The suicide note has disappeared.
Wang Baishi was so frightened that his face turned ashen, as did An Daming. The female corpse lying in the room was too, too terrifying!
A suicide note is crucial evidence in solving a case. If it is lost, wouldn't the case become even more difficult to solve?
Wang Baishi kicked An Daming and said angrily, "What are you doing hiding here instead of solving the case?! Be careful, or I'll have your head chopped off!"
An Daming was so frightened that he wet himself. He cried and said, "How could I possibly solve any cases? It was all because of my sister! Sir, I'm innocent!"
Wang Baishi glared and said, "I don't care what kind of girls you have! You've taken the official notice, so you have to solve this case! Get over there!" With that, he kicked An Daming, who stumbled and made intimate contact with the female corpse.
Then came a deafening scream, which caused the dogs to bark wildly and disturbed the Right Chancellor's rest. The Right Chancellor ordered that Wang Baishi be given fifty lashes and reprimanded for his incompetence.
Meanwhile, An Xin had just returned to Wuhua Village.
The dewdrop came out to greet us, its eyes red.
An Xin glanced at her, then walked into the courtyard without saying a word.
The courtyard was a mess. The newly bought pots and pans were all smashed to pieces, and anything of value was nowhere to be found. An Youwei sat in the corner without saying a word, while Xu Ruolan wept bitterly.
An Xin asked, "What happened?"
An Youwei hurriedly stood up and said, "Xin'er, why are you back? Didn't you go to the government office?"
Xu Ruolan hurriedly stopped crying, stood up and forced a smile, saying, "It's all my fault. I slipped and fell, and all these things are broken. I'm heartbroken."
Despite her illness, Xu Ruolan hurriedly began to pack, and An Youwei quickly called Luzhu to help her.
An Xin looked at their clumsy attempt to cover it up, her lips pursed into a thin line, and after a long while she smiled and said, "It's okay, Mother. It's okay if it's broken. I wasn't satisfied with these things anyway. I'll go and buy some more with Lu Zhu tomorrow."
Xu Ruolan trembled, holding back her tears, and said, "It's all my fault."
An Xin helped her to the side and said, "There is no bad mother in the world. Dewdrop, go and tidy up the bedding for your mother. I can take care of things here."
Dewdrop hesitated, then held back her tears and carried the dirty bedding into the room.
An Youwei was pulling weeds in the yard with great effort. An Xin silently swept up the broken pieces and, seeing that An Youwei was still pulling weeds, asked, "Dad, is there anything to eat at home?"
An Youwei trembled, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Father, go out for a moment."
An Xin dropped the broom and said, "I'll go buy it. I can also take a look around the village." She then called to Lu Zhu, and together they walked outside.
Dewdrop was still silently wiping away tears, presumably warned by Xu Ruolan not to tell her, otherwise the girl would definitely complain.
An Xin said, "Everything has been smashed. Let's go to Uncle's house to borrow some things."
Dewdrop's eyes widened suddenly, and she hurriedly shook her head, saying, "Miss, it's better not to go."
An Xin glanced at her and continued walking forward.
Dewdrop suddenly burst into tears: "My uncle and his family will not lend the young lady any of these things. They were the ones who smashed them. The young lady said she wanted to treat the villagers to a meal, but my uncle said it would be a waste to feed them. So he took away all the things the young lady had bought. My master was not happy about it and argued with my uncle. In a fit of anger, my uncle smashed the things."
An Xin said "Oh," put her hands behind her head, and watched the sun set. As dusk gradually fell, Wuhua Village was peaceful and serene, nestled in the beautiful sunset.
But a beautiful village doesn't mean the people in it are beautiful!
Dewdrop said, "Miss, I don't know what Aunt said to Uncle. Uncle came with a face full of anger. I think it's better if you don't go. If you offend Uncle, you might suffer a grievance!"
An Xin lifted her left foot and stepped on the half-broken wooden stake. She casually picked up a stick as thick as an arm from the ground and said nonchalantly, "No matter what, he is still Dad's older brother. He wouldn't be so heartless as to not care about our lives. Just lead the way and stop talking nonsense."
