Chapter 32 Corpses Containing Grievance
Song Que said that he wanted to investigate the relationship between Hu Er and Li Xiaowu, but he did not immediately interrogate Li Xiaowu. Instead, he went to find Hu Er’s wife first.
Afraid that the crowd would frighten Hu Er’s wife, Gao Fenglin sent all the guards and coroner back first and went with Song Que.
“Why can’t Li Xiaowu be interrogated directly?”
Song Que said: “It’s not that we can’t. As long as you are careful enough, the order of interrogation does not have much impact. But Li Xiaowu is in prison and can’t escape, so we might as well learn the truth from others first. Sometimes prisoners are more cunning than you think. Without mastering some real information, it will be difficult for you to dig out a truth from their mouth.”
Gao Fenglin stroked the beard that he had managed to grow on his chin, frowning and thinking about Song Que’s words.
Song Que looked at the house in front of the corner and changed the topic: “Moreover, there are always many people who kill their husbands and their wives. In all murders that occur, you must immediately investigate the victim’s wife or husband.”
Gao Fenglin was surprised and said: “You mean Hu Er’s wife?”
Song Que held up his forehead and said: “We don’t know yet, I just want to remind you of a way to investigate.”
Gao Fenglin shut his mouth, then turned to ask: “Zishou, I have always wanted to ask, how come you are so outstanding in investigating cases when you don’t have any prior experience? During the autopsy, you knew more than those who have been working for many years. .”
Song Que unfolded the fan, fanned it slowly, and said: “The book has its charm like jade, and there is gold within a book. There are still people in this world who are born with knowledge. I just read a lot of books and acted based on the other experience. It’s really not worth mentioning.”
Gao Fenglin originally wanted to ridicule him for being too modest in what he said, but when he saw that his expression was neither arrogant nor complacent, but actually very sincere in it, he was a little dumbfounded.
The two walked to the door of Hu Er’s house, Song Que stepped forward and knocked on the door.
There was no sound in the yard.
Song Que knocked on the door again.
Gao Fenglin said: “Is there no one at home?”
Song Que shook his head and said, “There was smoke in the courtyard when we turned the corner. There must be someone inside, but they just didn’t come out to answer.”
Gao Fenglin was still indulging in the argument that there were many murderers of husbands and wives. At this moment, he thought: “Is it possible that there is something wrong with Madam Hu that she dare not open the door at this moment?”
Song Que thought for a while, shook his head, and said: “We don’t know yet. But Hu Er owed a large gambling debt in the gambling house. Now that he is dead, there is no guarantee that the gambling house will not chase the debt back to his home. I don’t know if Madam Hu is afraid of that. Brother Wutong, let me borrow your name.”
Gao Fenglin also felt that what he said was reasonable, then Song Que said loudly: “Madam Hu, the county magistrate is here. We have some questions, please open the door and see me.”
Those nearby who heard the sound couldn’t help but poke their heads out to see what the county magistrate looked like. Gao Fenglin looked embarrassed and tried to calm down, showing off the majesty of an official.
Song Que’s trick really worked. The door that had been tightly closed opened slightly. Someone observed them through the gap for a while and then opened the door directly.
The woman in front of them had a numb face, her eyes were downcast, and the corners of her mouth were slightly pulled down. Her face was young, but her expression was tense, as if she had no strength to make any other expressions, nor to shed another tear.
Song Que sighed inwardly when he saw such a face. Gao Fenglin was also a little embarrassed, and the original excitement to do inquiry was gone.
It was Song Que who spoke first: “Madam Hu, the magistrate has something to ask about Hu Er.”
Madam Hu nodded, turned around, and led them through the door. The yard was not big, and there were few things, but it was all organized in an orderly manner, which shows that the owner has been managing his life very carefully.
Madam Hu invited the two of them to sit down in the room, and an old woman brought over two cups of hot water.
Gao Fenglin asked: “Who is this?”
The old woman sighed and said, “Hu Er is my son.”
Gao Fenglin quickly asked the elder to sit down. He didn’t know what to ask, so he turned to look at Song Que.
Song Que took a sip of water first, and Madam Hu’s expression relaxed visibly. Being able to drink water meant it was not a big deal.
Song Que then said: “Do you know anything about Hu Er?”
Madam Hu didn’t say anything, staring at the lines on the table. On the other hand, Old Madam was still in good spirits despite being sorrowful, saying: “Sir, don’t blame her. My daughter-in-law has suffered a lot when she got married. Since my son left, she has been like this and didn’t mean not to reply to the sir’ words. Xiao-Er was originally a good child, doing carpentry work, and was very diligent. At that time, life at home was also easy. Later, he got addicted to gambling, won a big one once, and even bought his wife a silver hairpin. But isn’t that what gambling houses do? They give you a little sweetness first, let you sink in, and then it’s time to bleed you. We tried to persuade and beat him, but Xio-Er could no longer listen. Some time ago, he swore an oath that he would never go there again. He spent several days doing carpentry at home. I and his wife thought he had really woken up, but we didn’t expect that he would end up going to a gambling house again and even lose his life.”
The expectations for her son were worn away over time. Although Old Madam Hu was sad, she was more open-minded. As for Madam Hu, Hu Er got addicted to gambling at a time when the two of them were most affectionate. Even if Hu Er kept disappointing her, she could not let go completely. Hu Er finally woke up and repented, but in the end, he broke his promise and lost his life. She was deeply in love and resentful.
