Lin Yuanqiu reached out and pricked his son's face again.
At this time, although the little guy's hands were around his father's neck, his little head kept tilting back, and then he chuckled like a mouse.
Zhong Yurou also laughed out loud, but after a while she hesitated to speak.
In the past two days, Zhong Yurou had been distracted by a murder case in the city. Now that her husband was back, she finally had someone she could talk to openly, so naturally she couldn't wait.
However, thinking that they would have to draw a family portrait later, they decided to wait until the evening.
They have been married for four or five years. Although he does not know his wife thoroughly, Lin Yuanqiu is still in his eighties or nineties. Seeing that the other party looked like he had something to say, he asked, "Yu Rou, do you have something to say?"
Since the husband asked, Zhong Yurou stopped delaying and quickly talked about the murder that happened in the city.
To talk about this, it was something the cook in the mansion heard when she passed by the gate of the government office when she went to buy vegetables. When the victim came to report the crime, the mother-in-law saw it from beginning to end, so she came back and taught it to the other servants in the house, and then Zhong Yurou knew about it.
The reason why I have been thinking about this matter for the past two days is because Zhong Yurou feels that the family's actions are too radical, and she always feels that something is wrong.
It turned out that the day before yesterday, landlord Yang and his son in the west of the city came to report to the official with a human head, saying that their daughter-in-law had committed adultery with his nephew and was seen by his servants. When everyone was about to kick in the door to catch the rapist, a fire suddenly broke out in the room. Everyone hurriedly put out the fire, but when they entered the house again, Landlord Yang found that his nephew had choked to death from the cigarette, and his daughter-in-law, Still angry. However, those who committed adultery always deserved to die, so the son of Landlord Yang, who was really angry, chopped off his wife's head while she was still alive, and then came to the Yamen to report to the government early the next morning with the head in hand.
Calling it a report, it actually means telling the story from beginning to end. After all, people who die for no apparent reason always have to explain themselves clearly.
As for killing people to pay for their lives, it's simply impossible. Landlord Yang can say that his nephew accidentally choked to death due to cigarette smoke when a fire broke out in the house while he was having an affair with his cousin-in-law, and had nothing to do with their family. As for Landlord Yang's daughter-in-law, a woman who did not abide by the rules of a woman should die. The laws of the Jing Dynasty allowed the owner to lynch his wife "at the time of the rape and in the place of rape."
In other words, if a husband discovers that his wife has committed adultery, he has the right to lynch his wife on the spot, such as directly killing her or dipping her in a pig cage.
Therefore, Landlord Yang’s son killed his wife. Not only was he not guilty at all, but he was also shown sympathy by others.
As for adulterers, according to Dajing law, after being caught, they can be turned over to the government. At that time, whether they will be fined or slapped with money depends on the situation.
However, the adulterer in this case was choked to death by fireworks, so there is no need to continue with his punishment.
Although he heard what the person involved said, to be cautious, Gao Tongzhi still sent an official and a gangster to the scene to check whether the situation was really like this.
When a few people arrived at Landlord Yang's house that had been burned by fire, they saw a naked male corpse on the ground with black ash on his face and body, and next to him was a naked female corpse with a missing head. , this scene seems to be close to adultery.
The officer saw a burned candlestick on the ground and a half-open window. He thought about the strong wind the night before. He thought it was the strong wind that blew open the wooden window, and then the wooden window knocked over the candlestick, so causing a fire.
The officials and the policemen quickly brought the two bodies back, and reported what they saw with Gao Tongzhi. Also brought back were the servants of the Yang family who helped put out the fire. Gao Tongzhi asked them carefully, and after hearing that he had no doubts, he asked the government officials to transport the body to Yizhuang, and planned to dig a hole and bury it after the woman's family saw it.
As for Landlord Yang's nephew, there is no need to bother. This man is now alone. His parents passed away the year before last, so he can just bury him then.
Zhong Yurou expressed her thoughts, "Ms. sir, if the Yang family did this on purpose, wouldn't that woman not even have a chance to distinguish the previous sentence for herself?"
Lin Yuanqiu nodded, feeling that this possibility was not impossible. He asked someone to call Ping An, and then ordered, "Go and inform Mr. Gao now and ask him to send people to Yizhuang to guard the two corpses immediately. I will discuss this case after I have reviewed it tomorrow."
Ping An responded, and then hurriedly walked towards Qian Yamen.
To be honest, no matter whether the woman was wrongly accused or not, Lin Yuanqiu felt very disgusted with the law that her husband could lynching his wife at will.
It’s not like there is no government, so how can a person’s life be easily taken away by others without trial?
There is an even more bizarre thing about this law, that is, if the husband commits adultery, the wife has no right to do anything, let alone kill him. Otherwise, according to the law, the wife will have to pay for her life.
Alas, the people who set these laws in the first place didn't know what kind of alternative they were.
