As Mother Zhang finished speaking, the two men holding Zhao Mazi grabbed her arms and dragged her outside.
Zhao Mazi let out a deafening pig-like squeal.
"Ow! Ow! Come quick! They're killing me!"
Mother Zhang was also a little nervous, fearing she might alert the villagers, and immediately signaled to the person beside her:
"Go and gag her!"
The person who received the instruction couldn't find a suitable item for a moment. Suddenly, she had an idea, took off her shoe, and pulled off her sock. Those nearby took a few steps back, seemingly enduring something.
After the sock was forcibly stuffed into Zhao Mazi's mouth, her eyes were filled with despair.
Why was she so greedy for money? She should have just sent the other party away with five taels of silver.
But now, she couldn't speak even if she wanted to...
Not long after, Zhao Mazi was dragged to the riverbank by several people.
At this point, Nian Jiaojiao and the others who had followed also saw this scene. Nian Jiaojiao felt she had seen enough. She said to her husbands:
"Alright, that's enough of the show. It's late and the dew is heavy, let's go home."
Xingyun hesitated, looking at Zhao Mazi struggling by the river and said:
"Wife, wife-master, this, this won't cause any problems, will it?"
Before Nian Jiaojiao could speak, Nan Qing interjected:
"Third brother, it's late, and second brother's eyesight is even worse."
As expected, as soon as Nan Qing finished speaking, Xingyun cast aside his previous question. He concernedly supported the other person and said:
"Second brother, then I'll help you walk."
Nan Qing nodded.
Although Nan Qing couldn't see the path, he walked forward with his back as straight as a green bamboo. Nian Jiaojiao seemed to see in him the image of a brilliant young man from books.
...
The next morning.
Qinghe Village.
The buzz about Zhang Jie's suicide didn't last long. In just two days, people's gossip about the matter had subsided.
However, people were still a bit wary of someone dying in the river where they usually washed clothes, so they switched from the west bank to the east bank for washing.
East riverbank.
Bai Qingqing came to wash clothes early in the morning. Because of Nian Jiaojiao's public teasing last time, he temporarily wanted to avoid the limelight, so as not to be associated with irrelevant people and affect his future marriage prospects.
As he was washing his small underpants, Bai Qingqing's peripheral vision inadvertently caught sight of something floating in the river not far away.
Could it be haunted?
Bai Qingqing's heart tightened a little, after all, there had been rumors of death in the river not long ago.
But he quickly calmed himself down.
Hadn't he already avoided the place where the death occurred? He had deliberately detoured from his home on the west bank to the east bank to wash clothes. It shouldn't be haunted...
So, Bai Qingqing mustered up his courage and looked again.
Long, black, messy hair, still wearing clothes – what else could it be if not a person?
Bai Qingqing was so scared he sat down on the ground. Then, with a pale face, he ran backward. After running a few steps, he bumped headfirst into Fang Fang and a few others who were coming to wash clothes.
"Huh? Bai Qingqing? What's wrong with you?"
Fang Fang walked over with concern and supported Bai Qingqing.
Her heart felt sweet.
The other person was usually so arrogant; not to mention any physical contact, even if she smiled warmly, he would dodge her as if she were a plague god.
Bai Qingqing didn't care if the other person was taking advantage of him. He pointed towards the river with a trembling finger and said:
"In the river, there's, there's someone in the river!"
Fang Fang was completely confused at this moment, and just said cheerfully:
"Who? Don't be scared, don't be scared, your sister Fang will protect you!"
Bai Qingqing was furious.
He was really unlucky to encounter such a simple-minded fool!
"I mean, there's a dead person in the river!"
"A dead person?"
"Where?"
"How is that possible? Zhang Jie has already been buried! Qingqing, are you seeing things?"
The three people following Fang Fang started discussing amongst themselves.
Rarely, Fang Fang had a moment of clarity and interrupted:
"Stop talking. Whether there's a dead person or not, we'll know if we go take a look. I believe Qingqing isn't someone who talks nonsense!"
As Fang Fang spoke, she gave Bai Qingqing a sickly sweet glance.
Under these circumstances, Bai Qingqing found Fang Fang's greasy words quite pleasing, and with people around to give him courage, his complexion improved significantly.
However, as they stepped forward to check the situation, he secretly slipped away and left.
Regardless of the actual situation, he didn't want to get involved with these troublesome matters.
Half an hour later, Zhao Mazi's death spread throughout Qinghe Village once again.
This death even alerted the authorities, and two yamen runners came to Qinghe Village to investigate.
Firstly, because accidents had happened one after another.
Secondly, and more importantly, the deceased this time was a woman.
Village Chief's house.
Zhao Mazi had only one older sister, all other relatives had passed away. However, her older sister was living in another town and had not been in contact with Zhao Mazi for a long time.
Therefore, the yamen runners could only go to the village chief's house.
Seeing the two yamen runners with swords, the villagers looked somewhat flustered. It had been a long time since they had seen such a scene.
The village chief, however, was much calmer. She cupped her hands slightly towards the yamen runners:
"My lords, please ask whatever you need to ask. I will tell you everything I know."
It could be seen that this village chief had also been educated.
The yamen runner on the right asked:
"In the Qinghe Village you manage, why have accidents occurred one after another in the past few days?"
The village chief lowered her head and apologized:
"The people who had accidents these past two days were a couple. Zhao Mazi was notoriously a scoundrel and a rogue. I don't know who she offended to meet such an end, really troubling you to make this trip during such festive times."
The yamen runner on the left had a stern expression and did not fall for her words. He stated directly:
"The two of us are on duty today, this is our job, no need for empty talk. However..."
The yamen runner paused for a few seconds, his eyes sharp, and looked directly into the village chief's eyes, continuing:
"However, since you say this woman named Zhao Mazi died because she offended someone, it seems you already believe it was murder?"
The village chief was flustered by his sharp words. She realized her slip of the tongue and quickly tried to remedy it:
"Ah, no, no, no, I haven't seen anything, how can I make such a hasty conclusion."
Just as the village chief was explaining in a hurry, Nian Jiaojiao had already arrived at the scene.
It seemed Zhao Mazi had really been killed.
Nian Jiaojiao was actually a little surprised. She thought Mother Zhang was just trying to scare Zhao Mazi, how could she have actually caused a death?
Moreover, she thought Zhao Mazi was someone who feared death, even if she liked money, she wouldn't value money over her life.
Could it be that even until death, she was still clinging to that little bit of money?
As Nian Jiaojiao was pondering with some confusion.
The sharp-eyed yamen runner accurately spotted Nian Jiaojiao in the crowd and quickly recognized her.
Not for any other reason, but because it was being rumored that the county magistrate fancied this Nian Tong Shou and wanted her to be his daughter-in-law.
For this reason alone, she was someone not to be offended.
Thus, the yamen runner walked up to Nian Jiaojiao and was about to greet her.
"Nian..."