Chapter 15
Now the officers have not yet realized that something has happened to Adjutant Feng.
But if they see that Adjutant Feng has not returned tomorrow, they will definitely go out to look for him. Once they find Adjutant Feng's body, they will naturally investigate what happened to him.
Those who were taken out to collect firewood today will probably be interrogated.
As a person who was arrested and sentenced for committing a crime, and the real murderer, it seems normal for Pei Liuniang to have experience in dealing with the upcoming interrogation and find accomplices to coordinate the confession.
So Gu Ran asked directly: "What do you want me to say, Pei Liuniang?"
Pei Liuniang narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Gu Ran, then chuckled softly.
Today in the woods outside, Feng Duojin told the officer that he was going into the woods to hunt wild animals, but in fact he was going after himself.
That's why Pei Liuniang was later caught together with Feng Duojin.
He didn't know whether Feng Duojin mentioned him when he told the officers that he was leaving, but many people saw Feng Duojin calling him in the woods.
It was for this reason that he led Feng Duojin to the edge of the forest where there were few people.
At that time, he had already thought about getting rid of Feng Duojin.
Because he was already too impatient with this man.
During his exile, Feng Duojin always liked to get close to the women and take advantage of them. The woman surnamed Fang in front jumped off a cliff in anger because she didn't want to live alone after being bullied by him.
As a result, Mr. Fang died. It was hard to change his nature, and he turned around and targeted himself.
Feng Duojin has been constantly picking on him these days, and his patience has reached its limit.
Since Feng Duojin wanted to cause trouble for him so much, he might as well kill the troublemaker first.
So, he took advantage of the situation and easily dealt with the man.
I thought it was flawless, but I didn't expect there would be another witness. I originally wanted to get rid of him, but...
Pei Liuniang's nose twitched slightly, and then moved away a little bit.
Considering that she is so sensible, it is not bad to have an accomplice.
Pei Liuniang had a barely perceptible amusement on her face as she whispered, "Just say you didn't see us at first, but after entering the woods, you met me and Adjutant Feng. Adjutant Feng greeted you, then separated from us and went straight into the woods."
"After that, we didn't find any trees to use as firewood, so we walked back together."
As for the details of how Adjutant Feng had pestered him before he met her, he could just add them himself.
The two of them walked back together, with everyone present as witnesses. They could explain what happened afterwards however they wanted.
"Okay." Gu Ran nodded.
It snowed heavily that night. The sound of snow hitting the windows was whistling, and the sound was mixed with the low howls of unknown creatures coming from the snowy forest.
Gu Ran originally wanted to continue pretending to be in the straw mat, but actually went into the workshop. However, Pei Liuniang was lying next to him, very close to him. In addition, this person was not as easy to fool as she seemed. He was afraid that she would find out some flaws. To be on the safe side, he could only sleep in the cell honestly.
Aunt Mai and her daughter were still huddled together in the same quilt as usual, and Gu Ran could even hear their even breathing.
As for Pei Liuniang on the other side, she was the focus of observation. After Gu Ran fell asleep, he paid attention to her movements.
Being so close, Gu Ran listened to her breathing becoming calmer from chaotic, but he did not dare to relax.
Listening to the rustling sound of snow outside, Gu Ran slept in the warm quilt, tossing and turning. He finally fell asleep, but woke up in the middle of the night.
Woke up from the cold.
The quilt that had been heated in the fire basket had already cooled down. Because it was thin, the straw mat outside could not easily retain heat, so the quilt quickly became cold.
Gu Ran touched her cold face and turned to the right. From the shadows, she could barely make out Aunt Mai and her daughter, sleeping soundly, snuggling together. Then she looked to the left. Pei Liuniang should be asleep too. So, she could...
Gu Ran was just thinking about going into the workshop to get rid of the cold when he saw Pei Liuniang, who had her back to him, turned around and lay upright.
Gu Ran: ...
Did this person sleep or not?
Thinking of Pei Liuniang's cunning, Gu Ran did not dare to act rashly. In the end, he did not dare to enter the workshop. Instead, he took the fire basket at his feet and stuffed it into the quilt to warm himself, then took it out and continued to sleep.
After New Year's Eve, when he should have had a good sleep, Gu Ran had dark circles under his eyes when he welcomed the new year the next day.
It was the worst night of sleep I had ever had since I traveled to the Great Sheng Dynasty.
Worse is yet to come.
The officers and soldiers did not see Mr. Feng return today, so they sent a few people and asked the postmen who were familiar with the surrounding area to search the woods, but they found nothing.
So Officer Li Jie called several prisoners who had been assigned to chop wood yesterday to the meeting hall to question them about what happened before Adjutant Feng disappeared.
The interrogations were conducted one by one. The female prisoners including Gu Ran were placed at the back, so when the four male prisoners were being questioned at the front, they were waiting outside the conference hall.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. The snow, which had stopped for a whole morning, started to fall again. Gu Ran, Aunt Mai and others were shivering in the cold wind outside.
But no one dared to complain.
Especially Gu Ran, fortunately he had checked his confession with Pei Liuniang last night, and when he knew that Li Jieguan was really going to interrogate him, he temporarily assumed some details.
She was the third one. Aunt Mai and her daughter were questioned and taken back to the prison. When she went in, Pei Liuniang snorted lightly.
Gu Ran didn't dare to look back at her.
After being taken out of the prison, the two of them did not make eye contact, for fear that others might notice something. Now, when they heard Pei Liuniang's voice, they knew that she was reminding them to stick to their confessions and not talk nonsense.
Gu Ran assessed the situation and naturally would not seek trouble.
