In her dream, Ye Yunniang returned to the time when she first entered the Jiang family mansion.
At that time, Ye Yunniang was timid yet curious as she observed everything in the Jiang family mansion, looking up to the high and mighty Jin Huifang.
I dreamt again of Jin Huifang eating wontons heartily at a wonton stall.
Finally, there was Jiang Tingjun, sitting at the doorway, crying.
Ye Yunniang opened her eyes, and Jiang Tingjun was indeed crying.
"Don't cry, little master. Your wet nurse is here. Don't cry." Ye Yunniang picked up Jiang Tingjun and gently comforted him.
At the same time, he reached out and gently patted the still-sleeping Pan'er, afraid that Jiang Tingjun would wake him up.
"Hungry, hungry..." Jiang Tingjun cried out that he was hungry.
"You're hungry, your wet nurse will make you some rice cereal."
Worried that the children might get hungry at night, Ye Yunniang added charcoal to the stove before going to bed. The water in the earthenware pot on the stove was still warm.
I made a bowl of rice porridge.
Jiang Tingjun smelled the sweet rice porridge and opened his mouth to drink it.
"It's hot, let it cool down before you drink it." Ye Yunniang stopped him, but Jiang Tingjun kept reaching for the bowl's small mouth.
"Hungry~" Jiang Tingjun groaned as he held Ye Yunniang.
"It'll be ready in a moment, let's wait a bit." Ye Yunniang coaxed Jiang Tingjun, putting the bowl into the bucket of water next to her to speed up the cooling process.
Once the temperature felt right, Ye Yunniang used a spoon to feed Jiang Tingjun rice cereal, spoonful by spoonful.
Jiang Tingjun drank one sip after another, his big eyes fixed on Ye Yunniang. Suddenly, he called out, "Mother."
“Young master, you’ve misspoke. I’m not your mother,” Ye Yunniang corrected Jiang Tingjun.
Jiang Tingjun kept calling out to his mother.
"Mother!" Pan'er cried out in fear because she couldn't see anyone.
"Oh, Pan'er." Ye Yunniang came in carrying a bowl of freshly prepared rice porridge.
"Mom, I want Grandma." Pan'er, who had just woken up, wanted to find Cai Damei.
"Grandma isn't feeling well, how about Pan'er sleeps with Mommy tonight?" Ye Yunniang discussed with Pan'er. "Come on, Pan'er. Mommy made some rice porridge, have some sweet rice porridge. Let's go back to sleep."
Pan'er, who is usually easy to talk to during the day, is not so easy to talk to now. She insists on going to find her grandmother.
"Grandma, Grandma...I want Grandma...I don't want Mom...Grandma..."
Pan'er burst into tears.
After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Tingjun saw Pan'er crying and uttered a single word, "Ugly."
Pan'er cried even louder, "I'm not ugly."
"Pan'er isn't ugly, she's very pretty. Very good-looking." Ye Yunniang put her arm around Pan'er and coaxed her.
Jiang Tingjun reached out and poked Pan'er's little face, then uttered another "ugly".
"Oh dear, my little darling. Stop talking." Ye Yunniang wished she could have another hand to cover Jiang Tingjun's mouth.
Cai Damei came in wearing a coat. "What's wrong with Pan'er?"
"Grandma, hold me. I don't want Mommy. I want Grandma, Grandma, hold me." Pan'er reached out to Cai Damei.
Cai Damei hugged Pan'er with heartache.
"Pan'er, don't cry, Grandma's here. Grandma's with you," Cai Damei comforted Pan'er.
“Ugly, ugly.” Jiang Tingjun uttered the word “ugly” twice in a row.
Ye Yunniang reached out and covered his mouth, "Don't say your brother is ugly." The child's mischievousness resurfaced.
“You’re ugly, you’re the ugly one. You black kid.” Pan’er stopped crying and retorted.
"Crying is ugly."
"Little black boy."
"ugly."
"Little Black Boy"
...
