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

Chapter 140 Old Lady Gao is Dead
Lu Chengjing shook his head: "No, they won't come looking for us again."

Chu Xu knew that the assassins were ruthless and wouldn't give up until they achieved their goal. The fact that this scholar surnamed Lu was so certain the assassins wouldn't return meant only one thing: they were all dead.

His little mind worked quickly. Connecting the question Lu Chengjing had just asked him, he exclaimed in surprise, "You suspect the assassin was sent by my family?"

Before Lu Chengjing could answer, he shook his head vigorously, which aggravated the wound on his back, causing him to hiss softly.

He gasped for breath and said, "Absolutely impossible, my family would never harm me!"

Lu Chengjing neither confirmed nor denied this, and asked him, "Who knows about your return to the capital?"

Chu Xu muttered, "Father sent a letter home in advance, so Grandmother and Mother must know, Father and my brother also know, but I don't know about the others."

His family is small and has a very good relationship with each other. He is the youngest child, and everyone dotes on and protects him. How could they possibly harm him?

Lu Chengjing said, "Even if they are not your family members, they should still have some connection with your family."

Chu Xu frowned and lay on his pillow, trying hard to recall the people who had grudges against him since childhood, and the families who had enemies with his family.

With his mind preoccupied, he forgot to sigh.

Having achieved his goal, Lu Chengjing returned to continue his rehabilitation training for his right hand.

He wiggled his fingers while thinking about Chu Xu.

Since a letter had been sent home in advance, if Chu Xu did not return home for a long time, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion would definitely send people to look for him, and perhaps the military camp would also send people to look for him.

Therefore, there's no need for them to escort Chu Xu back to the capital; they just need to wait for the people looking for Chu Xu to arrive. Those people will then naturally take Chu Xu away.

Actually, a faster way would be to send a letter directly to the border, asking the Chu family father and son to send someone to fetch Chu Xu.

However, this method has too many variables and is prone to unforeseen complications.

The safest course of action is to wait until Chu Xu has fully recovered from his injuries before making any further plans.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

"What are they saying outside?" Chu Xu, who couldn't stay still, craned his neck to see what was going on.

Lu Chengjing put down the two round stones he was holding in his hand and went out to look.

The reason for the commotion was: Old Lady Gao had died.

Xiao Huan said, "He should have passed away two days ago."

"Two days?" Shang Wan was a little surprised. Wouldn't the corpse smell by then?

Lu Chengjing asked, "Where is Gao Qi?"

"We couldn't find him." Xiao Huan said while hanging up the clothes, "Someone said they saw Gao Qi at the village entrance yesterday afternoon. He was disheveled and acting crazy, like he was sick. His face was as pale as a ghost, and he was so thin that he looked like a ghost. Even his voice had changed."

It's entirely possible for a normal man's voice to change after he becomes a father-in-law.

"Now the villagers are looking for him everywhere."

After thinking for a moment, Shang Wan said, "Let's help look for it too."

They searched until nightfall, but couldn't even spot Gao Qi.

It wasn't right to leave Old Lady Gao's body lying around; she needed to be buried. The villagers gathered at the Gao family's house to discuss how to handle the funeral arrangements.

Old Lady Gao hanged herself from the beam, and she was still swaying on the beam when she was found.

Shang Wan had seen the ligature marks on her neck. They were in the middle of her neck, encircling her neck, and were of uniform depth and intensity, clearly indicating that she had been strangled and then hung from the beam.

As for who the murderer is, the most likely candidate is the missing Gao Qi. However, the villagers don't seem to think that Old Lady Gao was murdered; they all believe that she hanged herself.

After all, the family had suffered a series of misfortunes. First, they discovered that their daughter-in-law had cheated on their son, then their grandson became a eunuch, then their daughter-in-law was murdered, and then their grandson went insane. The old lady was too old to bear it, and it was possible that she had a moment of despair and attempted suicide.

Many people lamented that Old Gao was too pitiful; he was strong-willed his whole life, but in his final moments, he didn't even have anyone to send him off with a broken basin.

Shang Wan didn't stay to discuss the funeral arrangements with everyone; she went straight home.

"Strangled to death?" After hearing Shang Wan's words, Lu Chengjing frowned, wondering why Gao Qi would strangle Old Lady Gao.

Shang Wan rested her chin on her hand and guessed, "It's probably because becoming a father-in-law was too traumatic, causing his mental state to deteriorate to the point of committing a crime of passion."

Lu Chengjing asked, "What is a crime of passion?"

Shang Wan explained simply, "It means that there was no prior planning, emotions arose, and a sudden thought occurred, leading to the act of killing someone."

Lu Chengjing nodded, feeling that this statement was quite apt.

Stone looked at the two of them and said, "Since Old Lady Gao was murdered, should we report it to the authorities?"

"Of course we should report it to the authorities." Shang Wan smiled, tapping the table lightly with her finger. "How can we let a murderer go unpunished?"

Xiao Huan inexplicably sensed a hint of malice in her sister's smile. Her sister was talking about reporting to the authorities, not murder, right?

Stone was so thick-skinned that he didn't feel anything at all, and said, "Then I'll hitch up an oxcart and go into town to report to the authorities tomorrow."

"No, don't go. Tell the village chief about this and let him go." Lu Chengjing picked up his cup, took a sip of water, his long eyelashes lowered, concealing the dark light in his eyes.

The following day, around noon, the Dongning County government received a report that an elderly woman in Yushu Village had been strangled to death in her home, and the murderer was at large.

Dan Dajun stood at the entrance of Yushu Village and sighed. A woman had died in this village a few days ago, how could someone else have died?

He raised his hand and waved forward, "Let's go, into the village."

Old Lady Gao's body was not buried and remains at the Gao family's house.

After examining the body, the coroner said to Shan Dajun, "The deceased was indeed strangled first and then hung from the beam to make it look like he hanged himself."

Dan Dajun sighed softly. This old lady is so old, she won't live for more than two years even if she does. Why would the murderer do this to her?

He summoned Village Chief Lin to inquire about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body.

Village Chief Lin has said this countless times, so he can say it very smoothly now.

Since Gui died, Gao Qi has stopped managing affairs. The villagers, out of consideration for the old lady's age and their shared village ties, would come to visit her every few days to help her fetch water, chop firewood, and do other strenuous work.

Yesterday, Luo Da passed by and caught two fish. Thinking of making soup for the old lady with the smaller one, he knocked on the Gao family's door.

The door wasn't locked; it opened with a knock.

People in the village often forget to lock their doors, but Luo Da didn't think much of it. He called out to Old Lady Gao twice and went inside.

Not seeing the old lady at home, I assumed she had gone for a walk in the village, so I put the fish in the small water tank in the kitchen myself.

Although he disliked Gao Qi, he felt a pang of sympathy for Gao Qi, who had lost his manhood. Since he was already there, he decided to go and see Gao Qi.

No one answered the door when I knocked. I pushed the door open and found the room in a mess, as if it had been ransacked. Gao Qi was not there either.

Although Luo Da was puzzled, no one was home at the Gao family's house, and it wouldn't be appropriate for an outsider like him to stay any longer.

Just as I was about to leave, several rats suddenly scurried out of the house where Old Lady Gao lived. The door was slightly ajar, and a strange smell wafted out.

(End of this chapter)