Chapter 292 - 290: The Perfect Alibi (Second Update)

Chapter 292: Chapter 290: The Perfect Alibi (Second Update)

Standing beside Xu Jing, Mu Qing immediately noticed the strangulation mark, frowned, and said, "How could Little Dongzi have such a mark on his body? Should we ask his parents?"

Xu Jing didn’t answer her question and asked instead, "Can you tell what kind of rope left this mark?"

Mu Qing was taken aback, pondered for a moment, and shook her head, "I can’t tell, it doesn’t look like hemp rope, nor cloth strips..."

For ordinary people, the ropes commonly used to tie things usually fall into these two categories.

Xu Jing said no more, and continued examining other parts of Little Dongzi’s body, her frown deepening.

Mu Qing couldn’t help but ask, "Jing, have you found anything?"

"The only place where there’s a strangulation mark on Little Dongzi is above his waist, nowhere else," Xu Jing replied thoughtfully.

Xu Jing pondered aloud, "If it was only tied around his waist, he would have been able to free his hands and feet to untie the rope himself, so why didn’t he?"

Mu Qing immediately sensed something was wrong, her face darkening slightly, "Could it be that Little Dongzi tied it himself? But why would he tie himself up for no reason?"

The mark was not light, indicating that the rope was tied very tightly at one point.

Tied so tightly, wouldn’t it be uncomfortable?

Xu Jing said nothing, thought for a while, and then turned Little Dongzi’s body over.

Instantly, she froze slightly.

The strangulation mark on Little Dongzi’s back was much lighter than the one in front!

Mu Qing was also amazed, "What on earth is going on! Judging by the marks, these strangulation marks must have come from the same rope, but the difference between the front and back marks is too great!"

Gently reaching out, Xu Jing touched the strangulation mark on Little Dongzi’s back, her eyes darkening.

She already knew how the murderer killed Little Dongzi and manufactured a perfect alibi for themselves.

She just needed to find the evidence to prove it.

If her guess was correct, the most significant evidence that could prove this method had long been destroyed by him.

Then she dressed Little Dongzi again and walked outside.

The gathered villagers immediately rushed forward, speaking all at once, "Miss Xu, how is it?"

"Do you know how the child died?"

"In my opinion, there’s no need to investigate! It must be that Little Dongzi ran out in anger after a quarrel with his family, and when he was half-frozen, Jiang Da threw him into the river! Checking this and that is just a waste of time!"

Xu Jing, however, ignored them and looked at Sister-in-law Wang, asking, "Where is Little Dongzi’s father?"

Sister-in-law Wang was startled, gave Xu Jing a wary glance, and said, "His father said some things fell by the river, and he went to get them."

"I see." Xu Jing seemed unaware of Sister-in-law Wang’s wariness and said, "I have a few questions for Sister-in-law Wang. Why did you quarrel with Little Dongzi tonight?"

Sister-in-law Wang was taken aback, lowered her eyelids slightly, and seemed immensely remorseful, "It was just a small matter. A few days ago, Little Dongzi said he wanted to eat the chestnut chicken I make. I figured it was getting cold, so I promised him I would find time to slaughter a chicken and let him have a feast, but I got busy preparing clothes for winter and forgot about it. Little Dongzi might have thought I lied to him and was unhappy, and during dinner, he couldn’t help but quarrel with me.

It’s... It’s my fault. He’s just a child, and it was indeed my oversight. I should have let it go; how did I end up arguing back with him?" She covered her face with her hand.

The women next to her immediately felt sympathetic, gently patting her back, "Sister-in-law Wang, don’t blame yourself too much. Everyone makes mistakes. You’ve done very well, and being pregnant, your emotions are inherently unstable. No one could have foreseen it would turn out like this."

Xu Jing, however, stared at her intently, asking persistently, "Can Sister-in-law Wang describe specifically how you quarreled with Little Dongzi?"

Sister-in-law Wang was startled, raising her head incredulously to look at her, clearly not expecting such a detailed question.

Her eyes reddened slightly, "How could we quarrel? He accused me of lying, I... I couldn’t help it and said something like, ’I treat you so well every day, how can you make such a fuss over a little thing like this? You’re never grateful because you’re not my born child... ’ I knew very well that Little Dongzi was always bothered by his mother’s affairs, and he would run out in anger, all because of me!"

Those words indeed hurt.

Originally, some villagers thought Little Dongzi wasn’t the type to leave home carelessly and worry his family, but now they looked as if it all made sense.

Xu Jing nodded and asked, "When Little Dongzi ran out, were all your family members at home?"

Sister-in-law Wang nodded, "It was dinner time, of course, everyone was at home. Our family is simple, just me, Yan Si, Little Dongzi, and Bao."

Bao is the nickname of her own child.

Xu Jing’s gaze shifted slightly, "Did Little Dongzi eat anything before he went out?"

Sister-in-law Wang seemed to have some trouble understanding why Xu Jing would ask these questions, pursed her lips, and said, "He did. Tonight we had egg pancakes and wild vegetable porridge, but Little Dongzi only had a few bites of porridge before quarreling with us."

"Oh? So you didn’t finish your meal and ran out to find Little Dongzi?"

"Naturally, with the child running out so late, as parents, we were too worried to finish eating."

"Then Sister-in-law Wang, there should still be quite a bit of the egg pancakes and wild vegetable porridge left, right? May I take a look?"

Sister-in-law Wang’s face seemed to stiffen, taking a deep breath, "Miss Xu, is this related to the investigation?"

"Of course."

Xu Jing chuckled lightly, "Investigations require meticulous attention; every detail must be scrutinized. I hope Sister-in-law Wang understands."

The villagers nearby also didn’t fully understand why an investigation required looking at someone’s dinner, but they had unknowingly attached the label of "the mysterious noble from the Western Capital" to Xu Jing, so no one questioned her.

Perhaps nobles from the Western Capital investigate cases this way!

Sister-in-law Wang, seeing no one supporting her words, bit her lip slightly, "I put the pancakes and porridge back in the kitchen. Miss Xu, if you want to see them, follow me."

The kitchen was next to the storeroom where Little Dongzi’s body was placed, a very small kitchen where even two people could barely fit together.

Sister-in-law Wang went in first, opened the lid on the stove, revealing a plate of enticing golden egg pancakes and a pot of wild vegetable porridge that seemed almost untouched.

Sister-in-law Wang sighed, "I originally thought of reheating the food after finding the child and eating together."

Suddenly, Xu Jing looked at a wooden bucket next to the stove meant for kitchen scraps, raising an eyebrow slightly, "Why is there porridge poured into this bucket? I don’t think Sister-in-law Wang is someone who would waste like this."