An Youwei stared at An Xin with his mouth slightly agape, incredulous. After a long while, he suddenly let out a heavy sigh of relief. No matter what, An Xin wasn't hurt. That was wonderful, truly wonderful...
Xu Ruolan's body went limp and she became unsteady on her feet. The relaxation that followed her fear caused her to lose all support, and Luzhu hurriedly helped her up.
The village chief trembled and took a step back. This is impossible! This is impossible!
An Xin raised her eyelashes and stared at him, then walked towards him step by step.
The village chief instinctively stepped back, but there was a seat behind him, leaving him nowhere to retreat. He could only sit down in fear.
The elders also turned pale, staring at An Xin with unpredictable expressions!
An Xin stepped onto the steps and bowed slightly in front of the village chief. The girl's eyes did not show extreme anger and coldness. On the contrary, if those eyes smiled, they would definitely have the warmth of the spring sun. However, that warmth also revealed an undisguised aloofness and indifference. She was not afraid of threats, but gave people a strong sense of oppression!
An Xin stared at the aged and disheveled face in front of her and said, "I don't want to hear any more of your nonsense, understand?"
The village chief swallowed hard. He was used to being respected; when had he ever been threatened like this?
“Those who insult others will be insulted in return! Unfortunately, I don’t have such a good temper. Those who insult me, I will beat them to a pulp, and you, the village chief, are no exception!” An Xin glanced at the elders and smiled slightly. “Of course, I will not treat any of you elders differently.”
The elders' faces immediately turned ashen.
An Xin's gaze slowly swept over everyone, and those whose eyes fell upon her lowered their heads guiltily. A sarcastic smile slowly rose on An Xin's lips. The strong prey on the weak, and strength prevails, even in ancient times.
"Shut up, you gossipy types! Be careful, or you might wake up to find your tongue gone! I like peace and quiet. If you hear any more chatter, don't blame me for being ruthless!" An Xin rarely spoke such cold words. In the past, she mostly focused her energy on solving cases and was generally amiable in her dealings with people. Because solving cases required maintaining an extremely clear mind and rationality, she rarely lost her temper.
However, for now, a bit of coldness is quite good.
The courtyard was completely silent. An Xin felt that if the silence continued, someone would definitely have indigestion tonight. She glanced at the children following Da Shun and smiled "kindly" and said, "You children, come here and sing that nursery rhyme for me."
Da Shun shrank back behind Wang Yihe, somewhat frightened.
An Xin casually flicked out a few copper coins and said, "Whoever sings, I will give them these copper coins."
Children in the village usually don't have pocket money, so these copper coins are something that even adults would find tempting, let alone children.
Immediately, a child couldn't resist running out, and one child running out immediately attracted all the other children to run out as well. They crowded in front of An Xin and sang and danced: "A toad wants to eat swan meat, but can't become a noble person and ends up as a bandit! A savage, a dirty abandoned woman, annoying and hateful."
When the nursery rhyme was sung, only An Xin was able to remain calm and smile; everyone else's expression changed.
An Xin glanced at a small child who was fidgeting with the hem of his clothes. Although he was squeezed among the other children, he remained silent and didn't say a word. An Xin smiled slightly, patted his head, and said, "Why aren't you singing?"
The child lowered his head in embarrassment and said, "I don't think you're as bad as the nursery rhyme portrays you."
Children's hearts are mostly innocent. An Xin's move just now shocked these children's young hearts to the extreme, and even made them feel a surge of admiration. They couldn't help but wonder, is someone with such beautiful skills really a toad or a dirty abandoned woman?
Then other children chimed in, "We don't believe Sister Xin'er is that kind of person either. Someone with such amazing kung fu skills must be a great hero!"
The people in the courtyard fell into deep thought.
Chapter 10: Excessive Anger Damages the Kidneys
When An Yousheng arrived, this strange scene was what he saw. The way everyone looked at An Xin was complicated and had a hint of something else in it. The courtyard was unusually quiet.
An Xiaoyue was surprised to see An Yousheng and asked, "Dad, what brings you here?"
An Yousheng awkwardly avoided An Xiaoyue's gaze and looked at An Xin. An Xin glanced at him indifferently and said, "There are many villagers here, so we'll have to trouble you a lot tonight, Uncle."
