The heroine of the healing department is very rigid [Pride and Prejudice]

"Last night, there was an accident on the pasture." The magistrate got straight to the point. He has lived in Hertfordshire for more than 20 years, and it has never been so peaceful here as this year.

"A naval soldier named Frank was killed, and his body was thrown by a small river in the pasture. I want to ask the residents living around if they heard any movement or saw anything?"

Mr. Bennet sat on the single sofa and was relieved to learn that the sheriff was not here to trouble Mary this time.He picked up a cup of refreshing strong tea and shook his head regretfully. Out of concern for his daughter's reputation, he didn't say anything about Frank's assault on Mary.

"I learned from other soldiers that Frank had a serious conflict with Mr. Heathcliff a few days ago. Do you know why?" The sheriff quietly yawned and continued to ask routinely.

Mr. Bennet said again that he didn't know, and the magistrate didn't care. He just scratched a few lines in his notebook and hurried to the next house.

For three days in a row, there were guards coming and going on the pasture. They used ribbons to form a circle around the place where Frank's accident happened. They were on duty in shifts to keep outsiders from approaching.

Except for Emily, not only was she not afraid, she could even be said to be happy.After all, as soon as this case came out, no one paid any attention to Mrs. Parkinson's poisoning, and once again ignored the system's warning to "do good deeds every day".

The magistrate never dared to offend these soldiers, so he handled the case very quickly this time. Within a week, he announced that the murderer had been arrested.

"I just said that Heathcliff is not a good person, he has the face of a criminal." Mrs. Bennet walked into the living room and loudly announced the findings of the sheriff's investigation to her family.

"He's the one who killed that soldier. It's unbelievable we've ever been to a ball with him. It's horrible. Luckily, the sheriff has taken him to the police station."

"What?" Mary's pupils dilated slightly, feeling unbelievable about Heathcliff's murder, "Mom, he is my savior. You can't say that, what if the sheriff made a mistake."

"Yes, of course he saved you, but that doesn't mean he's a good person. Some people do a lot of bad things, and occasionally they do a little good because they fear God, don't they?"

"Besides, he had a motive for committing the crime. Remember, he shot and wounded the soldier Frank that day. If you want me to say, maybe they were enemies before, that's why he saved you that day."

Mrs. Bennet analyzed.

"This is ridiculous." Mary was very upset at her mother's unreasonable remarks. "I'm going to ask the sheriff to find out."

"What are you going to say to the sheriff?" Mrs. Bennet's thin voice repeated.

"Are you going to tell the sheriff that Heathcliff was fighting Frank to save you? Do you think he'll defend your reputation by not telling you about your attack in order to justify himself?"

"He has a right to speak out," argued Mary, throwing on a thin cloak and going to the police station at once.

"For God's sake." Mrs. Bennet turned pale, and hurried up to Mary, blocking the door.

"Now that people in the village are already discussing the matter between you and that damned Frank, why don't you go out and let those women point out?"

"I didn't do anything wrong."

Mary frowned. Those women in Hertfordshire like to gossip whenever they have a spare time.

"Good boy, Heathcliff saved you. I understand that you are grateful to him. But you should not be blinded by this incident."

Seeing that Mary insisted on going out, Mrs. Bennet softened her tone rarely, trying to coax this stubborn daughter back.

"Anyway, I have to go to the police station today." Mary took a deep breath, and ran out despite the risk of being locked up after returning.

In the police station, Heathcliff was sitting sullenly in the same chair that Mary sat in last time.

He was well over six feet tall, so the chair seemed very cramped, and there were four guards standing around it, in case he went into another fit of rage.Mr. Bingley was trying to explain to the sheriff that his friend couldn't kill.

The sheriff didn't want to offend Mr. Bingley, but he couldn't find anyone more like the murderer than Heathcliff—he had a conflict with Frank, so there was a motive for the crime; Frank was killed by a gangster, and Heathcliff happened to be There was a gun; and neighbors said he looked dangerous.

"Of course I would like to believe that your friend is innocent, but he is not willing to cooperate with us. I mean, he should at least tell us the truth, instead of slandering Miss Mary's reputation for sophistry."

The magistrate explained, and then he continued to question Heathcliff as if to prove something, but his tone was perfunctory.

"Sir, why did you have a conflict with Frank, and even shot him? I don't want to hear it again. It's an excuse to help Miss Mary Bennet."

