Chapter 34 Interrogation
Suddenly, an old woman with gray hair and a haggard face appeared.
She stared blankly at the horrific scene on the ground, her expression dazed, as if she were terrified. But the next second, she fell backward and lost consciousness.
The onlookers suddenly erupted in commotion and moved further away, fearing they might get into trouble.
Only her mother, that simple-minded woman, ran up to her, knelt down, and helped her into her arms, shouting, "Aunt Liu?! Aunt Liu, what's wrong? Wake up!"
"Help! Someone, come quick!"
"Alright! Stop shouting."
The speaker was none other than Gao Shaoguang, the prefectural magistrate. His brows were furrowed, his face was extremely solemn, and he rebuked in a cold voice.
Such noise is bound to disrupt one's concentration.
Upon seeing this, Tao Tao hurriedly stepped forward to check the situation, reached out and felt under the old woman's nose, then pinched her philtrum hard, and called out softly from time to time.
Tao's mother looked at Tao Tao's actions with a mixture of doubt and surprise, and couldn't help but wonder where Tao'er had learned them from.
The middle-aged man was Liu Niangzi's husband, named Liu Rong. They ran a tofu shop together. Liu Niangzi was exceptionally skilled, and the tofu she made was soft, sweet, and delicious, which was very popular with customers. Every time the shop opened, there would be a long queue at the door.
Liu Rong was heartbroken. Then he saw his mother collapse on the ground. He was at a loss for what to do. He looked at his wife, whose face was unrecognizable, and then at his unconscious mother. He hesitated and did not move forward.
The official's rebuke brought him to his senses, and he knelt on the ground, kowtowing, his face ashen.
"I beg you, sir, you must find the real culprit who killed my wife! My wife is kind and generous, with a cheerful and outgoing personality; she's not the kind of person who would commit suicide!"
Gao Shaoguang calmly said, "Whether it was murder or suicide, a decision will be made after the coroner examines the body."
"Someone, bring the stretcher over and carry it back to the government office."
A constable who recognized him rushed forward and helped him up, comforting him with a heavy heart: "Liu Rong, cheer up. The deceased is gone, but you still need to take care of yourself. You still have your mother."
Watching them carry the body away, Liu Rong staggered to follow, but then hesitated, thinking of his dying mother.
"Mother, how are you?"
The old man, slowly waking up, murmured weakly, his eyes half-closed, "Ah Zhen...where is Ah Zhen..."
Liu Rong's eyes were red and swollen, and his dark, square face was slightly pale. Looking at his mother's condition, he didn't know how to bring up the devastating news that his wife had died.
Liu Azhen's mother died early, and she only had one father. When she married into the family, her mother-in-law, Liu Da Niang, pitied her for not having a mother. In addition, Liu Azhen adhered to the principle of "marrying a chicken, following the chicken," and was very filial to her parents-in-law.
A few years ago, Liu Azhen's father died from overwork, and Liu Rong's father also passed away due to illness. Having gone through so much, Liu Azhen and her mother-in-law's relationship can be described as that of mother and daughter.
However, Liu Azhen had not been out for many years, and Aunt Liu had some slight resentment in her heart, but it was still not a big deal.
The tofu shop was originally run by Liu Azhen's father. After her father passed away, Liu Azhen took over the business. She improved upon the original stuffed tofu technique, which was praised by the neighbors.
Over the years, Liu Azhen has run her tofu shop very well; business is booming, and her life is getting better and better.
Aside from the regret of not having children, the family of three lives happily together.
"Liu Rong! To understand what happened, you will come with us to the government office."
Liu Rong no longer needed to worry, as constables came to take him to the government office for questioning about what had happened.
What exactly is going on?
"How could Lady Liu have died in this lake when she was perfectly fine? Could she have accidentally fallen in?"
"Who knows? Maybe it's because of some shady business. The tofu shop is on the south side of the city, three miles away from Wangyang Lake. No matter how early it is, it wouldn't have come all the way here."
"What you're saying makes some sense."
The way passersby pointed and gossiped made Liu, who was lying on the ground, look even worse. She pointed at them and sobbed, her cloudy eyes gleaming.
"You, you bunch of filthy scoundrels!"
"You filthy, disgusting scum! Get the hell out of here!"
Aunt Liu has a bad temper; in her younger years, she was quite the expert at cursing in the streets. It's just that as she's gotten older, she's become more and more restrained.
The passerby scoffed dismissively at the insult and walked away nonchalantly.
Lying there all the time isn't a good idea, so Tao Tao said, "Aunt Liu, let's get up first and then go to the government office to see what's going on."
Tao's mother then realized what was happening and agreed, and the two of them worked together to help him up.
After the people left, Aunt Liu started crying sadly again.
With Tao's mother's comforting words, the three of them walked step by step toward the government office.
The government office's mortuary.
The two constables placed the body on a wooden board, and a quarter of an hour later, the coroner presented the autopsy results to Judge Gao Shaoguang.
In the interrogation room, Gao Shaoguang, holding the test results, began the routine interrogation of the deceased's husband, Liu Rong.
Liu Rong sat in the chair, his hair disheveled, his eyes red and swollen from crying, his face ashen, as if his soul had been ripped away.
The bodies at the Giant's Gate are very difficult to examine, and given that they were submerged in water, very little useful information can be obtained. Currently, the only option is to start the investigation with those who were close to the deceased.
"When did you discover that Liu Azhen was missing? Why didn't you report it to the authorities during that time?"
He stared intently at him, observing his reaction.
After listening, Liu Rong began to sob: "It's all my fault. If we hadn't argued, she wouldn't have left in a fit of anger."
Explain yourself!
Gao Shaoguang tapped on the table in front of him.
“My wife and I have been married for so many years, but we have never had a child. I don’t care much about it, but my wife has always been bothered by it and feels depressed.”
"She brought up the matter of me taking a concubine again recently, but my heart is only for my wife. I don't want to listen to her suggestion, and then we had a few words exchanged..."
Three nights ago, at Liu's Tofu Shop.
Liu Rong was grinding beans on one side, while Liu's wife was calculating the day's accounts on the other.
At this moment, Aunt Liu somehow obtained a potent tonic, and served a dark bowl of it to Liu's wife to drink.
Remembering her mother-in-law's good intentions, Liu Niangzi drank it down despite her reluctance.
After Aunt Liu left with the empty bowl, she tasted the bitter, fishy smell in her mouth and thought about the whispers and pointing fingers that others had made of her. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.
Liu Rong, who was standing nearby, did not hear the sound of the abacus. He looked up without thinking and saw his wife crying again. He felt sorry for her and went over to hug her and comfort her.
Little did he know that the woman in his arms would say something surprising, bringing up the matter of taking a concubine once again.
According to the laws of the Celestial Empire, if a commoner and his wife are over forty years old and have not yet had children, he may take a concubine.
Although it would require her to use most of her family's savings, she was willing to spend the money for the sake of the Liu family line, and was also willing to share a husband with other people.
Liu Rong's expression was not good: "My wife, let alone the fact that I am only thirty-seven, even if I were forty, I would not want to take a concubine. My heart is only for you. Don't take other people's gossip to heart."
"We live our own lives, why do you always care about what others think? Where do you place me, your husband?"
"I'm doing all this for your own good, for the good of your Liu family. Do you know how hard it's been for me?!"
Hearing him criticize her for not understanding her good intentions, Liu Niangzi started sobbing again.
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