Chapter 475: You Are My Most Proud Son (Xiao Huai’an Side Story, Complete)

Xiao Huai’an slowly said, “I found it very strange, so I went up to ask. The government official at the door responded rather poorly to me, saying that the little boy had been here for a few days, constantly claiming that his father intended to kill his mother. However, his mother is still perfectly fine, and the supposed notion of his father wanting to kill his mother is just something he says himself. Who knows if he’s just overthinking things. And the little boy lives in a village called Yangjiao Village on the outskirts of Fengyang County. That village is halfway up a mountain, and it takes more than half a day to get there. Since nothing has happened yet, the county government’s people naturally aren’t willing to take his case. Being able to tolerate him crying at the county government’s gate for a few days without driving him away is already their greatest kindness.”

Xu Jing was slightly taken aback and asked, “And then?”

This matter isn’t really the fault of the county government officials.

Even though the county government only manages one county, no matter the dynasty, it’s always the most exhausting at the grassroots level. The county government only has a few people, yet they have to manage everything. For them to mobilize over a child’s possibly untrue words, no reasonable person would want to do it.

Xiao Huai’an tapped his index finger lightly on the tabletop and said, “I went forward to ask the child what exactly was going on. The child was quite alert, unwilling to speak to me at first. So, I brought up Mom’s name, saying I was Miss Xu’s apprentice. Using Mom’s name was indeed effective, and the child’s eyes immediately lit up, and he spilled the story like pouring beans.”

While saying “Using Mom’s name was indeed effective,” Xiao Huai’an playfully winked.

Xu Jing couldn’t help but laugh.

“He said he felt that recently, his father always seemed displeased with his mother, often saying that raising them was useless and a waste of food. His mother also encountered many strange incidents recently, like almost accidentally falling into a trap set by hunters while working in the fields, yet no villagers claimed the trap; When she finished work and returned home, a usually docile donkey from the neighbor’s house suddenly went crazy and rushed at his mother, luckily someone nearby warned her in time; When his mother went to wash clothes by the river, oil had been poured on the rock she frequented. Fortunately, he was by her side at the time and discovered it in time, otherwise his mother, unprepared, would have definitely fallen into the river, and she… did not know how to swim.”

Xu Jing couldn’t help but say thoughtfully, “He thinks these things were orchestrated by his father to kill his mother?”

Xiao Huai’an nodded and said, “That’s right, so I asked him how his father and mother’s relationship used to be. He said his mother was bought with a donkey by his grandfather to be his father’s wife because of the family’s poverty, and his father never had much affection for his mother. I also asked if his father ever beat or scolded his mother, or if they had any conflicts recently. He was silent for a long time and then said no, but he insisted his father absolutely wanted to kill his mother, that he had to protect his mother, and said that his father disliked his mother because of him. However, when I wanted to ask more specifically, he was unwilling to say anything more.”

Xu Jing thought for a moment and said, “Is he the only child in their family?”

Xiao Huai’an slightly raised an eyebrow, “Yes.”

“How does his father treat him?”

Xiao Huai’an laughed, “I said I would go home with him to take a look. On that journey, although he didn’t tell me more specifics, he did complain quite a bit about his father, saying that ever since he was born, his father didn’t like him, and neither did his grandparents, that his grandmother even wanted to sell him directly because the family was poor. And because his mom was weakened by giving birth to him, she didn’t have any more children after that, which is why his father grew more and more displeased with him and his mother.”

“He… does he appear to be a normal child?”

Xiao Huai’an nodded, “Very normal, and extremely articulate.”

Xu Jing couldn’t help but laugh lightly, “Chang Xiao, are you trying to test Mom? This feeling, it has been a while.”

When this boy first got a taste for solving cases and catching criminals, his enthusiasm was very high, reading virtually every case from ancient times to the present, and not just reading them—he also wanted to test her with the cases inside.

During that time, it became the favorite game between mother and son.

Xu Jing paused, then slowly said, “Could it be that the child is actually a girl?”

For such a poor family that couldn’t even afford to raise a child, to be willing to use a donkey to buy a daughter-in-law, it would be impossible to just buy her to sit idly.

Their most fundamental reason is likely still a common obsession among many people—to continue the family line.