Chapter 109: Chapter 109: The Sun Family’s Case
Xiao Jingran lifted his gaze from the medical book on the table, gesturing for Ling Bo to continue.
The ghost made a human-like act of clearing his throat, and then, began to speak. [That Sun family over there actually didn’t get along with each other.]
Until now, the case was over two months old and the yamen officials still couldn’t solve it, always finding a dead end.
The yamen officials in charge of the case had submitted to the magistrate that Qiu Mu had a high chance of committing suicide instead of being murdered. However, the magistrate didn’t approve of this explanation and told them to continue investigating it.
Such insistence from the magistrate was strange.
Xiao Jingran noticed this, especially when he recalled Xiao Qingya’s kidnapping case.
The Xiao family already harbored a deep suspicion that a relative or even a close neighbor was involved. But... how can this case have a link to Qiu Mu’s murder?
Is there a possibility it might involve the Sun family? Xiao Jingran didn’t want to rule out that possibility.
[We heard the father fighting again with his children.] Ling Yu continued in a gossipy tone. [Even the neighbors who passed by their house always heard noises. A few aunties have confirmed this!]
She didn’t forget to quote her source—the idle aunties who had been gathering for gossip.
[Master Jing, we got curious and went to the scene again. Unexpectedly, we heard a piece of news.] Ling Bo added.
[Sun Daniu actually hates his wife Qiu Mu. Hiss, you don’t know how much he cursed her while he was arguing with his children, Master Jing!]
Xiao Jingran tapped the table, and it became the only sound in the room. The Ling siblings obediently stayed silent after they were done with their report.
They were currently in the study room built by Xiao Wei, the Xiao sibling’s father.
"Did he reveal something else?" he finally looked up again at them.
The Ling siblings glanced at each other, trying to recall if they had missed something. Ling Yu thought about it, and she suddenly said, [Master Jing, Sun Daniu was about to say something like ’if your mother wasn’t so foolish to do...’, then abruptly stopped.]
Ling Bo muttered, [Is Qiu Mu’s murder related to something she had done? This Sun Daniu seems to know about it.]
No matter how many times the yamen officials tried to interrogate Sun Daniu, they found out he wasn’t the one who killed his wife.
They also investigated the place where Sun Daniu had stayed the night Qiu Mu was missing. As a result, they received the proof that he wasn’t really at the location.
Sun Daniu was escorting clients using his ox cart.
"Continue to investigate," Xiao Jingran told them, his brows furrowed slightly.
During the time the Xiao family had stayed in the county, the Ling siblings always slipped away to visit the yamen and eavesdrop on the discussion of this case or glanced at the file related to it. Hence, they could obtain so much information.
[We originally wanted to follow Sun Daniu... but he drove his ox cart until it reached the area outside our range.] Ling Bo added.
They could only stay so far away from Xiao Qingya.
Soon, the Ling siblings left, and now, it was only Xiao Jingran alone in the room. A few shadows and transparent beings passed by the room. He glanced at them imperceptibly, pretending not to see.
Unless the ghosts were deliberately trying to find trouble with him, he wouldn’t pay them any mind.
In order to sleep peacefully, Xiao Qingya had stuck a peace and ghost warding talismans on her. However, they might run out of these talismans soon.
The System didn’t really lie. Ever since she gained the Heavenly Yin Eyes, she could see more and more ghosts.
Even the transparent ones who were on the verge of dissipating and lost ghosts who no longer possess any consciousness, only driven by their instinct to wander around.
The next day, Shun Zi came to their house upon hearing that they had returned.
"Mrs. Zhou," he greeted Zhou Anran who was sweeping the front yard.
Shun Zi and his men really fulfilled their promise. They took care of the Xiao family’s fields carefully during their absence.
"Old Shun." Zhou Anran greeted back, smiling. "How’s business lately? Are you going to take another batch of paddy rice?"
The man’s smile stretched wide. "The business is doing well, Mrs. Zhou. The moment we opened our shop, the people were already lining up in front of our store."
Shun Zi had bought the Xiao family’s paddy rice at a higher price, thirty copper coins per jin.
Soon, his attention was attracted by the barn near the house. "The barn is finally finished?"
It was open, and he could see two oxen munching on grass and green leaves there. "Your family also already has the oxen for an ox cart!"
Zhou Anran nodded. "We have some fields in the county too, and we will also plant it with our paddy rice."
In fact, the fields in the county were much more convenient for farming. It was near a water source, and there was also an irrigation channel already.
They didn’t need to manually bring water from the river anymore.
Upon hearing that, Shun Zi’s eyes lit up. As he headed toward the Xiao family’s grain room, he became more energetic than usual.
He could already see some money rolling. Originally, he wanted to use the money from selling rice seeds to renovate the shop at the village market, but now he thought it would be better if he saved to buy a shop in the county.
At noon, Zhou Shuran visited them. Lately, she liked spending time with the Xiao family.
It seemed that Chen Huayun had been really scared since the yamen incident last time and no longer acted as controlling as before toward her.
"Shu’er, come to the grain room. Let’s pick good rice seeds before Old Shun takes all of them!" Zhou Anran pulled her younger sister toward the grain room.
She quietly mumbled. "It seems that Father wants to focus on developing the fields in the county."
Zhou Shuran bit her lip. She hesitated slightly before she opened her mouth and decided to tell her sister the truth. "Elder Sister, actually..."
