Chapter 502 - Chapter 502: Receiving Fake Money

Chapter 502: Receiving Fake Money

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Chu Xuhua immediately sent someone to bring Madam Zhou’s cousin, but he wasn’t at home and had been missing since the afternoon.

Ge Lihua frowned, “Fled out of guilt?”

Hearing this, Xu San immediately protested, “See, I told you it was him. Let me go; this has nothing to do with me.”

Chu Xuhua looked at him, “We can’t prove he’s the murderer yet. Just stay here. If you didn’t kill, we won’t wrong you.”

Xu San, intimidated by Chu Xuhua’s stern gaze, shrank back and remained silent.

Chu Xuhua told Ge Lihua, “I’ll be back with my wolves to search for him. Even if he hides at the end of the earth, I’ll find him.”

Ge Lihua nodded in agreement.

Chu Xuhua, with three half-grown wolves, went to the village of Madam Zhou’s cousin. The wolves, after sniffing his clothes, began to track the scent.

First, they followed the village roads and then headed into the mountains, deeper into the wilderness.

Chu Xuhua, along with two constables, followed cautiously, prepared for any occurrences.

The two constables looked at the mountains and were a little worried. “There are so many wild beasts in the mountains. If a ferocious tiger suddenly jumps out, we’ll be finished.”

Chu Xujin turned around and said to the two of them, “Don’t worry, it won’t happen. 1 promise.”

Seeing that Chu Xujin was so uncertain, the two constables felt a little relieved.

Chu Xujin smiled and was about to say something when the three wolves suddenly stopped. He quickly gestured to the two constables and squatted down.

The three of them squatted down and observed the situation in front through the gaps in the bushes.

The three wolves rushed forward and pressed the person who had sneaked out of the cave to the ground. One of the wolves pressed its claws on the other party’s head majestically and looked at Chu Xujin with a smug expression.

Chu Xuhua and the constables quickly moved forward and tied up the man. “Are you Madam Zhou’s cousin?”

He was a tall man with regular features and dark blue clothes. He looked flustered, but he tried his best to maintain a calm appearance. His face looked very distorted.

Gao Changyong wanted to deny it, but when he saw the three wolves, he couldn’t bring himself to lie. “I am. Why did you capture me?”

Chu Xujin asked, “What do you think?”

Gao Changyong said in a panic, “How would 1 know? I’ve always been staying in the mountains. 1 don’t even know what’s going on outside.”

“Do you really not know? Or are you pretending not to know?” Chu Xujin’s expression turned sharp. “When did you come to the mountains?”

Gao Changyong said, “I’m a hunter from the village. 1 entered the mountain yesterday afternoon. Everyone watched me enter the mountain. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the villagers.”

Chu Xujin thought to himself that this situation was getting troublesome. “It would have been fine if you didn’t enter the mountain. Who knows what you did after entering the mountain?”

Gao Changyong, with a sorrowful face, responded, “If I knew entering the mountain would bring me trouble, I definitely wouldn’t have gone.”

“Now I only believe in evidence,” said Chu Xuhua as he and two constables escorted Gao Changyong back to the government.

To everyone’s surprise, Gao Changyong did not admit that he was the murderer. He even raised a question. Where was the murder weapon?

The blanket could cause suffocation, but it didn’t mean that the blanket had really suffocated Zhou Da.

This question stumped everyone. Moreover, these people were very resistant and did not admit to lulling.

After closing the garden, everyone returned home to count money, as they did the night before.

At that moment, Chu Xuhua arrived with a stack of silver notes, “This is the money we collected from today’s deliveries. Ruyue, please count and record it.”

“Okay,” said Shen Ruyue as she opened the account book and started counting the notes. Suddenly, she paused, frowning, and separated three fifty-tael notes, “Look, something seems off with these three notes.”

Everyone gathered to examine them.

Chu Qingyue hesitated, “These notes seem fake.”

When Chu Xuhua heard this, he quickly returned. He took the banknotes and looked at them carefully. Then, he took out the banknotes beside him and compared them. His face darkened.

Chu Qingzhi took the banknote and looked at it. “It’s indeed fake.”

Shen Ruyue asked, “Xuhua, do you know who gave you these notes?”

Chu Xuhua shook his head. His expression was not good. “I don’t know who exactly it is, but ten deliveries were made today. It must be from one of them.”

Shen Ruyue murmured, “Did they do it on purpose? Or do they not know?”

“I’ll go take a look.” Chu Xuhua couldn’t take it lying down. He grabbed three banknotes, rode Fu Bao, and left the house. He had to verify with these merchants. It was 150 taels in total, not 15 taels. The loss was too heavy.

“Hey, Xuhua…” Shen Ruyue chased after him, but Chu Xuhua was already gone.

“I’ll go take a look,” said Chu Qingzhi, following suit.

When Tang Jinghong saw Chu Qingzhi leave, he hurriedly walked out. “Qingzhi, wait.”

Chu Qingzhi stopped. Tang Jinghong flew over and sat behind Chu Qingzhi. The two of them rode together and chased after Chu Xuhua.

They did not manage to catch up with Chu Xuhua. Instead, they bumped into Chu Xujin.

Chu Xujin appeared dejected, having nearly solved the case but unable to identify the crucial murder weapon. “Where are you guys going?” he asked Chu Qingzhi and Tang Jinghong.

“We’re going after Big Brother,” Chu Qingzhi responded. “Did you run into him?”

Chu Xujin nodded, “Yes, I did. Big Brother went to the county to see the Meng family. Is there a problem?”

“We’ll talk about it when we get back,” replied Chu Qingzhi, and they continued their journey.

Chu Xujin, turning to Ge Lihua, remarked, “Everyone seems so busy tonight.”

Ge Lihua looked in the direction where Chu Qingzhi had left. “Should we go and take a look?”

Without hesitation, Chu Xujin agreed, “Let’s go.”

Chu Xuhua came to the Meng family’s door. When he heard that it was Chu Xuhua, Old Master Meng immediately got someone to open the door and came to the front hall to entertain him. “Shopkeeper Chu, this is?”

Chu Xuhua took out the fake banknote from his pocket and handed it to Old Master Meng. “Take a look.”

Old Master Meng held the banknote in his hand in confusion. Suddenly, his expression froze. “It’s fake?”

Chu Xuhua explained, “Today, I supplied goods to ten businesses, and these notes came from your end. I didn’t notice they were fake, and I’m not here for a refund. I’m hoping you could check if your silver notes have been mixed with counterfeits. If so, let’s find the source together.”

Old Master Meng nodded. “Alright, Shopkeeper Chu, wait a moment. I’ll go take a look.”

Chu Qingzhi and Tang Jinghong walked in. “Brother.”

Chu Xuhua stood up and looked at the two of them. “Have a seat first. We’ll leave when Old Master Meng comes out.”

“Okay.”

After a while, Chu Xujin and Ge Lihua walked in as well. Chu Xujin asked in confusion, “Why are you looking for Old Master Meng?”

Chu Xuhua sighed. He regretted not checking the banknotes properly. He had suffered such a huge loss. “1 received fake banknotes..”