An Yousheng chuckled sheepishly and said, "No trouble at all." With that, he carried his many belongings and hurried toward the kitchen.
Liu Yuemei, who arrived late, was about to say a few arrogant words when An Yousheng rushed out and quickly dragged her away. An Xiaoyue was extremely surprised and didn't understand why her parents had come here to be cooks!
An Youwei was even more shocked and hurriedly went to the kitchen.
Anxin gave each child a copper coin, and the children scattered and started playing in the sand in the yard.
The only sound in the yard was the laughter of children, but An Xin felt it was lively enough, so she stood aside and watched the children play with great interest.
It was a word-spelling game. Generally, one child would write the first stroke, and the other children would continue the spelling. Whoever could spell the word would win!
Due to limited resources in the village, very few children were literate, which is why many children lost.
As An Xin read on, she suddenly exclaimed, "So that's how it is!" She finally understood what was wrong with that suicide note!
Everyone was startled. Xu Ruolan asked worriedly, "Xin'er, what's wrong?"
An Xin suddenly smiled and said, "It's nothing, Mother. You entertain the villagers, I'll be gone for a while." With that, she ran off.
The girl's emotions changed so quickly that even Xu Ruolan was a little taken aback, but for some reason, she could feel her daughter's happiness.
An Xin was timid from a young age and always spoke to people in a timid and weak manner. Even when she was happy, she never showed such a frank smile. After marrying into the Ling family, this trait became even more pronounced.
Just now, her happiness was so genuinely displayed on her face. When she smiled, her eyes were incredibly beautiful, like the bright light of spring, instantly infecting her.
An Xin rushed into the room, found the suicide note, and her heart raced faster and faster as she read it. Yes, yes, this is the part of the suicide note that's wrong. This person made a mistake, and she finally found the flaw!
Next, I need to meet with a few people!
****
Having not slept all night, An Xin disappeared early in the morning.
An Daming was forced into the government office as a scapegoat, so naturally, even if the county magistrate cursed him to death, he wouldn't make any progress.
On this sunny day, spring blossoms dappled the bright morning sun, falling on the girl who was running along.
The yamen runners guarding the entrance stopped An Xin expressionlessly, saying, "Officer Yang has gone out on a mission; you can't just go in here!"
An Xin immediately put on a big smile: "Brother, is there any progress on Shui Yue Rou's case?"
The government office was momentarily stunned by An Xin's smile—of course, they were all single men without wives, which man doesn't yearn for love? It's only human nature to be moved by spring fever!
"Uh, no," the man said blankly.
An Xin feigned surprise and said, "It's been so long, and it still hasn't happened? I heard from my older brother that the murderer is one of those four people!"
The constable finally came to his senses and asked in surprise, "Your elder brother?"
An Xin immediately explained, "I only heard about it from my elder brother yesterday, but he's currently assisting the magistrate in solving the case at the government office and can't leave, so he asked me to investigate for him. However, the county town is so big, I can't find the addresses of those four people! And Brother Yang isn't here either. What if it delays the magistrate's investigation? That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"
The constable naturally knew that it would be a great hindrance if the case couldn't be solved, so he said, "They are currently under house arrest at the Yunlai Inn on Fushui Street in Yi'an County."
An Xin's eyes darkened. All four of them had a strong motive, and the murderer must be one of them. Today, she was determined to catch the real culprit!
Yi'an County is not large, and An Xin quickly found the Yunlai Inn. The inn was naturally not as luxurious as the one in the capital, but it was the best inn in Yi'an County.
An Xin glanced at it and rushed inside, only to bump right into someone coming out.
Actually, we could have just passed each other by.
It's likely that the two glanced at each other unintentionally and immediately felt a sense of familiarity.
The man, dressed in a purple robe and holding an embroidered folding fan, possessed an unparalleled beauty and timeless elegance. Upon seeing her, a ripple crossed his radiant eyes, and he stopped in his tracks.
An Xin glanced at him with some surprise, then ran over.
With the case about to be solved, all beauty is insignificant!
