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

Chapter 273: Memories of the Dead

After weaving through the crowd, the group finally arrived at the county government office.

With Chu Xiu around, everything went smoothly; there was no need for announcements or waiting, and they met the living, breathing Magistrate Chu directly.

When Magistrate Chu saw his son, he said warmly, "Xiu'er, you're back. What would you like to eat? I'll have the kitchen prepare it for you."

It was the first time Chu Xiu had come home without being scolded, and he was still a little unaccustomed to it. He shook his head and said, "I'm not hungry."

“If you don’t eat, your friend will have to.” Magistrate Chu gestured for his clerk to go to the kitchen.

Ailian brought over a plate of pastries and warmly greeted Yinyin, "You little girl are so cute, have a piece of jujube cake."

Yinyin is a foodie and can't resist the temptation of delicious food.

But at this moment, she looked at Chu Xiu, then at Magistrate Chu, and shook her head at Ai Lian, saying, "I'm not hungry, I won't eat."

The woman in front of me, like Zhang Junniang, had a fake smile on her face; she looked like a bad woman at first glance.

She wouldn't eat that wicked woman's pastries.

Ailian was embarrassed by the rejection. She put down her things, feeling very wronged, and went out, closing the door behind her.

Chu Xiu said, "Father, my brother here needs to talk to you."

"Oh, what is it?" Magistrate Chu was flattered that his son had brought his brother home for the first time and needed his help.

This is good; this opportunity will surely help to repair their father-son relationship.

Since returning from Li Ruru's home, Magistrate Chu has had a good time reflecting on his actions.

This reflection revealed that I was largely at fault, as I often found myself getting angry at my son for no reason.

She was too good to her nephew, to the point that her son didn't like coming home.

The son built roads and workshops in Chenjia Village, which earned him a lot of face in front of Prefect Shen.

It's laughable that Chu Yu actually wanted to claim all the credit for himself.

Xiao Yishan knelt down with a thud and said, "Your Excellency, please arrest Manager Qian. He... he is the murderer who killed Butcher Hu."

Upon hearing that Manager Qian was the murderer, the clerk immediately stood up and, without a second thought, went to find Constable Xing.

His principle is that it's better to wrongly arrest 10,000 than to let one go free.

"This matter is of great importance. Do you have any evidence?" Magistrate Chu asked calmly.

Although he also wanted to catch the murderer immediately to appease Butcher Hu, it would also be considered as doing a good deed for Li Ruru.

They've been taking care of his son, so he definitely has to show his appreciation.

The woman wasn't short of money, but she cared a lot about this matter.

What Li Ruru cares about, Magistrate Chu will naturally do.

Most importantly, if this matter is accomplished, it will allow me to once again make my presence felt in front of Prefect Shen.

If you latch onto the prefect's coattails, climbing the ranks will be an easy thing, won't it?

“Yes!” Xiao Yishan said, “Manager Qian’s original surname was not Qian. His surname was Xu and his given name was Qian. He was a refugee from the north. Uncle Hu took him in because he felt sorry for him.”

When Xu Qian got drunk, he revealed that he had killed someone and been imprisoned in the past, but Butcher Hu thought he was joking.

The next day, he smiled and said to Xu Qian, "Those murder stories you told when you were drunk yesterday were really good."

"Smashing skulls and burying people alive—it sounds really scary."

Xu Qian turned pale, realizing that he had spoken the truth while drunk and that Butcher Hu had remembered it.

He smiled faintly and said, "It's all just a joke, don't take it seriously."

Despite saying that, he couldn't sleep for several nights, feeling extremely worried.

Butcher Hu cannot live; keeping him alive will surely be a disaster.

Soon, the tea was poisoned, and Xu Qian, wielding a large knife, swiftly brought it down.

With a few sharp cracks, the Hu family members' lives were ended.

The Hu family, including the butcher, died at the hands of the very people they had once kindly helped.

