Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Xiaoyu
People on the street were like ants, busy packing up their stalls in straw raincoats, and the sounds of chickens and ducks filled the air.
The clouds were low, and it was only noon, but the house was dark already.
Grandma Li was reluctant to light the oil lamp. She sat by the window with peanuts in her hand. A cold wind blew faintly.
"Auntie, aren't you afraid that the rain will blow in and the peanuts will sprout when you peel them today?"
"I'm not afraid." Old Mrs. Li shook her head. Her eyes drooped, and she had few teeth left. She spoke with a drawl of emphasis: "You're just standing under the eaves. How can the rain get in?"
Hezhou chuckled softly, "Will you stand there to block the light?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Grandma Li lifted up the winnowing basket and shook it, and the bean-sized peanuts rolled back.
"The rain came so suddenly. I didn't even bring an umbrella. Tsk, I don't know when it will stop."
Hezhou said this and hid against the wall. He looked at the heavy rain outside, his face full of helplessness.
Old Lady Li hummed under her breath, "Oh! You're still young! I knew it was going to rain long ago. I'd already harvested the wheat that was drying outside."
She casually pointed to the open space outside and saw a handsome face. She unconsciously felt a little fond of him: "Why don't you come in to avoid the rain? Half of your shoulder is wet."
"That's not good." Hezhou politely declined. "It's been quite a mess lately. There's a case every three days. Just this morning, the government posted a notice about the white bones case."
Old Mrs. Li stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "You... don't look familiar! Did you just move in with your wife?"
She always felt that she had seen the young man in front of her, but at Xian Xiaozhao's age, she knew every puppy that gave birth.
"Yeah..." Hezhou hesitated and nodded, looking embarrassed as if he was just married. "He likes this place with mountains and rivers."
"How foolish!" Old Lady Li waved her hand and said, "Move out quickly! This is not a fun place. Be careful, not even a bone will be left."
"Isn't it? He was frightened by the white bone case this morning, but he refused to leave, saying that the cases were all from previous years. Hey, how can it be impossible that there is collusion between the government and the government..."
"That's not right." Old Lady Li held down the dustpan, her dark, triangular eyes staring at him. "You don't know, but I understand now that I'm older. Aren't those bones from that Wang kid? It must have been a case from years ago."
Hezhou leaned against the window and said, "No way... the government office can't even confirm who the bones belong to."
"Isn't it written on the notice? He's all turned to bones. The only family that could have a jade hairpin on him is the Li family, but the Li family has a lot of people. When we were young, our two families lived close to each other, so how could I not know if he has one?"
Hezhou tilted his head to look at the neighbors next door, and his men picked up a few peanuts and started peeling them: "I see no one's been living next door for a while. I'm afraid a conflict might have occurred when a family was moving, leading to a murder..."
"Her family is still in the county!" She took the small bowl and placed it on the dustpan, motioning Hezhou to throw it into the bowl: "I'll tell you about the situation in the county. You should take your wife and run away."
"Is there anything else going on here?"
Old Lady Li curled her lips. "It's a very complicated situation. The Wang family used to own most of the land, but three years ago a sudden locust plague wiped out the harvest! Someone happened to come and said they'd buy the land at a low price, with no interest, and they could take it away anytime they wanted. But somehow something went wrong when they signed the deed, and they lost an acre of land for nothing. And unfortunately, no pawnshop in town would take the Wang family's property."
"Alas! The poor daughter-in-law of the Wang family had no choice but to sell the house."
She lowered her voice, "The Wang family took some of their belongings out to pawn and haven't returned for a long time. I wonder if there's a rumor that the unfaithful man ran away with all the belongings? Tsk! The Wang family's wife whispered to me that they had thought of it a long time ago and only took the jade hairpin. How could they just leave their belongings and go wandering around..."
Hezhou laughed in a hoarse voice: "That's right, there are no bandits who don't want things, they just want to kill people."
Granny Li looked at him, and for a moment she remembered something, and she looked him up and down.
"You look familiar. Are you the newly appointed county magistrate?"
Hezhou laughed happily.
"I wanted to ask about the situation."
Old Lady Li curled her lips and shook her head again: "Your Excellency, it's up to you whether you believe it or not. If we go to court, none of my words will count. This is true. I've had enough of life, but... I still have children at home."
