Chapter 436 Old Cases in the Capital (2)
Qingxing and Qi'er couldn't answer Lin Yuesha's questions. There were all sorts of rumors circulating in the manor at the time, but since the other party was a daughter of an official, Lord Lin forbade anyone to mention or discuss it for the sake of his reputation. Therefore, many people only knew one side of the story and didn't know the other side, thinking that only seven people had died.
“This old servant knows this. One of my old sisters works as a governess for this young lady.”
The deceased young lady's given name was Cheng Dieyi, and she was the daughter of a fourth-rank official in the capital. Miss Cheng was getting married, so she went to the embroidery shop to try on her wedding dress. On her way back, for some reason, she suddenly felt like going to burn incense.
"That day, my old sister also went with Miss Cheng."
Midway through the incense offering, Miss Cheng suddenly said she wanted to go draw a fortune stick by herself, without letting the maids and servants follow.
On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, the temples in the capital were packed with people. Miss Cheng wanted to ask for a fortune telling, but her governess thought she was asking for a marriage proposal. Since there were other people around, Miss Cheng was shy and embarrassed, so she didn't go with them.
Since they were both in a temple, it seemed unlikely that anything would go wrong. However, things did turn out differently.
"My old sister really didn't think much of it, after all, it's always been the same."
Granny Fang sighed repeatedly, but Cheng Dieyi still hadn't returned after an hour, and the maids and servants were starting to get anxious.
At that time, three women in red had already had their hearts ripped out in the capital, and the servants immediately had bad thoughts.
But logically speaking, murder would be committed in a quiet, secluded place. On the first day of the lunar month, temples would be crowded and noisy, making it difficult to commit a crime. Furthermore, to shed blood before Buddha would be a sure way to seek hell after death.
People have this kind of ingrained thinking, so when Cheng Dieyi went to burn incense and draw lots, the maids and servants didn't think much of it and waited for him in the meditation room.
“My old sister suspects that Miss Cheng has eloped with someone, and she also noticed that she didn’t take anything with her.”
In short, I thought of all sorts of reasons for Cheng Dieyi's disappearance: playing around, eloping, running into an acquaintance, but I never expected that Cheng Dieyi would be killed.
They searched until nightfall, when the maids and servants finally couldn't take it anymore and asked the monks in the temple for help. In the end, they found Cheng Dieyi's body on the north slope.
"My old sister was so frightened that she fainted."
The scene was horrific. Like the murdered woman in red, only her heart was ripped out; the knife cut cleanly, without any physical abuse. The killer's motive remains a mystery.
"Then why were Miss Cheng's eyes gouged out?"
Lin Yuesha couldn't understand it. If it was an acquaintance who committed the crime, the person would not reveal it even after they died, and there was no need to go to such lengths.
"This old servant doesn't know either."
For a long period of time, there were almost no weddings in the capital. Women who were supposed to get married postponed their weddings in order to avoid wearing red.
"Later, Lord Lin caught the murderer. Who was the murderer?"
In Lin Yuesha's view, the murderer may not be a single person. She had read a book that said when a serial murder case occurs, there are always people who imitate the crime to take advantage of the chaos.
However, it was all hearsay; Lin Yuesha was just listening for the excitement.
“It was a pig butcher, and the butcher admitted it.”
It is said that when the butcher was looking for his next target, he was caught red-handed by the men that Lord Lin had laid an ambush.
The butcher confessed to his crimes, the case was solved, and everyone was happy.
Lin Yuesha felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Why did the butcher rip out the heart of the woman in red?"
"Perhaps... he wanted to see the difference between a pig's heart and a human heart."
"The thoughts of a serial killer are beyond the comprehension of normal people," Qi'er said casually.
Lin Yuesha: ...
As the group headed south, the weather grew increasingly hot. Lin Yuesha finally couldn't bear it any longer and gave the fabric that Zhuang had given her to her mother, hoping that Chen would be more comfortable to wear.
As a result, after one night, Chen turned the piece of fabric into two undergarments and had Lin Yuesha wear them alternately.
"Mother, that was for you, why are you making me an undergarment again?"
Lin Yuesha tugged at her mother's sleeve and acted coquettishly. She was a head shorter than Chen Shi, and the two were not the same size, so her clothes could only be altered to be smaller, not larger.
"You're a young girl, you should dress nicely."
Madam Chen patted her daughter's head. At her age, it didn't matter what she wore, since she spent all her time in the carriage and rarely saw anyone.
"Mom, don't say you're old, you're not old at all."
Lin Yuesha held Chen's hand, thinking that after resting at the next stop, she would go to the shop to buy some ready-made clothes for her mother. Doing needlework in the carriage made Lin Yuesha's eyes blurry and dizzy; she didn't have her mother's skills.
"Good, good, Mother is not old."
The closer Chen got to the capital, the more anxious she became. She and Lin Shusheng had been separated for many years, and she didn't know what it would be like to meet again.
She didn't want to bring up the past with him; what's past is past and should be gone forever.
However, Chen had to be firm about her daughter's marriage. She absolutely could not allow Lin Shusheng to sell his daughter and marry Lin Yuesha to a man of bad character for the sake of his own position.
Lin Yuesha could see what was on her mother's mind, but she didn't want to bring it up. She only said that after arriving in the capital, they would stay at the Zhuang family's house first and find a doctor to treat her father.
Finding a doctor, finding a hospital, and figuring out how to do business—none of these could be neglected, and Lin Yuesha suddenly felt immense pressure.
“Little girl, Madam Zhuang has helped us a lot. I’m just a country bumpkin who has never seen the world, and I really don’t know how to thank her.”
In Chenjia Village, Chen rarely interacted with outsiders. It was only when her family started doing business that she became more talkative than usual. However, when facing the official's wife, she unconsciously felt inferior.
“Mother, Aunt Zhuang is a gentle person and doesn’t put on airs.”
Zhuang Shi often gave alms to the poor. She had a peaceful and calm demeanor, unlike the arrogant and domineering women she was. Besides, I am grateful to Zhuang Shi, so my mother doesn't need to intervene for the time being.
For Chen, the wife of a second-rank official was a figure she couldn't possibly be considered important, and she unconsciously felt inferior.
Lin Yuesha also felt this way. In the Great Qi, not everyone was equal; people were clearly divided into different classes. Because she grew up in Chenjia Village, although the young ladies in the girls' school didn't say it, many of them looked down on her.
Bai Youran was on good terms with her at the time, but when they turned against each other, she stepped on her background and constantly showed her sense of superiority as the legitimate daughter of the prefect.
Lin Yuesha did not expect her mother to flatter her or do things she disliked; such a temperament was not something Chen Shi should possess.
As for business and dealing with outsiders, she can handle it all on her own.
As a member of the family, it is my duty to contribute to this family, and I am not giving to outsiders.
"Yes, your father needs medical treatment, your older brother needs to take the imperial examination, and your mother doesn't know much about the family business, so she can only try her best not to hold you back."
Madam Chen felt sorry for her daughter and wanted to stand up for her and protect her from the storms of life. However, Madam Chen also thought that her daughter would eventually grow up. With a father like Lin Shusheng in the capital, she might marry into a wealthy and powerful family. She still needed to experience more on her own.
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