Sitting in the meeting hall was Li Jieguan, with Tao Zhubu sitting next to him, and then each of them brought an assistant.
"Gu, yesterday you went to the woods with Adjutant Feng to chop wood. Did you see anyone else clashing with him?"
The news that Adjutant Feng did not return to the post station yesterday spread at the New Year's Eve banquet. Li Jieguan did not intend to hide it, and even suspected that if something happened to Adjutant Feng, it might be related to these prisoners.
"You met Adjutant Feng yesterday, right?"
"Yes, it was Master Feng who led us to the forest to look for firewood!"
"What happens after we enter the woods?"
"Master Feng assigned us and the other officials tasks. After we received the tasks, we dispersed and were no longer with Master Feng and the others."
"What mission did you receive?"
"Look for trees, firewood trees, even dead trees, and pick up branches and dry firewood from the snow. Pick up everything that can be brought back for burning according to the order of the official."
"Then when you were looking for firewood in the woods, did you see Master Feng?"
"Yes." Gu Ran admitted straightforwardly, "Exactly. When I was looking for firewood, I went to the east end of the forest. There was too much snow on the ground, and there was not much firewood to pick up. When I was about to go back and report to the official, I met Master Feng."
Li Jieguan and Tao Zhubu's expressions changed.
"Did you meet Master Feng? Did he say anything at the time? Was it one person or two people?"
"Mr. Feng was with that girl, what's her name, Pei Liuniang."
Li Jieguan's face darkened noticeably.
"They're together? What are they doing?"
"I don't know. Maybe they got together to look for firewood. Mr. Feng was also quite surprised and embarrassed when he saw me." Gu Ran glanced at Li Jie Guan quickly and lowered his head again.
Tao Zhubu also glanced at Li Jieguan. Li Jieguan coughed dryly and asked, "And then?"
"Then, Master Feng asked me what I was doing there. I told him straight away, and then he told Pei Liuniang and I to go back first. He went into the forest to get some wild animals for tonight's meal. If we behaved well, he would even give Pei Liuniang and me a piece of meat as a reward."
Gu Ran said, deliberately licking his lips. "I asked him at the time, where would any wild game come from in such a snowy forest? Master Feng told me not to worry about it, saying he would definitely bring back some wild game for me... No, I think Master Feng meant to impress Pei Liuniang."
Li Jieguan and Tao Zhubu remained silent.
"Master Feng told us to leave, so naturally we didn't dare disobey. After we saw him actually heading into the woods, we went back to carry firewood." Gu Ran finished speaking and glanced at Li Jieguan. "Master Li, we didn't think anything would happen to Master Feng. He's so capable, how could he not come back?"
Li Jieguan's expression froze, and then he asked Gu Ran a few other questions randomly. Seeing that his answers were similar to those of the previous prisoners, he asked someone to send Gu Ran back to prison.
Gu Ran walked out of the meeting hall and saw Pei Liuniang waiting alone under the eaves. He passed by her with no expression on his face and returned to the prison.
Aunt Mai and her daughter were sitting around the fire, each one warming themselves by the fire, mumbling something. When they saw Gu Ran coming back, they made room for him: "How's it going? What did Lord Li ask you?"
"Just those few questions? Have you seen Master Feng? What did Master Feng tell us?"
Gu Ran squatted beside the fire pot, stretched out his hands, rubbed them and blew on them.
"Tsk tsk, Mr. Feng is such a bad luck that he still causes trouble for us prisoners even after his death." Aunt Mai waved her hand.
"But, mother, is Master Feng really dead?"
"How could someone stay out in the open overnight in this kind of weather and still be alive?" Aunt Mai speculated. "Think about how we had to camp in the snowy mountains on the way. It was so cold, and there were wild animals everywhere. If we hadn't been so many, we would have been attacked by wolves long ago."
"Wolf?" Gu Ran was surprised. "At this time, there are still wolves in the forest?"
"Of course, the mountains are covered in snow. There's nothing to eat in winter, and the snow has covered everything. The wolves are looking for food everywhere. If Master Feng were to encounter a wolf, could he handle it alone?"
"I can't handle it."
Mai Xiang seemed to recall the wolf attack in the wild. Her face turned pale. After coming back to her senses, she whispered, "In that case, I also hope that Master Feng will encounter a wolf."
If you encounter a wolf and can't deal with it, won't you be unable to come back?
Therefore, Mai Xiang sincerely hopes that Master Feng is dead!
"That's right, it's best if that kind of person doesn't come back." Aunt Mai was more straightforward and nodded in agreement.
Gu Ran smiled, roasted the fire, and said nothing.
Pei Liuniang was the last one to be interrogated, and the interrogation lasted the longest. When Pei Liuniang came back, she looked calm and did not seem to have been bullied.
Seeing her coming over to warm herself by the fire, Aunt Mai and her daughter hid aside, while Gu Ran sat there motionless.
The fire basket is small, and two pairs of hands can actually cover the area that can be grilled by charcoal fire.
After Aunt Mai and her daughter left, only Gu Ran's hands and Pei Liuniang's outstretched hands were left on the fire basket.
Only then did she realize that Pei Liuniang's hands had ten slender, white fingers with distinct joints.
Although it didn't seem to have the power to kill, it was stronger than his own hands.
Thinking of her unusually big feet, Gu Ran felt relieved.
"tomorrow……"
Pei Liuniang started talking, and Gu Ran couldn't help but look up and saw a pair of peach blossom eyes staring at him.
"Tomorrow, Lord Li asked me to go with you and take the officers to the forest where Master Feng was last seen."
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