My wife is a reborn big boss

"Brother, there's a really pretty girl over there. Look at that poor-looking guy next to her. If you don't make a move now, when will you?" A few playboys were drinking in a restaurant not far from the two of them. A young man with a lecherous look on his face sitting by the window saw Su Mubai and his eyes lit up.

The young man sitting opposite him was almost too handsome. Just by sitting there, everyone on the floor couldn't help but look at him, even the men.

Upon hearing this, the handsome young man turned his head and happened to see Su Mubai's flawless face. His heart began to race uncontrollably. But seeing the figure beside her trying to make the beauty laugh but failing repeatedly, the young man shook his head and smiled bitterly: "This beauty is already taken. It's better not to steal someone else's love."

The young man opposite him retorted, "I disagree with what you said, brother. That poor wretch is not even as good as one of your fingers. Since ancient times, beauties have been paired with heroes, and the capable should be the best. In my opinion, only a dashing and elegant young nobleman like you is worthy of such a fairy."

Another young man beside him scoffed, "They're a perfect match, what right do you, a monster, have to object? For a fairy like that to favor that kid, he must have something extraordinary about him. If we just go down and block his way, we'll only become the kind of clueless trolls in storytellers' tales who rush in to provoke others and get slapped in the face. Then the fairy will look at that kid even more favorably. What's the point of us?"

The handsome young man gave a wry smile, raised his glass, and said, "Let's not talk about that anymore. Come on, let's keep drinking."

At this moment, Wu Qiong, who was strolling around with Su Mubai, was unaware that he had missed a great opportunity to slap someone in the face and show off.

He accompanied Su Mubai on a leisurely stroll. As they walked, they noticed a shop ahead crowded with people. Upon closer inspection, they saw Zhao Hao, the constable who had hurriedly left an hour earlier, also there.

Zhao Hao was frowning as he spoke with his colleagues when he looked up and saw Wu Qiong and his companion. His eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over.

"Brother Wu, what a coincidence!"

Wu Qiong cupped his hands in greeting: "We were just taking a walk after dinner when we happened to come across this place. We wonder why there's such a large crowd here. Has something happened?"

"Brother Wu, you've come at the right time. There's been a murder here. A merchant from the Western Regions was found dead in his home, and the shop assistant who reported it insists he was murdered. Brother Wu, you're knowledgeable and experienced; you can help us take a look at the situation."

"Oh? Well then, I'll have to see. Brother Zhao, lead the way."

"please."

Zhao Hao led the two to the back room of the shop.

"When the shop assistant reported the incident, he said he had a big order today and couldn't make the decision himself, so he went to the back room to find the boss. When he went into the back room, he found that the boss was already dead. I just checked, and it should be a suicide."

"Impossible!" the waiter exclaimed, his eyes red. "I saw someone come looking for the boss this afternoon, and he didn't come out for a long time. I was busy with business at the time and didn't notice who it was, I only remember it was a man!"

"But the scene was very clean, with no signs of a struggle at all." Zhao Hao shook his head. "Besides, he left a suicide note. Furthermore, you were the only one who saw someone come to the scene, and I even had a coroner examine the body. Brother Wu, let Coroner He talk to you."

Wu Qiong nodded.

He, the coroner, who was standing to the side, walked over and said: "Young Master Wu, Constable Zhao, according to my judgment, this merchant Kong Di should have died yesterday at Hai Shi (21:00~22:59). The cause of death was suffocation. Judging from the marks on his neck, it should be the rope hanging around the deceased's neck."

Zhao Hao said to his waiter with dissatisfaction, "It's currently the hour of Xu (19:00 PM to 20:59 PM). If you did see someone before you reported the crime, then it's impossible that the murderer stayed in the house for more than ten hours after killing the person."

The man wouldn't listen and kept shouting that the boss had been murdered.

Wu Qiong ignored him and went into the back room. The back room of this house had a back door that connected to a courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded by walls on three sides, and outside the walls was the bustling market. There was only a well in the courtyard, and in the corner was an outhouse. The boss died at the entrance of the outhouse.