"I understand, I understand. I have a family too." Hezhou clapped his hands, picked up his hidden raincoat and hat and put them on. "I'm glad I know. Auntie, the rain has stopped. I'll go pick them up first."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go yet! Sir... have you married yet? I'm also a matchmaker. The girls here are all more beautiful than the other."
Hezhou stood there in a daze. This was the first time in his two lives that he had the experience of matchmaking. Old Lady Li didn't wait for his reply. She walked out of the house and stared at him with a smile.
"What kind do you like, sir? Come and take a look. I'll tell you about Dongtouhuang..." She nimbly grabbed Hezhou's hand and pointed at the peach blossom line on the palm of her hand.
"No, no!"
Hezhou shuddered and ran away stepping on the puddles on the ground. He forgot to open his umbrella. Some rain flowed down his neck, making him shiver with cold.
Children walking home from school were holding umbrellas that were bigger than their own. Some who didn't bring umbrellas just ran out with their schoolbags on their heads. He grabbed a child in brown clothes and gave him the umbrella in his hand.
"No! Master Xie gave us his own umbrella. How are you going to get back?"
Hezhou smiled and pinched his face: "It's okay, the rain won't stop for long, go play with your classmates."
He was not in good shape when he ran over. His pair of black boots were soaked and water gurgled when he stepped on them. The children in the school had already scattered.
Xie Xunzhi sat alone by the window without lighting a candle, with his head down, carefully correcting homework.
Hezhou took off his raincoat and shook it in front of the door, afraid of bringing the cold air in. "I went around asking around today about the white bones case, and they all said the same thing as last night. Almost everyone thinks it's Wang Wenliang's body, and some say it's the Chen family's fault."
"You say that makes me wonder, could this be a trick of the Chen family? After all, the body was found in Li Erniu's brother's field."
"Isn't this perfect? It's better to counter the opponent's moves than to be remembered all the time." Xie Xunzhi said softly, pulling out a stack of homework and putting it beside him.
He pointed his finger and said, "Can you help me revise it? I can also check how you are doing."
Hezhou shook his hands embarrassedly, his nails adorned with crystal clear water droplets. "Not today... I'm wet."
"Didn't you bring an umbrella?"
"Hey! You don't know that I just asked Auntie for some information. I found out, and when I left, Auntie insisted on being a matchmaker for me..."
Hezhou picked up the orange from the table and peeled it, scraping off the excess flesh before putting it into Xie Xunzhi's hand.
"And then? Anything promising?"
Hezhou stuffed an orange in his mouth and shook his head: "I'm in this situation now. Isn't getting married just dragging me into the quagmire?"
Xie Xunzhi chuckled, a glint in his eyes: "Why are you dragging me into this quagmire? Aren't you afraid that I'll run away?"
"Please don't." He Zhou stepped forward quickly: "What will I do if you leave? If I encounter a crime again, I will be vomiting... Besides, you are already in a quagmire, so just obey me."
Xie Xunzhi hummed with a smile: "Actually, you should be old enough to get married. Do you have any girls in your sight?"
"No, it gives me a headache just talking about it. All I can think about now is the case and you."
He walked around the room, leaving a trail of footprints. "I was completely stunned when I heard that. I didn't even say a word of courtesy, I just turned and ran. Master Xie, you didn't teach me about this!"
"I didn't ask you to go looking for women, and besides, do you need me to teach you how to beg for more?"
After Xie Xunzhi finished speaking, he knocked on the table and said, "Come quickly."
Hezhou found Xie Xunzhi's handkerchief on the table in front, wiped his hands and put it in his arms: "Here I come, here I come, when will we have a holiday?"
He sat beside Xie Xunzhi and was narrating with a miserable mood. He couldn't help being distracted as soon as he picked up the brush.
"Do you think we should still investigate this case?"
"Weren't you so excited yesterday that you had to investigate?" Xie Xunzhi glanced at him, his hands still moving.
"Investigate!" Hezhou said in a conflicted tone, "I'm just wondering how to investigate. I can't just show up and say, 'Hey, everyone says you did the bone murder, I need to do some inspection now.'"
"I'm afraid they'll be thrown out before they can even finish a few words. Yesterday, Elder Song said that nothing can be seen from the bones, and most people are unwilling to stand up and identify the Chen family."
"That's right, the Wang family doesn't like to say too much."
Hezhou pushed aside the homework on the table, pulled out a piece of white paper and wrote: "Ruined temple." "Jade plaque." "White bones."
