vrcanaries Chapter 124 Murder Case 7
Chapter 124 Murder Case 7
The next day, Xiao Qinian sent several yamen runners to secretly investigate Chen Lan and Zhu Chong.
The constables were quick, and by noon, they had returned.
“Sir, I investigated Zhu Chong, and there’s nothing wrong with him. We only found out that Zhu Chong is lazy and good-for-nothing. Because he was Zhu Laoshi’s late-life son and her only child, Zhu Laoshi doted on him and indulged him in almost everything. As a result, Zhu Chong never respected his father and wife, and even treated Zhu Laoshi with disdain.” A yamen runner said.
“Sir, I investigated Chen Lan and found that she is not from our Qianyuan County. She was picked up by Granny Zhu. She used to be a maid in a wealthy family, but she was kicked out by that family for some reason. Granny Zhu picked her up and she eventually married Zhu Chong.” Another yamen runner said with some regret.
From this perspective, Zhu Chong is not much of a suspect. After all, Old Lady Zhu treated Zhu Chong very well, and if Zhu Chong had any conscience left, he wouldn't have killed Old Lady Zhu.
Chen Lan, however, is still highly suspicious. She is a maid from a wealthy family who committed a crime. What crime did she commit?
However, this was not enough to determine who the murderer was. They had to wait for the other constables to return and see if they had any findings.
Xiao Siyue didn't go back; instead, she sat in Xiao Qinian's study and waited.
It wasn't until evening that the constables returned.
"Your Excellency, we have been secretly following Zhu Chong and Chen Lan all day. After they buried Old Lady Zhu, they have been staying at home and haven't come out."
If nothing came out, it means there was nothing to show for it today.
“We waited outside until the afternoon when Chen Lan came out. She had even changed her clothes. We followed her and eventually saw her go to the town's pharmacy. We waited outside, and Chen Lan came out a short while later with a bag of medicine.”
All of this is normal, but why would you change your clothes specifically to go to a pharmacy? Are you afraid of being recognized? But why?
Xiao Siyue then looked at the yamen runner.
The constable continued, "After Chen Lan left, we asked the people at the pharmacy and found that the medicine Chen Lan sold was safflower."
She knew about safflower; it promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis, but pregnant women shouldn't take it.
In the past, when she watched dramas, especially palace dramas, red flowers were the most frequently seen element.
But why would Chen Lan buy safflower? This is puzzling.
Xiao Qinian was also puzzled; he didn't understand these things.
"Safflower? What's wrong with safflower?" Xiao Qinian asked, puzzled. Why would someone buy safflower secretly?
"Sir, we asked the doctor, and he said that women who buy safflower usually do so to abort their children."
"She wants to abort the child. Chen Lan wants to abort the child." Xiao Qinian was shocked.
"Wait, something's not right. Didn't the village say before that Chen Lan couldn't get pregnant and that Old Lady Zhu gave her some kind of secret formula? But now that she's pregnant, why is she having an abortion?" Xiao Qinian couldn't understand.
"Have you found anything else?"
"After that, we followed Chen Lan back. Chen Lan brewed and drank the medicine, and we even heard her groaning in pain." The constable shuddered as he recalled the sounds he had heard.
"What about Zhu Chong? Where did Zhu Chong go? Chen Lan miscarried, does Zhu Chong know?" Xiao Qinian quickly pressed for an answer.
"Sir, Zhu Chong hasn't come out yet. We sneaked in to check on him and found him sleeping the whole time." The constable also felt something was wrong, so he went to check on him when Chen Lan wasn't looking.
"Okay, I understand. You guys go and get some rest."
"Yes, sir." After the constables left, Xiao Qinian wrote down the information he had received.
"Why? Why did Chen Lan abort her own child?" Xiao Qinian muttered to himself as he looked at the message he had written down.
"Either she hates the Zhu family and doesn't want to give birth to a child with Zhu family blood, or this child can't be seen in public," Xiao Siyue said, offering her guess.
Xiao Siyue's words startled Xiao Qinian, who had completely forgotten that his daughter was still there.
"Yue'er, you just said that Chen Lan might not want to have this child because she hates the Zhu family?" Xiao Qinian asked.
"Yes, Father, Chen Lan isn't doing well in the Zhu family. Her mother-in-law and husband either beat or scold her. It's quite possible that she already hates the Zhu family and doesn't want to give birth to any Zhu bloodline." This was just Xiao Siyue's guess.
“That makes some sense,” Xiao Qinian nodded.
"However, Yue'er, what do you mean by saying that Chen Lan's son can't be seen by people?" Xiao Qinian thought of what Xiao Siyue had just said.
“It’s just that this child might have an illegitimate background and can’t be shown to people,” Xiao Siyue said.
"Is its origin illegitimate?" Xiao Qinian asked, puzzled.
"This child might not be Zhu Chong's." Xiao Siyue said this somewhat guiltily, secretly glancing at Xiao Qinian through her glasses.
Sure enough, Xiao Qinian's expression changed instantly.
"Yue'er, how did you know?" Xiao Qinian's voice rose. How could his daughter, at such a young age, know these things?
“Well, Dad, I… I saw it in a sketchbook,” Xiao Siyue stammered.
“Drawing books? What kind of drawing books are you looking at?” Xiao Qinian’s expression was still very unpleasant.
"I saw a picture book before, and it was about a woman who got pregnant with another man's child and was afraid her husband would find out, so she secretly had an abortion." Xiao Siyue blurted it all out. She didn't want her father to imagine that she was reading some kind of indecent book.
"You're not allowed to look at these sketchbooks anymore. I have books, and your brother has some too. If you want to read, go find them yourself. Just throw these sketchbooks away as soon as possible." Xiao Qinian gave the instructions, but he was still a little worried. He planned to tell Lin Qin when he got home that night and ask her to find and burn all of Xiao Siyue's sketchbooks.
Although Xiao Qinian is a very open-minded father and doesn't interfere much with what books his daughter reads, he feels that these kinds of unconventional books are necessary. He doesn't want his daughter to be laughed at or talked about by others in the future.
"I understand, Dad." Xiao Siyue thought to herself. Actually, she didn't have that many sketchbooks; she had seen them all in her previous life.
"Hmm," Xiao Qinian nodded in satisfaction when he saw that Xiao Siyue was well-behaved and obedient.
However, Xiao Siyue's conjecture gave Xiao Qinian a lot of inspiration, and he felt that the case suddenly became much clearer. Xiao Qinian told Xiao Siyue to go back and started to sort out the case by himself.