Nongmen Shenjue

Early the next morning, Mu Qingyan followed Mu Lin to Xianghua Village.

Wen Jixue asked him to bring Jiao Li with him.

Mu Lin came back yesterday to report the new discovery of Xinghua Village to Captain Lu.Since it was found to be suspicious, it must be further investigated. The two police officers who went with them were still asking door to door in Xinghua Village. She's body was parked in a dilapidated house at the end of the village.

Mu Qingyan proposed to go, and Mu Lin was naturally willing.

Xinghua Village was too far away, a few people rode there on horseback, set off before dawn, bumped all the way, and arrived at noon.

Looking from a distance, thirty or forty families are located on the side of the stream. There is a forest upstream of the stream, and the part of the forest close to the stream is the orchard in the village.The orchard is an important source of income for the village, and the villagers tend it very carefully.The fifth month of the lunar calendar is about to enter, and apricots are about to enter a large-scale maturity period. At this time, not only must we prevent wild animals from spoiling the fruits, but also prevent people.

Hearing the sound of horseshoes, Li Zheng led people to meet him at the head of the village.

"Mu catcher, this is..." Li Zheng looked at Mu Qingyan with doubts on his face.

"This is my brother, Mu Qingyan."

"It turned out to be Mu Shenduan, who has admired his name for a long time." No matter how far Xinghua Village is, it is not isolated from the world, and people have heard about things in the county.It's just that Mu Lin's actions now make Lizheng feel uneasy: "Master Mu, did the She family really teach people to kill?"

Earlier, Lizheng reported that it was an accidental fire and died, but the county government came to investigate, but said that the person was burned alive, but she had never heard the voice of She's shouting that night.The villagers don't know how to investigate cases, but they know common sense. Facing the fire and the thick smoke billowing, no matter how deeply they sleep, they must be prepared to wake up from choking.

For a while, there were many discussions in the village.

Mu Qingyan glanced at the villagers who were watching from far and near, and spoke cautiously: "The details inside will only be known after investigation." Then he asked: "Is Fan Xiucai still in the village?"

Li Zheng nodded hurriedly: "Yes, Master Mu explained that he has not left the village."

Mu Lin nodded, and said to Mu Qingyan, "Let's go to Fan's house first."

There is no plan for the location of the houses in the village, but usually a road is left in the village, and the space in front of and behind the house is also reserved very spacious.The Fan family is on the west side of the village, a family on the side.The nearest household to his home is a few minutes away from the vegetable garden, and two clumps of bamboo have been planted behind Fan's house, which grow luxuriantly. If his house is really on fire and no one shouts, the other houses will not be able to find it immediately in the middle of the night.

It can be imagined that the Fan family must have felt that the location and layout of their home were very clean, which was conducive to Fan Lixuan's study.

The Fan family is obviously divided into two parts, the left is the old house, and the right is the new house.

The new house is a green brick house, with three main rooms and two right wing rooms, and a grape trellis on the left, just in the middle of the old and new yards, passing through the grape trellises is the old yard, and there is no wall in the middle.The old houses here are all earthen walls and thatched roofs, which have been repaired several times, but the main house is built with blue bricks, not particularly old, and it is now lived by Father Fan.

The new house is built for marriage.

Farmers are stingy with things, not to mention houses, even if they are old, they are reluctant to take them off.

Now the three main rooms of the new house have been burned down, the courtyard wall has collapsed, and there are ruins all over the place.Most of the roof of the wing on the right was also burned, half of the grape trellis was roasted to death by the fire, and the bamboo grove behind the house was also scorched.

Mu Qingyan looked at the green brick courtyard, he built the houses, and at a glance, he could tell how much these houses cost.This sum of money is a huge sum for the Fan family, not to mention reluctant to part with it, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold it at all.

In ancient times, reading was very expensive, not to mention the price of books and pens and ink alone. In order to provide for Fan Lixuan, the Fan family cut down their clothes and went on a diet. It is estimated that the two older sisters who were married also gave them a helping hand, so, even Three years ago, Fan Lixuan could get the government subsidy of two grains of silver, but the Fan family still couldn't afford to build a green brick yard.

"This yard..."

Mu Lin said in a low voice: "I asked, but it wasn't the money from the She family. I heard that Fan Xiucai asked a friend to borrow it."

At the beginning, the four rooms behind Mu Qingyan's rice cooker shop were paved with blue bricks, and a courtyard wall was added, which cost about 30 taels.Now the Fan family has five rooms in total, which are very spacious and cost about the same amount of money.

"Who borrowed it?"

"The man from Fucheng, whose surname is Qiu, should be the eldest son of the Qiu family. Their family runs a candied fruit shop. They have a big business and are very rich." Mu Lin knows a lot of people with names and surnames.

"How did the two know each other?" Since he was a merchant, the eldest son of the Qiu family would not be able to pursue an official career, but Fan Lixuan was a scholar.

"This Xinghua Village is quite famous for growing apricots. One year, there was a problem with the goods of the Qiu family. After asking around, I found out about Xinghua Village. Mr. Qiu came to collect apricots himself, and even paid a high price. It was probably at that time that we met. Mu Lin thought for a while, and added: "The eldest son of the Qiu family is said to be very kind, has a lot of friends, and has studied for a few years."

As soon as he entered Fan's courtyard, someone greeted him.

