Chapter 152 Someone Died
Qingling stood up, supporting herself on the table with both hands, to steady her heavy body.
Lin Shiyuan patted her on the shoulder and reminded her, "Madam Yao, calm down and listen to what Miss Taoye has to say first."
She is the pillar of strength for everyone now; if she gets impatient, the others will only panic more.
Lou Yue had already woken up in fright and looked at Yao Qingling with a blank expression.
Lin Qiao's face sharpened: "Sister Tao Ye, are those people from the manor causing trouble again? I'll go and deal with them!"
Tao Ye swallowed hard, shook her head, and after catching her breath, her face was still pale: "That Cui Xiang girl killed Mao Ya and Widow Chu. The village is in an uproar. Some people want to report it to the authorities, and some have complained to the manor, demanding an explanation from us!"
Qing Ling's breath hitched, and her pupils dilated.
Widow Chu and Mao Ya are dead!
After taking in Cuixiang, Qingling returned to the city and asked the Imperial Censor's wife to inquire about her.
The censor's wife said that in the entire city of Shengjing, anyone you bump into on the street could be an official. Not to mention runaway maids, there are plenty of concubines and mistresses who have eloped.
This is not something you should inquire about.
Yao Qingling planned to take Cuixiang with her when Sheng Dahe returned to Beijing and send her away on his next voyage, but she never expected that she would be so ruthless!
Taoye said, "It turns out that Cuixiang's injuries had already healed, but she pretended they hadn't. While everyone was asleep at night, she killed Widow Chu and Maoya..."
As Taoye spoke, she began to cry.
"Miss, we shouldn't have taken her in. If we had known this would happen, we should have killed her first!"
Qingling clenched her fingers, forcibly suppressing her anger, and gritted her teeth, saying, "Has it already been reported to the authorities?"
Taoye wiped away her tears: "Not yet. They've complained to the village; it's the widow Chu's brother-in-law's family demanding compensation from our village."
Hmph, when she was alive, I never saw that aunt help the widow Chu and her daughter, but now that she's dead, she's forcing us to pay compensation under the guise of being a relative.
Yao Qingling took a breath: "Let's go check out the estate first."
She glanced at Lin Shiyuan and said, "Manager Lin is more experienced than us in investigating cases. Please go and find out what's going on."
Lin Shiyuan also intended to go and see what was going on.
He nodded in agreement.
Yao Qingling went to the estate by carriage first, and Lin Shiyuan summoned several managers to make arrangements.
After making the arrangements, he rode his horse and caught up with Yao Qingling's carriage.
Yao Qingling invited him into the carriage to talk in detail.
Taoye's mood had improved, and she shared more details.
She said, "Widow Chu's house was a mess; all the valuables were gone, even the only kitchen knife was missing..."
Neither Lin Shiyuan nor Yao Qingling interrupted her; they simply made their own guesses based on what Taoye said.
By the time they arrived at the village, it was completely dark.
The manor was brightly lit, and several burly men holding clubs blocked the entrance, watching the outsiders warily.
Two mats, one large and one small, were placed on the ground by the door. These belonged to Widow Chu and her daughter. Bloodstains stained the burlap covering them, appearing as brown patches in the night.
The two corpses served as a boundary, with villagers holding torches on the other side.
As soon as the carriage stopped, the villagers swarmed around it.
Tao Ye recognized the people who had gathered around and said to Qing Ling, "They are Widow Chu's brother-in-law and his family."
The widow of Chu had two parents-in-law, her brother-in-law and his wife and two sons, two daughters, and a few other relatives whose identities were unknown.
They all stared at Qingling with wide eyes and hatred.
Widow Chu's brother-in-law, furious, immediately shouted, "Madam Yao, you were the one who sent that woman to my sister-in-law's place to recuperate. Now that something has happened, you have to give us an explanation!"
"Yes! You owe us an explanation!"
Qingling glanced at them, then turned her gaze to what was behind them.
There were also many villagers, probably there to watch the excitement.
If this matter cannot be resolved, the relationship that Yao Qingling built with the villagers through running the school will quickly turn into conflict because of this murder case.
