Chapter 389 Liu Dabao Confession
Boss Wan kept staring at Liu Dabao. Liu Dabao was already feeling panic and guilt, and now being stared at by Boss Wan, his heart, which had just calmed down, became even more panicked, and he started to make more small movements.
Sometimes he pinched the corner of his clothes, sometimes he poked the ground with his toes, and sometimes he scratched his head with his hands, but he never dared to look at Boss Wan.
"Dabao, answer my question, how did your mother get by these days?"
Liu Dabao said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "Drink water. We give mother water every day."
"She can't live that long even if she's fed water, right? If you don't tell the truth, I'll have no choice but to take you to the county government office for questioning."
Liu Dabao was so scared that he hid behind Guihua and looked at Boss Wan timidly.
"I don't know either. I don't know anything. Don't ask me anymore. I've told you everything I know."
Liu Dabao suddenly burst into tears, like a suppressed volcano erupting, crying hysterically.
Guihua was startled by Liu Dabao's crying. Although Liu Dabao would cry these days, he had never cried as violently as today. His crying was an outburst of repression, as well as deep grievance, fear, and guilt. Guihua didn't know how to comfort him for a moment.
"Dabao, you...just cry, it will feel better after you cry." Guihua could only say softly.
Boss Wan couldn't help but sigh when he heard Liu Dabao crying, but the case had to be handled.
"Guihua, take Dabao in first, and call Shaoyao out. I want to ask Shaoyao some questions."
As soon as Boss Wan finished speaking, Guihua suddenly smelled a strong smell of urine. She couldn't help but glance at Liu Dabao and saw that water was dripping from under his pants and there was a puddle of water under him. It turned out that he had wet his pants.
Boss Wan also noticed it at this time, and he couldn't help but frowned.
"It's me. No need to ask. Don't make things difficult for my brothers and sisters. My mother wanted to find someone to sell my brothers and sisters. She said they couldn't work and needed to eat, and the family couldn't afford to support them. Seven days ago, she was still able to get off the kang. She went out once, and when she came back, she got some food, but she ate it all by herself and didn't share with us. She also told me that we wouldn't have to worry about food and drink in the future. I know she took the deposit, and someone will come to take my brothers and sisters away in a few days. They are still so young. I heard from my father that such young children will definitely be sold to a filthy place."
"I begged my mother not to sell me, but she beat me. You see, this was my mother pinching me. She said if I dared to make a fuss, she would sell me too. I had no choice but to ask the children in the same village for honeysuckle and make water for my mother to drink. I heard that this can cause diarrhea. My mother had diarrhea for a whole day after drinking it and couldn't get off the kang. She slept on the kang and scolded us all day, and said that someone would come to take my brothers and sisters away the next day."
"I wanted to return the deposit she collected, but my mother had already spent all the money on food. If I couldn't get the money together, I wouldn't be able to save my brother and sister-in-law, so I thought of selling my mother to a lame man in the neighboring village. We Daqi people believe that women should obey their husbands after becoming nuns and obey their sons after their husbands die. Since my father is not around, I am the one who makes the decisions in our family, so I paid one or two taels of silver, and the lame man agreed."
"But I didn't expect that the cripple would kill my mother. I didn't want her to die. I just didn't want her to sell us out. How could I have known that she would be killed? If I had known she would die, I would definitely not have sold her. Sir, I really didn't mean to do that. Please don't arrest me. My brother and sister are still young and they still need my care."
After Liu Dabao finished speaking, he knelt down, grabbed Boss Wan's clothes, and begged bitterly.
Boss Wan also found it unbelievable after hearing this. It turned out that this case was so complicated. Although Liu Dabao did not commit any crime, he let a wolf into the house. However, the most urgent task now is to quickly go to the neighboring village to find the lame man, as he is a major suspect in the crime.
"Dabao, get up first. You are not the murderer, why didn't you say so earlier?"
Boss Wan pulled Liu Dabao up.
"I'm scared because I was the one who indirectly killed my mother. I'm afraid you'll put me in jail, and I don't want to go to jail."
Liu Dabao said with tears in his eyes.
Boss Wan sighed, knowing that it wasn't easy for the child. After all, he was only six years old. What good ideas could he come up with?
"Dabao, are you sure it was the cripple who came to your house that night?"
Liu Dabao nodded quickly, "I'm sure. He also gave me one or two taels of silver and said he couldn't wait to marry my mother. He also said that according to the custom here, a virgin girl can't get married during the day. He told me not to bother anymore and not to come out no matter what noise I heard. He also told me to take good care of my brother and sister-in-law. Because I took the silver, I did as he said. But not long after, I heard my mother screaming something wrong, so I hurried over to see, and found that my mother was dead, and the lame man had also run away."
Boss Wan patted Liu Dabao on the head and walked over to ask the coroner, "Has the cause of Chen's death been determined?"
The coroner fumigated his hands with wormwood and said, "It's basically confirmed that she died of suffocation. There are obvious marks of strangulation on Chen's neck. Her face is purple-blue, her eyeballs are bulging, there is hemorrhage under the conjunctiva, and her eyes are rolled up."
After hearing this, Boss Wan immediately turned around and walked out of the yard, saying to the constables who were maintaining order outside: "Let's go, the suspect has been identified, let's go and arrest him immediately."
But Boss Wan and his companions arrived too late, and Lame Man packed up his things and fled that very night. He was a bachelor in his forties, and the first time he touched a woman was Chen. He played a little too radically, and Chen was already weak and could not withstand the torture, so he directly killed her.
The lame man knew that his murder would definitely be exposed, so he escaped, simply packed up his things and ran away.
Almost two days had passed since then. The border was so large that it was difficult to find someone, so Boss Wan had no choice but to take someone who was familiar with the lame man back to the yamen to paint the portrait.
Chen's body was also taken away, and Liu Dabao was also taken back to the yamen by Boss Wan. He was a witness in this matter and needed to sign and seal his name.
Chen's case came to an end here. The government quickly issued an arrest warrant and searched everywhere for the suspect. As for whether he could be caught, it was hard to say.
Liu Dabao was released within a few days. Although what he did was immoral, he was also trying to protect his younger brother and sister-in-law. Moreover, he was neither the murderer nor an accomplice. He was reprimanded and educated by the county magistrate for a day before being allowed to return.
Guihua helped Liu Dabao clean up the house inside and out. The three brothers and sisters would have to live on their own from now on.
Guihua used the money she had saved to buy food for them and taught Liu Dabao how to make simple porridge. From time to time, she would give them some egg and whole-grain steamed buns. Liu Dabao has changed a lot now and has become much more hardworking.
The village chief wanted the eldest wife of the Liu family to take care of the brothers and sisters, but Liu Dabao firmly disagreed. He wanted to set up his own business, and no one could take advantage of the three of them in the future. Even his own mother could sell them, not to mention his uncle's family who had always hated them. He would rather starve to death at home than be sold.
The days passed slowly, and Shizi Village fell into its ordinary and busy rhythm again, as if everyone had forgotten Zhou Biao who came to Shizi Village to inquire about the news. However, he had not forgotten the humiliation he suffered in the Wan family, and had been looking for opportunities to take revenge.
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