212 Husband and Wife Reunion
The bailiff walked forward and said, “Who is Wang He who went to the government office to hand over the complaint? My lord is here to investigate!”
When the young woman saw the official, she cried even louder.
“I’m Madam Wang He. I went to the government office to report it.” The old woman got up from the ground and staggered to Zhou Jia, about to kneel down.
Zhou Jia stopped her and said, “Wang He, you said in your lawsuit that your son was killed by your daughter-in-law. Do you have evidence?”
“Sir, I have no evidence.” Old Madam He pointed at the corpse covered in a white cloth in the central room with trembling hands. Tears streamed down her face. “Sir, my son has always been in good health. He just caught a cold occasionally, but he was already drinking medicine! How could he leave so quickly? It must be that whore and adulterer who killed my son.”
The members of the Wang family also echoed, “Sir, my cousin is in good health! He’s in his prime. How could he be killed by a small cold? There must be something wrong! Please investigate!”
Old Madam He knelt on the ground with a thud. “Lord, I was widowed at a young age with my son. It wasn’t easy for me to raise him and send him to learn a skill. I got him married and he survived the disaster! When I came back from work, he was fine. I brought my grandson to my relative’s house for a banquet and stayed at his house for two nights. When I returned home, the bitch said that my son had caught a cold and died. Lord, she’s trying to kill me! You have to seek justice for me!”
The few women who were helping whispered, “Logically speaking, Madam Su won’t do that? Brother Daqiang is hardworking and takes care of the family. Shouldn’t she be satisfied with such a man?”
The older woman curled her lips. “What kind of person is this? How can she be content! As time passes, she will start to crave for other things! As the old saying goes, one will always think that the spouses of other people are better. It’s not up to us to meddle in other peoples’ family matters. It’s just that after Daqiang leaves, our lives will be difficult.”
At this moment, Madam Su walked out of the central room crying. Although she was dressed in linen, she did look quite beautiful.
Madam Su cried, “Sir, I was wronged! Why would I kill my husband? He’s the pillar of the family. Without him, how can we live?”
“Lord Zhou, Coroner Yang is here,” the official reported to Zhou Jia.
Coroner Yang also stepped forward and bowed. “Greetings, Senior Zhou!”
Zhou Jia saw that Coroner Yang was probably in his forties and looked thin and capable. He nodded and said, “Coroner Yang, the deceased is in the central room. Go take a look!”
Coroner Yang bowed and said, “Yes, Lord Zhou!” Zhou Jia led the bailiffs and Coroner Yang into the central room.
Coroner Yang untied the white shroud covering the deceased and undid his clothes. He examined him carefully, but did not find any wounds. He reported to Zhou Jia, “Sir, from the surface of the corpse, there are no fatal wounds. If we want to know if he was murdered, we can only cut open his stomach to check his internal organs to see if the deceased die from poison.”
Zhou Jia nodded and brought people to the kitchen to check. In the kitchen, he saw a medicine jar with leftover medicine dregs. He picked up the medicine dregs and took a look. It was indeed medicine to treat colds. He brought the magistrate officers to a few rooms to search them one by one. He did not find any traces of a fight in the rooms. Zhou Jia thought to himself, Could it be that he really died of a sudden illness?
Zhou Jia returned to the central room and said to the old woman, “Old woman, did you hear Coroner Yang’s words? If you want to know why your son died, you can only do an autopsy!”
Old Madam He looked at her son and thought to herself, Son! Don’t blame me for being ruthless. I can’t let you leave without knowing why! Old Madam He gritted her teeth and said, “Sir, I agree to the autopsy!”
Zhou Jia said to Madam Su, “Madam Su, your mother-in-law has accused you of murdering her husband. You’re not allowed to walk out casually these few days, understand?”
Madam Su nodded aggrievedly and bowed. “I know that my mother-in-law is sad. I don’t blame her. I hope that you can investigate as soon as possible and clear my name.”
Zhou Jia ordered the magistrate officers to carry away Wang Daqiang’s corpse. Along the way, Mr. Qian said to Zhou Jia, “Sir, I realized that the Wang family’s neighbors and relatives don’t have a good evaluation of Madam Su. Also, I discovered that the Madam Su husband died suddenly but she still had the mood to comb her hair neatly. I think Wang He’s suspicions are not unreasonable!”
After Zhou Jia heard this, he thought for a while and said to Mr. Qian, “I also realized that although Madam Su is crying, there’s no sadness in her eyes. Looks like I have to investigate her!”
Mr. Qian looked at Zhou Jia and smiled. “Sir, you’re too prominent. As soon as you go out, everyone knows that you’re the county magistrate. I think it’s better for me to go and investigate!”
“Alright! Go and investigate if Madam Su has any ill intentions?”
