Chapter 401 Don't judge a book by its cover
Doctor Yan stopped and turned to ask Lin Yuesha, "Sister Yuesha, are you sure you smelled croton oil?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Lin Yuesha thought for a moment. Her nose rarely made mistakes in this regard. She had bought croton seeds before when she wanted to tease Li Ruoxue, so she was familiar with the smell.
Dr. Yan seemed to be deep in thought when she suddenly remembered something, but it was just a guess and she didn't have any evidence for the time being.
"So it has this effect?"
Lin Yuesha suddenly realized that her previous suspicions about Gao Laidi were not without reason.
In half an hour, the county magistrate will begin the trial.
Lin Yuesha left the green apricot behind and, with Longjing in tow, headed straight for Gao Laidi's residence. Her parents-in-law had long since passed away, and the couple lived in a somewhat dilapidated alley.
"Auntie, is the Gao family your neighbor?"
Lin Yuesha saw the white lantern in front of the door and asked the woman next door who was peeking in.
"Yes, didn't she go to the court to plead her case?"
The woman opened the door and beckoned to Lin Yuesha, saying, "Girl, would you like to come in and have some water?"
"Thank you, Auntie."
Lin Yuesha was a little thirsty, and upon hearing this, she brought Longjing tea inside, guessing that her aunt might have something to say to her.
"Girl, what brings you to see Madam Gao?"
The aunt had two little children. Lin Yuesha took out some snacks she always carried with her to coax the children. Longjing then gave each of the two children a copper coin so they could buy malt candy.
"Look, how can I accept this?"
Upon seeing this, the woman wiped her hands on her skirt and became even more enthusiastic towards Lin Yuesha, pouring water and pulling out a chair, making it seem as if she would be willing to tell Lin Yuesha everything.
From her aunt's tone, Lin Yuesha realized that her aunt did not like Gao Laidi. Logically speaking, women have it tough and should be pitied.
"Sigh, girl, let me just tell you the truth."
Gao's husband, Wu Gang, was a bodyguard who traveled all over the country transporting goods. He handed over all his earnings to his wife. Gao was also a woman who loved beauty and would dress up in a flamboyant manner even when she didn't go out.
"Wu Gang has a bad temper, he actually hit someone. I see that Gao's arm is covered in bruises."
Lin Yuesha deliberately contradicted the woman, prompting her to continue speaking.
"This is what I'm trying to say: you can't judge a person by their appearance."
Knowing Lin Yuesha's purpose, the woman said bluntly, "It's a pity about your brother-in-law, who has run into this bad luck. It's also a pity about Wu Gang."
The woman kept repeating her regret and sighing.
Wu Gang was an honest and simple man, kind and honest, and he had never wronged Gao Shi in any way.
He was away from home most of the year, and occasionally had to transport goods to the vast Northwest, where the sand dunes stretched as far as the eye could see, in order to earn more money.
"Gao Laidi is no good. You can tell she's frivolous just by looking at her. Our neighbors have talked about her a lot. She's just not proper."
My aunt wasn't lying. One night, she went out to use the outhouse and saw a man sitting on the wall next door, which almost made her scream.
A moment later, the man leaped in and entered Gao Laidi's courtyard.
She was certain that the man with the pointed face and monkey-like features was not Wu Gang, the镖师 (bodyguard/escort).
"I was thinking that it's not easy for a woman to be home alone, and I was worried that someone with bad intentions might sneak in. I was trying to figure out what to do..."
The woman spoke of Gao Laidi with great disgust. She had thought of others and specially found a ladder, only to see the shadows of two people embracing in the Korean paper window next door. She couldn't bear to look.
"So when Wu Gang returned and heard the rumors, he beat Gao Laidi?"
Unexpectedly, the truth was like this. Lin Yuesha reminded herself that she should think twice before meddling in other people's business in the future, because what the eyes see may not be the truth.
"No, how could that be!"
The woman pursed her lips. If Wu Gang had hit Gao Laidi, she wouldn't have felt sorry for him. "Wu Gang is a good person. After he found out, he didn't hit her. Instead, he made Gao Laidi promise not to associate with other men in the future."
Gao Laidi was unfaithful and had already violated the seven grounds for divorce, but Wu Gang did not divorce her. Instead, he made concessions step by step.
To keep an eye on his wife, Wu Gang didn't go on the escort mission, but instead found work at a woodworking shop in town.
“Gao Laidi tells everyone that Wu Gang hit her. If he really hit her, how could I not hear it when my house is right next door?”
The woman shook her head repeatedly, warning that they should not be fooled by Gao. She said all this because she suspected that Wu Gang's death was suspicious.
Just last night, before Wu Gang's body was even cold, that hunchback climbed over Gao Lai Di's wall again. Not only did she see it, but her husband saw it too.
“My husband is a good-natured man, but he couldn’t help but want to curse her out. This Gao Laidi is trying to extort money from kind-hearted people. It’s outrageous!”
The two families had been neighbors for over a decade. The woman and Wu Gang's mother had a good relationship. However, after Wu Gang's mother passed away and Gao married into the family, the two families stopped interacting. It was truly Gao Laidi's behavior that was unpleasant.
"I have suspicions, but I have no evidence. If I make things up, will the magistrate send me to jail too?"
The woman voiced her concerns; otherwise, she would have gone to the yamen to expose Gao Laidi long ago.
Lin Yuesha couldn't possibly believe the woman's one-sided story, so she went to two neighboring households and started asking them. She couldn't get any information out of them; the older women stammered and couldn't give a clear answer. But after Lin Yuesha gave them a bribe, they became very open and honest.
"Miss, money is omnipotent, isn't it?"
Longjing sighed, saying that spending money to inquire about information was a bit of a waste.
"Money is not everything, but you can't do without it."
Lin Yuesha shook her head. Ninety percent of the difficulties could be solved with money, but the remaining ten percent would require even more money.
Spending money to inquire about information wasn't without its rewards. Lin Yuesha learned a detail from one of the women: before Wu Gang died, he had convulsed with a purple face, which might be consistent with the cause of death from strychnine poisoning.
Furthermore, the reason Wu Gang grabbed Gao Laidi's hair was because the honest man was driven to desperation. Gao Laidi wanted to divorce him and marry the widower who sold tofu, who was also the sleazy hunchback who climbed over the wall in the middle of the night.
When Lin Yuesha returned to the yamen, the county magistrate had already begun hearing the case.
Gao Laidi knelt in front of the hall, weeping bitterly as she pleaded, "Your Honor, please investigate! My husband died unjustly! Although Xiao Dazhuang meant well, he pushed him down and caused him to fall to his death."
Gao Laidi turned her head and glared angrily at Xiao Dazhuang.
Chen Xiaohua was trembling with anger and wanted to retort, but she was afraid that she would lose control and say something she shouldn't, so she forcibly restrained herself.
"Gao, why did you get into an argument with Wu Gang on the road?"
The county magistrate nodded. He already knew the cause of Wu Gang's death. Wu Gang usually worked in a woodworking shop and had to go home in the afternoon to cook for Gao Shi. It was very likely that he was poisoned by someone close to him.
According to what the constable just said, Wu Gang did not lay a hand on Gao Laidi at all, which is different from what Gao Laidi said.
"Wu Gang beat people after drinking, and the young woman couldn't take it anymore and wanted to divorce him."
When Gao Laidi realized that she could no longer hide her affair, she had no choice but to smear Wu Gang, telling him how she had no other choice, that she was an honest person, and that she only wanted to find another family because she couldn't stand the abuse.
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