Chapter 190: Catching a Thief
It is indeed a bit strange.
There are people in those houses at night, and they go out during the day to visit relatives and friends. The thief must be a little nervous.
After all, even if you go out, you may suddenly come back for various reasons and get caught easily.
On the contrary, the lock on the gate of the house where Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun lived was clearly hanging, which showed that they had returned to their hometown during the Chinese New Year and were not here.
In a house like this, almost no one would come back casually, so it would logically become an easier target for thieves.
"Could it be that they think that since the people have gone home for the New Year, there must be no money left in the house?"
Li Zhongan said, "However, there is something wrong. The silver in the homes of the other people who were robbed was not stolen because it was hidden well, but many other things were also lost."
"Madam Jiang and Mr. Song's home has many valuable calligraphy and paintings, as well as some medicinal herbs and cloth. The thieves even took away the not-so-delicate porcelain bottles from other people's homes. Logically, they should not have let go."
Jiang Mixia nodded, "It is indeed a little unusual."
But she couldn't quite figure out the reason.
Jiang Mixia was thinking about this when she saw Song Jingyun taking a small shovel that he usually used to tend to flowers and plants and busying himself in the flower garden.
"What is my husband doing?" Jiang Mixia asked.
"I think there might be a reason why the thief didn't steal from our house but only from other people's houses," Song Jingyun replied.
Jiang Mixia, "..."
The big guy saw it.
"So I'm thinking that this thief may have two reasons. First, he may think that I am a scholar and have a good relationship with the county magistrate, so he is afraid of getting into trouble."
"As for the second reason, it may be because he is trying to cover up his mistake."
"You mean..."
Li Zhongan became more energetic.
As he was speaking, the shovel in his hand made a "ding" sound. Song Jingyun hurriedly shoveled away the surrounding soil and found an oil-paper bag, and in the oil-paper bag were scattered silver pieces, silver hairpins, bracelets and other items.
Li Zhongan hurriedly called the yamen runners to identify it.
"There are words like 'wealth, honor and peace' written on this bracelet, and there's a bump on the joint. It seems to be the same as the lost item reported by Qu Liangzhe's family." said a yamen runner.
"There is a pearl inlaid on this hairpin. It seems to be the dowry hairpin that Guo Dashu's wife mentioned." Another runner said.
"This silver bowl belongs to Hao Chengsi's family..."
It is obvious that these things were buried here by thieves who stole things from various families.
Not only did he steal the property from Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun's homes, but he also deliberately buried the stolen items in the flowerbed in the yard...
The purpose is somewhat obvious.
Li Zhongan touched his chin, but then frowned, "This person's intentions are so vicious."
Jiang Mixia nodded.
Very vicious indeed.
She buried the stolen items in her yard. In the eyes of others, she and Song Jingyun were thieves even though nothing was lost.
Even though Li Zhongan later investigated and confirmed that Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun were in Jiangjia Village when these families lost their belongings and had people around them who could testify, bystanders still had doubts.
She wondered why her house was not robbed, why the thief did not take the things away but buried them in her house. She would also conclude that she and Song Jingyun were inextricably linked to the thief.
What people say is scary.
If this rumor continues for a long time, even if she and Song Jingyun are upright and have nothing to fear and ignore it, such rumors will still affect their normal life.
The thief's purpose was to cause trouble for her and Song Jingyun.
"Sir, do you want to catch this thief?" Song Jingyun asked.
"Of course." Li Zhongan said, "Although we have found the dirty things now, if we want to find the thief, I'm afraid we still have to investigate one by one, which will take some time."
"I have a way to help you catch the thief faster." Song Jingyun said with a smile.
"Oh?" Li Zhongan raised his eyebrows. When Li Zhongan and the yamen runners left, Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun also packed up and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, the neighbors nearby came over.
"What's missing from your house?"
"We lost two paintings, three ancient books, and some medicinal herbs given by others. These herbs were given by Manager Zheng, so they are not cheap."
Jiang Mixia sighed as she spoke, and gnashed her teeth, "This thief is really despicable. He even picked the good things to steal. It's really infuriating."
"Of course, otherwise he would be a thief. It's so infuriating. It's the same in my house. All the things stolen were the most valuable. This thief is also very smart. He knows which one is good!"
"If we catch this thief, the whole town will be hacked to pieces. How despicable!"
"The key is when we can catch this damn thief..."
“…”
Because they were here to complain about this hateful thief, Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun stayed for a long time before leaving. When they left, their faces were full of anger.
That evening, news came from the county government.
It is said that the thief who stole the things has been caught and is being interrogated.
He also said that the thief came from the west. His family suffered a disaster, so he came to the county town to seek refuge with his relatives. However, he did not find his relatives, and all his money was spent. He was hungry all day, so he began to have evil thoughts.
After scouting out a spot nearby for a long time, he climbed over the wall and stole things, taking advantage of the fact that many people were not at home during the day during the New Year period. He then spent the stolen money on food and drink.
As this news spread, all the families whose property had been robbed became even more angry.
Those who come to seek refuge because their family has suffered a disaster mean that their family has no property left to repay the debt.
The stolen money was squandered on food and drink. Even if he was beaten with a stick or sent to jail, he would never get the money back.
It's really abominable!
Whenever he thought about the money he had saved for food and clothing, or the jewelry he had bought, being spent lavishly by others, his heart would twitch.
So, throughout the first half of the night, the entire alley was filled with people cursing.
Some people were looking worried and pacing back and forth at home.
It was almost the fifteenth day, the moon was already more than half full, the weather was clear, and the moonlight was bright, illuminating the earth.
When the moon was setting in the second half of the night, a figure sneaked out of his own yard. After strolling in the alley for a while, he saw that it was quiet in the middle of the night and there were no other people around. Then he climbed over the wall and jumped into the yard of Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun's house.
After entering, he did not rush to unlock the door and look for things. Instead, he took out a small shovel from his waist and started digging in the flower bed.
After digging for a long time, I still can't seem to find what I want.
The black shadow was extremely surprised and went to another place to look, but still found nothing.
After doing this a few times, he gritted his teeth, took out another oil paper bag from his waist, and put it into the newly dug pit.
(End of this chapter)
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