Chapter 50

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Chapter 50:

Li Chunzhou paused, the smile in her eyes becoming more genuine. She let Mi Hongbao hold her for a while, considering it as making up.

After the long embrace, Li Chunzhou held Mi Hongbao’s hand and asked him what kind of new wooden carving he wanted.

Mi Hongbao hesitantly took out a wooden carving soaked in water from his pocket and said, "…I actually found it."

Before Li Chunzhou arrived, he found her at the pond, but he felt embarrassed and didn’t want her to know. He planned to approach her after she left, but to his surprise, Li Chunzhou walked straight into the pond to find him. Mi Hongbao’s heart skipped a beat, worried that she would get sick in the heavy rain.

Now that he saw Li Chunzhou was okay, his anxious heart finally calmed down.

Mi Hongbao didn’t stay in the room too late. After holding hands affectionately with someone for a while, he left the courtyard to rest upstairs.

When Li Chunzhou entered the woodshed, she saw Ming Niang focused on lighting the fire by the stove. The flickering flames reflected in Ming Niang’s eyes, making her look dignified and calm despite the smudges on her face. Li Chunzhou noticed the soot on Ming Niang’s face resembling a cat’s whiskers and casually wiped it off, revealing Ming Niang’s obedient and peaceful nature.

Li Chunzhou shifted her gaze and smiled, asking, "Where’s Li Li?"

As soon as she spoke, a scruffy little rooster emerged from beside the stove, proudly saying, "I’m roasting by the fire."

The presence of a talking chicken didn’t surprise any of the five people present, including Li Chunzhou. Chihong remained expressionless as usual, Red Bean, known for her strange encounters, accepted it calmly. Ming Niang, lost in her own world, paid no attention to anyone, while Ming Xiang had heard about Li Li’s ability to talk earlier that afternoon.

Li Chunzhou carried Qi Leyuan into the house and reminded him to check the messages on the chatting channel.

Qi Leyuan remembered and started reading the latest unread messages.

You Rurong said, "I’ve found out some news. There’s something strange about the dead man’s wife. According to their neighbors, this family favored their son more. However, it’s common in Shunqing province to prioritize boys over girls, so that’s not surprising. But the neighbors also said… On the day after their daughter from the twins drowned, the dead man’s wife started acting like she lost her mind, saying crazy things like ‘It’s all in vain! All wasted!’,’Husband, it’s not me who killed you, it’s not me,’ ‘If I knew this would happen, I’d rather have you all go together’…"

Ji He, the fifth young master of the Ji family, said, "Even though they usually favored their son, she is still a mother. Maybe she couldn’t bear the death of her daughter, so she went crazy…?"

You Rurong said, "No, I highlighted ‘the day after’ because her behavior before and after was contradictory. People who were present at the drowning scene said that the twins fell into the water at the same time, and many people nearby jumped in to help, but in the end, only one was rescued. The other child was swept away by the flood, and up to now, their body hasn’t been found. When the dead man’s wife heard that one child was washed away, she started wailing, but as soon as she heard that the one who survived was the son, she immediately stopped crying."

Another person was washed away by the flood, and until now, even the body has not been found. The wife of the deceased started crying and wailing when she heard that a child had been washed away. However, as soon as she heard that the surviving person was her son, she immediately stopped crying.

The person who saved the boy had some acquaintance with the family of the deceased, but their relationship was not deep. They only knew that the boy in the twins had a very distinct birthmark on the back of his hand. That’s why they made an effort to save him. The woman hugged her rescued son, crying and laughing, repeatedly saying, "Thank goodness you’re safe."

Wang Ruyu, the second Miss of the Wang family, wondered, "Why is she sometimes grieving for her daughter’s death and sometimes happy because of it…?"

Yan Qingze, a merchant, asked, "Is she scared silly…?"

Cheng Yingchu, a prostitute, commented, "It’s clear that the woman preferred her son, which aligns with the folk rhyme clue we received. But on ‘the day after,’ she went crazy, and her death remains a mystery. Why?"

You Rurong, the investigator, shared, "As I listened to everyone talk about this, I had a strange feeling. There’s also Liu Yuming, rumored to be fond of both men and women, having unclear relationships with his guards. It’s even said that he visits prostitutes, and Li Chunzhou claims Liu Yuming made advances towards her, despite Little General Gu. Could Liu Yuming really be attracted to both genders? I doubt it, so I have a rather absurd hypothesis."

Linlang (maid), "I understand, are you saying that the person who drowned in the water back then, wasn’t actually her daughter, but her son?"

A’ping (beggar), "But what about that mole…?"

