Lu Zheng did not tell Gu Xin his thoughts because he was not sure if the cause of death of the Wang family in this life would be the same as in the previous life, and he did not want to mislead Gu Xin.
Gu Xin asked He Gang to go to the village at the foot of the mountain with someone who knew the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and bring them back for questioning.
An hour later, He Gang and his group appeared with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Gu Xin sized up the two people as soon as they entered the room.
This old woman was a very ordinary woman from Dazhou Village. She was very thin, with half-white hair, but it was neatly combed. Her clothes were not patched, but they were old and worn. Her hands were clasped together nervously, and she didn't know where to put them. She seemed quite nervous.
But the daughter-in-law is a little different.
This woman was fair-skinned, and although she was very thin, she was indeed quite pale. She looked young, perhaps in her early twenties, and her expression was somewhat dull, with a vacant look in her eyes. Her hands were clearly not those of someone who did manual labor year-round, though they weren't as delicate as those of a well-bred lady.
"This humble woman, Zhang Liu, greets Princess Xinxin." The mother-in-law, Liu, knelt down, then pulled her daughter-in-law aside and said, "Your Highness, this is my daughter-in-law, Shaya. She... she's always been a little slow-witted and doesn't speak very well. Please don't mind her, Your Highness."
The silly daughter-in-law knelt down in confusion, looking at Gu Xin with curiosity, her eyes moving slightly.
Gu Xin asked, "Zhang Liu Shi, how old is your daughter-in-law, Sha Ya, this year?"
Liu was taken aback.
The silly girl gave a silly grin: "Silly girl, sixteen."
Zhang Liu quickly pulled the silly girl aside and said apologetically, "No, no. Princess, please don't be offended. The silly girl isn't sixteen. She was sixteen when I found her, and ten years have passed since then. She's twenty-six now."
Silly Girl pouted and muttered, "Silly Girl is sixteen, Silly Girl is sixteen."
Zhang Liu hurriedly covered the silly girl's mouth.
The silly girl whimpered a few times, looking at Zhang Liushi with teary eyes.
Zhang Liu said in a panic, "Good boy, stop making a fuss. When we get back, Mom will give you candy, good boy."
The silly girl wiped away her tears and gave a silly smile: "Good girl, silly girl, stop making a fuss, have some candy. Mommy's here."
Zhang Liu breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Gu Xin with some fear.
Gu Xin asked, "Did you find that silly girl?"
Zhang Liu said fearfully, "Yes, yes. Your Highness, at that time, I was washing clothes by the river when the silly girl floated down and drifted right up to me. I touched her and found she was still breathing, so I carried her back. I even spent money to buy her medicine, but when she woke up, she couldn't remember anything. She didn't know her name or her age. The doctor said she was about sixteen years old, and then she remembered that she was sixteen. Over the years, whenever someone asked her age, she always said she was sixteen."
Gu Xin frowned and said, "Didn't you hand her over to the authorities? Since she drifted down the river, didn't you ask anyone if they had seen her before? Didn't you keep the clothes she was wearing and then go help her look for them?"
Zhang Liu said with difficulty, "Your Highness, I am a widow raising a son who has been in poor health since childhood. I have never traveled far and have never seen the world, so I could only ask the village head for help. The village head helped me report the situation to the government, but no one has come to claim him. It is already difficult for me to raise my son and myself, and I don't want to raise another person."
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