"Enough of you!" He was, after all, a dignified fourth-rank official. How come in the eyes of these people, he was so despised?
Heng Niang curled her lips and said indifferently, "Can't we even speak our minds?"
A Nan also said meaningfully, "They say an elder brother is like a father. I can barely be considered your half-father. You should listen to what I say!"
Xue Zhan's face darkened even more. "A person who doesn't even dare to go home dares to say such things?"
"I'm not afraid. I just don't want to. Aren't you the same? Besides, even if I don't go back, I'm still your elder brother by blood!" A Nan was extremely smug inside.
Xue Zhan couldn't help grinding his teeth. "If you say one more word, do you believe I'll seal up your shabby inn?"
Hearing this, Heng Niang was not happy. She immediately glared at Xue Zhan. "You dare to try and seal it up?"
She was afraid of Mo Liandi, but how dare this guy?
Seeing this, Yun Xi quickly picked up the snacks beside and sat quietly to watch the show.
Yun Li still stayed obediently beside Liu Rumei and poured a cup of tea for her.
Liu Rumei also watched with great interest to see how Xue Zhan would end this.
However, this show was not to be watched in the end.
Just at this critical moment, Xiao Heyuan actually walked in with Xue Changsheng following Uncle Zhang.
"Lord Xue, something's wrong! Something's happened!"
A Nan and Xue Changsheng saw each other clearly.
Xue Changsheng was slightly stunned. "You're... A Nan?"
Seeing this, Xue Zhan couldn't help raising his eyebrows. He felt extremely satisfied inside. He even wished he could nod immediately and say, "Yes! He's A Nan!"
A Nan felt extremely irritated inside. He said indifferently, "You've got the wrong person!"
After saying that, he hugged Heng Niang and was about to leave.
Heng Niang also didn't expect Xue Changsheng to appear suddenly. Seeing A Nan's expression, she didn't say much and just let him take her away.
Xue Changsheng watched A Nan's departing back. His eyes were full of complexity.
After the person had walked far away, he then looked at Xue Zhan. "You've known for a long time?"
A hint of mockery flashed across Xue Zhan's eyes. He still sat there comfortably. "So what? The things back then had nothing to do with him."
He could still tell this clearly. After all, A Nan was just a poor guy. They say even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs, but in order to kill him, that man even sacrificed his own son.
Maybe in that man's eyes, Xue Nan was Xue Changsheng's son, and it was just right for him to die!
Xue Changsheng sighed deeply again. "I know."
He had never blamed this child. But now, neither of his two sons was willing to go back to the Sima Mansion or recognize him. Was it really his retribution?
Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become a bit awkward, Liu Rumei couldn't help coughing slightly. She said to Xiao Heyuan, "Just now you said something happened. What exactly happened?"
Xiao Heyuan was also a smart person. He quickly said, "Something happened in the yamen. When I came here, I happened to meet Lord Sima, so we came together!"
Hearing this, Liu Rumei looked at Xue Changsheng with a puzzled look on her face. "Who is Lord Sima?"
Uncle Zhang said with a smile, "Princess, Lord Sima is here to see the prince."
Liu Rumei frowned. "The prince is not here."
Didn't Uncle Zhang know this? Why did he still lead the person here?
At this time, Uncle Zhang's face was also full of embarrassment. A Nan and Heng Niang always did things in an unusual way. He didn't know that these two people would be here. Originally, he thought that since Lord Xue was also here, he could just bring the person here. But he didn't expect...
Seeing the embarrassment on Uncle Zhang's face, Liu Rumei also understood what was going on. She said with a gentle smile, "The prince may not be back for a while. Lord Sima, please take a seat and wait for a moment."
Xue Changsheng also nodded with a smile, but his thoughts gradually drifted away.
Xue Zhan was leisurely shaking his folding fan and told them about what was going to happen tonight.
Xue Changsheng nodded coldly. "That's good!"
Seeing that everyone was ignoring him, Xiao Heyuan said unwillingly, "Lord Xue! Something's happened in the yamen!"
Xue Zhan couldn't help coughing slightly. He frowned and said, "What happened?"
Xiao Heyuan sighed silently in his heart. He shook his head and said to Liu Rumei, "That Widow Liu and her son Xiaoxin who we saw yesterday were both found dead in their house early this morning."
Liu Rumei's expression instantly turned cold. "Dead?"
Thinking of the vicious words that Master Xu had said when he left yesterday, Liu Rumei was filled with anger.
Xue Zhan naturally also heard about what had happened yesterday. Now that two more people had died, a cold light also flashed in his eyes.
"What exactly happened?"
Xiao Heyuan said respectfully, "I've been there to take a look. Both Widow Liu and her son Xiaoxin died of drowning. The estimated time of death was around midnight last night. The bodies were discovered at the end of the Mao hour this morning."
Liu Rumei immediately got up and walked towards the door. The Yun Xi brothers also quickly followed.
Xue Zhan shook his folding fan and also followed.
Soon, only Xue Changsheng was left in the yard.
Uncle Zhang couldn't help shaking his head helplessly. Just as he was about to invite Xue Changsheng to another place to wait, he didn't expect Xue Changsheng to also say with a smile, "I'll go and take a look too!"
What Liu Rumei had said about dry drowning yesterday had almost instantly spread throughout the entire capital.
Even he had heard a lot about it!
Uncle Zhang nodded with a smile. "Lord Sima, feel free. I'll definitely inform the prince when he comes back."
"Okay."
...
Widow Liu's family lived in the south of the city, just separated from the Xu family by a wall. It could be said that Widow Liu had a pitiful life.
She got married into the Liu family at a young and beautiful age. Her husband and she got along very well, and her in-laws treated her very well too. But unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. A few months later, Young Master Liu went on a long journey. His carriage accidentally fell off a cliff. At that time, Widow Liu was already three months pregnant.
She managed to support the Liu family's business on her own. Her in-laws were so devastated by this that they fell seriously ill and passed away.
The Xu family and the Liu family were both merchants in the south of the city. When Young Master Liu was alive, the two families had some cooperation. But after Young Master Liu's death, the Xu family annexed a lot of the Liu family's property, which made Widow Liu bear a grudge against them. She often spoke unkindly to the people of the Xu family.
When Liu Rumei arrived, she saw Master Xu standing at the door. His eyes were full of mockery when he looked at her. "Miss Liu is here? I said that good and evil will always be rewarded in the end! It's just a matter of time. God has really opened his eyes!"
Yun Xi was quite unhappy. He immediately grinned and said, "Is it really God opening his eyes? Or is it someone deliberately doing it? It's hard to say, isn't it?"
"You little kid, what do you know!"
Yun Xi curled his lips. His eyes were full of disdain. "Old cucumber, don't think that just because you're wearing a green robe, you can make people think you're a young cucumber! If you dare to say one more bad thing about Liu Liu, I won't let you off!"