"Alright!" Yu Feng waved his hand to interrupt. "Our girl has something to ask you. Answer honestly and don't try to play any tricks."
Upon hearing this, the beggar leader immediately nodded vigorously, "Yes, sir, rest assured, even if you gave this old beggar ten thousand times the courage, this old beggar would not dare to play tricks on you."
As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Su Hua and Xiao Jinhan behind Yu Feng.
My heart is overflowing with bitterness.
He had only accepted ten taels of silver, yet he was interrogated repeatedly, putting his life on the line.
Su Hua stared at him intently for a moment, then pulled out paper and pen from her sleeve. "Let me ask you, what about the woman who came to you to spread the news that day..."
She was interrupted halfway through her sentence by the beggar's head, "Hmm? This girl's voice is exactly the same as that person's voice from that day!"
They all spoke softly and gently, as gentle as water.
"Isn't that exactly what the adults are looking for..."
Su Hua nearly dropped the pen in her hand: "!!!"
Having lived two lives, this was the first time someone had ever spoken of her gentle voice.
Indeed, people have vastly different definitions of gentleness, especially in the eyes of men.
Xiao Jinhan and Yu Feng's lips twitched simultaneously; this guy's ears must have been stuffed with tens of kilograms of cotton.
The latter coughed lightly, his expression immediately darkening. "Just answer whatever our girl asks you; there's no need for further explanation."
The beggar nodded sheepishly, "Yes, yes, the old beggar understands."
Su Hua gripped her pen tightly. "Tell me, when did that person arrive, and when did they leave?"
The beggar paused, thought for a moment, and said, "I can't be sure of the exact time, but I remember that when the woman came, the sun was just setting over the dilapidated temple."
She stayed in the dilapidated temple for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. When she left, the sun had completely set, and a strong wind had just started to blow.
The wind was really strong that day, blowing away many of our clothes and belongings..."
Su Hua picked up her pen and wrote down 'sunset, strong wind' on the paper, and then wrote 'mid-hour' next to it. On the day of the Hundred Flowers Banquet, she and Su Dahu returned to Shanghe Village at the beginning of the hour of the 5-7 PM, and a strong wind started to blow half an hour later.
Then she looked at the beggar's head and asked, "Which direction did she come from? Did she leave in the same direction?"
"She came in the same direction as everyone else today, but she left via the alley to the east."
"What was the style and color of her clothes? Had her cone-shaped hat been blown by the wind? Could you see her face, chin, and nose? What kind of shoes was she wearing? How long were they? Were there any embroidery on the shoes? What kind of stitching was used? Were there any mud on the toes of her shoes? What color was the mud?"
"…………"
As Yu Feng listened to these questions and watched the portrait gradually taking shape under her brush, he couldn't help but swallow hard.
If he hadn't known that Su Hua was a native of Shanghe Village, he probably would have thought she came from the Three Judicial Offices.
Xiao Jinhan was also surprised. Hua'er was even good at interrogation, and the questions she asked were so unique, many of which they had never thought of before.
After a short while, Su Hua put away her charcoal pencil. Her expression was still somewhat cool. Because the other person was wearing loose clothes, nothing could be seen from behind. Only from the front could some information be gleaned.
The person had a slightly rounded chin and wore pink embroidered shoes, each shoe embroidered with a crescent-shaped white leaf.
But this amount of information is not enough.
Just then, a childish voice came from the entrance of the dilapidated temple, "Are you... Sister Dongjia?"
Everyone looked up and saw a dusty little face peeking in from beside the door, with dark eyes and a somewhat timid expression.
Su Hua turned her head, smiled, and waved to him. "It's you! Do you live here?"
This child was the same little beggar she had met outside the restaurant earlier.
The little beggar glanced at the people in the temple, his little hands instinctively tightening around the burlap sack on his body. He didn't go inside, but stood there obediently and replied, "Yes, Dong'er has always lived here."
Su Hua's heart softened at the sight. That day, he looked just like this when he picked up the skewers of barbecue and licked the bamboo tubes of spicy hot pot outside the restaurant.
Moreover, even when scavenging for food, they don't forget to take the trash in front of the restaurant with them, which makes people feel good about them.
Su Hua stepped closer, bent down to look at him, and asked, "Have you eaten today?"
Dong'er looked up at Su Hua's face, her dark eyes widening in surprise, and it took her a long time to recover.
She bit her lower lip and nodded emphatically: "Dong'er has eaten, thank you, Sister Dongjia."
He ate at Su Ji Restaurant for the past two days. There was white rice, bone broth, meat and vegetables. He ate until he was very full.
I've been more full than I've been in three years.
This was all given to him by the beautiful woman in front of him.
Su Hua smiled and shook her head, "Good girl, if you're hungry in the future, just go to a restaurant."
After saying that, she wanted to tell Xiao Jinhan to leave first, but she saw Dong'er take a step with her, her little hand outstretched in mid-air, as if she wanted to grab her sleeve but didn't dare to.
Su Hua paused slightly, glanced at him with a smile, and asked, "Dong'er, is there anything else you want to say to your sister?"
“Yes…” Dong’er bit her lip, glanced at the beggar in the temple, and couldn’t say the rest of the words.
The beggar leader thought he wanted to complain to Su Hua and the others, so he glared at Dong'er even more fiercely, and even secretly waved his fist a few times.
Xiao Jinhan saw everything and waved to Yu Feng, "You continue to have people guard this place. I'll take Hua'er and this little baby to the car first."
"Yes," Yu Feng replied, bowing respectfully.
The beggar dared not glare anymore and could only watch helplessly as Dong'er and the two men walked toward the carriage.
When Dong'er arrived at the carriage, she didn't get on. Instead, she pursed her lips and looked at Su Hua, "Sister Dong, I might know where the person you're looking for is."
"What?" Su Hua was startled.
"About two weeks ago, when I returned to the dilapidated temple, I happened to see a woman come to see our boss and give him a string of cash. I didn't hear what she said at the time." Dong'er's small hands were twisted together, and her dusty face was a little red.
“I was starving that day. After returning to the dilapidated temple, I couldn’t help but go out to find something to eat. On the way, I happened to meet that woman. I saw her change her clothes at the cloth shop and came out. I found it strange, so I followed her for a while until I saw her enter the back gate of a large house.”
Su Hua was shocked and exchanged a glance with Xiao Jinhan. "Does Dong'er still remember that house?"
Dong'er trembled slightly, her voice even softer, "It's... the magistrate's house."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