He had blond hair, a rope around his neck, and sat against the wall with a cushion beneath him.

"This place for suicide is quite unique," Wu Qiong said speechlessly.

Zhao Hao chuckled and handed Wu Qiong a sheet of Xuan paper: "This is the boss's will. It's right next to his body."

Wu Qiong took the suicide note, which read: "Dear Costa, I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I can't repay that money, so I have no choice but to atone with my death."

"Hmm?" Wu Qiong perked up. "He has debts?"

Zhao Hao explained, "Oh, he was doing business with a fellow countryman from the Western Regions, the one mentioned in his suicide note, Costa. They didn't have enough money, so the boss, Conti, borrowed 30,000 taels of silver from a money lender. Later, the business failed, and he couldn't repay the loan. I believe that's why he committed suicide."

Wu Qiong frowned as he looked at the suicide note, then, without turning his head, ordered, "Brother Zhao, please send one of your men to fetch Costa."

Zhao Hao nodded and called a constable to go find Costa.

Wu Qiong stared at the suicide note, lost in thought. Judging from the ink marks on the note, it was written around 1:00 PM to 2:59 PM the previous day, and the time of death was 11:00 PM. In addition, there were no signs of a struggle, so it did indeed seem like suicide.

The waiter was arguing with Zhao Hao: "Officer Zhao, the shopkeeper really was murdered! He even had a business meeting scheduled for this afternoon!"

Huh? Wu Qiong noticed Xiao Er's words. They had arranged to talk business in the afternoon, but last night he even prepared a rope, went to the outhouse door, hung the rope on the door frame, and strangled himself. This boss... must have been murdered and staged as a suicide.

"Hey buddy," Wu Qiong called his waiter over, "Don't rush off. You said your boss was murdered, so who do you think the killer is? Has your boss ever offended anyone?"

The waiter said angrily, "It's that Costa!"

Wu Qiong sighed: "We can't be sure who the killer is yet, but I also suspect it was him."

"How so?" Zhao Hao asked curiously.

"Was the back room locked from the inside again when you came today?"

"no."

"Could the killer have climbed over the wall after committing the murder?"

"No, the courtyard is surrounded by walls on three sides, and there's a busy market outside. We just asked around and no one saw anyone climb over the wall."

"This should be a homicide," Wu Qiong analyzed. "People who commit suicide don't leave the door unlocked; no one wants to be discovered halfway through their suicide attempt."

Just then, the constable arrived with Costa, who had a thick beard, brown hair, and deep blue eyes. He immediately shouted, "Sir, I don't know anything!"

Zhao Hao rushed over with a fierce look on his face and demanded, "Where were you yesterday at 9 PM? Tell me!"

Costa trembled with fear: "Sir, yesterday at 9 PM I was drinking with friends at a brothel and got into a fight. I got beaten up. Look, my eyes are still black and blue! Everyone in the brothel can vouch for me!"

The waiter rushed over and grabbed Costa: "Officer, he's the one who killed him!"

Costa's face flushed red: "Don't slander me out of thin air!"

Wu Qiong patted his waiter, signaling him to let go: "Don't worry, he won't get away. You say he's the murderer, but what evidence do you have?"

"Officer, I grew up with this boss, and I know everything about him. Recently, he couldn't handle a certain shipment, so he pulled this murderer into it. They didn't have enough money, so he borrowed from a money lender. This guy took the money, killed the boss, pinned all the debt on him, and got away with the money!"

Costa retorted, his neck stiff: "You're talking nonsense!"

Just then, the constable who had been sent out to investigate returned.

"Sir," the constable said softly as he approached Zhao Hao, "that shopkeeper lied. The shop owner didn't have any business appointments this afternoon."

"Oh?" Zhao Hao glanced at the waiter in surprise, then called Wu Qiong aside and told him what he had found out.

Wu Qiong told the constables to maintain order first, and then walked alone to the door of the outhouse in the backyard.

"The waiter lied. Could the murderer be one of the shop's employees?" Wu Qiong thought to himself as he squatted down to examine the scene.

