Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 2966: Chapter 2967: The Duan Family Heirloom

The servant named Awang lay beside the coffin, his eyes wide open, with a bloody hole on his forehead.

Bai Ruozhu was terrified. The corner of the coffin wasn’t that sharp, how did it cause such an injury?

”Did any of you see him fall on his own?” Master Xue asked.

”No, he went inside to clean, we were all outside, and suddenly he screamed. When we looked in, he was already like this,” the steward said, ”I called a few people to go in together, and when we went over, he was already not breathing.”

”Then how do you know he fell and hit his head? It could have been the wrongdoer who attacked Zhizhi,” Master Xue said.

Jiang Yichun spoke up, ”Report to the government office.”

”This...” Master Xue was a bit hesitant. He had just suppressed the gossip in the residence and didn’t want people saying things like his wife coming back to life. Reporting to the government office now would be bad for his family’s reputation and that of his children.

”Someone died in your home. You should report it to the government office. Treat everything as the work of wrongdoers to report,” Jiang Yichun said.

”This...” Master Xue sighed and said to the steward, ”You all leave, don’t spread today’s events, send someone to the government office to report it.”

”Yes, master.”

The steward and the servants withdrew, and Master Xue knelt with a thud in front of Jiang Yichun. ”Master Jiang, I know your capabilities, please help my family, otherwise how can my family continue like this?”

He spoke with tears streaming down his face, looking as if he had aged by ten years.

”Why should I help you? If your son hadn’t injured my friend, perhaps. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world,” Jiang Yichun said mercilessly.

Master Xue was taken aback, then suddenly showed a determined expression in his eyes, ”As long as you save our Xue family, I will offer you the Xue Family’s heirloom.”

Bai Ruozhu suddenly remembered, ”Master Xue, do you suspect someone is after your family heirloom? If it’s a hot potato, what good is it for us to take it?”

”It’s actually not really our Xue family’s heirloom, otherwise it wouldn’t have reached my hands; it’s from my wife’s maternal family. I don’t even know what exactly it is. I haven’t even seen it. She only mentioned it when she was gravely ill, saying it was hidden in her dowry and must be passed to Zhizhi. I never touched my wife’s dowry, and I never expected there to be an heirloom, so I looked for it but didn’t find anything special, just thought she was speaking nonsense due to her illness.”

”The day you and Zhizhi arrived, someone from my wife’s maternal family also came. It was an illegitimate brother of hers, with whom they didn’t have good relations and hadn’t interacted before. After he paid his respects, he demanded the family heirloom back, and only then did I realize something was wrong. But since my wife instructed it to be given to Zhizhi, how could I hand it over to an outsider? I refused him, and he cursed at me before leaving. Later, people said he was spreading bad words about me in the city, claiming I embezzled my wife’s dowry.”

”By the way, my wife’s maternal family didn’t have any legitimate sons, only her as a legitimate daughter, so it’s not surprising that the heirloom was passed to her. But she never mentioned it for years, not even on her deathbed, so I have no leads at all. But considering her death, and the events that happened with the children afterward, I can’t help but suspect it has something to do with the heirloom.”

Bai Ruozhu frowned, ”Isn’t there a rule that if a woman marries and has no children, her dowry can be reclaimed by her maternal family upon her death? But your wife had a pair of children, so her belongings should naturally pass to them. How can her maternal family claim them?”

”Exactly, that’s why Duan Fei could do nothing about it. Otherwise, he would have reported it to the government office long ago,” Master Xue said with a sigh. ”So he’s only been spreading rumors outside that his sister’s will was for the dowry to be returned to her maternal family, saying I embezzled my wife’s dowry, and that’s why she couldn’t rest in peace and returned to life, causing trouble in the residence.”

”Is Duan Fei still in the city?” Jiang Yichun asked.

”He should still be here,” Master Xue said, ”I had someone keep an eye on him before, and he doesn’t seem to have contacted anyone else, doesn’t seem to be on someone’s orders. When we argued at that time, I asked him what the family heirloom exactly was, and he told me to stop pretending not to know. But I feel he might not even know what it is.”

Bai Ruozhu laughed, ”This is interesting. None of them actually know what it is, yet they’re so eager? Did someone send him, promising him benefits?”

”I’m someone who has always been used to stability, not very capable. Even now, if I want to investigate, I can’t find anything. I can only ask you all for help.” He remained kneeling, and at this moment was about to kowtow again, but Jiang Yichun pulled him up.

”You don’t even know what the family heirloom is, yet you promise it to me? This deal seems too good for you, doesn’t it?” Jiang Yichun asked.

”And all of my family’s lands,” Master Xue said through gritted teeth.

”No need. Wouldn’t that mean I’m taking advantage of people in distress and seizing someone else’s property?” Jiang Yichun said.

Master Xue was anxious, wondering what else he could offer Jiang Yichun.

Jiang Yichun sneered, ”I won’t make things difficult for you. After I help you with this, your wife’s family heirloom will belong to me, and you will have your son go to my two friends, confess his mistakes publicly, and kowtow three times to them.”

”His life was saved by us, so a few kowtows are nothing, really. My husband is just too lenient,” Bai Ruozhu said with dissatisfaction.

”I wanted him to prostrate nine times to make amends, but his body can’t handle it, and we don’t have time to wait until he recovers, so we’ve let him off easy this time,” Jiang Yichun said.

Master Xue immediately agreed, ”Good, good, I agree on his behalf.”

The demand wasn’t excessive. He was afraid if he hesitated to agree, Jiang Yichun might change his mind.

”Oh, one more thing, his attitude when admitting his mistake must be sincere. My two friends need to be satisfied. If he doesn’t recognize his mistake and maintains that same attitude, don’t blame me for being merciless.” Jiang Yichun’s voice turned icy on the last few words, making Master Xue shiver.

”Definitely, if his attitude is bad, I’ll break his legs!” Master Xue angrily exclaimed, blaming it on his wife spoiling their son too much and fostering this personality.

”Alright, my father will monitor his situation. We’ll go investigate. If you know anything, or have any useful information, tell us immediately. If there’s anything you hide from us, and we miss crucial information, we won’t be able to save your family,” Jiang Yichun said.

”Yes, yes.”

”You go ahead. We’ll check the scene again. Don’t let anyone near here before the government office arrives,” Bai Ruozhu said.

Master Xue forced a laugh, ”No one dares to come now anyway.”

After that, he took his leave, and Bai Ruozhu said to Jiang Yichun, ”He’s definitely hiding something.”

”How can you tell?” Jiang Yichun asked.