"My uncle and I parted ways at the city gate..." Zhan Feiyu recounted the events without any embellishment.
"It really was you!" Madam Yao's voice was piercingly sharp and terrifying. With a ferocious expression, she lunged forward, "I'll beat you to death, you wretched girl, you bringer of misfortune! Why wasn't it you who died!"
"You must have done it on purpose. You knew she was a madwoman, and you deliberately let her harm your uncle!" Old Madam Zhan also roared with anger, her eyes like venom, "You resent me for not letting you study, so you want to kill your uncle to get revenge on me!"
Perhaps everyone else saw it as an accident, and Zhan Feiyu saving someone was a good deed. Who could have imagined that the blind old woman would resort to murder? But in Old Madam Zhan's eyes, it was all Zhan Feiyu's scheme. This dead girl was seeking revenge; otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence!
The room descended into chaos again. Old Madam Zhan was about to attack when the village head stopped her. Madam Yao was held back by Madam Li. Cries and curses mingled, and anyone who didn't know would think Zhan Lao Er was already dead.
With a hiss, the village head felt a stinging pain on the back of his hand from Old Madam Zhan's grasp. He looked helplessly at the grim-faced Old Master Zhan, "Third Brother!"
"Enough, have you made enough of a scene? We'll discuss it after Lao Er wakes up!" Old Master Zhan finally spoke, but his gaze towards Zhan Feiyu was one of utter coldness. Ultimately, his anger was directed at Zhan Feiyu.
Old Madam Zhan, exhausted from her commotion, glared at Zhan Lao Da with hatred, "The daughter you raised!"
"Mother." Zhan Lao Da looked at the unconscious Zhan Lao Er, met his parents' resentful gazes, and listened to Madam Yao's curses. He crouched by the wall, holding his head.
A cough suddenly came from the doorway. The Zhan family turned to see a middle-aged man in constable's uniform standing at the entrance, followed by two young constables. They didn't know how long the three had been standing there.
Constable Fei's seemingly calm gaze swept over the Zhan family in the room, "Are you from the Zhan family? Come out and answer."
"This is Constable Fei from our yamen." Constable Zhao looked sympathetically at Zhan Feiyu, who was being protected by Madam Li. This was an undeserved disaster, but unfortunately, the ignorant country folk were blaming a young girl.
"Officer." Old Master Zhan spoke dryly and glared fiercely at the disruptive Old Madam Zhan and Madam Yao, displeased that they were embarrassing themselves in front of the officials.
In the courtyard, the Zhan family was clearly divided. Old Master Zhan, Old Madam Zhan, and Madam Yao stood together. Zhan Lao Da stood beside the village head, while Madam Li, holding Zhan Feiyu's hand, stood on the far left.
"The assailant, Madam Wang, lives in槐树巷子 (Huáishù Alley) and is known as the blind old woman. She has a son and a daughter. Her son, Wang Ming, was formerly a servant at the Zeng family's Baofeng Cloth Shop. Do you know him? Do you have any past grievances?" Constable Fei briefly explained the blind old woman's situation.
Facing the constables with their sabers, Old Madam Zhan and Madam Yao hunched their bodies, not daring to speak. Zhan Lao Da only knew how to farm and was unaware of Zhan Lao Er's situation in the county.
Old Master Zhan hesitated before replying, "Officer, our family does not know Madam Wang, nor have we heard Lao Er mention her."
Constable Fei didn't show whether he believed it or not and continued, "A month ago, there was a startled horse incident on South Street. Madam Zeng was in the carriage, and the driver was Wang Ming. Later, the Zeng family had Wang Ming beaten and expelled..."
"I heard Lao Er mention this, but Lao Er has always been delivering goods at the dock and never had conflicts with anyone, nor does he know Wang Ming." Old Master Zhan was convinced it was an accident. The blind old woman was probably mad, and Lao Er was unlucky to be stabbed by her.
Constable Zhao, young and kind-hearted, saw that Old Madam Zhan and Madam Yao were unwilling to accept this. He added a few more words, "Madam Wang's neighbors all say that since Wang Ming became paralyzed and Madam Wang also fell ill while caring for her brother, the blind old woman has been somewhat delirious."
"Yes, this commoner understands." Old Master Zhan nodded repeatedly, knowing Constable Zhao was subtly warning him.
Madam Li breathed a sigh of relief. Although her hair was messy and her face was scratched by Madam Yao, with the constable's words, Xiao Yu would not be accused of harming her uncle and would not affect Xiao Yu's studies and imperial examinations.
Madam Yao clenched her fists, unwilling to accept this. Especially when she saw Madam Li's relieved expression, Madam Yao's mind snapped. She knelt down with a thud and cried out in grievance, "Officer, you've all been deceived by this wretched girl! She deliberately wanted to kill my husband!"
"Niece-in-law, you must not speak nonsense in front of the officer!" The village head's scalp tingled. He glared angrily at the clueless Madam Yao, a mere woman daring to question the officer's investigative abilities.
Constable Fei's sharp gaze glanced at the village head, forbidding him to speak. He then addressed Madam Yao, "You say all of this was done by your niece?"
Head bowed, and not seeing the official's demeanor, Madam Yao was not as afraid. "Yes, officer. This dead girl is full of schemes. She just hates that we don't let her study, so she lured the madwoman to kill my husband!"
The more Madam Yao spoke, the more animated she became, her face contorting slightly. "She sent him to the clinic and stayed to look after him, claiming kindness? Bah! This wretched girl is malicious. She always outshines my eldest son at the private school, inciting the teacher to beat my son."
Seeing that Constable Fei did not interrupt her, Madam Yao raised her head and glared fiercely at Zhan Feiyu, "Dead girl, you're still making a name for yourself in the village, calling yourself a prodigy, just because you're afraid of hardship and hard work and don't want to do manual labor! You little beast, knowing that was a madwoman, you lured your second uncle over, and then you ran away. You deserve to have your head chopped off by the magistrate!"
"Zhan Feiyu, do you have anything to say?" Constable Fei looked at Zhan Feiyu. When he was young, he had apprehended a murderer with his master. It was a six-year-old boy who had burned to death twelve members of his family.
"The clear will remain clear, and the turbid will remain turbid. My second uncle has woken up." Zhan Feiyu replied calmly. She stood facing the house.