Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1279: Chapter 1281: Homicide, The Tragic Death of the Kitchen Maid_1

”You had the intention to join forces with me but were turned down by me,” Jiang Yichun said indifferently, his face looking rather long, ”I told him I was already married.”

”What did he say? Just by looking at his daughter, it’s clear he’s not someone who’d give up easily,” Bai Ruozhu asked with a smile.

”He said that as a businessman, one could still marry a suitable official wife to appear in public with. For instance, Jin Jing’s mother is his official wife, a noblewoman from the Western Regions who helps him a lot there, and it’s also why his family business has been growing,” Jiang Yichun explained.

Bai Ruozhu laughed, ”Just like what Jin Jing said, claiming that I’m unsuitable for you, utterly useless, and holding back your future and all that.”

”The whole lot of them are out of their minds; I did well not to slap him,” said Jiang Yichun as he began to massage Bai Ruozhu’s shoulders again, and he had to admit that it really was quite soothing.

”They do have some connection to the Holy Hall after all. Let’s go and ask Chu Hai later,” Bai Ruozhu suggested.

Although Jiang Yichun was reluctant to visit Chu Hai at night, he agreed anyway.

She finished her porridge in a few gulps. Even though she only asked for porridge, the Waiter still brought two dishes, which, fortunately, were quite light, with not much meat, and suited her taste very well.

After dinner, the two visited the Room where Chu Hai was staying, arranged with Jianqi to facilitate his protection.

Bai Ruozhu briefly explained their purpose and inquired about the Holy Hall and the current situation with the Holy Maiden, Honglian.

Chu Hai frowned and said, ”Ever since the disaster in my family, I escaped and have been mingling in the River Jiang. Later, I specifically kept an eye on the Bihai Sect, fearing for Xiaoyao’s safety, so I’m not very well informed about the affairs inside Gaochang City. I have heard of the current Holy Maiden; she was selected as the new Holy Maiden ten years ago.”

”The Holy Hall does not oppose the Holy Maiden marrying and having children, so after my mother gave birth to me, she continued to serve as the Holy Maiden, blessing the people on fixed days, until our family tragedy...” Chu Hai trailed off with a pained expression, ”My mother was a very kind and amiable person, very gentle with me too. What kind of person would she have offended?”

Bai Ruozhu felt a sense of poignancy as well. Sometimes, good people are more easily schemed against because others can’t stand to see them prospering.

”Because my mother had great prestige among the people, after she was poisoned, my Master hid her away. The Holy Hall, fearing the public’s complaints, claimed that the Holy Maiden had peered too deeply into the heavenly secrets for the good of the people, thus incurring heavenly wrath, leading to the fire disaster at the Holy Maiden’s home, and she became bedridden. After dragging this out for a few years, the Holy Hall began to train a new Holy Maiden, which was the then-selected Honglian. At the time, she was only a six-year-old child. Two years later, at the age of eight, she was already able to pray for blessings on behalf of the Holy Hall, at which point they announced my mother’s death, and Honglian became the new Holy Maiden.”

”So she’s just eighteen years old now?” Bai Ruozhu asked.

Chu Hai nodded, ”I don’t know much else. My Master should know more, but in order to ensure my mother’s safety, I rarely contact my Master and seldom visit them.”

After chatting for a short while longer, as the night turned pitch black, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun bid their farewell and returned to their own Room.

...

”The porridge I asked you to send, did you deliver it?” Jin Jing whispered to a Waiter in the Inn’s Kitchen. The Waiter, having accepted her bribe, nodded with a grin, ”I delivered it long ago, and it’s all been eaten; even the bowls and dishes have been collected.”

Jin Jing’s face lit up with joy, ”Well done, this is for you,” and as she spoke, she tossed the Waiter a few taels of broken silver. The Waiter thanked her profusely, swearing oaths to keep his mouth tightly shut and not utter an extra word.

That very night, the Inn suddenly erupted with a woman’s scream, ”Oh my God, someone’s been killed, somebody help!”

The woman’s voice was particularly jarring in the quiet of the night, startling everyone in the inn awake. As traveling merchants, everyone was always on edge, so any disturbance had them extremely alert.

Bai Ruozhu frowned, Is there no peace for rest? She was about to get up, but Jiang Yichun pressed her down and said, ”You go back to sleep, I’ll check it out. It should have nothing to do with my mother.”

”Alright, go and come back quickly.” Jiang Yichun got dressed and left the room, with Chentian already waiting outside.

”My lord, a kitchen maid at the inn has died suddenly, bleeding from all seven orifices, seemingly poisoned. The shopkeeper has already sent someone to report to the Government Office,” Chentian reported.

The dawn was not far off at this point, and the Government Office was even further away; by the time their people arrived, the day would surely have already dawned.

Jiang Yichun nodded and gave a grave command, ”Be extra vigilant and don’t let anyone tamper with our food.”

After giving his instructions, he returned to the room and shared the situation with Bai Ruozhu. Still somewhat groggy, she couldn’t help but recall Jin Jing’s voice echoing in her mind, ”I won’t let you off!”

She yawned, hoping it was just her being overly concerned. If someone wanted to harm her, why would the kitchen maid be the one dead?

The kitchen was sealed off, and with an air of trepidation among some at the inn, the shopkeeper kept sighing and muttered, ”Such bad luck, what to do now?”

The other waiters stood by, waiting for orders. One skinny waiter seemed especially nervous, his calves trembling.

”Muzi, what are you shaking for, not dressed warmly enough?” another waiter asked. The temperature difference between day and night was large in the Western Regions; despite the blazing sun at noon, the nights could be quite cold.

The young waiter shivered, forcing himself to calm down and said, ”Yeah, I’m not fully awake yet, shivering with the breeze.”

The others didn’t think much of it, but the waiter called Muzi looked particularly unwell and soon found an excuse to run off to the toilet.

”You fool, didn’t you say she finished it? How did the kitchen maid end up dead?” In the backyard, Jin Jing grabbed the waiter by the collar, asking in a low voice.

The waiter was almost in tears, ”I really delivered it to her, and saw her drink it. Could it be that the kitchen maid switched it?”

He suddenly had a realization, ”I see! The kitchen maid is known for sneaking food. She must have taken that bowl of porridge while you were talking to me, eaten it herself, and then refilled it with a new batch.”

Jin Jing, skeptical, asked, ”Why would she go through the trouble? Why not just eat a new bowl for herself?”

”How should I know? Maybe she got hungry suddenly and grabbed it on impulse, or maybe she thought the porridge just served was too hot, and the temperature of that one was just right? But I really did as you instructed!” The waiter desperately grabbed Jin Jing’s hand; she was gripping his collar so tightly he was nearly suffocating.

A murderous flash passed through Jin Jing’s eyes, but considering that a crime had just been committed, another death might make things worse. She reluctantly let go of the waiter, whispering, ”Let’s forget about this. I won’t blame you. But remember what I said, keep your mouth shut, or your fate will be the same as the kitchen maid’s.”

The waiter, frightened by her ruthless threat, knelt on the ground with a thump, continuously kowtowing and begging for mercy: ”I wouldn’t dare, I absolutely wouldn’t dare.”