The leader was a man in his fifties with a half-white beard and a distressed expression. He wore a silk robe with a round collar to show that his family was wealthy.He walked in a hurry, and followed a middle-aged man behind him, reaching out to help him. The two had somewhat similar features, they should be father and son.

Mu Lin said: "This is Mrs. She's father and elder brother."

The layman came up to Mu Lin and was about to kneel in front of Mu Lin: "Master Mu, my daughter died unjustly, you must find out the murderer and avenge my daughter!"

"Member She, please get up!" Mu Lin hurriedly helped him up.

She's elder brother, She Jinye, was there to comfort her, and she finally calmed down the emotions of members of the staff.

Immediately after, Fan Lixuan also came out.

Father Fan suffered a great change in his family, so he was trying to hold on, but yesterday he learned of the strange death of Mrs. She, rumors spread in the village, he couldn't bear the stimulation, and fell ill.

Fan Lixuan was already thin, but now he has lost some weight in just a few days.Under the bright sun, this Fan Lixuan was wearing a white robe loosely draped over his body, his complexion was pale, his beard was unshaven, his eyes were blue, and his expression was somewhat dull.Just looking at him like this, even if there is no pain and howling, it makes people feel heavy and suffocating grief.

Mu Qingyan immediately believed that Fan Lixuan and She's husband and wife were deeply in love.

Crying bitterly can be faked, but it is difficult to act out when there is nothing greater than heartbreak.

Many people in the village watched, Li was saying a few words, and the people gradually dispersed.It's nothing else, it's the busy season of farming, the fruit in the orchard needs to be guarded, and the paddy fields in the fields have to be built. It's rainy in midsummer. If you don't prepare in advance, when a heavy rain comes, the paddy fields will be washed away.

Although the farmyard is large, there is no shelter. It is too hot to sit and talk in the yard.Fan Lixuan couldn't entertain guests at all, so his uncle She Jinye came forward, and everyone sat in the main room of the old house.

Although the house here is old, it is clean. A woman brought them tea.

Mu Lin came here and knew each other, so he whispered to Mu Qingyan, "This is Fan Lixuan's cousin."

The only mistress of the Fan family died, the old one fell ill, and the male lost his soul. Although member She was the father-in-law, he came from a family with two surnames.

"Where are the two little girls from the Fan family?" No one could live in the new house, and there were only two or three rooms in the old house, but there was no movement, which meant that the little girl was not at home.

"Oh, when something happened to the Fan family, the She family asked the servant girl to take the two little girls to live with the She family. I came back two days ago, but this house looks like this... I discussed it with the Fan family. The girl is placed at cousin Fan Lixuan's house, which is in the village."

According to the ancient rules, although women are not allowed to throw pots and flags, they must perform filial piety.For the first seven miles, burn paper to watch the night, wear linen and wear mourning, this has to be done.

"Send your daughter to She's house, was She's initiative?" Mu Qingyan was a little surprised.

"Yes, I've confirmed this. The weather has been getting hotter and hotter recently, and Mrs. She always said that she is not feeling well and has no time to take care of the children. Although the maid is a helper, she has to do the laundry, cooking and cleaning at home. Take care of the vegetable field, or sewing and repairing. The Fan family still has a field, and Father Fan has been taking care of the work in the field."

Fan Lixuan was also at home.

Mu Lin didn't mention Fan Lixuan, and Mu Qingyan didn't need to ask.

Is Fan Lixuan a scholar, or has he achieved fame and fame as a scholar, can he go down to the land?Can do housework?with children?Don't talk about what outsiders think, whether he is willing or not, the Fan family alone cannot agree.How precious is a scholar, and he is a scholar again. If he will be an official in the future, how will he do those lowly things?With that kind of effort, it is better to read more books quietly.

The Fan family's land should be supported by the Fan family, it is impossible to rely solely on Father Fan.

Mu Lin said again: "Fan's house caught fire on the night of the 25th, and Fan Lixuan left home on the 23rd. Normally, Fan Lixuan would leave home for a few days every month, mainly to go to the county town to discuss articles with others, or go to the prefectural city to find professors. Teacher Ye guides homework, and every time I go out, it takes ten days at most, and four or five days at least."

This time is not too long. After all, the transportation is inconvenient. It takes more than half a day to go to the county seat, and I can't make it back that day.If you go to Fucheng, the journey will take longer.

Looking at it roughly now, if the fire was not an accident, then the murderer was targeting the She family.

but……

"Have you understood the situation of the couple?" Comparatively speaking, if you want to be suspicious, Fan Lixuan must be more suspicious.

It's not anything else, but Fan Lixuan often travels outside and has a wider range of communication, which easily arouses hatred.The She family is a woman, with her father-in-law to serve and her daughter to take care of. The constraints of the times on women make her scope of activities very narrow.The She family had the most contact with the people in Xinghua Village, but there might be quarrels between neighbors, but it is rare for them to set fire to kill people.

"She's situation is similar, but Fan Lixuan's..." Mu Lin pointed to Fan Lixuan, who looks like he doesn't care about the outside world, and is a scholar, so he can't use arrogant methods, so it's really not easy to ask.

"Let's ask the people around first, Fan Lixuan let it go for now." Mu Qingyan didn't know what role Fan Lixuan played in this matter.

Even though he grieves over She's incident, it does not prove his innocence.

It is not uncommon for close relatives and loved ones to hurt each other in this world.