Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In the city of Luoyang, another murder case has occurred!
At the scene, a tube of Sun Xian's girl cream with the Ruyi Rouge signature was left behind, and the suspect is a bald monk.
People found it strange and gathered to watch, but Xing Ruyi, who usually loves to join in the excitement, surprisingly stayed in the shop, quietly pounding on a Clay Pot.
The fox found it interesting and asked Xing Ruyi: "Why aren't you going to join the fun?"
Xing Ruyi didn't even lift her head and replied with two words: "Avoid suspicion!"
The fox shook his head, "My Wife, when did you become so timid?"
Xing Ruyi made a face, "It's not timidity; it's growth. As the saying goes, one doesn't grow without experiencing things. This is also a rare life experience for me. By the way, I woke up early this morning and didn't see Yin Yuan. You didn't sneak out last night to bully him again, did you?"
Recently, Yin Yuan loved to bicker with the fox but used very childish methods. For example, dragging a pillow to Xing Ruyi's room in the middle of the night and whining, "Mommy, Yin Yuan doesn't want to sleep alone because Yin Yuan is scared!"
Before Xing Ruyi could respond, Yin Yuan had already climbed onto Xing Ruyi's bed with his short legs dragging a big pillow. Of course, at this moment, the fox would silently appear with a gloomy face, then flick his sleeve to create a gust of wind that would blow Yin Yuan out of the room. After that, it would be an adult and a child wrestling on the roof.
When in a good mood, Xing Ruyi would move a stool to sit in the courtyard, munching on sunflower seeds while enjoying the moonlit duel. When feeling sleepy or in a bad mood, she would shout at them, “Take it outside! I want to sleep!” At such times, the fox would seriously point at Yin Yuan and correct her: “You are his mother; you are my Wife!”
Yin Yuan pouted in grievance but didn’t forget to stir up trouble by saying: “Mommy, this old fox of yours—if you change your mind, I think Constable is pretty good!”
The fox would get furious; Yin Yuan would slip away, leaving behind an urging Xing Ruyi, her eyes narrowed as she fiercely grabbed the fox and asked: “Yin Chensi, when will you marry me? I warn you, if you don’t propose before the end of the year, I’ll marry Brother Chang!”
The fox retorted just as fiercely: “If you dare marry him, I’ll kill him and have Cui Fujun send him to the Beast Path!”
“Yin Chensi, you’re taking personal revenge!”
“Wrong! I'm just using our hundred years of friendship to force Cui Fujun into making some mistakes occasionally!” The fox said seriously before kissing her lips when she wasn’t paying attention. After teasing her repeatedly, he threatened: “So for your Brother Chang, you can only marry me!”
Every time this moment comes, Xing Ruyi feels a wave of sweetness in her heart. Can she tell the fox that she has actually fallen in love with the way the fox becomes possessive and unreasonable when jealous?
"What are you thinking about, smiling so strangely?" The fox pinches Xing Ruyi's cheek, bringing her wandering thoughts back.
"Nothing much, just remembered how you and Yin Yuan were bickering." Xing Ruyi stops her drumming motion and raises her face to ask, "You still haven't told me where Yin Yuan went?"
"Oh, he went to watch the excitement!"
"The crime scene?" Xing Ruyi furrows her brow. Although she knows that Yin Yuan is no ordinary child and that he swept through a horde of demon corpses at Arsenal with his own strength, right now they are in Luoyang City, and it's the White Fox's territory. What is a three-year-old kid doing running around a crime scene?
As she speaks, a chubby child rushes in, followed by Shengzi. Upon seeing Xing Ruyi and the fox, he instinctively scratches his head and points at the child: "His mother calls him Xing Ruyi, who runs a shop in the city. I thought, isn’t there only one girl in this city named Xing Ruyi who runs a shop? But this child, could it be that you picked him up at your door?"
Xing Ruyi glances at Yin Yuan and replies, "No! I found him in a garbage heap outside the city."
"You really have good luck!" Shengzi silently gives a thumbs up but is searching the shop with his eyes: "Why haven’t I seen that kid around lately?"
"Oh, that one!" Xing Ruyi glances at Yin Yuan again, her face unblushing and her heart steady: "He was taken away by his mother!"
"Then what’s this child's name? Does he share your surname or does he take Young Master Yin's surname Yin?"
"Yin Yuan!"
"Huh? His name is also Yin Yuan?" Shengzi points inside the room: "Wasn’t the previous child named that too? I heard Brother Chang mention it."
"Yes, he’s also called Yin Yuan. Since I keep picking up children, I’m too lazy to think of new names for them," Xing Ruyi lies without changing her expression, not noticing that Yin Yuan's face has crumpled into a frown.
"Then if there's only one child named Yin Yuan, what will you call the next one you pick up?"
“Yin Er!” Xing Ruyi exclaimed, quickly spitting out a name.
“Ah!” Shengzi glanced sympathetically at Yin Yuan, saying, “Fortunately, when Ruyi picked you up, the first Yin Yuan had already been taken back by his biological mother. Otherwise, Uncle Jin would have encountered not Yin Yuan, but Yin Er.”
Yin Yuan frowned and disdainfully said, “I don’t want to be called Yin Er. It’s just Yin Yuan. If it weren’t for Wife being too lazy to think, I wouldn’t even bother!”
