Nongmen Shenjue

After She's accident, Bi Tao came back with the two girls, and now she is taking care of the children at Fanjiatang's sister-in-law's house.Sister Xuan is six years old and the governor. Three-year-old Sister Zhi has to ask where her mother is from time to time. Only Bitao, who has raised them up since childhood, can comfort and accompany them.

It was indeed necessary to ask Bitao, but Mu Lin was more concerned about Fan Lixuan.

As the husband of the deceased, and the husband and wife are in harmony, it is impossible to know less than the maidservant.

"Okay, let's ask Bitao first." Mu Lin felt that there was no difficulty with Bitao, but was worried about Fan Lixuan's state.

"I'll go with you, and the others will stay here for now." Mu Qingyan glanced at the members of the Fan family meaningfully.

Mu Lin noticed it, a little strange, but he still instructed the other two yamen servants.

Hearing that he was going to ask Bitao, Li Zheng personally led the way, and Fan Jiatang's sister-in-law who was in the kitchen also followed.

"I, I'll go back first, so I can prepare some tea." Fan Jiatang's sister-in-law said, walking ahead in two or three steps.

Lizheng felt that this woman's family just couldn't support the scene, but it was just a question from the yamen, not her, so why panic!But he explained to Mu Qingyan and the two of them: "Country women don't have much knowledge, and they usually work on the stoves in the fields. When they see the yamen, they panic. This Xingerniang is a kind and straightforward person, and she walks around a lot with Mrs. She. These days... well, once something happened to the She family, the Fan family is in chaos, and our village is not peaceful either."

On the way of walking, with nothing to do, Lizheng told them about the population of the Fan family.

Xinghua Village is a village with mixed surnames, and the Fan family has seven households.Father Fan originally had an elder brother, who went out to seek a living in the early years, but he disappeared.In addition, the closest relationship is the cousin's family.Uncle Fan had three sons. After Uncle Fan died, the sons separated. Because of their age, Uncle Fan was closest to the third cousin.Fan's sister-in-law is the eldest daughter-in-law of his third cousin. His cousin has two sons and two daughters, and his grandchildren are all together. In the words of Father Fan, he is more blessed than him.

Cousin Fan's side is full of bustling big families, lined up in a row, with three small yellow mud courtyards next to each other.

Sister-in-law Fan is the eldest daughter-in-law, and she takes care of a couple of elderly people with a larger yard.Now Bi Tao brought the two little girls over, and they also live here. Now that they got the news, they are in the courtyard.

Bitao is two years old, her complexion is fairer than that of the villagers, her eyebrows are delicate, her clothes are half-new and half-old, her dark hair is neatly combed, and she wears a white silk flower. .

In order to have a smooth interview, Mu Lin dismissed Li Zheng and Fan's family.

Only the Mullin brothers and Bitao sat under the shade of a tree by the courtyard wall.

Bi Tao kept lowering her eyes and lowering her head, rubbing her hands unconsciously, clenching them together from time to time, appearing nervous.

Mu Lin took the lead and asked, "Your wife, or Fan Xiucai, who has had any feud with?"

Mullin still focused his investigation on someone arsoning, so when asking, the focus was on hatred.

Mu Qingyan didn't say much, just watched from the sidelines for now.

Bi Tao shook her head: "The uncle and the lady have no enmity with anyone, I have never heard of it."

"Tell me about your wife." Mu Lin was a little disappointed, thinking that he could get something different from Bitao's mouth.

"Since she conceived in autumn last year, she basically doesn't go out. The root cause of her illness is still intact, she has been taking medicine, and she is not in a good mood. There is nothing else." What Bi Tao said was consistent with the reactions of others.

Mu Qingyan suddenly asked: "What kind of medicine did Mrs. She take?"

"The lady took a lot of medicine. At the beginning, she ate Yimu Decoction. After she gave birth, the lady's bleeding continued, and she took it for a long time. Later, she got better. In order to replenish qi and blood, and take care of her body, she took medicinal food, mostly Stew chicken soup with Codonopsis pilosula, Astragalus membranaceus, etc., all of which are prepared by the doctor in the pharmacy, and stewed at home." Bitao paused for a while, and added: "It seems that the uncle has also found medicine for the lady, it is very valuable Yes, I heard the lady mention it, it seems to be a 'snow clam'. I don't know what it is, it's just such a small box, it is said that it will cost a lot of money."

The snow clam is indeed a precious thing, which can not only beautify the body but also nourish the body, and is very good for women.After She's small childbirth, it is really beneficial to take it in moderation.

This thing is not easy to get, it is rare and expensive, and ordinary people have never heard of it, let alone buy it.

The She family is just an ordinary country gentry, while the Fan family is more of a farmer, especially with limited wealth, even though Fan Lixuan knew that this thing was good for the She family, he didn't have the money to buy it.

Mu Qingyan couldn't help but think of that Mr. Qiu, and thought that Fan Lixuan's ability to get the snow toad had something to do with him.

Mu Qingyan changed the subject: "How much dowry did the She family bring?"

Mu Lin was surprised, wondering why he asked this.

Bi Tao didn't understand either, but she still replied: "Our master loves his wife, and he also values ​​the great master. The dowry is generous. Not to mention the clothes, fabrics, tables, chairs and bed frames, two sets of gold jewelry, four sets of silver jewelry, thirty acres is good Tian, ​​there is another box of silver."

"These things, are your uncles available?"