Minghe glanced at Anxin with surprise, then whispered, "Sir, she doesn't seem to know you very well." After a beautiful encounter, and then examining corpses and investigating clues together, the two should have a certain foundation of understanding. Why did this woman only glance at you before running away?
Putting aside the extraordinary revolutionary foundation, the master's unparalleled elegance alone would be enough to make her stop in her tracks! Didn't she see the person completely petrified inside the inn? Didn't she hear the frantic screams in the street? Didn't she notice that the master had already stopped and cast a stunning glance at her?
"I also don't think we're very familiar!" His lazy voice, like a light zither string, carried a hint of teasing. He turned around and glanced at the figure running upstairs, his eyes slightly shimmering.
Everyone connected to Shuiyue Rou's case is under house arrest here. Did she come here because she found a clue?
This woman truly impressed him!
"ah!"
"Bang"
"Smack!"
A series of noises suddenly came from the second floor, followed by shouts. An Xin hugged a bamboo pillow, looking somewhat disheveled. Then another pillow was thrown out of the room, and An Xin hurriedly jumped away, successfully dodging it.
She accidentally wandered into someone else's room, where a man and a woman were making out happily. When An Xin quickly retreated, she was discovered by the woman, who then let out a terrifying scream!
An Xin ran away in a flash, and when she passed Minghe, she stuffed the pillow into his arms, but hid behind the Right Prime Minister!
The man, whose good time had been ruined, was clearly unsatisfied and seething with anger. He rushed out and started yelling. An Xin covered her ears, thinking, "Hey, hey, don't get so angry! Getting angry is bad for your kidneys!"
The Right Chancellor glanced amusedly at the nagging woman, shook his embroidered folding fan, and glanced at Minghe.
Minghe tossed the bamboo pillow around, swung her arm and threw it. With a loud "bang!", the pillow grazed the man's ear and slammed heavily against the wall.
The man's curse words caught in his throat. He turned around shakily for a moment, and then, he wet himself in fear.
---Aside---
Well, the Right Prime Minister's role is that of a treacherous minister, utterly wicked and evil! Hehehe! As for his name, I actually revealed one character before. Also, the update schedule will gradually stabilize; it will generally be updated in the morning, except for special cases like today when it will be at noon. Because this story isn't under contract, I can't give gifts or anything like that. You need to sign a contract to enable that feature, but I'll complete the signing task as soon as possible in the next few days. ╭(╯3╰)╮ Finally, a side note: side notes don't count towards the word count. Xiaoxiang is really good at this; they leave us plenty of space to ramble, hehehe. Closing remarks: Love you all!
Chapter 11 The Lord Has Arrived
The intimidation was obvious; the man who had been so arrogant and hurling insults just moments before fled in disarray like a defeated rooster.
Fighting a man is not difficult, but fighting a naked, shameless, and shameless man is difficult.
An Xin breathed a sigh of relief, but when her gaze swept over the bamboo pillow deeply embedded in the wall, a hint of surprise flashed across her eyes. That throw was no simple feat; such a move is usually only seen in martial arts movies.
A startling thought suddenly flashed through her mind. At the same time, An Xin noticed a gaze on her. Her innate sensitivity allowed her to instantly pinpoint the source of the gaze, and she looked up towards a corner on the second floor.
The room was not in an inconspicuous location. When she looked over, the door, which had been slightly ajar, closed silently.
The person who is spying must have something to hide, and that place should be a place to detain the suspect.
An Xin raised her eyebrows almost imperceptibly, then her gaze fell on the person in front of her.
As she looked at him, he seemed to sense her gaze and said casually, "If you want to thank me for saving you, there's no need."
An Xin choked on her food, but calmly said, "Do you want to go see the murderer together?"
A predictable hint of pleasure appeared on his brow as he lightly waved his folding fan and said, "Why not go?"
Men who speak in roundabout ways are either cunning or arrogant, and An Xin strongly believed that the man in front of her was both cunning and arrogant. Her gaze swept over Ming He, who was clearly somewhat guilty, hiding his true feelings and avoiding direct eye contact with An Xin, which only made him more suspicious.
However, An Xin never wasted time and energy on things she wasn't interested in, so she turned around, went upstairs, and headed straight for that room.