“It was you!” Tian Yongzhang suddenly jumped up, face twisted with grief, pointing at Qian Jiaoniang. “It had to be you! You killed my parents!”
Qian Jiaoniang stood motionless. “Dear cousin, you must be confused from grief. I had no enmity with Aunt or Uncle. Why would I kill them?”
“You—” Tian Yongzhang choked, bitter as if swallowing a yellow lotus. He looked toward Xing Muzheng. Even if he was stupid, he knew—he must never reveal the truth!
Tian Bilian collapsed over Tian Linwen’s body, weeping helplessly. In the blink of an eye, both her parents had died right before her eyes. She was just a young woman—like a lone boat adrift at sea with no anchor. How could she not be terrified?
Xing Muzheng grabbed Qian Jiaoniang, face dark as iron, voice low and heavy, “Was it you?”
Qian Jiaoniang raised her eyes to meet his directly. The suspicion in his eyes was like knives and swords. She lowered her head, then raised it again, pulling her lips into a thin line, her gaze calm as still water. “Marquis, you’re accusing me again.”
She bit hard on the word “again.” Her whole body tensed like a soldier about to head into battle. “I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard, but I have a clear conscience.”
She would never tell him, not in this life—it was those two who had killed his mother.
Xing Muzheng flung her off, gritting his teeth. “Stupid woman!”
Tian Yongzhang grabbed a broken branch and charged forward, swinging it high with a roar to strike Qian Jiaoniang. Xing Muzheng pulled her behind him and snatched the branch mid-swing. “Impudence!”
Tian Yongzhang sobbed, “Cousin, it’s her, it has to be her! She killed my father and mother! You have to avenge them!”
Tian Bilian also lifted her head from Tian Linwen’s body and cried, “Cousin, cousin! It’s that venomous woman! She killed your aunt—my mother! You can’t turn a blind eye!”
“Enough nonsense! Your aunt and uncle died suddenly—no one knows the exact cause. We’ll carry them home first and decide later.” Xing Muzheng threw away the branch. “You—carry your mother down the mountain.”
Tian Yongzhang’s eyes widened. “Me? Carry her?”
Even if it was his real mother, she was already… dead!
At that moment, a man in earth-colored robes emerged from a narrow trail. He saw the two bodies on the ground and frowned deeply. “I am Chen Zhuo, constable of Gui County Yamen. What happened here?”
Chen Zhuo truly was a constable, though today was not his shift. He had come into the mountains to attend a friend’s funeral. While helping carry the coffin up, he heard a piercing scream. Uneasy, he followed the sound to investigate. Before even arriving, he heard someone shouting that their parents had been murdered.
Now, seeing two bodies on the ground, Chen Zhuo took it seriously. He came forward to inspect the corpses—both were still warm. They had only just died. The cause of death appeared identical: sudden, unexplained collapse.
“Officer, were my father and mother killed? Were they—”
“Tian Yongzhang.” Xing Muzheng spoke coldly, “Silence. Step back.”
“But cousin—”
“Step back.”
Tian Yongzhang wanted to expose Qian Jiaoniang so badly—but in the end, he dared not disobey Xing Muzheng. Gritting his teeth, he retreated two steps.
Chen Zhuo stood up and looked toward Xing Muzheng. The man was young, but carried himself with unmistakable presence—not like an ordinary person. He stepped forward and cupped his hands, “May I ask your honored name?”
“My surname is Xing, given name Muzheng.” Xing Muzheng replied calmly.
Chen Zhuo silently repeated the name in his mind, then gasped, “You’re General Xing!”
Who in all of Xie Dynasty hadn’t heard of General Xing Muzheng? Though Chen Zhuo knew Xing Muzheng’s ancestral home was Gui County, he never expected to meet the man himself—especially in such chaotic circumstances. He immediately dropped to one knee. “This humble officer greets General Xing!”
Xing Muzheng said, “Constable Chen, please rise. I’ve already laid down my armor and returned home. I’m no longer a general.”
Only then did Chen Zhuo remember that Xing Muzheng had returned the Tiger Tally and was now ennobled by the Emperor as Dingxi Marquis. He stood and corrected himself. “Dingxi Marquis, forgive my boldness—but may I ask, what exactly happened here?”
Xing Muzheng sighed lightly and shook his head. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then turned to Qian Jiaoniang and said, “Wife, why don’t you tell it.”
Qian Jiaoniang stiffened slightly. She scratched her fingertip with her nail, then wiped the corner of her eye with a trembling voice. “Constable Chen, this is my in-laws’ grave. The two lying dead here are my mother-in-law’s biological younger sister and brother-in-law. They came from afar to visit relatives. They didn’t get to see my mother-in-law before she passed, so they came to Gui County to pay their respects.”
“My mother-in-law and her younger sister were twins, and their bond was even deeper than that of ordinary sisters. She used to say that back then, in all the nearby villages, everyone praised how close the two sisters were. My aunt would burst into tears every time she mentioned my mother-in-law. Today, upon arriving, her sorrow got the better of her. She cried her heart out. Before I could react, she… she passed.”
“My uncle saw something was wrong, rushed to her side, and when he realized she had died… their love ran deep too, and I suppose the grief was too much. He followed her in death.”
As Qian Jiaoniang finished, she covered her face and wept. “Constable Chen, what kind of misfortune is this? My poor uncle and aunt, gone just like that!”
Chen Zhuo had worked cases for over ten years. He’d seen people die from excessive grief before, but never two at once. If it were just the woman, perhaps—but the man too? A grown man dying from heartbreak? And standing behind Marquis Xing was, presumably, the son of the deceased couple. Earlier, he had loudly accused the Madam of murder. Could this be… a murder case?
Chen Zhuo nodded thoughtfully, his gaze again falling on the corpses. Xing Muzheng raised his eyes slightly and watched Chen Zhuo for a moment before turning his head to look at Qian Jiaoniang, who was wiping her nose. She seemed to sense his gaze and gave him a quick glance before looking away again, calm and indifferent.
Tian Bilian sobbed and said, “Constable, my parents were always healthy. How could they suddenly drop dead? Someone must have killed them!”
Chen Zhuo seemed to hear her, yet also didn’t respond. He carefully examined the corpses again—indeed, sudden death with no external wounds. It didn’t appear to be poison, though it was possible a rare toxin might mimic a sudden death. But how would a killer manage to murder two people right under everyone’s noses? Unless… the poison had been administered earlier?
Chen Zhuo stood up and cupped his hands toward Xing Muzheng. “Marquis, may I ask—did the deceased eat anything before coming here?”
Xing Muzheng countered with a question instead of answering: “Constable Chen, what do you mean by that?”
Chen Zhuo replied seriously, “I just find the cause of death a little strange, hence the question.”
“What’s strange about it?”
“Well… two people dying suddenly from grief is quite the coincidence. Did the deceased have any enemies? Or were they in conflict with anyone?”
The Tian siblings both wanted to say Qian Jiaoniang, but they were young and inexperienced. Though full of malice, they were used to only scheming in private. Now that a real crisis had hit, their minds were blank. Even if they did want to say there was deep enmity between them and Qian Jiaoniang, if their cousin learned the full truth, it wouldn’t just be their parents who died—it could be them next. So they could only clench their teeth in anger and stay silent.
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