You Rurong (constable), "That might not be a mole after all, but a mud spot from the river. Just now, I mentioned that the person who saved the children was not very familiar with them, and in that situation, it’s difficult to distinguish features in the water, so they could only rescue based on certain traits."

Cheng Yingchu (prostitute), "So you’re saying that the lady’s initial relief was because she heard that her son survived, but the next day she went crazy because she found out that it was actually her daughter who survived… She even said, ‘If I knew this would happen, I should have let you all go together’…"

Linlang (maid), "Let’s go through the events chronologically. Liu Yuming first killed someone for fame, intending to take the deceased person’s spot. After the murder, he kidnapped the deceased person’s children, threatened the deceased person’s wife to give false testimony for him, and then the deceased person’s wife, in order to protect the child (son), ended up decapitating the deceased to hide the time of death. This accidentally led to the uproar of the first headless corpse case. Liu Yuming profited from this and went on to commit similar crimes in different places.

On the other hand, the twins fell into the water (it’s not confirmed yet if Liu Yuming intervened to kill and silence them), the ‘daughter’ of the deceased (who was actually a son) died. After that, the girl inside the twins took on the identity of the boy and survived. The deceased’s wife couldn’t accept the truth, went mad, and died a year later (cause of death unknown). So, the child was left an orphan with both parents deceased.

At this time, Liu Yuming stepped forward to adopt him (her), allowing the child to serve as a guard by his side. Liu Yuming favored young girls who hadn’t reached puberty yet, and I believe he definitely made a move on the child he adopted… Liu Yuming knew the guard by his side was actually a girl, but the others in the mansion didn’t know. Rumors about Liu Yuming’s liking for men spread, and he didn’t deny them (probably to divert attention from his connection to the headless corpse case). Later, the girl raised as a guard and pet gradually grew up. She used the same murder method from the headless corpse case twenty years ago to kill Liu Yuming and escaped while concealing her identity."

Liang Jiayou (Fourth Prince), "Logical!"

Zhong Zhiye (Cabinet Minister), "Wait a minute, @Liang Jiayou, seriously, why did you tell Prime Minister Gu about making gunpowder and cement? I finally got a break, and now I’m dragged into a meeting!"

Liang Jiayou (Fourth Prince), "With this special ability, I must make good use of it, especially since I am a prince now. I must do something good for the country."

Liang Wenshi (Fifth Prince), "…Do you really think of yourself as the king’s son? Wake up, it’s just a program, they are not real."

Cheng Yingchu (Prostitute), "So if we want to prove our previous guess, we just need to find evidence that Liu Yuming committed the crime, or even find the guard himself."

Pebble (Eunuch), "Does this guard have any distinctive features?"

Shi Gu (Beggar), "According to the servants of Shangshu Mansion, that guard has a scar on his face that goes from the left corner of his eye to the other side of his ear."

"Oh my goodness!" Qi Leyuan blurted out a swear word, looking at Li Chunzhou with disbelief, and asked cautiously, "The last villain is… Chihong?!"

Li Chunzhou looked away from the screen, smiling at Qi Leyuan with raised eyebrows.

"Can I tell them about this?" Qi Leyuan asked.

Seeing that they had almost finished the last Sub-dungeon, Li Chunzhou laid back on the bed lazily and said, "Yes, but for the last Sub-dungeon I suggest you use the method of ‘breaking the cage’ to solve it, because without being able to use skills, even if you all team up, you can’t defeat Chihong, whose special skill as the villain is strength."

Qi Leyuan flew to the edge of the bed and stood steady, "Strange, why can’t they use their skills, but I still can?"

Li Chunzhou turned half her face, quietly watching him, smiled and said, "I won’t tell you."

After she finished speaking, she threw Qi Leyuan down and wrapped herself in the blanket, closing her eyes drowsily.

***

That night, not only Li Chunzhou, but everyone staying at Spring Flowers Tower had nightmares.

Qi Leyuan returned to BeanPod Mountain and experienced the feeling of swimming in the Sea of Beans again.

Li Chunzhou was taken back to her "home" from a long time ago by memories.

There were her brothers, her parents.

Li Chunzhou watched them from afar, like a stray cat peeking at a pet cat. When she was sold by her biological parents for two ounces of silver, she didn’t cry. When she was cursed by drunk customers at Spring Flowers Tower, she didn’t cry either. Now, seeing them all reunited and laughing together, Li Chunzhou still didn’t cry, but felt a bit choked up inside.

She blankly watched this heartwarming scene, showing no emotion on her face.

For a moment, Li Chunzhou really wanted to rush over and ask them: What am I to you? What exactly am I to you? Why can you still enjoy family happiness so guiltlessly after selling me?

Why cast me aside? Why… after abandoning me, still live happily?

Sometimes when she thought about this, she truly felt hatred in her heart.