Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Selfish
Mrs. Wang's face turned pale, and she showed an expression that was not a smile, as if she had guessed it a long time ago.
"Then... where is he... now? Can I see him again?" Her voice trembled slightly, her eyes were filled with tears, and she kept biting the back of her hand, not wanting to cry out loud.
"At the coroner's..."
Hezhou lowered his head and didn't want to look, but a feeling of sadness still surged in his heart.
"He...is going to identify the plan, do you know?"
Mrs. Wang nodded and choked up, saying, "This child is quite opinionated. The letter he left behind said that knowledge must be put into practice... When he was little... he hid secretly, waiting to leave the county with his father. Unexpectedly, he saw Li Erniu and his gang murdering someone in the canal..."
She looked up at Hezhou, and saw a thick letter on the ground. "This is for you, could you please leave this for me as a last thought?"
Hezhou nodded and carefully opened the envelope.
"Mom, I wrote this in the middle of the night. Please don't tell me my handwriting is ugly anymore! The money is in the box Dad left behind. Don't forget the sweet-scented osmanthus handkerchief Aunt Tian wanted. I exchanged the money for chickens..."
"Mom, when we were little, you said you couldn't mix spices and semi-immortal grass together. I have to admit a mistake. I was grinding semi-immortal grass when I woke up this morning... I gave it to the person who killed Dad. Mom, I lied again. I didn't lose my memory when I was little... I saw who killed Dad! It was Li Erniu and Yin'er and the others."
"When I was little, I didn't understand. You were good to them, mother, so how could they make such a mistake that would bring ruin upon their master! Later, I found out. Master Chen had promised them gold, but they were wicked and only cared about money. They were exploiting the money of the local maids in the Chen family and acting tyrannically. I sold them the handkerchief, but it was ridiculous that they still felt guilty and bought it..."
"Actually, the one who deserves to die the most is Li Erniu. He was the one who put Dad in the sack and threw the stone. It's a pity that he doesn't come here unless he's having an affair."
It seemed like the brush had run out of ink when he was writing, so Wang Xinsheng must have changed to another one. He probably didn't know many characters, so he wrote in a simple and easy-to-understand way. He also drew simple drawings next to it and wrote a bunch of words expressing his concern for his mother and grandmother until the end.
"Mom, after coming up with this plan, there hasn't been a day that I haven't regretted it, but I can't seem to wait any longer. You always said I was holding a brush when I was born. When things were good at home, we invited a fortune teller to come and always praised me for being the smartest in the area. The fortune teller also said I was Wenqu incarnate..."
"But after just a few days without you, Master, I'm already worse than before. I can't understand many books, and I can't do Master Xie's exercises. Although you never wanted me to become a talent, I don't want you to go through this. Master Xie said that if I were to be a witness, he would get Master Chen out of office."
“…”
"I didn't believe it. I followed him quietly and read the letter I was told to deliver. He told the yamen runners from the neighboring county that he was going to the Chen family and learned a huge secret. He was going to die in the Chen family. He was a good man... But I don't believe that the Chen family will perish just because someone died. Compared to this, I want Master Chen to die at my hands."
"If I could come back, I would still be like a child, lying in your arms and eating brown sugar cakes... I will come back, mother! I'm not a father, just wait, hehe, I still have to spend your next birthday with you."
"Xinsheng."
Finally, Mrs. Wang couldn't help herself. She slipped off the stool and fell to the ground. She leaned against the corner of the table, beating her chest and crying, "My son... He was a piece of my flesh! God damn it... All these years... Ah! Ah! He was still young! Not even old enough to come of age..."
Hezhou was holding her up with straw paper on the ground, through his sleeves: "My condolences..."
"Why are you mourning? It's all your fault!" Mrs. Wang's face was covered with tears. She clutched her chest and cried loudly, and slapped Hezhou in the face.
"Give me back my son! Give me back my son... I raised him single-handedly! He's smart and sensible... Ah!"
She cried more and more desperately, her voice was weak and young, and she muttered little words.
There was a crisp sound of a plate breaking in the kitchen, followed by a knock on the door outside.
"Axia, I just broke a stack of plates, and my right eye has been twitching since yesterday!" Grandma Wang's voice became increasingly anxious: "Is something wrong?"
Mrs. Wang sobbed as she looked towards the door. Amidst the rapid knocks, her voice gradually steadied. "It's what I was talking about last night, Mother. Xinsheng was arrested for poisoning. They say he's being sent to the next county for detention... He said he wanted to eat some brown sugar cakes..."
"Hey, grandma will make whatever my grandson wants! I'll put it in a basket for you, so take it to him before it gets cold..."
Hezhou watched Madam Wang reluctantly stand up and asked, "Are you going?"
"Excuse me, sir, please lead the way." She wiped the tears from her face and said, "Could you please get me a basin of water? I need to wash my face..."
Hezhou nodded and took the washbasin from the shelf. He went outside to get a basin of warm water. When he returned, Mrs. Wang had changed into white clothes and wore a white flower on her hair.
She sat on the bed, sobbing and shedding tears: "My lord... don't blame me for that slap. White hair is sending black hair... He is my treasure! My lord!"
