pdf-ebookys Chapter 118: Street
Chapter 118: Street
An old and faded red rope with two small ceramic pendants hanging on it. The patterns on the rope have been worn away and there is little left. I don’t know what they were originally painted on.
Shan Dajun pulled his sleeves to his forearms, and there was also a red rope.
He put the red rope on his wrist close to it for comparison. Although one was new and the other was old, they should be the same thing.
Village chief Lin came over and was stunned when he saw the red rope.
Seeing his strange expression, Dan Dajun shook the old red rope and asked, "Have you seen it?"
Village Chief Lin nodded and said, "Many young people in the village believe this, including my two children."
Something that can be exchanged for two copper coins in Yue Lao Temple is indeed not that rare.
Shan Dajun placed the old red rope on the table, sat down on the edge of the kang, and said to Gao Qi: "If you know something, tell me. The murderer will be caught sooner, and your mother can rest in peace sooner."
Gao Qi's eyes moved, but there was no further reaction.
If Shan Dajun was not an official carrying a sword, he would have driven him out like the villagers.
Village Chief Lin reminded him awkwardly, "Sir, he is a mute now and cannot speak."
Shan Dajun: “…”
You didn’t tell me earlier!
The two came out of Gao's house, and a yamen runner came over quickly, "Boss, all the villagers are here."
Shan Dajun nodded, and the three of them hurried to the old elm tree.
There were crowds of people under the old elm tree. I heard that this time it would be delayed for a long time, so each family brought their own benches.
As soon as Shang Wan's family arrived, they were pulled to the seat reserved for them by Aunt Zhou and Madam Rong. They talked to her and Xiaohuan about who was with the group when the crime happened, who couldn't tell where they were, and how they guessed who the murderer was.
Yuanyuan sat on Lu Chengjing's lap, her big eyes following the colorful marbles played by the little brothers, and she clapped her hands with joy.
Lu Chengjing's heartbeat quickened whenever he heard his daughter clapping. He turned the little girl around and looked into her eyes.
Hmm...the color is normal.
The old father felt relieved and turned the person back under his daughter's protesting gaze.
After a while, Shan Dajun and his party arrived.
Shang Wan noticed the red rope tied around Shan Dajun's wrist, and then looked around. He hadn't noticed it before, but now he found that several young men were wearing one on their wrists.
Shang Wan was speechless. It turned out that this thing was already everywhere.
Lu Chengjing noticed that Shang Wan looked strange, and called softly, "Madam?"
"Look at their wrists." Shang Wan leaned over and whispered, "They all have red ropes."
Lu Chengjing glanced around calmly and found that even Li Dashan was wearing one on his wrist, and it was brand new.
"Dashan, what is this red string on your wrist?"
"Someone else gave it to me." Li Dashan raised his hand to cover the red rope, his eyes wandering, seeming a little shy.
Lu Chengjing: “…”
No, he must have seen it wrong.
Shang Wan made a gesture to Lu Chengjing, and it seemed that good things were about to happen to the Li family.
But the next second, Shang Wan was slapped in the face.
The red rope on Li Dashan’s wrist was actually given by Liu Yuzhi!
Don’t ask Shang Wan how she found out. Li Dashan would look at Liu Yuzhi like a thief from time to time, and after looking at her, he would have a shy and sweet look on his face. Anyone with eyes could see it.
But the point is not this. The point is that Liu Yuzhi raises fish!
Not only Li Dashan was looking at Liu Yuzhi, several young men in the village were also looking at Liu Yuzhi, and their expressions and demeanor were almost the same as Li Dashan's.
These young people also have a brand new red rope on their wrists.
Shang Wan couldn't help but sigh, what a talented person! He has only been here for a few days and he already has a fish pond.
Suddenly, something flashed through his mind, so fast that Shang Wan couldn't catch it.
She frowned and thought, but she couldn't figure out what the fleeting feeling just now was.
Lu Chengjing lowered his eyes and looked at the red rope on Li Dashan's wrist thoughtfully.
Shan Dajun's words interrupted their thoughts. The coroner found a silver hairpin from Gui's clothes hanging around her waist and took it to Old Lady Gao for identification. It turned out that it was not Gui's.
After seeing the style of the silver hairpin clearly, Shang Wan's family fell silent.
Isn’t this the token of love that Lu Chengjing gave to the original owner and was later exchanged for food by Shang Wan?
Shouldn't this thing be in the Lin family? Why is it in Gui's?
Chen Guifang screamed in fright, then realized that she had overreacted and quickly covered her mouth.
But it was too late. Shan Dajun motioned for her to come forward and asked, "Have you seen this silver hairpin?"
Chen Guifang nodded and subconsciously looked at Shang Wan.
Shan Dajun also looked over and said in a slightly softer tone, "Madam Shang, have you seen this silver hairpin?"
"I have seen it. It used to be mine." Shang Wan said truthfully, "On the first night I came to the village, I asked Shitou to take it to exchange for some food in the village. If I remember correctly, this silver hairpin should be in the hands of the Lin family."
Shan Dajun looked at Village Chief Lin and asked, "Do you take Madam Shang's words seriously?"
Village chief Lin nodded. Liu had worn it outside to show off, and many people in the village had seen it. There was no point in denying it.
Chen Guifang interrupted, "Mother gave this hairpin to my eldest sister-in-law. I saw her wearing it a few days ago, and Yuzhi said it was beautiful."
Liu Yuzhi was suddenly called out, and was stunned for a moment before nodding and agreeing, "Yes."
Zhou looked panicked and explained hastily, "After I wore it that day, the hairpin fell off and I haven't seen it since."
"How can such a coincidence happen in the world?" Shan Dajun snorted, "The silver hairpin found on the murderer happened to be yours, and it just happened to have fallen off. Are you saying that the deceased stole your silver hairpin?"
"I, I don't know." Zhou was so frightened that her face turned pale and she hid behind her man. "I didn't kill him."
Lin Jianshan said, "Sir, when Aunt Gui died, my wife and my mother were cooking in the kitchen together. It's impossible for her to have killed someone."
Liu nodded, proving that what Lin Jianshan said was true.
Shan Dajun said: "The hairpin is now your Lin family's property. It appeared at the crime scene. The murderer must be from your Lin family."
"Sir, you can't say that. This hairpin used to belong to the Lu family." Village Chief Lin couldn't let his family take the blame. "They wanted to take the hairpin back before, but we refused to give it to them. The scholar's wife knows martial arts, so it's not impossible that she stole it secretly."
"Village chief, please explain clearly. We are not going to take it back, but to buy it back. Since your family refuses to sell it, we won't bother you." Shang Wan retorted, "It's just a silver hairpin. If you want to buy it again, just buy it. I don't have to be so despicable as to steal it."
Village Chief Lin snorted, "Everyone knows that my Lin family has always been on good terms with the Gao family. How could we possibly kill someone? A few days ago, your two families had a feud and I helped to mediate. It's not impossible that you turned your hatred into murder and then killed someone."
"When Gui Shaofen died, our family was all together. It was impossible for us to go out and kill someone." Shang Wan said before Village Chief Lin could refute, "In case you say that we colluded with each other to give false testimony, the children from the Li and Luo families were playing at my house at that time, and they can all testify for us."
Village Chief Lin's words were stuck in his throat.
Shang Wan glanced at the Lin family members and said, "By the way, I remember that you, the village chief, and the elder and second Lins all have no alibis. Can you tell me where you were at the time?"