Chapter 194: Another Tragedy
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Wang Peifang had finally experienced the strength of the village women. She could not break free at all when Li Qingyu grabbed her.
At this moment, she stood at the door and glared at Li Qingyu. She said hatefully, “1 raised Chu Qingzhi for 15 years, and you’re treating me like this?”
Li Qingyu glared back. “Like what? You saw Qingzhi’s situation just now. Your husband is sick, and so is my daughter.”
Wang Peifang gritted her teeth, her anger rising. “She won’t die anyway, but Chu Zhongyuan is in so much pain that he’s dying.”
Li Qingyu blocked the entrance without wavering. “Is there no doctor in the county city? Why do you have to look for Qingzhi?”
Wang Peifang said angrily, “I’ve already invited all the doctors in the county. If the doctors can save him, why would I come all the way here?”
Li Qingyu was unmoved. “I’m sorry. Qingzhi can’t get out of bed now. You can leave.”
Wang Peifang squeezed out words from between her teeth. “Li Qingyu…”
Li Qingyu’s attitude was firm. “I’m sorry. If the doctors can’t save him, I’m afraid no one can.”
Wang Peifang gritted her teeth. “Li Qingyu, Chu Qingzhi is a baroness. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll go to the county magistrate and report to him that she’s indifferent to the life of her adoptive father?”
Li Qingyu’s expression changed, and she was slightly flustered. This concerned Qingzhi’s reputation. If she was found pretending to be sick, would people think she was a heartless person?
Seeing that Li Qingyu was wavering, Shen Ruyue rushed over and said, “If you have evidence, go ahead.”
Li Qingyu did not understand, but she did. Qingzhi’s reputation was now related to the county magistrate’s official career. The county magistrate would only protect Qingzhi and would never believe Wang Peifang.
Wang Peifang glared at Shen Ruyue viciously. “Who are you? Do you have the right to speak here?”
Shen Ruyue said calmly, “Madam, Qingzhi has been helping the county magistrate solving a case today. She didn’t eat much at noon. You know how weak Qingzhi’s body is. She had a high fever at night. You’re Qingzhi’s adoptive mother, but now you don’t care about her life and death. Do you think you’re right to let her get up and go with you to treat your husband?”
What?
Chu Qingzhi went to help the county magistrate solve a case?
Wang Peifang’s expression was ugly. “You’re lying to me, right? Do you think I don’t know what Chu Qingzhi is capable of?”
Shen Ruyue said calmly, “If she is not capable, how did she become a baroness?”
Wang Peifang felt dizzy like she had been dealt a blow. Chu Qingzhi had been hiding her abilities all along. She did not know Chu Qingzhi at all.
Shen Ruyue looked at Wang Peifang with pity, thinking to herself, If you weren’t so vicious, Qingzhi wouldn’t have done this. You would regret losing a daughter like Qingzhi for the rest of your life. “Go back. Qingzhi is too sick today. She can’t go anywhere.”
Grandpa Chu called out, “Everyone, go back to your room. There are still so many things to do tomorrow. How can we have so much time to waste with a shrew? Go to sleep.”
Everyone went back to their rooms to sleep. Wang Peifang was chased out and the door closed again with a bang.
Wang Peifang looked at the closed door and left indignantly.
However, by the time she returned, Chu Zhongyuan had miraculously recovered. Of course, this was only temporary. Chu Qingzhi wouldn’t let him die so easily.
The next morning, Tang Jinghong rushed over.
“Qingzhi, you went to help the county magistrate solve a case?” Tang Jinghong’s eyes reflected Chu Qingzhi’s beautiful face, and his voice was filled with concern.
Chu Qingzhi sighed helplessly. “That’s right. Yesterday, I went to teach the students in the school when someone died.”
Tang Jinghong nodded. “You must prioritize your own safety.”
Chu Qingzhi said, “I will. Anyway, I don’t have anything to do recently. I’ll bring Third Brother along to teach him the basics of investigating a case.”
Tang Jinghong said in surprise, “Chu Third is planning to learn how to investigate cases?”
Chu Qingzhi nodded. “Third Brother is very talented in this aspect. I think we can nurture him. He likes it too.”
“That’s good.”
“You came here so early to tell me this?”
“I’m here firstly to see you and secondly to tell you this.”
Chu Qingzhi couldn’t help but smile. Jinghong was getting more sweet-tongued. “Let’s eat together. After that, I have to go to the government office. The case isn’t over yet.”
Tang Jinghong tucked Chu Qingzhi’s hair behind her ear and said gently, “I’ll go with you this morning. I’ll return to the military camp in the afternoon.”
In order to have half a day to himself, he stayed up until midnight to finish the military affairs.
Chu Qingzhi thought that Tang Jinghong was just here to see her. She didn’t expect that she could have a date with Tang Jinghong for half a day. She was a little surprised. “Really?”
Tang Jinghong’s eyes were filled with a gentle smile. “Really.”
After breakfast, they walked towards the county office. They did not expect to encounter two constables on the way.
One of the constables shouted hurriedly, “Miss Chu, someone died in the Tan family again!”
Then, they immediately rushed to the Tan mansion.
The atmosphere in the Tan mansion was gloomy. Everyone was kept in the garden in the front hall with terrified expressions.
When the head constable saw Chu Qingzhi, he hurriedly went up to her. “Miss Chu.”
Chu Qingzhi frowned and said, “Bring us to the crime scene.”
“Okay.”
Following the head constable, the group arrived at Second Master Tan’s room.
The door was open and a constable was guarding it.
The head constable said, “Miss Chu, Second Madam Tan was the first to discover Second Master Tan’s death this morning. She was so frightened that she fainted.”
Chu Qingzhi walked into the room. “Third Brother, see if you can discover anything in this room.”
Chu Xujin immediately said, “Okay.”
The room was very clean and tidy, as if it had been deliberately cleaned. However, the house of a rich family had to be cleaned every day, so there was nothing unusual about it.
Chu Xujin looked at the beam. The beam was covered in dust as it should be. He retracted his gaze and went to check something else.
Chu Qingzhi went to look at Second Master Tan on the bed.
Second Master Tan’s eyes were closed and his expression was peaceful. He also looked like he was sleeping. It was very similar to Tan Maozhi’s death.
Bao Linjiang handed over a pair of gloves at the right time. “Master.”
Chu Qingzhi took the gloves and instructed her two disciples in a low voice, “Go and secretly monitor the Tan family to see if anyone is acting very suspicious. By the way, you said yesterday that you saw a suspicious person. Be careful today. If you see the person again, inform me immediately.”
The two disciples immediately nodded.
Tang Jinghong didn’t know how to investigate cases, so he just watched the show. “Qingzhi, what do you need me to do?”
Chu Qingzhi thought for a moment. “Jinghong, go and see if there are any fleeceflower stems in the Tan mansion.”
Tang Jinghong was embarrassed. He touched his nose. “Qingzhi, I don’t know what fleeceflower stems are.”
Chu Qingzhi gave him another task. “Jinghong, go and ask the head constable if the confessions yesterday were confirmed.”
Now that there were confessions, she still had to collect evidence. Only then could the case be truly closed.
Tang Jinghong said, “Okay, I’ll go right away..”