I relied on a system to prolong my life in ancient times.

Chapter 119 Murder Case 2

Xiao Siyue followed Xiao Qinian into the carriage.

As they approached, Xiao Qinian said to Xiao Siyue, "Yue'er, if you're scared later, hide behind Daddy, okay?"

After all, it was a murder case, and Xiao Qinian was afraid that his young daughter would be frightened.

"I understand, Father," Xiao Siyue replied obediently.

Xiao Qinian was relieved.

"My lord, we've arrived."

The voices of yamen runners could be heard outside.

Xiao Qinian lifted the carriage curtain and got out first, then carried Xiao Siyue down with him.

The carriage stopped directly in front of the Zhu family's gate, which was Chen Lan's husband's family.

When Xiao Siyue came down, she saw that there were many people in the Zhu family. They must be holding a funeral for Chen Lan's mother-in-law. But this was a bit too fast.

It has only been two hours since Chen Lan reported the case.

Chen Lan entered the gate first, followed by Xiao Qinian and Xiao Siyue.

Before they even went inside, they heard a man cursing angrily.

"Where have you been? Your mother is gone, and instead of staying home to mourn her, you haven't been seen all morning. Do you want me to divorce you?" This was followed by a loud slap.

Xiao Siyue frowned upon hearing this. This man was Chen Lan's husband, yet he immediately threatened to divorce Chen Lan and even hit her.

Xiao Qinian was also very unhappy. As someone who loved his wife very much, he still couldn't tolerate someone treating his wife like that.

The two hurried inside, and Xiao Siyue saw Chen Lan with her back to them, facing a man of average height but with a fleshy face and a very fat body, who was angrily cursing at Chen Lan.

However, Xiao Qinian was discovered by the people inside after he went in.

"What brings you here, Magistrate?" The man's face, which had just been blazing with anger, immediately turned into a fawning smile.

Chen Lan turned around, and Xiao Siyue then saw a large red handprint on Chen Lan's face, which was very clear even though Chen Lan's complexion was sallow.

“A murder has occurred here, so naturally I’m here to investigate,” Xiao Qinian said in an unfriendly tone.

Upon hearing this, the man's face showed a moment of panic, then he turned to Chen Lan and said fiercely, "Did you go to report it? Who told you to go? I'll deal with you later."

"I..." Chen Lan seemed to want to say something, but looking into the man's eyes, she shut her mouth.

After uttering those harsh words to Chen Lan, the man turned to Xiao Qinian and said with a forced smile, "Sir, you've misunderstood. There's no murder case here. My wife is being ignorant and has disturbed you."

Xiao Siyue was stunned. Had this person studied face-changing? The change of expression was incredibly fast.

"Hmph, we'll only know if there's a murder case after we investigate," Xiao Qinian sneered.

Xiao Siyue glanced at the other people in the yard; these people must be villagers who had come to help.

They were all whispering amongst themselves, and Xiao Siyue could faintly hear it.

"The murder case, is it about Old Lady Zhu? Didn't Zhu Chong say that his mother died suddenly from an illness? How did it alarm the government?"

Another woman said, "Yes, but this old woman Zhu is very healthy. She doesn't look sick at all. Zhu Chong must be lying to us."

"Yes, yes, that must be it."

Xiao Siyue looked at the man, Zhu Chong, and noticed that he seemed somewhat uneasy and even a little ruthless.

Xiao Qinian naturally heard these words as well.

So they went straight into the mourning hall. After entering, Xiao Qinian first lit an incense stick for Old Lady Zhu, after all, respect for the dead is paramount.

Next, Xiao Qinian sat down on the stool placed below him.

"Your name is Zhu Chong, right?" Xiao Qinian asked, looking at Zhu Chong who had been following him.

"My name is Zhu Chong." Seeing Xiao Qinian's resolute attitude, Zhu Chong could only answer cautiously.

“The deceased is your mother. Tell me everything you know.” Xiao Qinan began the interrogation.

Zhu Chong recounted the events, which were largely consistent with what Chen Lan had told him, and he found no suspicious points.

Xiao Qinian kept a close eye on Zhu Chong as he spoke, but he couldn't detect any signs of lying. Was the man telling the truth, or was he just too good at pretending?

"Is there anyone else in your family?" Xiao Qinian looked around the house. It seemed that apart from the couple, the others were all villagers who had helped out, and they were mostly watching the show from the sidelines.

“And my father,” Zhu Chong said.

Xiao Qinian: "Where is your father?"

"My father was heartbroken and fell ill after my mother passed away," Zhu Chong explained.

So that's how it is. He wanted to ask Zhu Chong's father, but the man was ill, and he didn't want to bother him.

"After your mother went out yesterday afternoon, has anyone else seen her?"

"No. We asked the villagers yesterday, and none of them have seen my mother."

If I haven't seen her, that means that Old Lady Zhu most likely went directly to the foot of the back mountain yesterday.

Does your mother go to the back mountain on weekdays?

"I usually do,"

"So that means it's normal for your mother to go to the back mountain yesterday, right?"

“No, my mother usually goes up the mountain in the morning or at noon, not when it’s almost dark. There are wolves on the mountain, and no one in our village goes near the back mountain in the evening.” It was Chen Lan who spoke.

"Oh?" If that's the case, then it's indeed a bit strange where Old Lady Zhu went yesterday.

“We need to examine the deceased’s body now,” Xiao Qinian said.

"No, my mother is already in her coffin. How can we disturb her any longer?" Zhu Chong immediately stopped him upon hearing this.

“I understand all of that, but I don’t think you want your mother to die under mysterious circumstances. Or are you afraid we’ll find something out?” Xiao Qinian stared sharply at Zhu Chong.

"I... Hmph," Zhu Chong said, displeased but not stopping him.

"Coroner!" Xiao Qinian called out.

"Yes, sir." The coroner immediately went to the coffin to examine the body.

After a while, the coroner said, "Sir, the deceased showed signs of poisoning, but we do not know what kind of poison it was."

"Okay, continue the examination."

It was indeed murder, which proves Chen Lan was right; Old Lady Zhu's death was not accidental. But who killed her?

Just one sentence from the coroner caused a commotion throughout the funeral hall.

"Old Lady Zhu died of poisoning, but we don't know who poisoned her."

"Yes, I wonder who this old woman Zhu has offended."

"I really didn't know that. Old Mrs. Zhu has offended a lot of people."

"That's true, but it doesn't warrant killing someone."

"Well, who knows?"

Xiao Siyue gleaned some information from these people's words: Old Lady Zhu was a person of bad character and had offended many people, which broadened the range of potential culprits.

This case seems to be more complicated than it appears.

I wonder what kind of poison it was?