My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 84 Investigation

"This is my home, gentlemen, please make yourselves at home." The middle-aged man led Lin Ziping and Lao Huang to his house, poured them a bowl of water, and said, "In the past, it was Inspector Chai who came to our Xinping Village. May I ask what brings you two gentlemen here today?"

What was Inspector Chai doing in Xinping Village? Seeing that Old Huang didn't say anything, Lin Ziping suppressed his doubts and secretly sized up the middle-aged man in front of him.

"What is the name of the village head?" Old Huang asked.

"My surname is Cui."

“Village Chief Cui, we’ve come here today to find Sun Ergou from your village,” Old Huang said.

Cui Lizheng frowned and asked, "Could it be that this Sun Ergou has been causing trouble and committing crimes outside?"

"No, that's not it. We have something we want to ask his wife," Old Huang replied.

"His wife?" Cui Lizheng asked, somewhat puzzled, but didn't ask any further questions. "Then I'll take you to his house now."

"Thank you very much," Old Huang said, clasping his hands in thanks.

Cui Lizheng's house is located in the center of the village, while Sun Ergou's house is located at the end of the village. On the way, they encountered a group of people carrying hoes, chisels, crowbars, picks, hammers and other tools, returning from the end of the village.

"Uncle Cui." Everyone greeted Cui, the village head, and made way for him.

Cui Lizheng nodded slightly and led Lin Ziping and Lao Huang toward Sun Ergou's house.

"Cui Lizheng, what are they doing?" Lin Ziping couldn't help but ask.

“We need to break through the rocks and find water. If we don’t water them soon, the crops will die,” Cui Lizheng replied seriously.

"Oh."

For some reason, Lin Ziping felt a strange sense of fear upon seeing this Village Head Cui. He had been in Fuchun County for a while now, and although he hadn't visited all the surrounding villages, he had been to most of them. He had seen some village heads who, while not exactly respectful, were generally well-behaved when they saw officials. However, Village Head Cui of Xinping Village had been completely indifferent since he arrived. Xinping Village was also strange. Children from other villages were mischievous, but they wouldn't use sticks to block people from entering the village. Now, thinking back, the group of children behind the village weren't just randomly wielding bamboo poles; their stances were quite proper, much better than when he first saw them. Although the group of people had smiles on their faces, their eyes couldn't hide their scrutiny of him and Lao Huang, and there was an inexplicable air of apprehension about them.

“That’s Sun Ergou’s house,” Cui Lizheng said, pointing to a house. “Besides the couple, he has a 70-year-old mother and an eight-year-old child. They also had a son at the beginning of the year. I have other things to do, so I won’t accompany you two.”

"Thank you very much, Village Chief Cui." Old Huang clasped his hands in thanks.

Lin Ziping quickly clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you."

After Village Chief Cui had walked away, Lin Ziping asked, "Uncle Huang, what about this Village Chief Cui..."

"You want to ask me why I'm being so polite to him?" Old Huang interjected, "With Inspector Chai here, do you think Xinping Village is any simple place? Xiao Lin, don't underestimate anyone."

Lin Ziping nodded and said, "I understand, Uncle Huang. I've really learned a lot from you these past few days."

Old Huang's smile deepened, and he pointed vaguely at Lin Ziping, saying, "You brat..."

The two arrived at Sun Ergou's house. Lin Ziping tiptoed and peered inside, just in time to see a woman carrying a child coming out of the house.

"Hey, is this Sun Ergou's house?" Lin Ziping shouted.

The woman looked up at the sound and saw Lin Ziping. She seemed startled and after a long pause said, "Yes...yes, may I ask what business you have with me, sir?"

Without waiting for Lin Ziping's reply, he hurried over, opened the door, and let Lin Ziping and Lao Huang in.

Lin Ziping carefully examined the woman in front of him. She did indeed look similar to Qin Niang. Perhaps because she had just given birth, she looked more plump than Qin Niang, and her eyes were more spirited.