Yao Qingling frowned, her mind racing.
Before anything could be said, a wailing voice cried out, "My poor Maoya, she died before she was even married! My poor granddaughter!"
A woman stumbled and pounded her chest, her screams piercing the heavens.
This must be the widow Chu's mother-in-law.
Immediately afterward, another cry rang out, and Widow Chu's sister-in-law joined the mourning procession.
Her children wiped away their tears and called for Mao Ya to get up and play with them.
Many people pointed fingers and said that the widow Chu and her daughter were pitiful. Her husband died not long after she got married, and she raised Maoya with great difficulty. Before she could enjoy her life, she passed away along with her child.
Yao Qingling's eyes turned cold as she silently looked at the widow's brother-in-law and his family.
"Madam Yao, if you don't agree, then we'll have no choice but to report this to the authorities!" the widow's brother-in-law said angrily.
As soon as he mentioned reporting to the authorities, the people in the village became agitated and shouted, "You were the ones who found that woman and brought her to our village, asking our master to rescue her!"
"The owner said that there are only men in the manor, so it's not convenient to keep her. She was willing to pay for her treatment, and Widow Chu wanted to earn some money to support her family, so she offered to take care of her, which is why the woman stayed at her house."
"How did this happen? It's all from our village! That woman is ruthless. She's only killed Widow Chu and her daughter so far. Luckily, she wasn't on the village, otherwise, if she had poured a bowl of arsenic down our throats, everyone on the village would have died!"
The two started arguing again, neither willing to give in.
I don't know how many times we've argued like this.
Some villagers, grateful for Yao Qingling's care for them, spoke up, saying, "Nobody wanted this to happen."
"And speaking of your Chu family, are you seeking justice for Widow Chu? The eldest son of Chu fell to his death while picking walnuts and was just buried, and you, the second son of Chu, kicked that mother and daughter out. They have nothing to do with you anymore. You're not seeking justice, you're trying to extort them."
Widow Chu's father-in-law jumped up as if his lungs had been punctured: "What do you know? You're just jealous that someone in our family died. If someone in your family didn't die, you have no reason to come asking for money!"
"You! You! How could someone be such a scoundrel? No family wants its members to die. You'd better watch out for your descendants dying out—"
Yao Qingling: "..."
It seems that Chu Lao Er's family is very unpopular in the village.
But we can't let these people keep causing trouble.
Fortunately, Chu Lao Er only wanted to extort money and wasn't genuinely seeking justice, so he didn't insist on reporting it to the authorities.
The people in the village were guilty of keeping their secret and never offered to hand it over to the authorities for judgment.
So far, everyone's attention has been focused on the Chu family's extortion.
A careful observer would notice that the people in the village were acting strangely about this matter.
Lin Shiyuan then spoke coldly: "It should be reported to the authorities. A life for a life, a grievance for a grievance, a revenge for a grudge."
Tao Ye was startled by his cold and serious expression: "Young Master Lin!"
She stiffened her neck, looked at Yao Qingling, and shook her head slightly.
No.
Yao Qingling instantly understood Lin Shiyuan's intention and continued, "The widow Chu and her daughter were killed tragically. If we don't catch that woman, who knows if she'll come back and kill everyone here again. I heard that the widow Chu's house was ransacked, even the kitchen knife is gone?"
Everyone fell silent, staring at Qingling in alarm.
One of the more timid people asked, "She...she's coming back? She killed someone, how dare she come back?"
Qingling said, "Everyone saw her face when she came to the village. She was afraid of being arrested, so why didn't she come back and silence everyone?"
These words silenced even the Chu family.
Tao Ye, Lou Yue, and the others, along with everyone in the village, were extremely nervous.
Miss, are you really going to report this to the authorities?
Do not report this to the authorities!
When the government officials come to investigate, they will definitely have to enter the village and search it thoroughly.
The Chu family has ill intentions; they're afraid that if they say everything, it will arouse suspicion from the authorities.
The people in the village weren't afraid of that vicious woman, but they were afraid of the government.
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