Bi Tao hurriedly shook her head: "No, the uncle said it was the dowry of the lady, and he refused to use it. Although the uncle spent a lot of money on schooling, the family was able to live well. Fan's family had fields and orchards, and the village in the clan gave them help every year. The old man got rice silver. Besides, the good handwriting of the old man is often asked by others, and he also needs some retouching pens. Every month, the old man will give it to his wife, and the wife will add some privately, mostly to buy some good pens and inks for the old man. Make decent clothes."

"It is said that when we got married, your uncle borrowed foreign debts, and they have already paid it off?"

"Naturally, I paid it off, and I paid it back a few years ago."

"Did your uncle borrow money again?" Mu Qingyan asked again.

"No..." In the middle of speaking, Bi Tao suddenly stopped talking, and opened her mouth again, not very confident: "Probably not."

"What is 'should not be'? Is it there or is it not?" Mu Lin's tone sank, and he was a yamen man again, and his aura was a little scary for a while.For a maid like Bi Tao, especially someone who might be hiding something smiling in her heart, she is very intimidating.

"I..." Bi Tao was really a little flustered, and hurriedly defended: "My lady doesn't go out very often, and I don't actually get to chat with people in the village. Most of the time, I still talk with my lady. I was brought by my mother's family, and I have been with my wife for many years, and my wife will tell me when there is something.

At the beginning, the uncle borrowed money to build a new house, and the lady wanted to pay the debt with the dowry, but the uncle refused.The lady didn't insist.The lady said, the uncle is a scholar, he respects the rules, and the dowry is the foundation of a woman. If the uncle uses it, his reputation will be damaged.Later, the uncle repaid the owed money by himself, and even mentioned it to the lady, in order to comfort the lady not to worry about it.

The lady always thought that the uncle never borrowed money again, but once I was taking a book for the uncle, I accidentally saw an IOU in the book.I don't know many characters, but I do recognize the number on it, 20 taels, and the uncle's name on the bottom, I can also recognize it.Because I found it strange, I stared at it for a long time, the uncle found out, and asked me not to tell the lady, so that the lady would not worry. "

Mu Lin raised a question: "If your uncle borrows money from others, why does he have the IOU? Could it be that the IOU from the previous loan was paid off and someone gave him the IOU?"

It's not quite right to say that, if it's really paid off, why does Fan Lixuan still keep the IOU?The normal way is to destroy it.

Bi Tao said: "It's just my guess. I think the uncle borrowed the money from Young Master Qiu. The uncle and Young Master Qiu have a good relationship, and the family is rich. 20 taels of silver is really nothing. But our uncle is serious, Young Master Qiu Afraid of hurting the uncle's face, he only got an IOU. Afterwards, Young Master Qiu must have quietly put the IOU in the uncle's book, implying that the uncle doesn't have to worry about paying back the money."

Mu Qingyan looked at Bi Tao, and suddenly found that this maid seemed to be hiding a lot of little secrets.

"Could it be that your uncle only borrowed money from Young Master Qiu?" Mu Qingyan asked forcefully.

"No, it's not, it's just..." Asking suddenly, Bi Tao was caught off guard and opened her mouth. She didn't expect to respond for a while, and her face was very flustered.

"Since it's not, why directly guess that the borrower is Young Master Qiu?"

Bi Tao became more and more uneasy: "I, I just guessed, the uncle, he, and Young Master Qiu are the best."

Mu Qingyan frowned, unable to understand the meaning of Bitao's lying on this issue.

However, he found that "Master Qiu" had a very high appearance rate, and his shadow was everywhere in the Fan family.

Seeing that Bitao was abnormal, Mu Lin refused to give up easily, and intensified his inquiries.

Bi Tao was driven into a panic, panicked and frightened, and cried bitterly with her face in her hands.

Mu Lin saw that she was crying and refused to speak, and there was no evidence for forced detention, so he could only let go: "You have been with Mrs. She for many years, and you don't want her to die in peace, do you? If you know something, tell it and catch the murderer as soon as possible. Consolation to your wife's spirit in heaven."

Bi Tao was still sobbing and didn't answer.

Mu Qingyan called Mu Lin aside: "Brother, tell me about 'Master Qiu'."

"I also know a general idea." Mu Lin said: "The name of the young master of the Qiu family is Qiu Zhihao. He took over part of the family's business many years ago. It stands to reason that he doesn't have to go out to receive the goods in person. But he felt that he was always bored in Fucheng, so he would go there every year when the fruit was harvested. He came to Fenglin County most often, not only harvesting apricots from Xinghua Village, but also peaches from Dayu Village, and Sanpo Town. It is said that the Qiu family is also harvesting hawthorns."

"Sanpo Town, She's natal family is from Sanpo Town, right?"

"Yes." Mu Lin thought of the She family, and said again: "The main industry of the She family is paddy fields, but there is also a mountain forest, and it is said that hawthorns are also planted."

"That is to say, the She family has a close relationship with Qiu Zhihao, and Bitao is a child of the family. She met Qiu Zhihao before she came to Fan's house." A flash of light flashed in Mu Qingyan's mind, and Mu Qingyan felt that what Bitao was hiding must be related to Qiu Zhihao. Hao related.

Thinking of this, he immediately returned to the weeping Bi Tao: "Master Qiu went to She's house in the early years?"

Bi Tao cried out, her shoulders trembled, and she had already answered.

"Why hide it? He and your wife..."

"No!" Bi Tao raised her head in a panic, looked around, and begged in a low voice: "Please don't say anything, Mr. Mu, it's all old things in the past, and the lady is dead."

"I can keep it secret, but you have to tell the truth."

Bi Tao had no choice but to tell the truth: "My lady did know Young Master Qiu in her early years..."