Chapter 17 Yaoer 17 False
The sadness on Magistrate Zhao's face didn't seem fake. Xun Shu watched from afar, feeling a pang of pain in her heart. She tried to hold it back, but ultimately couldn't. She spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "Will the next time be the one carrying Zheng into the house?"
County Magistrate Zhao clenched his fists and said nothing.
Xun Shu was about to say something, but He Xuan pulled his sleeve. He could only purse his lips and swallow the words back into his stomach. He endured it until he left the yamen and returned to the coffin shop, then he blurted out everything.
"County Magistrate Zhao is truly bizarre. He claims to have a deep love for Madam Zhao and has been with her for years, but when faced with doubts, he doesn't even ask questions. Instead, he suspects Madam Zhao and sentences her to death. He then marries Zheng, who gave birth to our third young master." Xun Shu's words grew increasingly disdainful, his eyebrows twisted into knots and his cheeks puffed with anger. "Even so, he's still unwilling to sacrifice his reputation. Even if Zheng's status is sensitive and difficult to mention outside, he could have just told others that he has a concubine and that they gave birth to our third young master. It's not uncommon for a county magistrate to have a concubine. Why keep it quiet and let everyone think the county magistrate and his wife are so loving and that Madam Zhao is doing so well?"
He Xuan and Fang Yan sat opposite her. They rarely bickered with each other and even moved their benches a little closer to each other, giving off a feeling of mutual understanding.
Xun Shu ignored their strange expressions, kneading the corner of his clothes with his fingers, and muttered, "Mrs. Zhao has such a good life. She has never suffered much in her life. The few times she has suffered were related to her husband. If she had married someone else, she might still be alive and well, living a comfortable and peaceful life."
It was still raining outside. A few people moved the coffins in the coffin shop, cleared a piece of space, set up a table, and had dinner there.
Jiang Zheng walked out of the kitchen carrying food and walked along the eaves into the shop when he happened to hear this. He smiled and said, "If a person's life is really just a matter of fate, it will be boring. Occasionally, it is not bad to suffer a little, take a few detours, and see different scenery."
Xun Shu and the other two stood up to help Jiang Zheng serve the dishes. Jiang Zheng moved aside to avoid Fang Yan's hand and said, "Although you come here often, you are still a guest. How can we make guests work? You sit down and rest. Let He Xuan and Xiao Shu come. We will start eating soon."
Fang Yan lived in the funeral clothing shop next door. The couple who owned the shop and Jiang Zheng had known each other for many years. After leaving the government office, Fang Yan said that he hadn't visited Jiang Zheng for a long time and followed Xun Shu and He Xuan back to the coffin shop. Jiang Zheng was very happy to see Fang Yan. He dug out a piece of bacon from the bottom of the box and insisted on cooking two more dishes.
The word "guest" struck a chord with He Xuan. Upon hearing this, he leaped up and grinned from ear to ear: "Ah Shu, take a rest. Leave it to me!"
Xun Shu was in a depressed mood and ignored him. He went to help in the kitchen and muttered while busying himself: "Now that I have suffered a lot and taken a detour, life is not boring anymore. I will go directly to the West to see the Buddha."
She was still thinking about Mrs. Zhao.
Jiang Zheng shook his head and stopped persuading him.
After all, he is just a child. No matter how open-minded he says he is, he still feels guilty and self-blame in his heart. He cannot relieve it and can only vent the gloom in his heart like a small firecracker, exploding everywhere.
He Xuan naturally also noticed Xun Shu's abnormality.
He had known Xun Shu for so long, but this was the first time he saw her like this, and he felt quite uncomfortable. He kicked Fang Yan, and the two exchanged glances, then tacitly began to talk about unrelated things, occasionally bickering a few times, trying to liven up the atmosphere.
Xun Shu's face showed no emotion. He stared at the food on the table with his eyelashes lowered. He occasionally spoke a few words, but his mind was absent. Only after he finished his bowl of soup and noodles did he seem to breathe a sigh of relief and look up at the people in front of him.
"Who do you think the murderer is?"
He Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her with a smile, his eyes handsome and gentle: "Who do you think Ah Shu is?"
Xun Shu fished three copper coins from her purse. They were the ones she had carried with her for years, used specifically for fortune-telling. The coins were glossy, with a faint outline of the totem on their surface. Their design was different from that of ordinary coins, and they looked like artifacts from a previous dynasty.
She threw three copper coins into the air, waited for them to fall on the table, picked them up and threw them again, repeating this six times before stopping.
Everyone's gaze followed the rise and fall of the copper coin. After six times, their eyes gradually became dazed, and they stared blankly at Xun Shu as he carefully put the copper coin away.
Fang Yan couldn't help but ask, "Have you figured out the murderer?"
Xun Shu glanced at him with a rather strange look on his face: "The six-line divination can predict good and bad luck, and calculate fortune, but it can't figure out who the murderer is."
"So what did you just calculate?"
"I asked if the real culprit in this case could be brought to justice, and I got a Kan on top and a Gan on the bottom, Water and Heaven Xu hexagram, which is slightly auspicious. There are changes in the six lines, so the murderer might be a woman."
Fang Yan deflated and muttered, "I've sent people to question all the servants in the mansion over the past two days. They all stayed in the back garden on the night of the crime, and there's evidence to prove it. Currently, there are only a few people who have the time and motive, and they're mostly women. Ah Shu, your divination is in vain."