Song Que asked: “Do you know who hooked Hu Er to gambling?”
Old Madam Hu said angrily: “If I knew who the son of bitch was, I would have caught that little bastard out and beaten him up long ago. It is definitely not a good thing to lead people to imitate those bad guys.”
Song Que asked again: “Have Hu Er, Zhang Mazi, and Li Xiaowu known each other before?”
Speaking of these two people, Old Madam Hu’s mood was a bit complicated. Although a large part of it was her son’s fault, which mother can truly forgive the murderer of her son?
“Xiao-Er had made furniture for Zhang Mazhi when he was a carpenter. At that time, the relationship between the two was quite good. Xiao Er was good at his work and the price he charged was fair. Zhang Mazi even invited him to drink. I suspected that it was Zhang Mazi who introduced Xiao-Er to the gambling house. I went to question him, but Zhang Mazi said no, and I couldn’t provide any evidence. As for Li Xiaowu, I haven’t seen him come to the house. I guess they met when Xiao-Er won a bit in gambling and went to eat at his wonton stall.”
Song Que touched his chin, then turned to Madam Hu and asked, “Is that hairpin still there?”
Madam Hu’s eyes twinkled, feeling a rare mood swing, and nodded.
Song Que asked again: “Can we take a look?”
Madam Hu was silent for a while, then nodded, got up, and took them to the bedroom. Ordinary families didn’t pay much attention to detail, and with an official like Gao Fenglin here, the two of them followed into the room. The bedroom was very simple, and the most valuable thing in the whole room was probably the dressing table. The bronze mirror was blurry, and only a vague shadow was seen. The pattern surrounding the mirror was very beautiful. Although it was not as exquisite, it was very spiritual and polished smooth enough to avoid leaving any burrs to scratch the user’s hands.
Song Que said: “This dressing table is so beautiful.”
Gao Fenglin looked at him. Just when he thought this sentence was quite strange, he saw Madam Hu, who had been very depressed, speak: “He made this for me. His craftsmanship is really good.”
Once she spoke, the expression on Madam Hu’s face finally changed. She found the silver hairpin wrapped in a handkerchief from the dressing table, opened the handkerchief, exposed the hairpin, and showed it to Song Que.
The appearance of the hairpin was quite ordinary. It was a bare hairpin with a small rough flower on it, with a little red dotted on it to make the stamen. Because of oxidation, it looks a little black, which was really not very good-looking.
But Madam Hu cherished it very much, and after Song Que saw it he wrapped it up in a handkerchief and put it back.
Song Que asked: “Old Madam Hu said that Hu Er made a lot of money. Do you know how he used the money?”
Madam Hu said: “When he gave me the hairpin, he mentioned that he lent it to someone, and said that without that person, he wouldn’t be able to earn so much money. I didn’t know at the time that he was going to make money by gambling. I thought it was money from carpentry, so I didn’t ask any more questions.”
Song Que asked again: “Did he ever say that he wanted to exchange this hairpin for money?”
Madam Hu suddenly burst into tears and shook her head.
Gao Fenglin was a little at a loss and tugged on Song Que’s sleeve. Song Que sighed and asked the last question with a firm heart: “How much do you know about Zhang Mazi and Li Xiaowu?”
When the two came out of Hu Er’s house, Gao Fenglin’s mind was still confused and he couldn’t figure out what Song Que’s intention was in asking those questions.
The two of them were chatting while walking back to the Yamen. Song Que expressed his opinion a little bit: “The furniture at his house just now was made of half the materials, but the workmanship was solid. Hu Er was indeed a good carpenter. Did you notice? There is a half-finished table in his yard. It looks good. It would cost a lot to paint it. It looks like it is newly made.”
Gao Fenglin thought of Madam Hu’s words and said, “You mean he really wants to change his ways?”
Song Que added: “Moreover, he has a very close relationship with Madam Hu. A gambling-addicted person has never mentioned exchanging silver hairpins for gambling funds. Hu Er must not have completely lost his conscience because of gambling and promised his wife a new life. At this critical moment, he suddenly went to a gambling house, I suspect there are other reasons.”
Gao Fenglin was also a little bit sad: “Although my wife often tells me to love the people as my own children, it is too difficult to treat everyone equally. Even my children will inevitably have preferences. At first, I saw that Hu Er was an idle man and hung out in gambling houses. Although the case was still being investigated, but I couldn’t generate any sympathy.”
Now that he has visited his home, he felt a little uncomfortable.
Song Que was not in a hurry to speak to comfort him, and there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Only then did Gao Fenglin realize what he had said, open his mouth, and finally said, “I’m not henpecked.”
Song Que nodded with a smile.
“My wife was originally my junior sister, and my father-in-law was my teacher. This is normal communication between us.”
Song Que nodded with a smile.
Gao Fenglin looked at the smile on his face. The more he looked at it, the more helpless he became, so he had no choice but to stop trying to explain.
At Song Que’s suggestion, they first interrogated Zhang Mazi.
Zhang Mazi was tall. As he knelt on the ground, he kept shouting that he was wronged and said that he did not kill Hu Er.
Gao Fenglin couldn’t bear his yelling and said, “I haven’t asked, so please be quiet first.”
Song Que had already discussed with him not to disclose the injuries after death. If the suspicion of this matter was cleared, Zhang Mazi’s only crime was beating, and there was no guarantee that he would not lie about this matter.
Seeing that he shut up, Gao Fenglin asked with satisfaction, “How did you and Hu Er meet?”