"It's okay. I... understand. Madam, can you find the land deed? Master Chen burned the contract at that time. The land in the county... is yours."
Mrs. Wang paused, smiled foolishly, and stared at him with red eyes: "I'll give it to you later."
"Yeah." He nodded muffledly and went out. The atmosphere was too depressing.
There was a row of small ants in the corner outside, moving things. Hezhou was bored, so he picked up a branch and blocked the ants' path along the route. Several ants were circling around them.
Grandma Wang came out carrying a basket covered with a thick white cloth: "Don't let it get cold. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
He didn't know if it was his illusion, but Grandma Wang seemed to have aged a little. She sat by the wall with a somewhat empty look in her eyes, but she came back to her senses when she saw him.
"Sir, my grandson..."
She took out a piece of silver wrapped in red cloth and handed it forward: "Sir..."
"Sir, let's go."
Just when he didn't know how to respond, Mrs. Wang came out, panting and picking up the basket.
"Mother! Lord He is a good man..."
She pushed back Grandma Wang's capital, turned to look at him, frowned three points: "Let's go."
Hezhou was walking in front, and there were more people on the street discussing this matter. When they saw it, they all showed curiosity and gathered together to whisper.
A woman holding a child was standing in front of the coroner's office. She was wearing a white linen dress and was crying. The child in her arms was smiling and kept patting his face with his little hands. When he saw someone coming, he struggled to get down.
The woman cried so hard that she felt dizzy and loosened her grip for a moment. As soon as the child stood firmly on the ground, he ran to Mrs. Wang, put his fingers in his mouth, stared at the basket for a while, and then looked at Mrs. Wang.
The child stared at her with his black eyes: "Auntie, what's in this? It smells so good..."
Mrs. Wang's face was filled with disgust as the basket was pressed against the child's belly, and her brows were furrowed.
"Xiao Nan, come back soon!" The woman who had been crying just now let out a sharp cry.
She rushed forward and grabbed the child back. Xiaonan was grabbed by the collar, and his feet left the ground for a moment and he fell to the ground.
The woman helped the child up, her expression changing again and again, and she lowered her eyes: "Sister-in-law..."
Mrs. Wang lowered her head and opened a corner of the basket. A sweet aroma came out, making people drool.
"This is brown sugar cake, do you want some?"
"Brown sugar cake?" The child ignored the pain in his body and walked forward: "Mom, can Xiaonan eat it?"
"No!" the woman almost shouted, then soon changed her tone: "Be obedient, Xiaonan, and I'll do it for you when I get home."
Mrs. Wang smiled, pinched a cake between her fingers and handed it to the child: "You are in luck, this is for my son..."
After saying that, she walked in with a smile, her eyes filled with bottomless coldness.
When the child wasn't paying attention, he took a bite and swallowed it: "It's so sweet, Mom! Try it!"
"Xiao Nan!" the woman exclaimed, dropping the pancake in her hand. She picked up the child and patted his back repeatedly: "Spit it out! Spit it out!"
Maybe she didn't have much strength, and all she vomited out was some acidic water. She felt helpless and started crying again.
The woman picked up the brown sugar cake on the ground and stuffed a big mouthful into her mouth: "What a sin! You have no conscience, Li Erniu, you will not die a good death..."
She ate while crying, tearing off pieces of the cake and giving them to Xiaonan.
Hezhou brought her a bowl of water and said, "Don't worry, the cake is not poisoned."
The other party paused for a moment, her mouth full, and she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes: "Master He... please forgive me... I am Li Erniu's wife..."
"I know. My condolences." Hezhou touched the child's head and asked, "How long have you not eaten?"
"Excuse me, I was just in a bad mood yesterday. Children don't understand, and I didn't tell him." The woman smiled bitterly and shook her head: "His father is not a good man either. He killed people and had an affair, but fortunately he gives money to the family... Money is hard to come by, and everyone in the family depends on him."
She pulled out a hand and tried to hold Hezhou, but was dodged. She could only hold on to the table in a daze: "Thank you for this, sir. The Chen family... gave some burial expenses..."
Hezhou opened his mouth without saying anything. When he turned around, he saw Xie Xunzhi standing under the eaves looking at him. He was discovered for a moment and couldn't go anywhere. He opened his mouth and his eyes were full of surprise.
Xie Xunzhi raised the cake in his hand and shook it: "Brother He!"
He walked over and supported himself against the pillar, standing on the outside: "What are you doing?"
"This is the walnut cake that Mantang just made. Try it." Xie Xunzhi's eyes sparkled. "I lined up this morning. It was such a long line."
Hezhou stretched his neck and picked up one, and it was indeed not as greasy as in the morning.
"I'm sorry, Brother He, I shouldn't have not told you from the beginning. I shouldn't have been so selfish as to come up with this crude...plan."
Hezhou paused, feeling extremely depressed. The pastry in his hand instantly lost its appeal, and his temples were throbbing. He took a deep breath to comfort himself that the incident was over, and he couldn't help himself for a moment.
"Bullshit plan! You f*cking want me to end up like this? Crying while holding your dead body? Xie Xunzhi, I really can't understand why you didn't tell me! You always said you'd find another opportunity, but that was all bullshit! Ah!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