If Xiao Yishan hadn't gone to Butcher Hu's house that night, Xu Qian's plan would have been almost flawless.

When young Xiao Yishan saw the blood, he cried and ran to find his parents.

Xu Qian had gone mad with bloodlust. He had originally planned to quietly kill Butcher Hu's entire family and then flee far away. Unexpectedly, a rascal appeared out of nowhere and ruined his plans.

He simply grabbed his knife and gave chase.

The Xiao and Hu families live at the foot of the mountain, and few people usually come here.

This fueled Xu Qian's murderous intent; he should have known better than to come after all this commotion.

It saves me the trouble of poisoning the Hu family myself, which would have wasted a very expensive packet of medicine.

After listening to their son's description, Xiao Yishan's parents quickly realized the seriousness of the matter.

It was too late to run to the village to look for them, so the two quickly took their son and went up the mountain.

The group chased and hid on the mountain until it was almost dark the next day, when Xu Qian finally found Xiao Yishan's entire family.

They were cornered at the edge of the cliff, and after a brief standoff, Xu Qian took advantage of the Xiao family's distraction and pushed Xiao Yishan off the cliff.

Xiao Yishan's parents almost instinctively shielded him with their bodies, and the three of them fell heavily to the ground.

Just as dusk was falling, some villagers came to buy mountain produce from Butcher Hu. When they saw the terrible state of Hu's house, they screamed in horror.

The others in the group were preparing to report to the authorities when Xu Qian came down the mountain.

He threw away the broadsword, covered his face with his hand, and disappeared quickly into the night.

When the people of Chenjia Village found the Xiao family, Xiao Yishan had already fainted from crying while sitting between his parents.

His brain automatically shut down that memory after that.

He was young at the time, and all he remembered was the image of Butcher Hu's family lying in pools of blood. He had almost no recollection of how Boss Qian and his own parents died.

After hearing the story, everyone in the room fell silent.

Chu Xiu patted Xiao Yishan on the shoulder, wanting to say a few words of comfort, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

It seemed that any words of comfort would seem pale at this moment.

Magistrate Chu asked, "So, your parents were also killed by Qian... Xu Qian?"

Xiao Yishan nodded. At that time, everyone in the village said that he had killed his parents, who fell off a cliff while hunting for him.

They even called him a jinx.

"What's your father's name?" the clerk asked, picking up his pen.

"Xiao Dashan".

The clerk opened the thick file, searched for a while, and then nodded slightly to Magistrate Chu.

Xu Qian is a heartless and insane person. He not only failed to repay kindness but also killed his benefactor.

They didn't even spare Xiao Yishan's parents.

"But what you're saying doesn't work without evidence."

Magistrate Chu was also in a dilemma, as Xiao Yishan was still young at the time, and his words could not be used as evidence in court.

"Why don't you think about it again and see if there is any physical evidence that can prove Xu Qian killed someone?"

Magistrate Chu said, "Xu Qian is a refugee; he needs money for food, lodging, and transportation. Has anything been stolen from Butcher Hu's house?"

Whether it was his original name or the surname he changed himself, Manager Qian always kept the word "money" in his name.

It's clear this person is greedy for money and absolutely cannot survive without it.

Butcher Hu was a hunter. In those days, hunters lived a more comfortable life than ordinary people, and they must have had a lot of silver saved up at home.

Xiao Yishan's head was wrapped in gauze, and his head would ache terribly whenever he thought about it.

Nie Tianlei gave him a few acupuncture needles, saying, "Take your time, there's no rush."

Xiao Yishan took a sip of water to calm down, and the dead memories surged up like a tide.

He stood up abruptly and said, "I remember now, Uncle Hu's tiger skin is missing. It was his family heirloom."

It must have been taken by Xu Qian.

"Let's go and search the Qian residence."

Tiger skins are valuable, and ordinary people don't sell them easily.

Even if it were sold, the money-making manager might redeem it again after he becomes wealthy.