Chapter 274 The Murderer
Yes, Ma Dahua is dead.
He died on a dark night with rain and snow, his head smashed by a villain who sneaked into his house and killed him.
Those dilapidated houses were turned upside down. Not only was the 100 taels of silver that Xu Huaining had given Ma Dahua as compensation nowhere to be found, but even the more than 200 coins she and Xu Laosan had hidden in the rat hole for their coffins were gone.
At the time, no one in the village knew that Ma Dahua had been murdered. It was only when the villagers nearby had not seen Ma Dahua go out for several days and had not seen smoke coming from the chimney that they realized something was wrong. They climbed over the wall to check and found blood all over the ground and Ma Dahua's body covered with lividity.
A death occurred in the village, and the clan chief sent someone to the city to report it to the authorities.
However, despite the authorities' thorough investigation, they were unable to identify the murderer, only knowing that the killer was after money.
In the end, it was Xu Laosi who took charge of Ma Dahua's funeral. He sent Ma Dahua up the mountain for a grand burial and was praised by the villagers for his benevolence and righteousness, saying that he was worthy of raising a scholar.
At this moment, when Butcher Zhang mentioned Ma Dahua, a look of horror appeared on Old Xu's face, and he suspected that Butcher Zhang knew something.
Butcher Zhang didn't miss his subconscious reaction, and his initial five points of doubt turned into ten.
He ignored Xu Laosi's surprised and uncertain gaze, pointed to the alley entrance and said coldly, "Get out of here, and don't come back again."
"Who are you letting..."
Feng Lianhua was unwilling to give up and was about to confront Butcher Zhang with her hands on her hips when Xu Laosi grabbed her and said in a gloomy voice, "Stop talking and go back!"
A group of people came in arrogantly and left dejectedly. Xu Guilian even got hit by the soles of several shoes, and she was extremely angry.
Xu Cuilian kept her word and took out two beautifully packaged boxes of tea, distributing them to the neighbors who came to help.
The amount of tea given to each person was not much, only enough to brew five or six times, but no one complained that it was not enough. Everyone carefully put away the tea and couldn't wait to go home and taste it.
Wang Xiaofang was extremely distressed.
One of the two boxes of tea was given to their room yesterday, and she hadn't had a chance to open it and taste it yet.
Seeing her daughter-in-law's pathetic state, Xu Cuilian said impatiently, "Alright, alright, I'll bring two boxes over in a bit to make up for it."
To be honest, Xu Laosi and his gang came to cause trouble because of her.
The two daughters-in-law were implicated for no reason, and the two grandsons were also frightened. The two boxes of tea that were distributed should be blamed on them.
After being told that by her mother-in-law, Wang Xiaofang felt embarrassed: "Mom, that's not what I meant..."
Xu Cuilian ignored her, comforted her two grandsons for a few words, promised to buy them something delicious in the afternoon, and gave Fang Yuying some more instructions before returning to the mansion with Butcher Zhang.
She told the maids and servants to take her eldest and youngest grandsons to play elsewhere, then closed the door and began to hurl insults, cursing Xu Laosi and Xu Guilian as shameless, heartless, and rotten-hearted scoundrels...
In short, the insults were as nasty as they could be. If Xu Laosi and Xu Guilian heard them, they would probably be so angry that they wouldn't be able to sleep for three days and three nights.
After Xu Cuilian finished cursing, she sat down to rest, panting. Butcher Zhang brought her tea to quench her thirst.
Xu Cuilian finished her drink in one gulp and calmed down completely: "These two are up to no good. I have to tell my second brother to be careful of them."
Butcher Zhang: "They suddenly came to our door, probably because they heard that we were going to the capital. Nine times out of ten, they want to go with us to find Xu Huaining."
Xu Cuilian thought about it and realized he was right, so she cursed again: "Pah, shameless bastard!"
After she finished cursing, she couldn't sit still any longer. She opened the door and rushed out, saying, "I'm going to find my second brother right now, so he won't be too soft-hearted and fall into my trap."