“Alright, I’ll go back to the county office to change my clothes.”
As soon as the two of them arrived at the county office, Yang Wei ran over happily. “Young Master, Young Madam is back!”
“Really!” Zhou Jia ran towards the back of the county office. He saw Li Yu standing in the courtyard at a glance and ran up to her in two to three steps. He said gently, “Yu’er, you’re back!” Li Yu also looked at Zhou Jia with a smile. “Yes! I’m back. I said that you went to investigate the case. Are you alright?”
Zhou Jia suddenly remembered that he had just seen a corpse. He took a step back and said gently, “I just came back from the scene. I’ll wash up first. The coroner is still checking. Wait for me to come back.”
When Li Yu heard Zhou Jia mention the coroner, she knew that a murder had happened. She looked at Zhou Jia and said gently, “Alright, go ahead! I’m a little tired. I’ll go and rest first.”
“Yes! Wait for me to come back.”
Li Qing looked at Zhou Jia, who only had eyes for Li Yu, and said to Ruyi with a smile, “Brother Ruyi, my brother-in-law is really biased. He didn’t even ask about me.”
“Stupid child, do I still need to ask about you?” Zhou Jia quickly walked towards the front office, afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would not be able to bear to leave.
Ruyi looked at Zhou Jia’s back and chuckled as he patted Li Qing. “Let’s go. Brother Ruyi will welcome you.”
“Okay!” The two of them hugged and walked out. Li Yu smiled and shook her head. Aunt Zhang came over and reported, “Young Madam, the hot water is ready. Do you want to take a bath now?”
“Alright, I’ll go now.” Li Yu walked towards the bathroom. Zhou Jia arrived at the courtyard of the front office. The coroner had already dissected Wang Daqiang and was checking. After the coroner checked, he reported, “Sir, the deceased didn’t die from poison!”
“Oh! She didn’t die from poison? Could it be that she really died from a cold?” Zhou Jia rubbed the space between his eyebrows. After all the ephedra soup in the Wang family’s medicine jar was the medicine to treat colds!
The coroner bowed. “Yes, sir. No poison was found in the victim’s stomach or internal organs. He might have really died from a cold.”
After Zhou Jia filled in the documentation and handed it to the coroner, he said, “Alright, restore him first! We’ll talk about it when Mr. Qian comes back.”
“Yes, sir.” The coroner turned and busied himself.
212 Husband and Wife Reunion
The bailiff walked forward and said, “Who is Wang He who went to the government office to hand over the complaint? My lord is here to investigate!”
When the young woman saw the official, she cried even louder.
“I’m Madam Wang He. I went to the government office to report it.” The old woman got up from the ground and staggered to Zhou Jia, about to kneel down.
Zhou Jia stopped her and said, “Wang He, you said in your lawsuit that your son was killed by your daughter-in-law. Do you have evidence?”
“Sir, I have no evidence.” Old Madam He pointed at the corpse covered in a white cloth in the central room with trembling hands. Tears streamed down her face. “Sir, my son has always been in good health. He just caught a cold occasionally, but he was already drinking medicine! How could he leave so quickly? It must be that whore and adulterer who killed my son.”
The members of the Wang family also echoed, “Sir, my cousin is in good health! He’s in his prime. How could he be killed by a small cold? There must be something wrong! Please investigate!”
Old Madam He knelt on the ground with a thud. “Lord, I was widowed at a young age with my son. It wasn’t easy for me to raise him and send him to learn a skill. I got him married and he survived the disaster! When I came back from work, he was fine. I brought my grandson to my relative’s house for a banquet and stayed at his house for two nights. When I returned home, the bitch said that my son had caught a cold and died. Lord, she’s trying to kill me! You have to seek justice for me!”
The few women who were helping whispered, “Logically speaking, Madam Su won’t do that? Brother Daqiang is hardworking and takes care of the family. Shouldn’t she be satisfied with such a man?”
The older woman curled her lips. “What kind of person is this? How can she be content! As time passes, she will start to crave for other things! As the old saying goes, one will always think that the spouses of other people are better. It’s not up to us to meddle in other peoples’ family matters. It’s just that after Daqiang leaves, our lives will be difficult.”
At this moment, Madam Su walked out of the central room crying. Although she was dressed in linen, she did look quite beautiful.
Madam Su cried, “Sir, I was wronged! Why would I kill my husband? He’s the pillar of the family. Without him, how can we live?”
“Lord Zhou, Coroner Yang is here,” the official reported to Zhou Jia.
Coroner Yang also stepped forward and bowed. “Greetings, Senior Zhou!”
Zhou Jia saw that Coroner Yang was probably in his forties and looked thin and capable. He nodded and said, “Coroner Yang, the deceased is in the central room. Go take a look!”
