Sun Jiaxing's soft whispers, Gu Mingda forced a smile and forced himself to pay attention to Li Yuanwai's expression.
There was no change in Mr. Li's expression, not even a flicker in his eyes.
Gu Mingda couldn't help but have an idea in his mind: Mr. Li and Niu Niu may not be related by blood.
He looked carefully and found that Niu Niu and Mr. Li didn't seem to have any similarities.
When he returned home and heard his wife talk about the news she had learned today, Gu Mingda became more determined in his mind.
"We don't need to ask about how the Li family got their money. We will leave when the rain stops. We should not stay here for long," said Gu Mingda.
"What if the Li couple are really Niu Niu's biological parents..." Zhang Yuniang was still a little conflicted.
"If it's true, then they most likely used Niu Niu to sacrifice to the river god. Who would keep the lost child a secret? And not even look for the child? It's better not to acknowledge such a cruel family," said Gu Mingda.
Zhang Yunniang nodded and said, "My husband, although that is true, I still feel very uncomfortable in my heart. I always feel that Mr. Li may have something to do with Niu Niu's life experience."
Gu Mingda said with a serious expression, "It has been confirmed that it was the couple who threw the child into the river. If Niuniu has no blood relationship with the Li couple, but is related, it means that they had a reason to kill Niuniu."
"If they really recognize Niuniu, will they kill her a second time?"
Second update
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