With those words, Erlaizi's previously anxious heart finally settled down.
Teacher Shen is truly resourceful; not only did he kill someone, but the military has yet to find him.
"I heard that a soldier fired a shot and hit someone. Was it Teacher Shen?"
Feng Qiushi shook his head. "No, if he was injured, how could the military not have found out that day?"
Only the couple knew about the body double; even Er Laizi was unaware of it. This was their most important trump card.
After taking his medicine, Erlaizi felt drowsy and obediently put on his cotton-padded coat.
Before long, he felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and he fell asleep leaning against the headboard.
He has hardly ever taken Western medicine in his life, so the side effects and benefits are particularly noticeable for him.
Feng Qiushi's heart pounded. Following Xu Mingli's instructions, she quickly walked to the stove in the corner of the room.
The coal in the stove was burning brightly. She quietly closed the stove lid tightly and used a rag to block the gaps in the window, leaving only a small opening for ventilation to ensure that the coal smoke could slowly accumulate without immediately arousing suspicion.
After doing all this, she went back into the house and picked up a tobacco pouch that was placed on the kang (a heated brick bed).
That was the one that Erlaizi's father used to use when he was alive.
She trembled as she stuffed the tobacco pouch into Er Laizi's hand.
"I'm sorry..." Feng Qiushi murmured softly, not daring to look any longer, and turned to walk quickly out of the house.
When the two soldiers guarding outside the courtyard saw her come out, they casually asked, "How's it going inside?"
"Er Laizi has taken his medicine and fallen asleep. He looks quite sound asleep." Feng Qiushi tried to remain calm. "His room smelled too bad. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I went back first."
The soldiers had long disliked Er Laizi's house for being dirty, and when they went inside to check it out before, they were overwhelmed by the smell. Upon hearing this, they simply nodded.
One of them went into the room to check and found that Erlaizi was indeed asleep, so he and another soldier moved to the empty room next door.
Anyway, the yard is only so big, and people can't run away, so it's always more comfortable to stay in a cleaner place.
Nothing was said that night.
The next morning.
The soldier on duty pushed open the door to Er Laizi's house, and a strong smell of coal smoke hit him, making him dizzy.
His heart tightened, and he quickly walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Erlaizi was still lying in the same position as last night, his face flushed, but his lips were bluish-purple. When he reached out to check his breath, he was already lifeless.
In his hand, he was still tightly clutching that old tobacco pouch.
The coal in the stove had burned out, the stove lid was tightly closed, and the window cracks were also sealed shut.
It looks like Erlaizi, who had a cold, was afraid of the cold, so he did this on purpose, but ended up dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.
"Something terrible has happened!"
"Er Laizi is dead!"
...
"Er Laizi is dead?"
In the military compound, Xu Xinghe suddenly jumped up from the wooden stool, her eyes filled with astonishment. "How could someone who was alive and well yesterday suddenly die?"
Lian Xiao scratched his head in frustration. He hadn't been keeping an eye on Er Laizi yesterday, and now the man was dead, as if he had done something wrong. "I just got the news that he died from carbon monoxide poisoning!"
"China Coal Mine?" Xu Xinghe slammed his hand on the table. "Impossible! Of all times to die, why did he have to die right when we were investigating him? What a coincidence!"
She grabbed the cotton-padded coat from the back of the chair and put it on. "Let's go to Hongqi Village!"
Hongqi Village.
By this time, the village chief's house was surrounded by people.
The village chief squatted on the threshold, his pipe almost snapped in his hand, taking one drag after another in silence, his face extremely grim.
Er Laizi died in the side room of his house, it's really... unlucky!
"I didn't kill anyone!" The village chief slammed his pipe shut. "That kid caught a cold and kept complaining of being cold. He must have sealed the stove too tightly and closed the windows, which is why he caught a soot leak!"
Discussions rose and fell.
"That's right! He was doing just fine with firewood a while ago, but the accident happened as soon as he started using coal. He's just not destined to enjoy life!"