Lin Yuanqiu thought that if there was a chance in the future, he would definitely try to improve this law.
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When the couple returned to the main courtyard with Bao'er, everyone had already arrived. Looking at Mo Xuan, Mo Hao and the others, the children were all wearing brand-new clothes, and the adults were also the same. New clothes.
Chairs have been placed in the yard, and even the senior table has taken out two, and then placed orchid pots on top. Now is the time when spring orchids are blooming. A gust of wind blows, and the entire yard is filled with the elegant fragrance of orchids.
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Chapter 226 Life Lawsuit
Including the child in Zhong Yurou's belly, the Lin family now has a total of thirty people, which can be considered a wealthy family.
According to the ranking method of family portraits in his previous life, Lin Yuanqiu arranged people into their respective positions one by one.
There is no doubt that Lao Lintou and Wu must be sitting on the two chairs in the middle. In front of them, there was a row of small benches, which were the seats of Mo Xuan, Mo Hao, Mo Sheng, Mo Cheng, as well as Mo Jun and Mo Lin. To the left of Lao Lintou and Wu, there were three sons and three daughters-in-law sitting, with Lin Sanzhu still holding Mo Yi in his arms. To the right of the two elders are Zhong Yurou, Gao Cui, Qin Hehua, Wang Xiangyun and Ding Ju, followed by Wanqing, Wanying, Wanxue and Wanyu. The four young ladies of the Lin family are all standing next to their mothers. beside. As for Lin Yuanfeng, Lin Yuansong, Lin Yuanhuai, and Lin Yuanbai, they all stood behind Lao Lintou and Wu.
Lin Yuanqiu's position was right in the middle of several cousins. On the left are the eldest and third cousins, and on the right are the second and fourth cousins.
But at this moment, Lin Yuanqiu did not have time to stand in his position. At this moment, he was holding a half-burned twig, and then used sketching techniques to draw the outline of each person on the paper, as well as the general expression of the face. .
Lin Yuanqiu's plan was to briefly draw everyone's movements and facial features, and then draw the rest slowly by himself. Otherwise, who could bear to sit for so long?
Sure enough, after drawing for almost a quarter of an hour, the younger Mo Jun and Mo Lin sitting in the front row already had thorns in their buttocks. They were twisting left and right because they couldn't concentrate. If they hadn't been afraid of their little uncle, , got up early and ran to play.
Lin Yuanqiu was on guard against this happening, so he painted these restless children first. No, after a while, he allowed them to leave first.
As if they had received amnesty, several children stood up and ran out of the yard quickly, fearing that if they were a step too late, they would be called back to sit on the stools. This furious look made everyone burst into laughter.
After drawing the children, the next ones to draw are naturally Lao Lintou and Wu. Elderly people should not be allowed to sit outside for too long.
By the time I finished painting Lin Yuanbai, it was almost midnight. Although it took more than an hour to sit there, everyone was full of joy, and their hearts were full of expectations for the finished family portrait.
Lin Yuanqiu carefully rolled up the drawing paper and prepared to slowly fill and color it when he had free time. Especially the phoenix crown and Xiapei worn by Nai, his mother and Yu Rou, he had to carefully draw their elegance.
As for myself in the empty seat in the back row, I will have to add it later.
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Hearing that the prefect was going to examine the adultery case tomorrow, Gao Tongzhi quickly had the files sent over.
Therefore, after dinner, Lin Yuanqiu walked around the study yard a few times to eat, and then went to study the case.
As soon as he opened the file, Lin Yuanqiu found something that he thought was not consistent with common sense.
The adulterer in this case is Landlord Yang's nephew. The young man named Yang You is only eighteen years old this year, while Landlord Yang's daughter-in-law Xiao is now in her twenties, which is ten years older than Yang You.
So Lin Yuanqiu couldn't figure out how a young Ying who was not yet married could commit adultery with his cousin-in-law who already had three children.
Although the possibility of love between two people cannot be ruled out, if it really exists, such an unreasonable feeling is probably only one in ten thousand.
What's more, according to Landlord Yang's statement, his nephew lives in the west of the city, and he usually comes here only when something happens.
In this case, there should be very few chances for him to meet Mr. Xiao.
Could it be that it was such a coincidence that they fell in love at first sight when they had a rare chance to meet?
So from this point of view alone, this matter needs to be investigated carefully.
Lin Yuanqiu made a hypothesis. If the adultery was not true, then what else might it be.
There are two cases of habitual killing, one is vendetta, and the other is killing for money.
As for the first one, Lin Yuanqiu thought it was unlikely. Yang You and Landlord Yang were uncle-nephew, so the possibility of any enmity was very small. Besides, if there was an enmity, he would not go to his uncle's house for dinner this time.