The two children started arguing, each saying their own thing.
Ye Yunniang and Cai Damei couldn't help but laugh as they listened to their argument.
After putting the two children to sleep, Cai Damei and Ye Yunniang were no longer sleepy. They sat on the bed, watching the two children sleep.
"Mother, what did you see when you went to Sheep Dung Alley?"
When asked about what happened during the day, Cai Damei couldn't help but sigh.
In the afternoon, Cai Damei went to Yangshi Lane in a fit of anger. She found out where Jin Huifang rented a small courtyard, slammed her hand on the door, and it opened.
"Jin Huifang, come out here."
No one responded.
I could smell a pungent, bloody odor.
Cai Damei had a bad feeling.
She wanted to leave, but the thought of Jiang Tingjun at home made her hesitate vanish instantly.
"Jin Huifang, stop hiding and come out. What do you mean by leaving your own child in my house? Don't think you can get away with this by not saying anything." Cai Damei became angrier as she spoke, and forcefully pushed open the door to the main room.
She was greeted by Jin Huifang, who was suspended in mid-air with her tongue sticking out.
The ground was covered in blood, and in the pool of blood lay the head of a woman with a terrified expression.
"Ah—someone's dead—"
Cai Damei screamed and backed away, her body going limp as she collapsed to the ground.
Cai Damei's cries attracted the attention of her neighbors and passersby.
These people came in, screaming one after another. This attracted even more people. Cai Damei was pushed to the back and sat against the courtyard wall.
The commotion was so great that it attracted the attention of the constables patrolling the streets.
Upon their arrival, they immediately sealed off the scene and sent someone to the prefectural government to notify them.
When a major murder case occurred, Bao Min personally led the constables, coroners, and other officials from the yamen to the scene.
The coroner's preliminary findings at the autopsy indicate that Jin Huifang hanged herself.
Both the female victim on the ground and the man in the inner room had been stabbed multiple times. Whether the stabs occurred before or after death requires a detailed autopsy by the coroner.
Three lives lost; this is a matter of great importance.
Bao Min cleaned out a side room to serve as an interrogation room, where he questioned everyone in the courtyard.
Tie Xiong, as the head constable, maintained order and arranged for people to enter the house one by one for questioning.
"Aunt Cai, what are you doing here?" Tie Xiong was surprised to see Cai Damei here.
Cai Damei's emotions had stabilized considerably by this point, and she explained that she had come to find someone.
"Who are you looking for?" Tie Xiong wanted to ask, but Bao Min had already called the next person.
Tie Xiong let Cai Damei go inside first to answer questions.
"This humble woman, Cai Damei, greets Your Excellency." Cai Damei said, squatting down to bow.
"Get up and sit down." Bao Min said gently, gesturing for Cai Damei to sit down and talk.
"Thank you, sir." Cai Damei sat down on about a third of the stool.
"Don't be nervous," Bao Min reassured her, then asked, "Where do you live? What brings you here?"
“I live in Wanxia Lane, Daliu Street. I’m here to ask Jin Huifang for an explanation.”
"Jin Huifang?" Bao Min felt he had heard this name somewhere before.
"The fourth wife of the Jiang family." Did Bao Min know who the Jiang family was when Cai Da Mei mentioned them?
How do you know her?
“My daughter-in-law used to be the wet nurse for Madam Jiang’s son. I met her once.”
Where did you meet?
"Baiyun Temple. Before the Jiang family's misfortune, Madam Jiang the Fourth took her children to Baiyun Temple to offer incense. I also went with my grandson. We ran into each other there and met once."
"Yes. After the Jiang family's incident, your daughter-in-law went home, right?"
"Yes, my daughter-in-law is back. She ran into Jin Huifang a couple of days ago while grocery shopping. Jin Huifang said she's not doing well. She said her husband eloped with her second sister-in-law, and she's all alone..."
"Wait a minute," Bao Min interrupted Cai Damei, "You mean Jiang Mingrui and Zhuang Meixue eloped?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
