Chapter 563 - Chapter 563: Promise

chapter 563: promise

translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios

after village head zhang asked about the entire matter, he looked at the low-ranking official helplessly.

“this is someone else’s house. they don’t want it to be abandoned. isn’t it reasonable to prepare to clean it? do you have to get the approval of the officials to clean your house first?”

the low-ranking official retorted, “but there was a murder here!”

village head zhang asked, “if it’s really a murder case, has your government found anything?”

the low-ranking official’s expression became awkvvard.

“not yet.”

village head zhang said, “it’s been more than three years, but you still haven’t found anything. not only are you not ashamed, but you also came here to make things difficult for her. do you think it’s appropriate?”

the low-ranking official was speechless.

village head zhang sighed again. “niaoniao’s family passed away in that fire. now, she’s the only one left in the feng family. what a pitiful girl. your government should be magnanimous and let her off. don’t disturb her life anymore.”

the lowly official tried to defend himself.

“that’s not the case. our original intention was to protect the crime scene so that the authorities could investigate the case. we never thought of making things difficult for anyone.”

village head zhang frowned. “since you’re not making things difficult for her, why did you bring so many bailiffs here? aren’t you trying to bully a weak woman with numbers?”

the low-ranking official opened his mouth, wanting to continue explaining, but he could not find a suitable reason.

in the end, he could only scold angrily,”you’re deliberately biased towards her. you’re all in cahoots!”

village head zhang waved his hand. “let’s go. don’t stand here and be an eyesore. if you think i didn’t do well, you can tell the county governor about this. i’ll bear any consequences.”

the low-ranking official gritted his teeth. “alright, since you’re determined to protect this little girl, let’s see how you explain yourself when the county governor holds you accountable later!”

with that, he flicked his sleeve and turned to leave with the bailiffs.

yu niaoniao was a little worried. “grandpa, will this cause you trouble?”

village head zhang replied indifferently, “it’s fine. they won’t do anything to me. anyway, i’m already one foot in the grave. what’s there to be afraid of?” yu niaoniao hurriedly said, “don’t say that. you’ll live to a hundred years old!”

village head zhang smiled. “i’ll take your blessings and live a long life!” everyone continued to work until the sun set.

the entire residence had not been cleaned up. they had searched everywhere they could. even the soil in the garden had been searched, but they still could not find any clues.

yu niaoniao could not help but feel disappointed.

however, she quickly pulled herself together. three years ago, this place had been thoroughly searched by the soldiers. it was normal not to be able to find any clues now.

since she couldn’t find any clues here, she would consider investigating from another angle.

village head zhang was warmly inviting yu niaoniao and the others to his house.

“it’s already late. you should have missed dinner when you return to the city.

why don’t you eat at my house? my house isn’t far from here.”

yu niaoniao’s heart skipped a beat. village head zhang’s house was not far from here. perhaps she could find some useful clues from him.

hence, she readily agreed. “that’s great! i haven’t eaten your food in a long time. i have to eat my fill tonight.”

when they arrived at village head zhang’s house, it was already dark.

when village head zhang’s two daughters-in-law learned that there were guests visiting, they quickly started the fire and cooked. soon, the rich fragrance of food wafted out of the kitchen.

yu niaoniao, xiao juan, lo pingsha, and ling hai sat in the central room. zhang li was asking his son to serve them hot tea.

they drank tea and chatted.

yu niaoniao told him some interesting things she had encountered in the imperial capital, making zhang li laugh.

village head zhang sighed. “the imperial capital is indeed a big place. there are so many fun things.”

yu niaoniao took the opportunity to ask, “although the imperial capital is good, i still like this place better. i wonder if anything has happened here in the two years i’ve been away? for example, has anyone come to ask about our family?”

village head zhang could hear the underlying meaning in her words and knew that this might be the main reason why she came back, so he recalled carefully.

yu niaoniao did not rush him and waited quietly.

madam xie and feng lianghan’s tomb had been opened by someone. the burial items inside were all there, except for a jade bracelet. the possibility of it being a case of grave robbery was very low.

thinking of the special nature of the jade bracelet, yu niaoniao suspected that the other party was here for the bracelet.

moreover, the other party should be sure that the bracelet was in madam xie’s

grave.

yu niaoniao put herself in the shoes of the person who wanted to steal the bracelet. before she did anything, she must have asked about the location of the xie family’s mausoleum.

and this might become a useful clue.

zhang li thought for a long time before speaking.

“a year ago, someone did come to ask about your family. at that time, my family had all gone out to do farm work, leaving me and a few insensible children at home.”

at this point, he waved at the child squatting at the door and playing with the stones.

“niu, come over.”

the child was strong and had dark skin. he looked very strong.

he ran to village head zhang’s side and called him grandpa.

village head zhang asked, “do you still remember a year ago, you said that an old lady came to our house to ask for water?”

ah niu tilted his head and thought for a moment. “yes, i remember.”

“then tell this sister in detail about the situation at that time.” ah niu said obediently.

“that day, i was sweepin the courtyard with my younger brother.”

“suddenly, someone knocked on the door. i ran to open it and realized that there was an old lady standing outside the courtyard door.”

“she said that she was from another city and had traveled a long way. she was very thirsty and wanted to ask me for a bowl of water.”

“i returned to the kitchen, scooped a ladle of water with a gourd ladle, and brought it to her.”

“she thanked me after drinking the water and even gave me a straw grasshopper as a thank-you gift.”

“that grasshopper made it up especially well, as if it was real. i liked it very much, but big brother ruined it later…’

village head zhang interrupted him. “don’t talk about the grasshopper. talk about that granny.”

ah niu replied resentfully and returned to the main topic.

“that granny even asked me about uncle feng’s family. after asking, she left.”

village head zhang continued, “at that time, i didn’t even know that there was a guest at home. it wasn’t until ah niu quarreled with a few other children because of that straw grasshopper that i found out about the old lady.”

ah niu explained softly, “that granny didn’t let me tell anyone. i promised her, so i have to do as i say.”

village head zhang lectured earnestly, “it’s a principle to keep your word, but this depends on the situation. the other party is a stranger you don’t know at all. what if the other party is a bad person? what if she wants to plot against our family? if you help her protect her whereabouts, it’s equivalent to helping the evildoer. it will cause very bad consequences.”

ah niu was frightened and his face turned pale. “i didn’t think so much. grandpa, i was wrong. i won’t dare to do it again.”

“if you encounter strangers asking you for anything in the future, you have to tell the elders immediately, understand?”

ah niu hurriedly nodded.. “i’ll remember!”