Judging from Miss Anxin's expression, there was no point in saying more, so he could only nervously lead the way for Anxin.
Chapter Sixteen: Lessons Learned
An Yousheng's family was much more extravagant than An Xin's. They lived in a large house with blue tiles and white walls. The house was spacious and bright, and the wooden vermilion gate was wide open. From afar, one could see Liu Yuemei laughing loudly in the courtyard.
An Xin walked over slowly. Dewdrop bit her lower lip; she could already imagine what it would be like for her mistress to be expelled.
Liu Yuemei is notorious for taking advantage of others; she will never return what she steals!
An Xin's arrival brought Liu Yuemei's laughter to an abrupt halt. The smile on her face gradually turned sinister, and she looked An Xin up and down with extreme disdain, saying, "Oh, isn't this An Xin from his uncle's family? Tsk tsk, what's she doing with that stick?"
An Xin smiled slightly and said, "Brother Da Ming hasn't come back yet?"
Liu Yuemei sneered disdainfully, "My Da Ming is a man who does great things, of course he's different from you."
An Xin said "Oh" and said, "The villagers are going out to eat tonight. I heard that my uncle took all the food. My dad is a man of his word, and he couldn't go back on his word, so he had me come to get it back."
Liu Yuemei's voice immediately became shrill and sharp: "You shameless hussy, when did we take anything from your house? Look at your poor, wretched appearance, what could you possibly have to take!"
Dewdrop was furious. She was about to speak when An Xin stopped her.
An Xin moved her wrists, then stretched her muscles and bones, and then picked up the stick she had picked up and walked step by step toward Liu Yuemei.
Startled by An Xin's indifferent gaze, Liu Yuemei took a step back and said, "What are you going to do? Your uncle is home!"
An Xin said calmly, "Tell him to get out here."
"You, how dare you speak to your uncle like that!?" Liu Yuemei screamed.
An Xin raised her eyelashes and said indifferently, "You beast are not worth my politeness!"
Liu Yuemei shrieked, "You Sheng, why don't you come out here and die!"
An Yousheng walked out with a grim face and angrily shouted, "An Xin, what are you trying to do?!"
An Xin suddenly stopped in her tracks, and the stick suddenly slammed down on An Yousheng with a powerful gust of wind. Liu Yuemei screamed, and An Yousheng turned pale. Under the strong gust of wind, he couldn't even move his feet!
The wind whipped up by the stick suddenly stopped an inch from his cheek, and at that moment, An Yousheng felt his facial muscles twitch uncontrollably.
An Xin tilted her head slightly, a cold smile playing on her lips, and said, "What do you think I should do?"
A bead of cold sweat slid down An Yousheng's forehead. He felt his face stiffen, unable to show any expression. But An Xin was, after all, just a little girl, and he was an elder. How could he be threatened by a little girl?
But the stick was right next to his face. If she hadn't stopped a little earlier, he probably would have lost half his life!
An Yousheng said in a trembling voice, "Xin'er, let's talk this out..."
An Xin's stick slid down his cheek and then smashed the table next to him to pieces with a "bang." An Xin said indifferently, "I don't have time to waste with you. Tonight, the villagers are waiting to drink and eat meat, but my parents are not well, so I have to leave it to you, Uncle. If even one villager says anything bad, your fate will not be any better than this table."
An Yousheng's face turned pale.
Liu Yuemei was about to scream again when An Xin coldly glanced at her and said, "As for you, go and help out. I don't think your uncle can handle it all by himself."
Liu Yuemei turned pale with anger!
How could this be! How could this brat suddenly become a different person! Just a moment ago, Liu Yuemei felt that she would beat Yousheng to death with a stick!
An Xin casually tossed the stick aside and said, "I'll give you half an hour to prepare. If I don't see anyone after half an hour, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
An Yousheng froze on the spot, watching An Xin's figure slowly walk away, a strange sense of fear slowly welling up in his heart.
