County Magistrate Cheng, having finished his pleasantries, turned to answer his attendant's question:
"You think I can't see the doubts in this case?"
Before the attendant could speak, she continued,
"The incident occurred in a mountain village at midnight, with no eyewitnesses. The victim's death was simple and brutal, merely being pushed into the river and drowned. If someone confesses to the murder, the case is closed."
"This..."
The attendant was speechless.
Indeed, judging a case required human and material evidence. Without them, unless someone confessed.
Now that someone had stepped forward to confess, there was no reason to continue the investigation.
"You may go. Let me practice alone for a while."
County Magistrate Cheng waved her hand, and the attendant bowed and withdrew.
After the attendant closed the door, County Magistrate Cheng dipped her brush and wrote a large character, "童" (Tong), on the Xuan paper.
...
The Tong Family.
Tong Xiaoye was undoubtedly confined to her residence.
How could Tong's mother, who had weathered storms in the business world, not see that this matter was inextricably linked to her youngest, Xiao Wu?
Fortunately, they had weathered this storm.
However, she would have to discipline her well to prevent future trouble, not to mention implicating the family.
"Mother."
A man of graceful demeanor bowed to Tong's mother. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Tong's mother's expression softened slightly:
"Yao'er."
"Mother, I heard that Xiao Wu was taken away by the yamen earlier. Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened, it was all a misunderstanding."
The third son of the Tong family, Tong Ziyao, did not like to pursue matters to the end.
Tong's mother looked at Tong Ziyao, who stood beside her with proper demeanor, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.
It was time to find a good wife for her Yao'er.
...
The Nian Family.
Tonight, Nan Qing and Nian Jiaojiao shared a room.
Nian Jiaojiao put down her brush and walked to the bed.
After the new year, Nian Jiaojiao planned to attend the academy. Therefore, before school started, her calligraphy needed to recover to at least seventy to eighty percent of its former level.
Looking at Nan Qing, who was already lying on the bed, Nian Jiaojiao suddenly asked:
"Did you use my ink and paper the other day?"
Nan Qing's body stiffened, and his tone remained calm:
"No."
Nian Jiaojiao frowned:
"That's strange. I'm missing a piece of scratch paper. I've already asked others, and they all said they didn't touch it."
Tong Nanqing's lips twitched slightly.
Who was so strange as to count even scratch paper?
He remained unfazed and said naturally:
"A piece of scratch paper, perhaps it was blown away by the wind from the window."
Nian Jiaojiao still felt something was amiss.
She always used a ruler to press down the scratch paper after using the ink and paper...
Unable to figure it out, Nian Jiaojiao shook her head, deciding not to think about it anymore, as it was not a valuable item.
Thus, she took off her shoes and socks, expertly lifted the covers, and crawled in.
Two days later, a children's rhyme spread throughout all the streets and alleys of Shan Shui Town.
In the morning, at noon, in the evening.
Groups of children dispersed into several teams, wandering through various streets and alleys. They sang, danced, and laughed, all singing:
"Young master, delicate and fair,
Goes to the mountain to hunt the white fox.
White fox not yet hunted, killing intent revealed.
Zhang Lang's life was ill-fated, Madam Zhao gained money.
Ask not where Madam Zhao is now,
Her corpse lies in Qing He, the old resting place.
Servant receives the order, killer appears,
Young master looks in the mirror, smiling eyes curved."
The County Yamen.
County Magistrate Cheng fell silent after her subordinate informed her of the rhyme.
"Your Honor, perhaps I should investigate who is spreading these rumors? Isn't this implying that you misjudged the case?"
Unexpectedly, County Magistrate Cheng laughed heartily upon hearing her subordinate's words:
"Hahaha! Wonderful! Wonderful! Investigate what? Don't bother, let them spread it!"
The yamen runner who delivered the message could only cup his fists and retreat.
His superior's thoughts were truly... unfathomable.
The Tong Family.
"Crash—"
Tong Xiaoye swept all the items on the table to the ground, his body trembling with anger.
"Who, who on earth is this?!"
At the same time, he felt a sense of fear.
This children's rhyme clearly explained his motive and the process of his crime. Could there really be an eyewitness?
Meanwhile, Tong's mother's side.
"Bang—"
Tong's mother heavily slammed her right hand on the table beside her, her face full of rage.
"Who! Who is slandering our Tong family!"
"Corpse in Qing He," wasn't that referring to the case of Zhao Mazi from Qing He Village?
Everyone knew the murderer was a servant of their Tong family, and this rhyme clearly stated that this servant confessed under the master's orders.
The master who gave the order was directly pointed to as the Tong family's young master, Tong Xiaoye, who went hunting for foxes, in the rhyme!
The butler, bowing, quickly said:
"Patriarch, the immediate priority is to stop the spread of these rumors!"
Tong's mother said sternly:
"Do I need you to tell me that? As soon as I heard the news, I sent people to deal with it!"
Not long after she finished speaking, a servant rushed in.
"Patriarch!"
"Speak!"
"I don't know who composed this children's rhyme. The lyrics are simple and the melody is uniform. It's been sung repeatedly in everyone's ears for the past two days. Even if I stopped the children, now everyone in Shan Shui Town can sing it!"
The servant didn't say that even she, in the Tong family, had heard this rhyme from her own servants, but she had sternly forbidden them.
"Go, go, go bring that unfilial son here! I will discipline him with family law today!"
Tong's mother's chest heaved violently, and she said through gritted teeth.
...
The Nian Family.
Several husbands had eyes full of amusement.
Xingyun said happily:
"This Tong Xiaoye is truly having bad luck, it's also a way to vent my elder brother's anger, but... did he really send someone to kill Zhao Mazi?"
No one answered Xingyun's question.
The attention of the other few people had long been drawn to Nian Jiaojiao, who was rolling on the bed with laughter.
Yuchuan said helplessly:
"Wife, can this matter make you this happy?"
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"
Nian Jiaojiao laughed so hard her stomach hurt. After a while, she wiped the tears from her eyes and replied breathlessly:
"No, no, it's not... haha, I, I'm laughing at this, at this children's rhyme! Hahaha..."
"Children's rhyme? What's wrong with the children's rhyme?" Yuchuan asked confusedly.
Nan Qing, who was sitting, felt his body stiffen.
Nian Jiaojiao continued to laugh and said:
"The person who wrote this children's rhyme... is too damn talented! Hahaha!"
Nian Jiaojiao gave a thumbs-up but saw that her husbands still looked confused. She suddenly sat up.
"Hahaha, cough cough... Well, you guys think about this children's rhyme. The person who wrote it was really thoughtful, with a beginning and an end, 'Young master' at the beginning and 'Young master' at the end, but..."
"But what?" Xingyun asked curiously.
"But that line 'Young master looks in the mirror, smiling eyes curved' is written so wonderfully! Hmm... how should I put it... Oh, right!"
Nian Jiaojiao's eyes lit up, and she tapped her right palm with her left fist, saying:
"Think about it, on a pitch-black night, a beautiful young master looks into a dim, blurry bronze mirror, his eyes smiling and gradually curving into a crescent moon..."
Upon hearing Nian Jiaojiao say this, several people shivered involuntarily.
"How is it? Does imagining this scene feel a bit terrifying?"
Nian Jiaojiao continued with a smile:
"If you ask me, this author really has the potential to write horror stories!"