The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 122 Lover
Lady Rong asked her son in surprise, "Lang'er, how did you know about the clues?"

"Mom, it wasn't me, it was Erpang." Yuan Lang grabbed another little boy's hand. "The other day, Erpang saw Aunt Gui fighting with a man in the reeds. Erpang, am I right?"

Erpang is Wu Mingli's eldest son, who is eight years old this year. In fact, he is not fat at all. His small body looks less robust than Yuan Lang next to him.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Erpang lowered his head in fear.

Wu Mingli's wife, Chen, went over and patted her son's head, asking softly, "Did you really see it?"

Facing his mother, Erpang was less afraid. He grabbed Chen Shi's clothes and nodded, his voice very soft, "Mother, I saw it."

A constable was about to step forward and seize the child to explain the situation, but Shan Dajun stopped him with a single look. His expression softened, and he asked Chen to help him find out the truth.

With Chen's patient guidance, Erpang slowly recounted what happened that day. Although some parts were slightly reversed, it was generally coherent, and it was clear that Erpang was not lying.

Dan Dajun stepped forward and asked, "If you hear that man's voice again now, can you still recognize it?"

Erpang hid behind his mother, but with Chen's encouragement, he poked his head out and nodded to Shan Dajun, "I understood."

Dan Dajun was overjoyed. Did this mean that the man was right here?

He asked urgently, "Who is it?"

Erpang didn't answer, but instead looked up at Chen Shi, "Mother."

With a smile, Chen patted his head encouragingly.

Erpang then pointed to the middle and exclaimed, "It's him!"

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing and saw Lin Jianshan looking completely bewildered.

Shang Wan silently exclaimed in her heart.

"It wasn't me." Lin Jianshan waved his hands frantically. "People's voices can be similar. How can you believe a child's words?"

Shan Dajun stared at him and asked sternly, "Where were you when the crime happened? What were you doing?"

"I...I..." Lin Jianshan stammered, unable to speak, which made Zhou Shi pinch him repeatedly in her anxiety.

What time is it? Hurry up and talk! If you don't talk now, you'll be blamed for murder!

Liu urged anxiously, "Eldest son, hurry up and tell us!"

Village Chief Lin's face darkened, and he snapped, "Just say what you have to say! What are you stammering about?"

Under everyone's gaze, Lin Jianshan's face turned red, his fists clenched, but he didn't utter a single word.

The Lin family members were all as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Dan Dajun winked at the two constables, signaling them to keep a close eye on Lin Jianshan and prevent him from escaping.

He turned to Erpang and asked, "Besides the voice, was there anything about the man you saw that was different from the others?"

Erpang gripped his mother's hand tightly, tilted his head back to recall, and Yuan Lang beside him hurriedly whispered a reminder, "Injury, injury."

"Ah!" Erpang suddenly remembered, "I saw that the man's right arm was scratched, there were several long cuts, and... that man had a black mole here."

He touched the back of his head where it connects to his neck, then turned to show it to Shan Dajun.

Two constables immediately stepped forward and grabbed Lin Jianshan. Shan Dajun walked over and rolled up his right sleeve. Sure enough, there were several scabbed scratches on his forearm. Looking at the back of his neck, there was a black mole.

Everything matches up. Shan Dajun's face was ashen. "Now that we have both witnesses and physical evidence, why don't you confess honestly!"

"Officer, my son is innocent! You can't wrong an innocent man!" Liu cried out as she rushed over and grabbed Shan Dajun's official robe.

Other members of the Lin family also pleaded for leniency, and Zhou even knelt down to cry out for Lin Jianshan's innocence.

Village Chief Lin never expected that the fire would spread to his own family, so he quickly pleaded for mercy.

"Do you want to obstruct my investigation?" Shan Dajun's face was cold and stern. He drew his official knife with a swish, which frightened Liu into quickly letting go and backing away.

Whether they were members of the Lin family or those who had spoken up for them, they all fell silent, none of them wanting to taste the bitterness of the official's knife.

Dan Dajun snorted coldly and kicked Lin Jianshan in the back of the knee.

Lin Jianshan felt the pain and uncontrollably knelt on one knee.

Dan Dajun demanded, "Speak! What is your relationship with the deceased? Why did you fight with him in the reeds?"

Lin Jianshan gritted his teeth and refused to speak. After being kicked twice by Shan Dajun, he finally spoke, demanding that everyone leave, and only spoke to the officials left.

Dan Dajun sneered repeatedly. Who did this guy think he was? A murder suspect making demands!
"If he doesn't talk, take him back and give him a beating." Shan Dajun ordered his men, "Put him in shackles and take him back for interrogation."

"No! I didn't kill anyone!" Lin Jianshan knew that if he were really taken to the county jail, he would be badly injured even if he didn't die. He struggled and shouted, "I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"Speak quickly, this is your last chance." Shan Dajun waved his hand, and the two constables stopped in their tracks.

Lin Jianshan's gaze swept over his own family members, but avoided Zhou Shi.

He licked his dry lips and whispered, "I didn't kill anyone. I am... I am... I am Gui's lover."

The word "mistress" was almost swallowed between his teeth, but everyone couldn't help but listen intently.

The crowd erupted in uproar. Zhou Shi turned deathly pale, collapsed to the ground, and stared at her husband in disbelief.

Her man was actually Gui's lover!
That old woman is old enough to be his mother!
"What did you say?" she demanded sharply, her voice cracking.

Lin Jianshan dared not look into Zhou's eyes, and said with his head down, "I didn't mean to, I was just momentarily bewitched... It was only a few times that Gui begged me, so I... I... Anyway, I didn't kill her, and there was no need for me to kill her."

“The day before yesterday, I fought with her in the reeds. Actually, it wasn’t really a fight, because if it were a real fight, she couldn’t beat me. We just had a little argument. She asked me for money so she could find somewhere else to stay. I didn’t give it to her, so she started throwing a tantrum, scratching and clawing at me, and threatening to tell everyone. I got angry and fought back.”

Shan Dajun said, "So you killed Gui to silence her in order to protect your reputation?"

"No! I really didn't kill her!" Lin Jianshan retorted urgently. "I went to see her today to give her that silver hairpin."

"You took the silver hairpin?" Zhou's voice trembled, her eyes red-rimmed. "To give it to that bitch?"

"I...I..." Lin Jianshan stammered, his face flushed with embarrassment, and explained in a low voice, "I didn't originally intend to give it to her, but I only took it to tide her over because I saw that she was in a difficult situation."

"If you didn't want to, would she hold a knife to your throat and force you?" Zhou pointed at the corpse covered with a white sheet. "She didn't even have her clothes on when she died, and you slept with her, didn't you?!"

Lin Jianshan was secretly annoyed that Zhou Shi hadn't given him any face. His face turned purple with embarrassment, and under everyone's gaze, he nodded with difficulty.

"She seduced me, that's why I... However, when I left, she had already put her clothes on."

"You heartless man!" Zhou's eyes were red, and she could no longer hold back. She pounced on Lin Jianshan and scratched him. "I bore you children, served your parents-in-law, and managed the household, and you still went out to find a lover! What did I do wrong?!"

(End of this chapter)