Dewdrop stared at her young mistress in disbelief!
The young lady actually managed to intimidate the An Yousheng family, who were so arrogant and unreasonable that even the master had to give way to them!
Is this really, really still a prostitute?!
Even she was startled when the young lady made her move!
Dewdrop cautiously observed An Xin, whose hands were behind her head, her expression somewhat languid, her eyes slightly narrowed, seemingly lost in thought. The twilight glow fell upon her delicate face, outlining a soft halo... Miss seems to have changed a great deal; the gentleness that was once a girl's only quality has vanished completely.
Why does the personality of the same person change so much?
An Xin walked with a shuffling gait, the farewell letter floating in her mind. Every word floated in her mind, neat and orderly, yet something just felt off...
Where exactly is it?
"Is that Xin'er?" A surprised voice rang out, and An Xin paused, turning her head slightly to look over.
Dewdrop exclaimed happily, "Oh, it's Sister Jinqiao!"
An Xin looked at Lu Zhu with suspicion. Lu Zhu then remembered that her young mistress had injured her forehead and couldn't remember many things. She hurriedly said, "Sister Jinqiao is a good friend of yours. When you were eight years old, you accidentally fell into the water. It was thanks to Sister Jinqiao that you were saved!"
The woman named Jinqiao had gentle eyes and a smile on her lips. She was a warm and approachable woman.
"It really is Xin'er. When did you return?" Jin Qiao greeted her, her smile genuine and joyful, which unconsciously infected An Xin.
Her smile revealed teeth as white as jade, and her hair was tied up with a handkerchief. Even in coarse cloth, she was still incredibly beautiful.
Dewdrop said cheerfully, "I just arrived this morning. Sister Jinqiao hasn't seen Miss for a long time."
Jinqiao laughed and said, "Yes, it's only in the blink of an eye that Xin'er has grown up so much."
An Xin smiled rather reservedly, after all, for her, it was impossible to instantly become like an old friend with a complete stranger!
She is incredibly slow to warm up to things like relationships. It's like when she was in school, she would often get full marks on argumentative essays, but she never passed a lyrical essay!
Seeing An Xinwei's slightly embarrassed expression, Dewdrop said, "Sister Jinqiao, Miss accidentally bumped her forehead and doesn't remember many things."
Jinqiao was taken aback, then stepped forward and took Anxin's hand, saying, "As long as everyone is alright, that's all that matters. How are Grandpa and Grandma?"
An Xin smiled and said, "It's alright. My parents are hosting a banquet for the villagers tonight, so Sister Jinqiao can go along."
Jinqiao paused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No, I have something to do. I'll come see you another day." With that, she smiled and turned to leave.
Dewdrop watched Jinqiao's retreating figure and said, "Jinqiao hasn't changed at all over the years. She would never go to such a lively occasion."
An Xin casually asked, "Why?"
Dewdrop said, "Sister Jinqiao is not from the village. She fled from another place when Miss was eight years old. When she first came to the village, everyone said she was a wild woman, and the children bullied her. But later, when Miss fell into the water, Sister Jinqiao saved her! After that, Miss and Sister Jinqiao became good friends, and Master and Madam also treated Sister Jinqiao very well."
An Xin said "Oh" and stopped thinking about it. After today, there were only two days left in that case, and they needed to find the truth as soon as possible.
---Aside---
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Chapter Seventeen: Ballads
On the way back, An Xin was surrounded by a group of children. The older ones were no more than six or seven years old, and the younger ones were only three or four. The children in the countryside were not as well off as the children in the city. They were all covered in mud and dirt, and they sang and danced around An Xin: "A toad wants to eat swan meat, but can't become a noblewoman and ends up as a bandit! Savage, dirty abandoned woman, annoying and hateful!"
Dewdrop's expression changed, and she stepped forward to scold, "What nonsense are you spouting!"
“We’re not talking nonsense! She’s a divorced woman! That rich man divorced her, and Mother said how dare she come back!” The older children cheered triumphantly, but their words were shockingly harsh.