Xie Xunzhi pulled out the paper and frowned, "Don't write this lightly. Since the Chen family started it first, they won't let you sit idly by. It's better to gather information and then deal with it."
The homework paper was pushed in front of him again, and Hezhou showed a painful expression on his face.
He looked outside and thought the rain would stop soon.
The raindrops fell, dripping along the eaves and forming a wave of water circles below. The rain outside stopped.
Hezhou gave the hat to Xie Xunzhi. The rain kept splashing on his body as they walked along the narrow streets and alleys. He held Xie Xunzhi in his arms and muttered that the weather would get colder after the rain and he should put on more clothes.
When they arrived in front of the government office, they saw a man standing in front of the door.
Hezhou leaned over to Xie Xunzhi's ear and said, "Look, it's really like a pillow is given to you when you're sleepy, isn't it?"
"I guess so." Xie Xunzhi moved away slightly, and the hot air blew a layer of red on his ears.
"Ahem! Didn't they say it's still early for the exam?"
Li Erniu took small steps, his mouth moving slightly but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Hezhou walked forward and looked at him.
"Sir, can't I really go straight into the yamen?" Li Erniu took out a handkerchief from his arms, revealing a piece of silver.
"I know all the rules! This is all I can raise right now. As for the rest... within three days... I can..."
Hezhou pushed his hand back, a gloomy look in his eyes: "You might as well try taking the exam. This approach is definitely not feasible. Is that the case?"
He threw off his bamboo hat and said, "I'm going back now. I'll call you for the final exam."
"Why!"
Li Erniu seemed to be suddenly awakened and reached out to grab him: "Wait a minute!"
Hezhou looked at him carefully and pulled out his sleeves: "What's wrong with you today? You don't look well."
"I want to report it to the police!"
"What?"
Li Erniu stared at him darkly, his tone gradually becoming calmer: "A murder occurred in the back alley."
Hezhou looked at Xie Xunzhi and asked, "Tell me in detail?"
Xie Xunzhi knew a little: "The back alley...isn't it the Chen family's?"
"Yeah." Li Erniu nodded muffledly. "The back alley is where the Chen family's local maids live. Since the bones were dug out yesterday, two people have died. One died by lying on the table, and the other was hanged."
"You mean someone in the Chen family died? Didn't you stop associating with the Chen family?"
Li Erniu pursed his lips and said, "My lord, I also need to eat. It's better for you to focus on investigating the case!"
"Why do you say it was dug out from the bones? What does it have to do with the bones?" Xie Xunzhi asked.
"Someone wrote on the hanging body of Bai Ling, 'Bone returned to the world, wronged soul locked up'. People in the mansion speculated that it was haunted."
Hezhou smiled and said, "That's pretty straightforward. Don't worry, Erniu. Wait until we find out what happened to these bones."
"I'm afraid they can't wait any longer." Xie Xunzhi suddenly added, "Are all the dead maids? What happened to the others? And what did Master Chen say?"
"There was also a security guard who died, but he lived in the inner courtyard... He might not be involved in this incident..."
Li Erniu bit his lip and said, "Master said... to bury the dead... Fourth Madam took the young master back to her parents' home, and Master and Fourth Madam are getting a divorce."
"If nothing goes wrong, I guess you wouldn't dare to make a big noise." Xie Xunzhi looked at him coldly: "Come in."
Hezhou touched his chin and thought, no wonder the Chen family hadn't been active recently. It turned out that they were busy cutting ties. Now it seems that the white bone case was not something Chen Wenjiu made up to embarrass him.
Yes, who would voluntarily give their background to their opponent?
Li Erniu followed him into the lobby and knelt down at the corner. "My Lord, I'm at my wit's end! The back alley is completely deserted!"
Tears streamed down his face as he spoke: "He goes crazy at the slightest provocation, bites people and can't be stopped... Sir, you are the county magistrate and you can't just ignore it!"
"Did you dig out the bones?" Hezhou was sitting in the hall.
"No...it was dug out and placed there..."
"Really? Your brother said he dug it out one shovel at a time." He stared at Li Erniu with his eyes lowered, tapping the table slowly with his fingers.
Li Erniu looked up at him and said, "My brother hid it so he could start farming sooner... We don't know how another skeleton appeared down there."
"I'm afraid it's not your dirty work."
Li Erniu gasped, his eyes widening. "Sir, I swear! I really didn't know! If it has anything to do with me, I'll be struck by lightning!"
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