Chapter 295 - 293: I Know Everything Inside Out

Chapter 295: Chapter 293: I Know Everything Inside Out

Immediately, a villager said, "Was it that Little Dongzi had already lost consciousness when he was hanged? Otherwise, how could a child not even try to escape?"

Another villager added, "But didn’t Miss Xu say there were no other injuries on Little Dongzi? How did Yan Si manage to knock Little Dongzi out?"

Xu Jing’s lips curved slightly as she said, "It’s simple, Yan Si and Sister-in-law Wang drugged Little Dongzi! The drug was in the wild vegetable porridge Little Dongzi ate tonight! Little Dongzi didn’t argue with them tonight, nor did he run out; everything is just the lies of Yan Si and his wife!

They drugged Little Dongzi first, then hid him. I guess they hid him by the Wangzi River, making it easier for Yan Si to later tie him to the bridge.

Then they pretended to search for the child for a while before rallying the whole village to search together. Yan Si conveniently took the task of searching by the Wangzi River and, finding the right moment, tied the child to the bridge before returning to the village as if nothing had happened, and then walked to the riverbank with Chen Laosan and the others.

Because Little Dongzi had been drugged, he naturally couldn’t struggle. And just like that, at the time Yan Si calculated, ’plop,’ he fell into the river!

The evidence I’m talking about is the bowl of drugged wild vegetable porridge Little Dongzi ate tonight. If I’m correct, Little Dongzi passed out before he even finished that bowl!"

Wei Muqing, standing by, had an epiphany.

No wonder Jing insisted on checking Yan Si’s kitchen tonight!

She bit her lip and glared angrily at Yan Si and Sister-in-law Wang, saying, "I remember now; there was some porridge poured into the wooden barrel in their kitchen. That must be the porridge Little Dongzi left tonight! Just bring out the porridge from the wooden barrel and see if there is any drug in it to know if they killed Little Dongzi!"

However, this time, it was Sister-in-law Wang who couldn’t hide her smug smile.

Sister-in-law Wang suppressed the disdain in her eyes, glanced at Xu Jing, and said, "Then go ahead and check. True gold fears no fire! We’re innocent and aren’t afraid of you checking! Just as well, the Village Chief is here tonight, so let him see what this so-called noble from the Western Capital is really made of!"

Seeing her arrogant demeanor, even Wei Muqing sensed something was off.

Could it be that she and Jing guessed wrong?

Xu Jing, however, merely gave her an indifferent glance, saying, "Of course, you’re not afraid of us checking because you’ve already replaced the porridge in the kitchen’s wooden barrel."

Sister-in-law Wang turned pale.

How could this woman know?

Xu Jing tugged at the corner of her mouth and said, "You’re wondering how I know, right? I’ve dealt with dozens, maybe hundreds of criminals. I understand your little schemes inside out.

While I was away from your home, I had my guard keep an eye on you, and sure enough, they saw you secretly empty out the porridge from the wooden barrel after I left. But there were many villagers in the courtyard at the time, so you couldn’t take the porridge outside. You could only hide it in the kitchen’s stove and then refill the barrel with some clean porridge.

Therefore, the bowl of porridge Little Dongzi didn’t finish isn’t in the kitchen’s wooden barrel, but it’s in your stove!"

As she spoke, Cheng Xiao had already entered their kitchen. Under the gaze of the villagers, he took out a small bowl of porridge from their stove, which looked filthy from being poured into the wooden barrel, making it utterly unappetizing.

Now, who could doubt Xu Jing?!

Even Yan Si and Sister-in-law Wang were at a loss for words.

The Village Chief Chen slapped his thigh emphatically, lamenting, "Yan Si, why did you do this? Even a tiger wouldn’t eat its cubs!"

"Cubs? Haha, Chief, do you really think that little bastard is my son?!"

Seeing that there was no turning back, Yan Si couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer. He suddenly forced a smile more painful than crying and gritted, "That woman Jiang betrayed me and ran off with another man. I’ve long suspected that brat wasn’t mine!

You all think I don’t know? You all superficially advised me to let it go and not overthink, but secretly laughed at me, saying my wife cheated on me, and maybe I’m raising another man’s son without knowing! You think I don’t know how I’ve lived all these years! It’s unbelievable even to me that I’ve tolerated that little bastard for so many years!

Now, Qiao Niang and I have a child, truly my flesh and blood! Qiao Niang and I will have many more children in the future! Why would I keep that brat and waste effort raising him!

Tell me, if you were me, could you tolerate the existence of that little bastard? Could you?!"

The crowd watched him, emotions raging like a crazed beast, saying nothing in fear.

Only Chen Zhigang frowned at him, saying, "Even so, why not send Little Dongzi away or simply give him up for adoption? Was there a need to kill an innocent child? No matter what, the child is innocent..."

"Why should that woman’s bastard get to live well?! I wanted to kill him! If not for the fear of discovery, I’d have slashed him a thousand times!"

Yan Si yelled fiercely, eyes red, "It’s all that vile woman’s fault! It’s she who killed her son, not me! Not me!"

Seeing that he couldn’t speak rationally anymore, Chen Zhigang could only sternly say, "Enough! Regardless of your reasons, you and Mrs. Wang have committed murder! Third Brother, Bai Er, bind Yan Si and Mrs. Wang and send them to the authorities tomorrow!"

The two men beside him immediately stood, and Yan Si’s face turned pale as he attempted to resist, but how could he match the strength of Chen Laosan and Bai Er, who subdued him instantly.

Sister-in-law Wang, seeing the situation hopeless, collapsed on the ground.

Xu Jing gave them a cold glance, saying only, "Remember to let the innocent go," and turned to leave.

Yan Si endured for so many years, yet decided to kill Little Dongzi now—Sister-in-law Wang must have whispered many things to persuade him.

Yet, these morally reprehensible acts were no longer Xu Jing’s concern.

Whatever happened, they paid the price for their deeds.

But then, as Xu Jing was leaving Yan Si’s house, she saw Yan Ci standing outside. Seeing her come out, he fixed his gaze on her and said, "Miss Xu truly isn’t an ordinary person. I wonder if Miss Xu has time to talk?"

Xu Jing nodded, saying, "Certainly."

The two of them went straight to Yan Ci’s house. After Yan Ci had someone serve Xu Jing tea, he sat in silence for a moment, then sighed and said, "These days, Mu Qing often talks to me about Miss Xu. I also understand that Miss Xu isn’t a doctor who blindly pursues Silver Coin without principles. You do possess the benevolence a healer should have. Although I still don’t quite agree with Miss Xu’s methods, there might have been a time when I could aid Miss Xu.

But not now. I can’t leave Lingzhou at this moment.

Moreover, let this be advice to Miss Xu: It would be best for Miss Xu to leave quickly. I’m afraid... Lingzhou is soon to fall into chaos."