"At least Zhao Yuanming and County Magistrate Zhao can be ruled out," He Xuan reassured him. "However, divination alone cannot be used as evidence in court. We still need to find real evidence. There is currently no one at the crime scene, and no special marks can be found on the body. If we want to identify the murderer, we need to plan carefully."
Xun Shu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked tentatively, "Have you come up with any good ideas?"
-
The next day.
The rain stopped for a moment before daybreak, and the coolness of early spring after the rain hit us. The air was filled with the smell of moisture and earth, mixed with the fragrance of plants and trees, which was refreshing and pleasant.
At this moment, the back door of the coffin shop was knocked.
The noise continued for a moment. Jiang Shufang walked out of the bedroom, draped in his clothes, and opened the door in his slippers. His voice was still a little hoarse, "Who is it?"
It was about to dawn, the morning light was dim, the courtyard door opened, and the figure outside the door was vaguely visible.
It’s Fang Yan.
Fang Yan, neatly dressed in his official uniform and with a shy smile, held a dripping oil-paper umbrella in one hand and a few oil-paper bags in the other, waving them in front of Jiang Zheng. "Aunt Qin told me yesterday that I always eat and drink for free when I come to the coffin shop. It just so happened that I was looking for Ah Shu this morning for a case, so I stopped by the breakfast shop next door and bought some snacks so we can all eat them together while they're still hot."
"You are Qin Erniang's child, so you are my nephew. Why are you being so polite?"
Jiang Zheng took the oil-paper bag and welcomed him into the courtyard. He Xuan had already stood up when he heard the noise. He leaned against the door, scratched his messy hair, and yawned. "What are you doing here so early? Is there another death?"
"Brother He, you should be kinder as a person."
Fang Yan looked at his unkempt appearance with disdain. He raised his chin, not wanting to bother with him anymore. He walked straight to the still closed door, curled his fingers, and knocked carefully. "Ah Shu, wake up! The people I sent out yesterday found some information. Would you like to hear it?"
The house was quiet.
Fang Yan seemed to be used to it and repeated the actions and words just now. He Xuan looked at his flattering appearance and listened to his throat that sounded like someone was pinching someone. He rolled his eyes, turned around and went back to the house, slamming the wooden door shut with a deafening noise.
The sound reached the tightly closed room, startling the sleeper. Xun Shu rubbed his eyes and reluctantly stood up amidst the commotion: "I know, I'll be right there."
When she was dressed and walked out of the room, everyone in the courtyard was already seated. Xun Shu sat down in an empty seat and couldn't help asking, "Master Fang, please tell me, what did your men find out?"
Fang Yan pushed the steaming hot noodle soup in front of her and said briefly, "Yesterday I sent someone to inquire around the Wang family's cloth shop and found out two pieces of information. First, the Wang family did have a boy before Wang Fuwan, but he died when he was only three or four months old, reportedly catching a cold. I heard from people nearby that the Wang family loved the child very much and specially buried him in the mountains behind Ganhuai Temple outside the city, building a pagoda with bricks for him. This morning I sent someone to Ganhuai Temple to search for the child's remains, and they should be back in the city around this afternoon."
"Tower burial?" He Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Ordinary people's babies who died young were mostly buried in urns, but the Wang family was willing to spend such a large sum of money to place his remains in Ganhuai Temple. How generous!"
Xun Shu nibbled at the crispy biscuits, his words slurred as he said, "For peace of mind, it's okay to spend this little money. But fortunately, they still have such kindness, which gives us the opportunity to find the child's remains."
"That's right. I wonder what the Wang family thinks when they find out about this." He Xuan sighed, "What about the second one?"
Fang Yan said, "Secondly, the yamen runner visited the neighbors of Wang's cloth shop. One of them mentioned that on the day Madam Zhao's body was found, when he left home early in the morning, he thought he saw someone hurrying back to the shop. It looked like Wang Fuwan. He called out to Wang Fuwan, but she walked even faster and walked in without even looking back."
Wang Fuwan actually returned to the cloth shop after dawn!
Xun Shu's initial surprise faded, but then he remembered something: Chaozhou City had a nighttime curfew, and without a government token, citizens were not allowed to cross the city walls. The Zhao residence and the Wang family's cloth shop were located in two separate neighborhoods. Wang Fuwan couldn't return home during the curfew, so how did Sumei get back?
She told this idea to He Xuan and Fang Yan. After discussing for a while, they decided to escort Su Mei back to the yamen first and then make plans.
After finishing their business, breakfast was almost over. After eating and drinking, Fang Yan's eyes swept back and forth between Xun Shu and He Xuan's faces, and the curiosity and doubt in his heart could no longer be suppressed.
He could not forget the scene in County Magistrate Zhao's study yesterday afternoon.
He had seen many ordinary people talking to the county magistrate, all of them trembling with fear and trepidation. The timid ones even dared not look up at County Magistrate Zhao's face, which was very different from the performance of Xun Shu and He Xuan.
Xun Shu was fine, having always treated power like dirt. He was always polite no matter who he spoke to. He didn't fawn over the rich and powerful, nor did he show disdain towards beggars or vagrants. But what about He Xuan? Why was he not afraid or respectful when facing County Magistrate Zhao, acting as if he were just a stranger... Was he so foolish that he didn't know the difference between an official and a commoner?
Fang Yan suppressed the smile on his face and looked at He Xuan intently: "Brother He, it's been nearly half a year since you recovered from your injury. When I rescued you, you were injured and forgot some things from the past. Do you remember anything now?"
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