Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 142 Can't a village woman kill a chicken with a knife?

"A clue?" Chu Xiu beamed with joy. "Then does that mean Father is close to catching the murderer?"

Magistrate Chu agreed to let his son investigate the case, but he also had his own selfish motives.

When he first arrived in Pingchuan County, he needed to win the hearts and minds of the people and gain their trust. At the same time, he also needed to produce some achievements to impress his superiors.

This way, he will have the opportunity to climb higher and go further.

Chu Xiu naturally knew all this, but his father had promised him and even found clues.

He immediately forgot about the previous unpleasantness between the two, after all, his father was arranging the marriage for him in the best interests of his own.

Chu Xiu is good at comforting himself and also good at forgiving others.

Magistrate Chu said in a deep voice, "On the day Butcher Hu was killed, someone saw a tall, thin man running out of his house."

"What does he look like? Have you found him?"

"The killer was masked; witnesses only saw a mole on his hand."

"Huh? That's it?" Chu Xiu's mood fluctuated wildly. There are plenty of people with moles on their hands, but it would take forever to find this one.

The godmother's family lived in the house that Butcher Hu used to live in, and Xiao Yishan had a good relationship with Butcher Hu's family. Chu Xiu wanted his father to find the murderer as soon as possible.

To avenge Butcher Hu and his family, and to give Brother Xiao and his godmother an explanation.

He personally agreed to this, so naturally he wanted to do it as soon as possible.

However, trying to catch the murderer based solely on the fact that there is a mole on his hand is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Left hand or right hand?"

Knowing this would at least narrow down the possibilities.

Magistrate Chu shook his head and said, "The eyewitness doesn't remember."

"Sigh." Chu Xiu slumped onto the table like a deflated balloon.

What kind of clue is this? It's clearly just a bubble that will only give us false hope.

He raised his eyelids slightly and said, "Father, I'm tired. I'm going to rest now."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Magistrate Chu said, "You should go to that Li family's house less often in the future."

"Why?" Chu Xiu retorted subconsciously, "At home you only scold me and say I'm useless in every way."

At his godmother's house, he could help with chores and teach everyone to read and write, which made him feel like a very useful person, and his days were happy and fulfilling.

Magistrate Chu said with displeasure, "What? Am I wrong?"

He was about to launch into a long lecture, but seeing his son's face darken to the point of being almost unreadable, he immediately shut up.

He lowered his voice and said, "Li Shi is no good."

"What makes you say that?" Chu Xiu was so angry he wanted to hit someone. He wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of his godmother.

Even if this person is his biological father, it won't work.

If my godmother isn't a good person, then are there any good people left in this world?
Do you know what she bought the other day?

"What did you buy? You bought grains, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, pots, pans, and other daily necessities for farmers. Is there a problem with that?"

"She bought several large knives. What would a village woman like her do with such a good life, buying large knives?"

The magistrate of Chu County could not contain his anger. These days, most of the people who buy broadswords are martial arts schools.

The people at the martial arts school are highly skilled, and with the added advantage of weapons, they are very difficult to manage.

Others are bandits and robbers who loot and plunder, needing weapons to plunder other people's wealth.

Both types of people are actually fine, since they buy knives for legitimate purposes.

I'm afraid some unscrupulous people might buy a big knife and do something like murder or dismemberment.

"She wants to live a good life, but others may not give her that opportunity. How can she live a good life if she doesn't buy a knife to protect herself?"

Chu Xiu saw right through Magistrate Chu's ulterior motives. "It's normal for martial arts schools to kill people, and it's normal for bandits to kill people, but can't a village woman kill a chicken with a knife?" This is just allowing bad people to commit violence and evil, but forbidding ordinary people from killing chickens and sheep.

Sure enough, this era is only lenient towards the strong, while making things difficult for the weak, setting up a bunch of messy rules and suppressing them at every level.

"Father, you've been an official for so long, have you forgotten that our family was once just an ordinary citizen, and we also suffered all kinds of oppression from the officials?"

Now you wear this magnificent official robe and wield great power, yet instead of catching bandits or murderers, you spend your days worrying about whether a peasant woman should buy a knife.

If that's really the case, I think you might as well not take this official position!

Magistrate Chu never expected that his casual mention of Li Ruru buying a knife would trigger his son's defenses, leading to a barrage of criticism.

Chu Xiu's words were very harsh, and although he tried to hold back, he couldn't help but speak up.

He looked up at Magistrate Chu and said sorrowfully, "Father, I feel you are getting further and further away from me!"

I don't know when it started, but the gentle and patient father in my memory disappeared, replaced by a stranger who was harsh on him and looked down on him in every way.

Magistrate Chu was already seething with anger after his son told him he wasn't a good official. He was stunned and speechless for a long time when he heard his son's words.

After a long while, he looked up at his son, who was so close yet seemed so far away, and said, "I feel the same way. You're getting further and further away from me."

The two discovered the problem but didn't know how to solve it, so they just lowered their heads and remained silent.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Chu Xiu opened the door and saw Xiao Wu, who was soaked to the bone, shivering and holding a medicine pot.

Xiao Wu glanced at Magistrate Chu and whispered, "Master, it's time for the young master to take his medicine."

"Take medicine? What's wrong with you?" Magistrate Chu stood up abruptly and asked anxiously.

"It's nothing, just a minor ailment." Chu Xiu didn't want to say anything more, took the oil-paper umbrella handed to him by Xiao Wu, and walked towards his room.

Xiao Wu patiently comforted him, "Master, the young master is fine; he's just overthinking things."

"Him? Overthinking?" Magistrate Chu couldn't connect his son with the word "overthinking."

He always thought his son was carefree and thoughtless, never expecting that he would get sick from thinking too much.

Seeing that no one was around, Xiao Wu whispered again, "Master, we encountered bandits last time, and the young master may have been frightened."

"Bandits?"

"Master, I'm sorry, it's my fault. I was drugged by those thieves."

Xiao Wu knelt down with a thud. If he hadn't been poisoned, those people would have been beaten down by him long ago.

Magistrate Chu remained silent for a while, then waved his hand and said, "I understand, you can go back to your work."

Xiao Wu got up, rubbed his numb legs, and jogged to catch up with Chu Xiu.

But he saw Chu Xiu standing under the gate, holding an umbrella, waiting for him.

"What are you looking at? Come here right now! It's raining so hard, didn't you bring an umbrella?"

Xiao Wu felt a warmth in his heart, and ran over happily, grinning.

-

The next day, Chenjia Village.

Chen Bingxiao braved the rain and knocked on the door of the village head's house.

Lu Da asked with a dark face, "With such heavy rain, why aren't you staying home? What are you doing here?"

What kind of trouble is Chen Laoliu up to now?

Chen Bingxiao nudged his two grandsons and said, "You two tell your Grandpa Lü yourselves."

Two heads popped out from behind them. Ma Gan and Ma Yong exchanged a glance, neither willing to speak first.

The child, who was used to being domineering at home, turned into a timid little lamb when he saw the village head.

"What is it? Tell me or I'm closing down," Lu Da said impatiently.

(End of this chapter)