"Sirs, the master isn't here. If you're looking for him, I'll have Xiaohua go and fetch him." The woman seemed a little flustered, then called into the house, "Xiaohua, Xiaohua..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a little girl of about seven or eight years old came running out. When she saw Lin Ziping and Lao Huang, she hid behind the woman.

"Bani, what's wrong?" An elderly woman with gray hair came out of the house.

"Mother, two officials have come to our house," the woman said into the house.

"No need to bother, we're not looking for Sun Ergou, we're here to ask you some questions," Old Huang said.

The woman's face changed, and she stammered, "I...I...What does the official want with me?"

"Xiao Hua, go fetch some water. Bani, please invite the two officials in to sit down..." the old woman said, carrying a long bench.

Old Huang came into the house, took the bench, and said, "Grandma, no need to trouble yourself. We've come to ask your daughter-in-law something."

"Sit down and tell me the truth, whatever Lord Ba Ni asks." The old woman pulled Old Huang to sit down.

At this moment, the little girl also came out carrying two bowls of water, and Lin Ziping quickly took them and thanked her.

Old Huang looked at the woman and asked, "Your name is Ba Ni. Do you have any other brothers or sisters?"

The woman glanced at the old woman and said, "I have several sisters in my family, but we got separated when we fled. I was rescued by my mother-in-law's family."

"Yes, when my husband was young, he went to work in Zezhou. On the way, he found Ba Ni and took pity on her, so he brought her back," the old woman recalled.

Old Huang looked at the two of them, seemingly trying to determine whether their words were true or false.

“There’s someone in Pingding Village who looks exactly like you. She says she’s your sister,” Old Huang said.

“My sister?” Bani murmured.

Old Huang nodded and said, "Yes, her name is Qinniang. This place isn't far from Pingding Village. You should have seen her before."

"Sir, my daughter-in-law has always lived in Xinping Village and has never been anywhere else. She has no idea that she has an older sister in Pingding Village," the old woman said hurriedly.

Seeing Lao Huang frown, Lin Ziping said, "We're asking your daughter-in-law, let her answer."

"Xiao Lin." After Lin Ziping spoke, Lao Huang gave him a reproachful look, then said to the woman, "You should still remember what happened between you and your sister before you got separated, right? Tell us about it."

“My name is Mo Bani. Before I got separated from my family, I had seven older sisters and one younger brother. I…I…Sir, I’ve been separated from my family for many years and I don’t remember them anymore. I had no idea that there was an older sister in Pingding Village,” Mo Bani said, wiping her eyes.

"That……"

"Miss..."

Lin Ziping was about to ask further questions when he was interrupted by a voice from outside the door.

It was a young man, presumably Sun Ergou, with several people following behind him.

"What's this?" Sun Ergou asked as he entered the room, looking at Lin Ziping and Lao Huang.

The old woman said, "Ergou is back. These are two officials from the county government. They said they found Ba Ni's sister in Pingding Village and came to inquire about the situation."

Seeing this, Lao Huang stood up and said, "We've asked enough questions, so we won't bother you any longer. Xiao Lin, let's go."

Lin Ziping glanced at Lao Huang, then stood up without saying a word and followed Lao Huang away.

The two walked around the village for a while before setting off back to the county government office.

"Uncle Huang, are we leaving before we've even confirmed whether what Mo Bani and the others said is true or false?" Lin Ziping asked.

“Silly boy, didn’t you see those guys behind Sun Ergou? If we don’t leave now, I’m afraid we won’t be able to get back,” Old Huang said. “Besides, whether it’s true or not isn’t that important. The adults all know that Qin Niang killed her husband. The reason they asked us to investigate is twofold: first, they’re worried that people from above will come and ask questions, and second, they’re worried that Qin Niang will recant her testimony.”

"So we're not going to investigate?"

"Investigate, but the key is Qinniang. As long as she doesn't recant her testimony and has a plausible story, the case will be closed!" Old Huang said meaningfully.

Lin Ziping thought for a moment and asked, "Shall we make up a story?"

"It wasn't us, it was Qinniang."

Lin Ziping seemed to understand but not quite. This didn't require witnesses or physical evidence; all it took was the party's admission? Was case handling this hasty in this day and age?