Chapter 468: Xiao Huai’an Extra Story: The Troubling Suspects (Part 5)

The middle-aged man bit his lip and said, "Reporting to Lord Yao, my name is Wen Fuhui, I am... the second uncle of Changdong and Pengfei. I was originally fishing nearby and came over to see what happened when I noticed a crowd gathering.

Who knew... who knew it turned out to be my elder brother and Pengfei who got into trouble..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to cover his eyes, looking grief-stricken.

Lord Yao looked at him and asked, "When you were fishing, was there anyone who could vouch for you?"

Wen Fuhui lowered his hand, his eyes reddening as he shook his head, "No, I don’t like being disturbed while fishing, so I often go alone. My sister-in-law can attest to that."

Madam glanced at him, her expression seemingly mocking, but she simply said, "That’s right, Second Uncle usually goes fishing alone."

Lord Yao glanced at Madam and suddenly asked, "Does he often go fishing?"

Madam was taken aback and said, "Yes, Second Uncle loves fishing. He goes almost every three or four days."

"Doesn’t he have anything else to do?"

Madam remained silent for a moment, then said, "My husband manages all the family’s gold shops. Second Uncle has nothing to do, so he just lives a leisurely life.

If... if my son hadn’t met with trouble, he would’ve been the one to inherit these gold shops..."

Seeing that she was about to break into sobs again, Lord Yao decided to stop there, nodding and turning to the last young lord, "And you, what is your relationship with the two deceased?"

This young lord was recognized by Manager Hu.

He seemed flustered and said, "I... my name is Zhang Haotian, I am... a friend of Pengfei. I just came out of the Gui Xiang House nearby, and seeing a crowd here, I heard about the incident... the incident at the Dongfutang. I remember Dongfutang is Pengfei’s family’s business, so I came to check..."

Manager Hu looked at him with extreme mockery and said, "Earlier, this Mr. Zhang once came to the shop seeking the young lord when the lord was managing the shop, and it happened to be seen by the master, causing quite a stir, so I remember Mr. Zhang well."

Most of the people here were men, and they knew well what kind of place the Gui Xiang House was.

Combining Manager Hu’s words and attitude, everyone immediately understood that Mr. Zhang was most likely a sycophantic friend of Wen Pengfei.

Lord Yao looked at him and asked, "When did you leave Gui Xiang House?"

"About... a quarter of an hour ago."

"Oh? So can anyone vouch for your time at the Gui Xiang House?"

Zhang Haotian immediately looked panicked, "Last night I had a fight with my family and ran out, staying at Gui Xiang House because I didn’t have enough silver with me, so... I didn’t call anyone for service. I slept there until just now, and came out as soon as I woke up..."

He quickly added, "But really, I was at Gui Xiang House the whole time earlier! I’m not lying! I have nothing to do with Pengfei and his father’s deaths, I have no reason to kill them!"

Lord Yao appeared contemplative. Indeed, among these four suspects, just based on motive, his suspicion seemed the smallest.

However, none of the suspects had a solid alibi, which was truly frustrating.

Lord Yao frowned, looking at Manager Hu and said, "Manager Hu, you saw the robber personally, could you recognize which of these people has a physique similar to the robber?"

Manager Hu looked troubled, glanced at the suspects, and shook his head, "If I had to say, that robber seemed more robust than any of these people, more like the build of the young lord...

Moreover..."

He hesitated, walked over, and gestured with his hands, "When the robber kidnapped the master, I saw that the robber’s height was close to the master’s. I’m about half a head shorter than the master, and these suspects are all about my height..."

From this, it seemed all the suspects were shorter than the robber.

Lord Yao’s face darkened slightly.

A physique could be faked by padding clothes.

Height could also be faked by wearing shoes with thick soles.

If any of the suspects were taller or bulkier than the robber, they could be easily ruled out.

After all, making oneself shorter or thinner isn’t something easily done through simple disguise.

He asked again, "What about the eyes? The robber’s eyes were visible during the robbery; do any of these people’s eyes resemble the robber’s?"

Manager Hu scrutinized them closely again, frowning so tightly a fly could be trapped, hesitatingly said, "I don’t really remember clearly because the robber, after coming in, didn’t show his face much; he hid behind the master, making it difficult for me to see his eyes.

But... to my limited memory, the eyes of the second young lord and Mr. Wen seem somewhat similar to the robber’s..."

"Nonsense!"

Miss You immediately turned pale, angrily shouted, "This is not something to joke about! Manager Hu, are you trying to say my son is the robber? My son is pure and kind, he’s never hurt even a chicken, let alone committed murder! Especially... especially his father and elder brother!"

Wen Fuhui quickly added, "I didn’t kill anyone either! I am not the robber! The fish I caught earlier is still in the basket over there! Lord Yao, please see clearly!"

Manager Hu, intimidated by their shouts, seemed a bit flustered and quickly waved his hands, "I... I said I don’t remember clearly, maybe... maybe I made a mistake, after all, Mr. Zhang’s eyes also look a bit similar..."

Now it was Zhang Haotian’s turn to be anxious.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Lord Yao’s face turned stern and he shouted, "Everyone quiet! Someone, go to Dongfutang, and bring anyone who saw the robber firsthand to identify the suspect one by one!"

However, at the time, there weren’t many workers in the shop; besides Manager Hu, there seemed to be only two people.

If, as Manager Hu had said, the robber deliberately hid his eyes during the robbery, they might not have a deep impression either.

And others hadn’t faced the robber directly for long, so it’d be even harder for them to have any impression.

Lord Yao rubbed his forehead in frustration and subconsciously glanced around.

Eh, where did the young man who had been hanging around him go?

He casually called over a government official, frowning, "Where is Young Master Xiao?"

Could it be that he got bored and wandered off?

The government official replied, "Young Master Xiao said he thought of something and went to verify it, he’ll be back shortly."