After being a widow for half my life, I found out that my husband was not dead.

This official was tall and strong, with dark skin, as if he had been pulled from a charcoal fire. Everyone called him Dahei.

Liu Yunxiang followed Dahei around several alleys, and finally came to a newly built house. Compared to the old houses around it, this house was particularly eye-catching.

At this time, there was a crowd of people in front of the house, chattering around, and it was very lively.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Dahei shouted, and these people hurriedly moved out of the way.

Liu Yunxiang walked inside and heard the people on both sides talking quietly.

"This lady is wearing gold and silver. She is probably the daughter-in-law of the official in the courtyard."

"Come here to give money."

"I don't know how much water was added to a jar of wine, but I asked for ten taels of silver in compensation."

"This Mrs. Chen has always been unreasonable. No one around here knows her."

Liu Yunxiang sighed. She had already heard what Dahei said on the way here.

The palace maid hanged herself, and there was nothing suspicious about her body. His Highness wanted her family to take the body back quickly. After all, it was too hot now, and it would smell bad if it was left alone for a day.

They found the palace maid's home in Xicheng, with her mother and brother at home. They brought them the news of the palace maid's death, but what shocked them was that her mother refused to take her daughter's body home. The reason was even more bizarre, saying that her son was about to get married, and it would be unlucky to bring back a dead person at this time.

No matter what you say, I won't accept it anyway.

This corpse couldn't be left there forever. For two days, the rotten smell filled the entire Criminal Department's mansion, and anyone who entered had to cover their noses. They went to look for it again, and the palace maid's mother said to let the government dispose of the body. But according to the regulations, if there were family members, the family members needed to sign to identify the body, so that the body could be disposed of by the government. Because they were afraid that the family would cause trouble later, the government said Not sure.

But when they were asked to identify the body and sign it, the mother and brother refused.

There was no other way. Yan Mu had no choice but to go there in person. He happened upon the Chen family's mother-in-law, who was preparing a betrothal gift for her son. She refused to listen to any persuasion or explanation, and even chased them away. Yan Mu's temper got worse and he smashed the betrothal gift. A jar of wine.

Then got blackmailed.

When Dahei came, he said: We can't get together these ten taels of silver. After all, the monthly payment is only two taels, but His Highness can't even come up with it.

Liu Yunxiang coughed twice after hearing this. She seemed to have really forgotten to give him pocket money.

Entering the hospital, I first heard wailing.

"Officials are terrible... They bully others too much... We who are poor and broke... have a hard time marrying a wife... we scraped together everything to prepare this little gift... You are so powerful... you have smashed my altar. Wine... ten taels of silver... I can't raise it if I kill this old woman... I can't find a wife for my son... I feel sorry for the ancestors of the Chen family... I might as well just hit the wall and die... That's fine too Those who were forced to death by you... oh... you bullied us orphans and widowed mothers... I can't survive... I can't survive..."

A woman wearing a blue-grey coarse cloth skirt was sitting on the ground, crying and slapping the ground, and she actually had a good tune.

Yan Mu stood a few steps away, arms folded over his shoulders, his face already very dark and gloomy. The other officials also took a few steps back, all of them overwhelmed and helpless.

They probably have never been so worried about catching extremely vicious criminals.

Liu Yunxiang held back her laughter and walked over. Yan Mu's eyes lit up when he saw her.

"Do you want money or not?"

Yan Mu turned her around to face the woman, "Help me reason with her."

Liu Yunxiang couldn't help laughing, and turned around to see Yan Mu looking like he had a headache.

"You can't be reasonable when dealing with people like this."

Yan Mu raised his chin towards the woman and said, "I've hit the wall three times."

As soon as he finished speaking, the woman shouted: "You officials bully the people... everyone is watching... I will die for you..."

With that said, the woman got up and hit the east wall. Fortunately, the officers were experienced and rushed to the front, and the woman bumped into one of the officers.

The official was holding his stomach, looking in pain.

"Auntie, please, don't hit me. We've all got bruises on our stomachs."

The mother-in-law glared at the official, sat back and continued to cry in the same tune.

Liu Yunxiang clicked his tongue, "You have met a master."

She turned around and looked at the woman, squinting her eyes. She thought of that day in front of the gate of Ziyun Temple, that is, the day the palace maid died, and she saw the woman among the pilgrims who were watching.

She bumped into her and scolded her in return. Then she asked what happened inside. When she found out, she ran away in a panic.

She was still confused at the time, but now she understands it all at once.

Liu Yunxiang knelt down, took out a silver coin from his purse, and waved it in front of the old lady. When the woman saw the silver, she stopped crying immediately and reached out to take it, but Liu Yunxiang dodged it.

The mother-in-law looked at her and looked her up and down a few times, "Who are you?"

"Princess Zhenbei."

"Prince and concubine?" The old woman was so shocked that she stuttered even as she spoke.

Liu Yunxiang raised his eyebrows, "Could it be that you don't know that he is the King of Zhenbei?"

Liu Yunxiang pointed at Yan Mu behind him, and then turned to look at his mother-in-law. Seeing that her face had changed with shock, he scared her again: "You are in trouble."

The mother-in-law's expression was tense. Although she was shocked, she quickly calmed down and said, "Oh, what's wrong with the prince and princess? I'm just an ordinary citizen..."

"Right now you are no longer an ordinary citizen, but a murder suspect!"

"I kill? Kill who?"

"Chen Xuan, that is your daughter."

"How can you spit on others..."

"Did you meet Chen Xuan before she died?"

"No, no!"

"The nuns from Ziyun Temple can testify."

The mother-in-law panicked, "I...I see my daughter...what's wrong with this?"

"There was nothing wrong originally, but why did you deny it just now?"

The mother-in-law's eyes dodge, and she doesn't know what to say to defend herself.

"And why don't you go to the government to identify the body?"

"My son is getting married, and I'm afraid of getting into trouble." The mother-in-law lowered her head and said.

"Huh, your daughter is dead. You are not sad. You don't take her body for burial. Instead, you are eager to get married to your son. As a mother, you really have no patience."

The mother-in-law hummed, "What's the use of a daughter? I'll have to rely on my son to support me when I get old."

Liu Yunxiang took a look at the yard. When she entered the house just now, she heard neighbors saying that the Chen family used to be poor and that the house was only built after her daughter entered the palace.

"Your daughter is in the palace and she gives you her monthly allowance. That's why you built this house. Am I right?"

The mother-in-law pursed her lips and said, "I raised her and she gave me money. What's wrong with that?"

"But the house is being built, and your son still needs money to get married, so you go to your daughter and ask her to prepare more money. She tells you that she is just a little palace maid, and she already gives you the little money every month. How can you still have money? You scolded her, scolded her for having no conscience, and scolded her for being a loser. You shouldn't have given birth to her and raised her in the first place, right?"

The mother-in-law looked at Liu Yunxiang in shock, "You..."

How did she know that they were the only two people in the room at that time? Could it be that her daughter told her?

Liu Yunxiang stared at the mother-in-law and said word by word: "She gave you 100 taels."