Chapter 24: We'll know once we dig it up.
Granny Liu was only in her early fifties. She was slightly plump, and her gray hair was piled up on her head and tied up with a jade hairpin.
The jade hairpin was smooth and translucent, with one end carved into the shape of a fox, and a ruby set in its eye, making it very eye-catching.
Ornaments of this quality seem completely out of place for an elderly woman living in an adobe house, raising her grandchildren alone.
The more incongruous something seemed, the more meticulous Li Jin became in her observation.
The more carefully he looked, the more he felt that the case itself might not be what it seemed on the surface.
"Old man, we are constables. The magistrate asked us in a hurry this morning and missed a few questions. We've come to ask again," Li Jin said gently, fanning himself with a fan.
Granny Liu looked at the black fan in his hand; its intricate carvings and openwork design clearly showed it was the work of a master craftsman, exquisitely crafted. She then observed his pale yellow robes, his distinguished bearing, and his impeccable manners; he was undoubtedly not a young master from an ordinary family.
She hurriedly stepped forward with a fawning smile and opened the door: "Oh dear! Look at this old woman, I'm so old, I didn't recognize you! Sir, please come in!"
After saying that, she turned her head and changed her expression, scolding her grandson who was standing next to her: "Go and look at your homework!"
While cheerfully making arrangements, she cautiously asked, "Well... the county magistrate has come twice today. Is there anything else you haven't asked?"
"Grandma," Li Jin said, ignoring her words, glancing around the courtyard before heading straight into the house, "may I ask where your son works?"
Behind him, Granny Liu was taken aback for a moment, a look of confusion on her face. She hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, you are joking. My son is good-for-nothing. In Yiyang, he is just a rough man who carries bags."
After saying that, his eyes darted around, revealing a shrewd look. He rubbed his hands together, grinned, and caught up with the man: "Sir, you have an extraordinary bearing, clearly the appearance of a high-ranking official. May I ask who you are, sir?"
Li Jin stopped and stood in the center of the room, looking around: "He's just a constable from a well-off family."
Jin Shu followed behind him, unable to help but complain in her heart.
Their family was indeed very wealthy, in a way that no one else could match.
“Grandma Liu.” Li Jin looked at her mud-brick house, the roof of which showed signs of leaking rain, but a few pearl earrings and gemstone rings were casually placed on the table.
He turned around calmly and asked in a gentle tone, "What did you and Magistrate Lin talk about? Why don't you tell me too?"
The family circumstances of this fifty-year-old woman truly opened Jin Shu's eyes.
She had worked diligently in the Dingzhou government office for so many years, earning a monthly salary of ten taels of silver. Let alone a white jade hairpin, she even had to ask Liu Chengan to lend her a month's salary to buy the longevity lock for Jin Rong, which she had to grit her teeth and buy on credit.
This fifty-year-old woman is truly a case of appearances can be deceiving; her dilapidated house and yard conceal a wealth of hidden treasures.
Inside the room was a square table made of rotten wood, uneven and pitted. But in the center of the table were four teacups, all of them made of Tang Dynasty glazed porcelain. Regardless of the pattern or color, they were obviously of high quality. They were placed upside down, which looked particularly out of place.
Li Jin kept smiling, and his handsome face made Granny Liu very happy. She quickly pulled out a long bench for him and started boiling water and making tea.
He didn't stand on ceremony; he flicked his coat, sat down, and took the teacup in his hand, examining it from all angles.
Grandma Liu smiled obsequiously, picked a few tea leaves with her tea needle, poured water into another teacup, and pushed it in front of Li Jin.
"It's simple; this is all we have to entertain the officials."
How rudimentary!
Li Jin looked at the elegant, pointed, and vibrant green Longjing tea leaves in the cup, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"To be honest, sir, I was already asleep last night when I was suddenly awakened by cries for help."
She put down the teapot and sat down next to Li Jin, looking mysterious: "I heard a voice that sounded like Miss Lian from next door, so I quickly got dressed, grabbed a lantern, and rushed over there. When I got there, I saw..."
Grandma Liu waved her hand, her face full of heartache: "Oh! It's too tragic."
Li Jin nodded knowingly and asked, "When you arrived, was the victim still breathing? Did you see any suspicious figures?"
"A figure?" Granny Liu murmured for a while, then shook her head: "No, when I arrived, she was already dead. And it was late at night, there wasn't even a dog around. I was so scared that I, an old woman, rushed off to report to the authorities."
At this point, her face was filled with sorrow, and she choked up with sobs as she sighed repeatedly: "That Miss Lian next door, she's such a pitiful person. When she first came to our Xiaolin County, she and her husband ran a tofu shop. Later, her husband died of illness, leaving her all alone. Life was already difficult enough, but now this unexpected disaster has struck. Alas..."
Lian, the girl from the tofu shop. Li Jin silently memorized the name.
"Then why doesn't she continue making tofu?" Looking at Granny Liu's expression, Li Jin couldn't sense her sadness. On the contrary, he vaguely sensed a hint of insincerity.
When he asked this question, Granny Liu was taken aback for a moment, her expression unnatural. She glanced to the left unconsciously, pondered for a while, and then frowned and waved her hand: "How could a woman like her do these things?"
In the instant he waved his hand, the jade bracelet that had been hidden under his sleeve was clearly seen by Li Jin and Jin Shu.
Color, luster, pattern... Li Jin glanced back at Jin Shu and confirmed with her eyes that it was something she couldn't afford.
Meanwhile, the smug old woman, oblivious to her own embarrassment, continued talking to herself: "When the young lady came to our Xiaolin Village last year, she and her husband made tofu together. Our two families live close by, and she often came to chat with me, saying that life was hard and difficult."
At this point, Granny Liu let out a long sigh, patted her chest, and shook her head, lamenting that life and death are predestined: "Who knew that her husband would fall ill in less than two months? In order to treat him, she even lost the tofu shop, and life became even harder."
"Just to help her, I borrowed a lot of money from several old women and young wives in our village whom I often visited, but her husband was still powerless to help her and left her to pass away."
As Li Jin listened, she lightly tapped the flimsy wooden table with her fingertips: "What illness does her husband have?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Liu's unusual reaction became particularly noticeable.
She rubbed her hands together, fidgeting awkwardly, and after a long while, she finally uttered three words: "Cold."
Based on her reaction, Li Jin would definitely not believe the explanation of a cold.
Why would Granny Liu, a neighbor with whom he had no connection, continue to conceal his illness even after his death?
There was only one conclusion he could draw: this man's death was unusual.
Before her eyes, Granny Liu sighed with heartbreaking grief, "Oh, what a fine young man, what a pity!"
Li Jin lowered her eyes, picked up the teacup, and blew away a mouthful of foam.
In the teacup, Li Jin looked at the single leaf standing upright, her fingertips gently caressing the edge, her gaze sharp as she stared at Granny Liu: "Do you know where her husband is buried?"
Granny Liu was taken aback, her face turning unnaturally pale: "This...is asking about this matter...related to what happened last night?"
Li Jin looked at her with a smile: "Whether it matters or not, we'll know once we dig it out."
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