Since the vendetta is not established, the only thing left is to seek wealth and murder.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuanqiu flipped through the file and read it carefully. It was discovered that the superior Zheng and Yurou told him that Yang You was the only son of Landlord Yang's brother, and Landlord Yang's brother and sister-in-law had died two years ago.
Therefore, after Yang You's death, the property of the Yang family's main house can only be owned by Landlord Yang.
It can be seen that the motive for seeking wealth and killing exists, but it is unknown how much wealth the Yang family has. Lin Yuanqiu turned to the last page of the file and did not see any record in this regard.
Lin Yuanqiu planned to ask the household clerk to investigate this matter tomorrow.
After a busy day, Lin Yuanqiu thought that it would be easy for him to fall asleep, but maybe he had a case on his mind. After going to bed, Lin Yuanqiu's mind was still on the case, always trying to find some clues. So until it was almost the third watch, I was still very energetic. As for when he fell asleep later, Lin Yuanqiu, who found it was already dawn when he opened his eyes, said that he really couldn't remember.
Because it was late last night and worried about disturbing his wife and children, Lin Yuanqiu rested directly in the study. So when Mo Yi woke up and found that his father was not in the room, he hurriedly asked his mother to put on his clothes, and then came over to look for his father with his little buttocks twitching.
At this time, Lin Yuanqiu was already preparing to have breakfast in the hall. Seeing his son coming, Lin Yuanqiu waved to him, "Come on, Bao'er, come to daddy quickly, and daddy will peel the eggs for you to eat."
Little Mo Yi held the door frame, lowered his head and said nothing. Zhong Yurou saw her son's pouting mouth from the side.
She couldn't help but want to laugh, but she was worried that the child wouldn't be able to keep it on his face and start crying loudly, but she would be able to comfort her.
So Zhong Yurou pointed at her son, and then made a pout gesture towards the Prime Minister.
Lin Yuanqiu immediately understood that the little guy was angry.
"Tell daddy, what's wrong with Bao'er?" Lin Yuanqiu bent down and picked up his son, asking patiently.
Smelling the familiar scent of his father, Xiao Moyi stretched out his little arms and hugged his father's neck.
Now Lin Yuanqiu finally understood that his son missed him as his father.
Yes, he just came back after being away for more than two months. He has been busy since returning home yesterday, and he and his son haven't had a good conversation yet.
"Come on, daddy will peel eggs for Bao'er to eat."
Lin Yuanqiu asked his son to sit on his lap, and then peeled the hard-boiled eggs on the plate one by one.
There were four eggs in total, two were placed in his wife's bowl, and he and his son had one each. Although there are many new food options at home nowadays, eggs are still indispensable every day. Lin Yuanqiu has always believed in the nutrition of eggs.
After eating breakfast and talking to his son for a while, Lin Yuanqiu went to the front office.
Knowing that the Lord was going to Yizhuang this morning, Gao Tongzhi and He Tongpan had already been waiting in the Yamen.
Lin Yuanqiu didn't waste any time. After arriving at the front office, he quickly ordered the housekeepers and scribes to quickly check Yang You's property, such as the land, houses and houses.
As soon as they heard this, Gao Tongzhi and He Tongpan understood the intention of the magistrate. They wanted to see if there was any possibility of murder and wealth.
Thinking of this, Gao Tongzhi and He Tongpan began to sweat on their backs. To be honest, they haven't really thought about it. Because the existing circumstances and evidence are enough to show that this is a case of adultery.
At this moment, the two of them suddenly felt that they were not rigorous enough in handling the case. After all, even if the case was reclassified, certain exclusions still had to be made.
Lin Yuanqiu said nothing. He felt that sometimes a look was enough.
In terms of serving as officials, both of them were longer than him, but they were so sloppy in their work. You must know that this is a case involving human life, how can you take it for granted?
Seeing the prefect's sullen face, Gao Tongzhi and He Tongpan did not dare to say a word.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for the household's chief bookkeeper and several scribes to come over with the booklet and report.
Master Zhang bowed and said, "Sir, I have just checked Yang You's property. In addition to a house with three entrances in the west of the city and three shops on Xingyuan Street, there are also 60 acres of paddy fields and 100 acres of dry land, respectively in Gao. Pingcun and Masikou Village.”
Gao Tongzhi and He Tongpan were stunned when they heard that there were so many properties.
Yang You is alone, so if nothing unexpected happens, the property will belong to Landlord Yang in a short time.
Thinking of this, the two people who had originally determined that this was a case of adultery became uncertain. After all, money touches people's hearts. There are too many people taking risks for money these days. There is no guarantee that Landlord Yang will not have such thoughts.
"Let's go, follow me to Yizhuang now!"
Lin Yuanqiu didn't say much and walked straight out of the Yamen. Gao and He followed closely behind, along with Fu Zuo and several government officials.
The coachman had been waiting at the gate of the government office with his carriage. When everyone got on the carriage, the carriage quickly left for Yizhuang on the outskirts of the city.