“Yin Chensi!” Xing Ruyi lifted her chin. “Take care of your son; how dare a White Fox complain about me!”
The fox smiled slightly and pulled Yin Yuan away. Soon after, sounds of commotion came from behind. Shengzi was curious yet somewhat worried; he attempted to go check several times but was stopped by Xing Ruyi.
“The Clean Official shouldn’t meddle in family matters. Are you, Sir Sheng, trying to interfere in my backyard affairs?”
“Where would I dare? Ruyi is overreacting; I’m just worried that Young Master Yin might harm that child. You know how it is these days; being a stepmother is tough, and you’re not even a stepmother but more like a foster parent. If something goes wrong, others might report you to the Government Office.”
“Report me for what?” Xing Ruyi lifted the curtain. “Are they going to report me for not letting this brat eat chicken legs?”
Shengzi glanced back and saw the fox carrying a basket filled with chicken legs while Yin Yuan was climbing up the fox's leg with both hands and feet.
Shengzi chuckled and said, “It’s not good for children to eat too much meat; they get chubby and heavy to carry!”
Xing Ruyi lowered the curtain and casually asked, “I heard that many chicken legs were found at the crime scene, and some even had bite marks from a monk?”
Shengzi shrugged. “Actually, it’s a very simple case. The butcher Liu Laoshi’s daughter was raped and murdered in the kitchen. She had a childhood sweetheart named Xu Liang from a farming family who later became a monk for some unknown reason. This time he came down the mountain with his master to beg for alms. However, since Xu Liang came down, he has gone missing; I searched for him for quite some time before discovering he got involved in a murder case. At the time of the incident, Xu Liang was at the scene and had blood on him; there were also traces of him gnawing on the chicken legs. Liu Laoshi heard fighting sounds from the kitchen and rushed over; by then, his daughter still had a breath left and pointed at Xu Liang but was too severely injured to speak clearly.”
“So this Xu Liang is indeed the one who killed Liu Young Lady and even committed an immoral act!”
“With witnesses and physical evidence present, along with identification from the deceased before her death, it seems like a solid case. When I brought Yin Yuan back, Brother Chang had already taken Xu Liang back to the Yamen; once Master clarifies the case details, all that remains is the final verdict.”
"The childhood sweetheart unexpectedly became a monk. After descending the mountain to beg for alms, he ended up at the maternal family, and the crime scene was littered with chicken legs. This case is indeed quite intriguing." Xing Ruyi poured a cup of fine fragrant tea for Shengzi and said, "Since the suspect has already been captured by Brother Chang, there's no need to rush. Sit down and carefully tell me the details of this case. You know that ever since the incident with the black hairpin, I haven't dared to mingle in such places, yet I am still very curious."
Shengzi readily complied, took a sip of the fragrant tea, and then adopted a scholarly demeanor as he recounted everything he knew about the case to Xing Ruyi.
"The Liu family has been butchers for generations, but Liu Laoshi only had one daughter, Liu Hui. It wasn't that he didn't want a son; it's just that Liu Hui's mother died during childbirth while trying to have a second child. Neither parent survived. Later, through a matchmaker's introduction, Liu Laoshi considered remarrying, but after several attempts, none treated Liu Hui well, so he gradually gave up on that idea. Moreover, Liu Hui was smart and sensible, often helping Liu Laoshi look after the stall and slaughter pigs for sale. People affectionately called her 'the butcher's Xishi.'"
"'The butcher's Xishi'? That name doesn't sound very pleasant!"
"Even if it doesn't sound good, it's better than 'the pork Xishi,' right?" Shengzi licked his lips and poured himself another cup of fragrant tea, taking a couple of sips before continuing. "It is said that Liu Laoshi and Xu Liang's father were originally good friends. Xu Liang is two years older than Liu Hui and has known her since she was born. Over time, they developed mutual feelings for each other. Liu Laoshi once candidly stated that if it weren't for Xu Liang's lack of ambition, he would have arranged their wedding as soon as Liu Hui turned sixteen."
"But before Liu Hui turned sixteen, Xu Liang became a monk?"
"Not entirely. Before Liu Hui turned sixteen, the Xu family faced two tragedies in quick succession. First, Xu Liang's mother committed suicide by hanging herself from an old tree after arguing with her husband. Shortly after that, Xu Liang's father drunkenly fell into a river at night and drowned. The Xu family was already struggling as commoners, and with two deaths in quick succession, there were all sorts of rumors circulating outside. Liu Laoshi was concerned for his daughter and reluctantly allowed Liu Hui to break off her engagement with Xu Liang. However, he also left room for consideration; once some time passed and the Xu family's troubles faded away, if Xu Liang could find a proper livelihood again, he would still consider giving his daughter to him. Who would have thought that just when Liu Hui turned sixteen, Xu Liang shaved his head and ran off to become a monk?"
"So how old is Liu Hui this year?"
"After August Fifteenth, she will be eighteen. Here in our area, that's considered an old maid." Shengzi added, "This was confirmed by Liu Laoshi himself when Brother Chang asked at the scene; there shouldn't be any mistake regarding her age."
"So it has been at least a year and a half since Xu Liang became a monk. During this time, hasn't Liu Hui seen him? And did Liu Laoshi not seek out new in-laws for his daughter when she was seventeen or eighteen?"
Comment 0 Comment Count