Coroner Yang bowed and said, “Yes, Lord Zhou!” Zhou Jia led the bailiffs and Coroner Yang into the central room.
Coroner Yang untied the white shroud covering the deceased and undid his clothes. He examined him carefully, but did not find any wounds. He reported to Zhou Jia, “Sir, from the surface of the corpse, there are no fatal wounds. If we want to know if he was murdered, we can only cut open his stomach to check his internal organs to see if the deceased die from poison.”
Zhou Jia nodded and brought people to the kitchen to check. In the kitchen, he saw a medicine jar with leftover medicine dregs. He picked up the medicine dregs and took a look. It was indeed medicine to treat colds. He brought the magistrate officers to a few rooms to search them one by one. He did not find any traces of a fight in the rooms. Zhou Jia thought to himself, Could it be that he really died of a sudden illness?
Zhou Jia returned to the central room and said to the old woman, “Old woman, did you hear Coroner Yang’s words? If you want to know why your son died, you can only do an autopsy!”
Old Madam He looked at her son and thought to herself, Son! Don’t blame me for being ruthless. I can’t let you leave without knowing why! Old Madam He gritted her teeth and said, “Sir, I agree to the autopsy!”
Zhou Jia said to Madam Su, “Madam Su, your mother-in-law has accused you of murdering her husband. You’re not allowed to walk out casually these few days, understand?”
Madam Su nodded aggrievedly and bowed. “I know that my mother-in-law is sad. I don’t blame her. I hope that you can investigate as soon as possible and clear my name.”
Zhou Jia ordered the magistrate officers to carry away Wang Daqiang’s corpse. Along the way, Mr. Qian said to Zhou Jia, “Sir, I realized that the Wang family’s neighbors and relatives don’t have a good evaluation of Madam Su. Also, I discovered that the Madam Su husband died suddenly but she still had the mood to comb her hair neatly. I think Wang He’s suspicions are not unreasonable!”
After Zhou Jia heard this, he thought for a while and said to Mr. Qian, “I also realized that although Madam Su is crying, there’s no sadness in her eyes. Looks like I have to investigate her!”
Mr. Qian looked at Zhou Jia and smiled. “Sir, you’re too prominent. As soon as you go out, everyone knows that you’re the county magistrate. I think it’s better for me to go and investigate!”
“Alright! Go and investigate if Madam Su has any ill intentions?”
“Alright, I’ll go back to the county office to change my clothes.”
As soon as the two of them arrived at the county office, Yang Wei ran over happily. “Young Master, Young Madam is back!”
“Really!” Zhou Jia ran towards the back of the county office. He saw Li Yu standing in the courtyard at a glance and ran up to her in two to three steps. He said gently, “Yu’er, you’re back!” Li Yu also looked at Zhou Jia with a smile. “Yes! I’m back. I said that you went to investigate the case. Are you alright?”
Zhou Jia suddenly remembered that he had just seen a corpse. He took a step back and said gently, “I just came back from the scene. I’ll wash up first. The coroner is still checking. Wait for me to come back.”
When Li Yu heard Zhou Jia mention the coroner, she knew that a murder had happened. She looked at Zhou Jia and said gently, “Alright, go ahead! I’m a little tired. I’ll go and rest first.”
“Yes! Wait for me to come back.”
Li Qing looked at Zhou Jia, who only had eyes for Li Yu, and said to Ruyi with a smile, “Brother Ruyi, my brother-in-law is really biased. He didn’t even ask about me.”
“Stupid child, do I still need to ask about you?” Zhou Jia quickly walked towards the front office, afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would not be able to bear to leave.
Ruyi looked at Zhou Jia’s back and chuckled as he patted Li Qing. “Let’s go. Brother Ruyi will welcome you.”
“Okay!” The two of them hugged and walked out. Li Yu smiled and shook her head. Aunt Zhang came over and reported, “Young Madam, the hot water is ready. Do you want to take a bath now?”
“Alright, I’ll go now.” Li Yu walked towards the bathroom. Zhou Jia arrived at the courtyard of the front office. The coroner had already dissected Wang Daqiang and was checking. After the coroner checked, he reported, “Sir, the deceased didn’t die from poison!”
“Oh! She didn’t die from poison? Could it be that she really died from a cold?” Zhou Jia rubbed the space between his eyebrows. After all the ephedra soup in the Wang family’s medicine jar was the medicine to treat colds!
The coroner bowed. “Yes, sir. No poison was found in the victim’s stomach or internal organs. He might have really died from a cold.”
After Zhou Jia filled in the documentation and handed it to the coroner, he said, “Alright, restore him first! We’ll talk about it when Mr. Qian comes back.”
“Yes, sir.” The coroner turned and busied himself.
