According to Ruan Chengqian, Cao Jiang, like Ruan Kewei, was also a reckless and unruly person.
However, he did not have a good family background like Ruan Kewei. His family saw that he was beyond saving, so they stopped caring about him and even wanted to sever ties with him at one point.
But Cao Jiang didn't care. He would occasionally go out drinking and gambling. When he ran out of money, he would run home and steal money from his parents. When he ran out of money to steal, he would go and cause trouble for others.
He was often away from home for three to five days at a time, but the Cao family couldn't wait for him to come back, because as soon as he did, the house would be in chaos.
Ruan Chengqian said, "Cao Jiang is from the next village. A few days ago, I went to the next village to visit a friend of mine, and he said that Cao Jiang hadn't been home for half a month. He probably ran away because he owed gambling debts. It's good that he ran away, so he won't cause trouble for the villagers. His parents can finally breathe a sigh of relief. In the past half month, he's the only one who has been missing for so long."
Shu Yu nodded thoughtfully, then looked up at Lou Shi, "Ruan Kewei said he killed someone and buried the body. Did he do it alone, or was someone else helping him?"
Lou said she didn't know, "I don't know either."
“I heard that Ruan Kewei is very much loved by Ruan Hai. After that incident, he had nightmares in the middle of the night, which shows that he was very scared. It is unlikely that someone like him could handle something like this by himself without anyone noticing.
Ruan Chengqian suddenly exclaimed, "Does the county princess suspect that Ruan Hai also knew about this, and that Ruan Hai helped him bury the body?"
"I'm just speculating. After all, Ruan Kewei isn't that cunning. If he killed someone, he would most likely find someone to clean up the mess for him immediately. And that person, besides Ruan Hai, is no one else. Lou, think carefully, besides Ruan Kewei's unusual behavior that day, was there anything suspicious about Ruan Hai? Or after Ruan Kewei returned, did Ruan Hai go out with him?"
Lou's eyes widened; she really hadn't thought of that possibility.
Shu Yu guided her step by step to recall the details from half a month ago. Lou frowned and said somewhat uncertainly, "That day, Ruan Kewei came back... Yes, he came back twice that day. The first time was just after dark. I had just finished washing the dishes and poured water in the yard when I saw him rush in in a panic. Not long after, I heard a loud noise coming from inside the house, and then my father-in-law went out with him. The second time he came back was in the early morning. I had already gone to sleep, and as soon as he came into the house, he hid under the covers."
So, it's possible that the burial was done by two people together?
"Is there anything else unusual?"
After pondering for a while, Lou said, "Yes, I used to wash all the clothes at home, but the next day when I was about to go to the river to wash clothes, my mother-in-law had already washed them all."
"Do you know where they buried the body?"
Lou Shi genuinely didn't know; Ruan Kewei had only revealed that one sentence, and no matter how intelligent she was, she couldn't extract any more detailed information.
But Shu Yu felt that even with the help of someone as cautious as Ruan Hai, there would still be traces left behind.
She tapped her fingers lightly on the table, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "You just said that Ruan Kewei said something like, 'I'll let you taste what it's like to have your head cracked open with a hoe.' In other words, if he really did kill someone, the murder weapon would be a hoe. Do you have a few hoes at home? Or... is there anything strange about them?"
Lou suddenly raised her head and said excitedly, "Yes, there is something strange about it."
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