Chapter 97: Most likely someone plotted against me
Xie Yingmian asked Madam Tao, "I heard from Young Master Cao that the people who died in the inn were poisoned by your husband?"
Mrs. Tao didn't want to recall these things.
When Xie Yingmian asked, Mrs. Tao's face turned pale instantly.
Xie Yingmian said: "If you don't want to say it, you don't have to say it."
Mrs. Tao shook her head: "Since Miss Xie is the buyer, she has the right to know. There is no reason for me to hide it."
There's no point in hiding it; we'll find out once we check at the government office.
Rather than asking the buyer to check on their own, she should speak up.
"Different coroners conducted several rounds of examinations and all concluded that they were poisoned."
"But, heaven is my witness."
"My husband and I have been living an honest life guarding our ancestral inheritance. We have never thought of stealing money or killing people. How could we possibly poison them?"
Madam Tao was on the verge of tears: "Let's take a step back and say, even if we have a grudge against them, we can't possibly poison them in our own inn."
"We may not be considered wealthy in Shangjing, but we have a good foundation. We have ten thousand ways to get rid of them, so how could we choose such a stupid method?"
This is also what Xie Yingmian cares about.
Xie Yingmian asked, "Such an obvious loophole, and the government didn't notice it? Didn't you file a complaint?"
Mrs. Tao smiled miserably: "What's the point of appealing?"
"Coincidentally, the night before they died, they had a quarrel with my husband because of some issues with the facilities in the room. It was a very fierce quarrel and many people heard it."
"Plus, my husband went to the pharmacy that night to get medicine for my son."
"The next day, they all died in the house, again from poisoning."
"Their room is in the corner. Except for my husband, no one else has ever been in there. He is the only suspect."
"Because my husband had an argument with them, went to the pharmacy, and even went into their room, we have witnesses, evidence, and a motive. Even if we are wrongly accused, no one will believe us."
Xie Yingmian always felt that there was something strange about the case.
All this is just too coincidental.
"Can you take me to the room where the accident happened?"
Mrs. Tao didn't think much about it.
It is normal for buyers to want to see if the house is haunted.
The room was sealed.
Xie Yingmian looked out the window.
This room can accommodate three people.
Because it was sealed, it still retained the appearance it had when the crime occurred.
Xie Yingmian glanced across the room and her eyes fell on the small stove beside the bed.
There were still quite a few pieces of charcoal left on the small stove.
The charcoal blocks were black and looked half-burned.
"Was the small stove lit on the night the guests died?" Xie Yingmian asked.
Mrs. Tao said, "Yes, it has been ordered."
"It rained that day, and the guests were soaked. They needed a small stove to light a fire and dry their clothes."
"My husband thinks it's too dangerous to bring a small stove into the house. The inn is made of wood, and if there's a flood, the consequences will be disastrous. He wants to negotiate with them to take the wet clothes to the stove in the back kitchen to dry."
"They disagreed and had a fierce argument with my husband. In the end, they had to move the small stove over."
"My husband went to their room midway because he was worried about the fire in the stove. He went to check if it was out. Only after he confirmed it was out did he leave."
"Who would have thought that my husband had been to their room during the trip, which became the decisive evidence."
Mrs. Tao had cried all her tears dry.
Her red and swollen eyes could no longer shed a single tear, so she could only cover her face with a handkerchief to hide her painful expression.
Xie Yingmian already had a general understanding of the case.
The male owner of this inn was most likely being plotted against.
However, she had not seen the files and had no evidence, so it was difficult to draw a conclusion.
"I'm very satisfied with this inn." Xie Yingmian said, "As for the price, I'm definitely going to bargain."
I saw Mrs. Tao's face turn ugly.
Xie Yingmian said, "Madam Tao, don't worry."
"I won't take advantage of someone's misfortune."
Mrs. Tao asked cautiously, "Then, how much can you offer?"
Xie Yingmian: "Thirty thousand taels."
Mrs. Tao's heart tightened.
Thirty thousand is exactly the lowest point in her mind.
Xie Yingmian said, "Madam Tao, there's no need to rush to answer me."
"I also have some things I need to investigate."
"If the investigation goes smoothly, I will pay you the market price of 60,000 taels. Of course, if nothing happens to the inn, the market price is around 90,000 taels."
"Something happened to the inn, and most of the facilities inside were damaged. It will cost me a lot of money to repair it. The most I can give you is 60,000 taels."
"If the investigation is not successful, I will pay you thirty thousand taels of silver."
"Of course, I am not cutting the difference of ten thousand taels of silver casually. I will give Madam Tao a gift, a gift that is far more valuable than ten thousand taels."
"Mrs. Tao, please think about it overnight. We will come again tomorrow."
Mrs. Tao was stunned.
What did she hear?
This Miss Xie said that the investigation went smoothly and she would be paid 60,000 taels?
Sixty thousand taels was a price she couldn't even imagine.
The inn was badly damaged, and sixty thousand was about the highest estimated price.
If the investigation doesn't go well, it's only 30,000 taels, but you still have to give her a gift of more than 10,000 taels?
Mrs. Tao’s first reaction was that there is no such thing as a free lunch and she was probably a scammer.
but.
The people were brought by Cao Meng.
She trusted her husband's sworn brother Cao Meng, and also believed in the people Cao Meng brought with him.
There was no way Cao Meng would lie to her about this.
But, if she is not a liar, why doesn't Miss Xie take the opportunity to lower the price, but instead raises the price?
Mrs. Tao couldn't understand it.
Her head was dizzy. "I'll think about it carefully and give it to you tomorrow..."
Mrs. Tao hadn't finished speaking yet.
There was a banging sound at the door.
Outside the door, a sharp and unpleasant voice was shouting at the top of its lungs.
"Lin Manyue, I know you are in the inn, open the door for me quickly."
Upon hearing this voice, Mrs. Tao's face changed drastically.
Her whole body was trembling.
Cao Meng's expression turned ugly as well.
Cao Meng bit his back teeth and said, "This scoundrel is like a fly, he can't be driven away even if I shoo him away."
"Sister-in-law, please don't show up yet. I'll go meet him."
Mrs. Tao pinched her sleeves with her fingers and bit her lips tightly.
She looked at Xie Yingmian with some guilt.
"I didn't expect that rogue Zhang Laowu to come. I'm deeply sorry for disturbing you."
Xie Yingmian's lips curled up.
She wasn't surprised at all that someone would come and cause trouble.
Having been on missions with the army in various dangerous places for many years, her perception is very sharp.
As she entered the inn, she noticed someone staring at them from the corner of the street.
After they entered the inn, she deliberately looked back.
One of the little beggars squatting there was missing, and it was obvious that he had gone to inform the enemy.
Those who came to cause trouble were either those who wanted to take advantage of the inn or the murderer who framed Mrs. Tao's family.
"Oh." Zhang Laowu, who was outside the door, saw Cao Meng and had a malicious look on his face. "I was wondering why Lin Manyue didn't open the door. It turns out that Young Master Cao is inside."
"There's a saying, 'Nothing tastes better than dumplings, and nothing is more fun than...sister-in-law and daughter-in-law.'"
Zhang Laowu deliberately emphasized the word "sister-in-law".
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