"He's truly pitiful. His father just passed away, and now he's gone too. The Li family line has ended..."
"His father died under mysterious circumstances, and now he's gone too. Why are strange things happening in this village lately?"
Xu Xinghe pushed his way through the crowd and rushed into the side room. As soon as he entered, a smell mixed with coal smoke and stench hit him.
Erlaizi's body remained unchanged.
The village chief followed closely behind, rubbing his hands with a worried expression. "Comrade Xu, when will Expert Chen arrive? Let him investigate quickly, lest people misunderstand that I harmed him! Those who don't know the truth might think I even killed his father!"
“I know.” Xu Xinghe’s gaze swept over the corpse on the kang (a heated brick bed) and then fell on the coal stove outside.
She looked away. "Village chief, after we left yesterday, who has been in contact with Erlaizi?"
The village chief frowned and thought for a long time, tapping his pipe in his palm. "There weren't many people. He went back to his house after he finished arguing with you. He had a bad cold and didn't even leave the house. Only... only Feng Qiushi came by, saying he was bringing cold medicine."
“Feng Qiushi?” Xu Xinghe turned around abruptly. She already felt that there was something wrong with this person, and now he was the only one who had contacted Er Laizi. No matter how you looked at it, he seemed suspicious!
She called out to the soldiers at the door, "Go and fetch her immediately!"
Feng Qiushi hadn't arrived yet, but Zhao Feng had.
He walked into the room and paused for a moment when he saw Xu Xinghe. Then he straightened his back and said, "You're all here. That's perfect. Bring here anyone who came into contact with the deceased yesterday. I'll question them myself."
"I've already sent someone to call him, just one person, Feng Qiushi."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Feng Qiushi arrived.
She stood at the door, her cotton-padded coat wrapped tightly around her, her face as white as a sheet of paper, dark circles under her eyes, and her empty gaze fixed on the people inside.
Her appearance was completely different from the gentle and soft-spoken city girl I first met; she was like a completely different person.
Zhao Feng took a step forward, his posture as upright as a pine tree, his eyes sharp, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure. "You are Feng Qiushi?"
Feng Qiushi's body trembled violently, his hands unconsciously clenching the hem of his cotton-padded coat, his voice barely audible, "I...I am...Why are you looking for me?"
“Er Laizi is dead. You were the last person to see him.” Zhao Feng stared intently at her. “Just answer my questions honestly. Don’t lie.”
The questioning was conducted in another room.
Zhao Feng sat opposite Feng Qiushi, with Lian Xiao and Xu Xinghe beside him.
Feng Qiushi was also sitting, but the chair was a little lower, which made her appear even more timid and submissive.
Zhao Feng took out paper and pen, "Name, age, place of origin, and relationship with the deceased Erlaizi."
“Feng Qiushi, 24 years old, from Suyang, is just a villager from the same village as Erlaizi, and has no other contact with him.” Feng Qiushi lowered his head, his voice trembling slightly, but still clear.
"What did you do at Erlaizi's house yesterday afternoon?"
“I was helping out at the clinic when I heard that Erlaizi had caught a cold. The clinic happened to have some medicine for colds, so I delivered it to him. I not only delivered it to him, but I also delivered it to other people in the past two days. Everyone can testify to this.”
Feng Qiushi answered according to the prepared statement, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his clothes, "When I arrived at his house, he was coughing badly and had a runny nose, so I poured him some water and told him to drink it while it was hot."
"Did you leave after delivering the medicine? Did you do anything else during that time? Like touching his stove or windows?"
"No, absolutely not!" Feng Qiushi suddenly looked up. "I saw that he became sleepy after taking the medicine and was dozing off on the edge of the kang, so I left quickly. The smell in his room was too strong, and I couldn't stay there any longer. Moreover, when I left, the soldiers guarding outside the courtyard asked me about the situation. Later, they even went into the room to check and said that Erlaizi was asleep. You can go and ask those two comrades about that!"
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