Master Shu nodded solemnly, cupped his fists to Gu Xin and said, "Third Miss, you have considered things very carefully. I thank you, Third Miss, and I also thank you on behalf of my daughter."
Gu Xin said, "I presume that Master Shu already knows that the murderers are a mother and son. The woman had a past entanglement with Lord Wang, and by some twist of fate, she felt that Lord Wang's family had ruined her life. Her son was also influenced by her, which is why this murder occurred."
Master Shu nodded, his expression somewhat grave.
Gu Xin continued, "Zhang Liu met Miss Shu ten years ago. At the time, she was washing clothes by the river when Miss Shu drifted downstream from the small river in their village. She rescued her and reported it to the village head and the authorities. I asked Miss Shu, and she only remembered being thrown into the water from a sack; she couldn't remember anything after that. Ten years have passed, and even if we went to investigate upstream of the river in Zhang Liu's village, we probably wouldn't find anything, but we will still send people to inquire. The village head and the officials from back then also investigated, but they found no clues. After that, no one came to claim Miss Shu, so the village head had Zhang Liu take care of her."
"After raising her for about half a year, no one came looking for Miss Shu. So, Zhang Liu went to the village head and wanted Miss Shu to be her son's wife. The village head also felt that no one had come to claim the girl, and no one in the neighborhood had lost a girl, so he arranged for them to get married. He even went to the government office to get a proper marriage certificate."
"During the ten years Miss Shu lived in the Zhang family, she never did any farm work. Because she loved to eat, the Zhang family mother and son always indulged her. Zhang Liu's mother thought that her son and daughter-in-law had been sleeping together, and that they had no children for so many years. In recent years, she often took Miss Shu to pray to the gods and Buddhas, and she was very devout. Zhang Huzi, however, never touched Miss Shu and even did some things on his own to keep it from Zhang Liu's mother. Before he was escorted back to the capital, Zhang Huzi asked me to take in Miss Shu, telling me that Miss Shu was not only good at eating, but that she was very sensitive to incense. He said that if I was willing to have someone teach her, she could earn her own living by working, and that I wouldn't support her for nothing. Therefore, I believed that Miss Shu would help Zhang Liu's mother make incense while she was in the Zhang family."
"The reason Miss Shu was injured was because after the case was clarified, Old Wang rushed up to beat Zhang Huzi. To protect Zhang Huzi, Miss Shu ran over to shield him, but Old Wang accidentally swung her, hitting her head and causing her to fall unconscious. When she woke up, she forgot everything that had happened in the past ten years, only remembering what happened before she was thrown into the water. No, that's not quite right, because she still can't remember how she was kidnapped or taken to Tongzhou. Whenever I ask her, she gets a headache, and her wounds even reopen. So, I dare not ask anymore. Nor dare I tell her the truth."
After listening, Master Shu remained silent for a long time.
To be honest, putting aside their entanglement with the Wang family, if Master Shu were in this situation and found someone, but couldn't find their family after asking the authorities, he would most likely take them in.
He was very grateful to the Zhang family for saving Shuyan and for not letting Shuyan suffer. In particular, Zhang Huzi did not force Shuyan in front of the formal marriage certificate.
However, this mother and son were so obsessive towards his sister and brother-in-law's family.
His feelings were indeed very complicated.
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