Chapter 7 The Gardener's Tale

"Young Dennis was excitedly yelling at the old man... 'Anyone can see that woman only married you to seize our family's property. Only you are still in the dark. You've gone senile and been charmed by her. I won't let this happen. If you refuse to remove her name from the will, I'll find another way!'” Barton imitated the tone of the person involved, recounting the story. "After the young master said that, the old man roared loudly, and then the gunshot rang out. I was so startled at the time, I almost fell out of the tree. Luckily, I was close to the trunk and managed to grab on and slide down. Afterwards... I ran into the house and met everyone in the second-floor hallway."

This Barton seemed like an honest man, not very cunning, just a bit of a gossip. It was only natural for a servant in a wealthy family to be interested in the family's scandals.

Feng Bujue believed that Barton's description might have some embellished details, but the basic gist should be accurate. So, Brother Jue tentatively asked, "So… you think this 'another way' is…" He made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand.

"Mmm…" Barton nodded emphatically with wide eyes.

"That's a bit arbitrary, isn't it?" Feng Bujue said. "Earlier in the foyer, I didn't see their relationship was so strained as to be a matter of life and death."

"No… you don't understand, Mr. Feng." Barton leaned forward and said, "I've been the gardener here for eight years, so I know a few things more or less..." This guy's gossiping soul seemed to be ignited, and he narrated with a serious face, "Mrs. Odeta married the old man seven years ago. At that time, she was only twenty-eight years old, while Mr. Corston was fifty-five. You should know what outsiders think of this kind of marriage between an old man and a young woman..."

"Yes... a pear blossom crushing a crabapple," Feng Bujue replied. "Beautiful..." He had an expression of longing on his face.

"Uh... what did you say?" Barton asked in confusion. It seemed that the system's built-in translation function couldn't convey Feng Bujue's meaning either.

"Nothing, just thinking about some irrelevant things." Feng Bujue instantly changed to a serious expression and brought the topic back, "I think, even if they don't say it on the surface, most people will still think... Mrs. Odeta married Mr. Lovecraft for the money."

"Yes," Barton responded and continued, "So you should be able to guess the reactions of the old man's three children when they heard the news."

"Three children?" Feng Bujue said, "Is there another one besides Dennis and Jack?"

"Yes, the old man has a daughter, Miss Nancy," Barton added. "Young Master Dennis and Young Master Jack are children of the first wife, while Miss Nancy is the child of the old man and the second wife."

"Is Miss Nancy in this villa now?" Feng Bujue asked.

"Not here, but she should be arriving today," Barton replied. "Actually, usually only the old man and his wife are here. The eldest young master and his wife live in the city, Miss Nancy works in Vienna, and the second young master... seems to be living an unsettled life. But every year at this time, they come back and stay until Thanksgiving before leaving."

"Hmm…" Feng Bujue quickly sorted out the family's situation in his mind and said, "I understand... please continue."

"Okay," Barton continued from where he left off, "When the old man announced that he was going to marry the young Odeta, the family naturally thought that this woman was after the old man's property. Of course, at that time, Young Master Jack was busy being a rock star, and Miss Nancy was still in college. Although they had some criticisms about this matter, they weren't completely unacceptable."

"But Dennis's attitude was more intense," Feng Bujue followed up.

"That's right," Barton said, "I'm about the same age as Young Master Dennis, and I actually understand him quite well. If I also had a wealthy father who wanted to marry a stepmother who was five or six years younger than me, I would object too."

"In short, the conflict between the two of them was planted at that time, right?" Feng Bujue said.

"Yes, so over the years, Young Master Dennis and Mrs. Odeta's relationship has been tense, but they all pretend to be polite on the surface," Barton replied.

"Oh…" Feng Bujue pondered, "Listening to you so far... the focus of the problem seems to be Mr. Corston's will. What do you know about that?"

Hearing this, Barton recalled for a few seconds and said, "Hmm... that was... in the winter three years ago. One afternoon, the old man suddenly had a stroke in the study. Although he escaped the danger in the end, he had to rely on a cane in the days that followed. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the always healthy old man. After that, his physical condition got worse and worse. A few months later, he found a lawyer and made a will…"

Feng Bujue interjected, "Could it be... that the wife made him do it?"

"Uh... I don't know about that," Barton said. "But Young Master Dennis seems to think so, and he has argued with the old man many times about the will. I remember one time they argued so fiercely that everyone in the house heard the young master shout in the room, 'That woman is a witch! She should be tied to the stake and burned!'"

"Hmm…" Feng Bujue thought for a moment and said, "Then... why did you... tell me these things?"

"Because I really don't know who to ask for help, Mr. Feng," Barton said with a worried look on his face, "The old man firing the gun today really scared me, and so did Young Master Dennis's words... I think something will definitely happen if this continues. The old man and his wife have always been kind to me, and I don't want to see any of them suffer an accident or commit an act that harms human life." He paused and said, "I saw it in the hallway before. You seemed incredibly calm when facing sudden situations, and I could tell from your eyes that you are an amazing person. That's why I came to tell you these things. I think maybe you can talk to the old man or the young master and persuade them not to do anything stupid."

Feng Bujue's expression didn't fluctuate much when he heard this. He was silent for a while before speaking, "In the end, I'm just a passerby who encountered a car accident in the mountains. I'm not qualified to interfere in the Lovecraft family's affairs."

Barton lowered his head, revealing a disappointed expression.

Feng Bujue continued, "In my opinion, you are a little oversensitive, Mr. Barton. Everyone says a few angry words... especially when they are emotionally out of control." He spread his hands, "What witch, stake, are obviously metaphors. The phrase 'find another way' probably refers to... using litigation or something like that." He stood up and patted Barton on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Mr. Barton, nothing will…"

"Ah--" A woman's scream suddenly rang out, interrupting Feng Bujue's words.

The system voice followed closely: \[Current mission completed, main mission updated]

In the menu, the entry \[Stay in the villa and wait for the case to happen] has been checked off, and a new task has appeared: \[Investigate the crime scene and wait for the police to arrive]