Butcher Zhang was helpless.
Aside from his own son, when has the second brother-in-law ever shown any mercy?
Xiao Cui is so worried that she's making a mess of things!
However, the fact that Xu Laosi was the murderer of Ma Dahua needs to be told to my second brother-in-law so that he knows Xu Laosi's ruthlessness and can avoid any repercussions one day.
Xu Chenglin was not surprised at all by Zhang the Butcher's reminder.
How could Xu Laosi, the father, be a good person if he could raise a heartless and rotten son like Xu Huaining?
Xu Chenglin kept this in mind and planned to tell Xu Jinnian when he arrived in the capital, in case it came in handy later.
Having failed to gain favor with Xu Cuilian and not daring to approach Xu Chenglin at Shengyuan, Xu Laosi and his wife went to the home of Zhao Ju, Xu Huaining's tutor, hoping to obtain information about Xu Huaining's residence in the capital.
Xu Huaining did not write to Xu Laosi and his wife, but he maintained contact with Zhao Juren.
The couple easily found out where Xu Huaining lived and shamelessly asked Zhao, the scholar, to arrange for them to go to the capital to find their son.
In the couple's view, Zhao, the scholar, hadn't taught his son for many years, and his son's success in passing the imperial examination and becoming an official was due to his own hard work and had little to do with Zhao.
Having such a promising student as his son is a stroke of good fortune for Zhao, and he should take concrete actions to send them to the capital to reunite with his son.
Zhao, the scholar, was displeased, but out of consideration for his student Xu Huaining, he spent a large sum of money to buy boat tickets for Xu Laosi and his wife to go to the capital, and even hired two people to escort them.
So, while Xu Chenglin and the others packed their bags and boarded the large ship chartered by Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua to head north, Xu Laosi and his wife also boarded a ship bound for the capital.
The capital city.
Sheng An and Xu Jinnian were unaware that their relatives were on their way to the capital. They packed up early in the morning, brought their congratulatory gifts, and headed to the Yongyi Marquis's residence.
Also traveling with them were Tan Zhenlin and his sister.
Perhaps out of friendship for sharing a wonton, Song Zhihang sent an invitation to Tan Zhenlin, with whom he always argued.
Knowing that Sheng An was also going to the Marquis's residence, Tan Zhenlin decided to bring his younger sister along to accompany her. This was also intended to broaden Tan Qingrou's horizons and allow her to make friends with the noble ladies of the capital.
Inside the carriage, Xu Jinnian saw that Sheng An appeared calm and composed, without a trace of nervousness or unease, and he felt relieved. He took her hand and said:
"Noble families have strict rules; male and female guests are separated. Once you get there, find a quiet place to sit and don't bother with those unfamiliar ladies and young women."
If Yuanli hadn't personally come to their door and earnestly invited them to the banquet, he wouldn't have wanted An'an to go out at a time like this.
Yuan Li did this out of good intentions, hoping that An An could take this opportunity to expand his network. In the end, he was thinking of his friend.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful. Besides, I have Hongliu serving me and Qingrou with me. I'll be fine in a place like the Marquis's mansion."
Sheng An noticed the man's nervousness, raised her hand to touch his slightly furrowed brow, and gently stroked it with her fingertips: "Don't frown, wrinkles don't look good."
Xu Jinnian helplessly grasped her hand: "Would An'an find it offensive?"
Sheng An nodded without blinking: "I just like good-looking people."
Xu Jinnian: "..."
Four years of marriage are not worth as much as a pretty face?
The new home was not far from the Marquis's residence, and soon the carriage stopped at the gate of the Marquis's residence, where two servants immediately came forward to greet it.
Ignoring the stares of others, Xu Jinnian stood in front of the carriage and helped Sheng An down from it.
Just as Sheng An steadied himself and was about to go inside with Xu Jinnian, he heard a servant from the Marquis's residence shout loudly, "Quickly, quickly go and report to the Second Young Master that the carriage of the Ning Prince of the An'nan Marquis's residence has arrived!"
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