"This is not an excuse." Mary rushed into the interrogation room despite the obstruction of the other two sheriffs, "Mr. Heathcliff did shoot and wound the soldier to save me."

"But your mother told me that didn't happen." The sheriff was slightly dissatisfied, and now he just wanted to close the case quickly and go to the city to have some fun.

"That's because," continued Mary, after a pause, "it's because my mother thinks it will affect my reputation, but I don't think so, because I haven't done anything wrong. Besides, Mr Heathcliff is also entitled to prove his innocence."

Mr. Bingley seemed very pleased to hear this, and he politely asked Mary some details of the day, to prove to the magistrate that his friend was not lying.

But the protagonist of this case, Heathcliff, is like a normal person, sitting motionless on a chair, like a Greek sculpture.

With Mary's testimony, the case became complicated again. Although Heathcliff was still not cleared of suspicion, at least one charge of "perjury" was missing.Nor did he have to stay overnight at the police station, thanks to Mr. Bingley's efforts.

By the time Mary and the others came out of the police station, most of the sun had set, the land was dyed orange, and there were fewer pedestrians on the road.

Mr. Bingley sympathetically helped Mary onto the horse, Heathcliff glanced at them indifferently, let out a cold snort from his nose, and drove his Dutch warmblood horse away.

Mary:? ? ?

"My friend is indeed a little eccentric." Mr. Bingley explained with a smile, "but please believe that he will not do that kind of thing."

Mary nodded. In fact, she couldn't talk about whether she believed Heathcliff, but she just felt that it was necessary for her to tell the truth.

Besides, she was not at fault in Frank's affair, and she wasn't afraid of being known.

Disappointingly, however, even after living two lives, Mary still ignored the gossip abilities of her neighbors in the village.

Within two days all of Hertfordshire was talking about the relationship between Mary, Frank, and Heathcliff.Some people even said that Frank's death was a love murder.

In order to protect her daughter's reputation, Mrs. Bennet quarreled with those people almost every day.

She was well-educated, so she didn't lose the wind when she quarreled with others, and most of the time she remained graceful.

Mary was locked at home by her mother, on the one hand to protect her from hearing those gossips, and on the other hand to make her reflect on her mistakes.

Regrettably, neither of these objectives was achieved.

Emily, who lived with Mary, would recount her daily experiences in detail, and all of her experiences were related to the Frank incident.

It is said that Heathcliff originally lived in the hotel at the entrance of the village, but has now been kicked out.

Fortunately, Mr. Bingley took him in and let him live in Netherfield Manor temporarily. Mr. Bingley's sister was very dissatisfied with this.

As for reflecting on mistakes, Mary insisted that she was right, especially after receiving the support of her second sister Elizabeth, she became more firm in her views.

During this period of time, people would often block the door of the sheriff's house, asking him why he hadn't brought Heathcliff to justice. After all, this man looked very dangerous.

Until Christmas Eve, the real culprit of the case was not arrested.

But as the holidays approach, people gradually forget about it, and everyone is preparing roast turkey and gingerbread.

The children were allowed to travel freely by their parents again, but they had to stay far away from where Heathcliff lived, and Mary's confinement was also lifted.

This is really good news.

The days of confinement are not easy, especially when you have to share the same room with Emily.As soon as Mary got the news that she was free to travel, she led the pony to the meadow, desperate for some fresh air.

The bright yellow sun hangs lazily in the sky, and the clouds are torn into pieces by the wings of the passing geese, and the east and west halves are floating in the air.

It was quiet all around, only a few gray sparrows were looking for food in the grass.

Suddenly, the little white horse pricked up its ears and listened carefully for a while, then it buried its head in the grass and moved around in small steps while looking for something inside.

Mary looked around but saw nothing.

But the little white horse became even more restless. It erected its ears, snorted, and then raised its forelimbs high, as if it wanted to attack something.

Mary didn't have time to pull the rein, she just felt a whirl in front of her eyes, and fell off the horse into the grass.

Deep in the grass, a large piece of fresh blood dripped and sprinkled on the withered yellow grass blades, and it was still extending forward.

Mary was a little nervous. She belatedly realized that this was the scene of Frank's murder. The little white horse sniffed here and there, looking very disturbed.

Suddenly, a short-haired Rottweiler sprang out, holding a bloody long-haired rabbit in its mouth.Mary looked up abruptly, and met a pair of deep, shadowy black eyes: it was Heathcliff.