"Hmm?" Wu Qiong saw something flashing next to the corpse. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a fish scale.

He then carefully examined the rope hanging around the neck of the shop owner, Conte, and finally found what he was looking for.

"I see. I know who the murderer is now." Wu Qiong smiled, stood up, and walked back to the front room, where Zhao Hao was interrogating a waiter.

"The business talk this afternoon was indeed something I made up. I wanted the constables to arrest that foreign merchant and make him return the money he embezzled to the bank," the clerk admitted. "But he's definitely the murderer! He killed the boss to embezzle the money!"

"There's no evidence to prove he's the murderer, and I can't just take your word for it." Zhao Hao suddenly realized, "You said you saw someone come, and that the boss was going to discuss business this afternoon, so you're trying to frame Costa, therefore you're the murderer!"

"Wait a moment." Wu Qiong stopped the constable who was about to arrest the employee. "The murderer isn't the employee. The real person we should arrest is someone else, am I right, Boss Costa?"

Costa's face turned a deep shade of liver: "You say I'm the murderer, do you have any proof?!"

Just then, the constable Wu Qiong had sent out by Zhao Hao to look for the person returned. "Sir, I have successfully completed my mission and brought back the owner of the ice shop."

Wu Qiong chuckled: "The last clue I was looking for has returned."

He bowed to the ice shop owner and asked, "Sir, is there only one ice shop in Anzhou City?"

The ice shop owner humbly replied, "I wouldn't dare. In fact, I am the only ice shop in Anzhou City. It's just that the cost of making ice is relatively high, and ordinary people can't afford it. Only the City Lord's Mansion has a high demand, so I am the only one."

Wu Qiong pointed at Costa and asked, "Has this merchant from Hu bought any ice from you these past two days?"

The ice shop owner nodded: "This merchant from Hu came to buy ice yesterday at noon. He bought four blocks in total, which weighed about 30 jin (15 kg). Since not many people can afford ice, I remember him."

Wu Qiong continued, "In weather like this, how long does it take for ice to melt after being taken out of the ice cellar?"

"About half a day," the boss replied.

After dismissing the ice shop owner, Wu Qiong turned to a constable and said, "Could this constable please go to the crime scene and bring back the rope used for hanging and the fish scales on the ground?"

"Could Costa really be the murderer?" Zhao Hao asked in surprise.

Wu Qiong said, "That's right. Yesterday at noon, Costa came to the deceased with a box of ice to drink with him. He put a sleeping potion in the drink, and after the deceased passed out, he carried him to the door of the outhouse. Then he took out the ice, put it on the ground, placed a mat on it, and arranged the deceased to sit on the ice with his back to the outhouse. He then hung a rope on the lintel of the outhouse and put the other end around the deceased's neck. After that, he left."

As the ice slowly melts, the spot where the deceased was sitting will gradually sink, and the rope around his neck will slowly tighten.

The deceased died around 9 PM last night, at which time the ice should have been about half melted. By the time the body was discovered, the ice had completely melted, and because the weather was sunny and the temperature was relatively high today, there were no water stains left on the ground.

Costa sneered: "Even if he was killed, what evidence do you have to prove that I was the one who did it?"

Wu Qiong looked at him with pity, just as the constable brought over the rope and fish scales.

"You're in the seafood business. To avoid suspicion, you used the same boxes you usually use to transport fish and shrimp to transport ice. There were fish scales stuck to the ice that hadn't been cleaned properly. When the ice melted, the fish scales fell to the ground."

Costa wiped the cold sweat from his brow: "What kind of evidence is that? I'm not the only fishmonger!"

Wu Qiong had the constable raise the rope in his hand and laughed, "You really won't shed tears until you see the coffin. You were so careful, even making an alibi, but you forgot that you were the only foreign merchant in Anzhou City who had contact with the deceased. There are two colors of hair on this rope, one gold and one brown."

The deceased was blond, you are blond; who else could the murderer be but you?

Costa, his face ashen, was taken away by the constables.

Looking at the cheering crowd, Zhao Hao sighed, "It has nothing to do with them, so why are they so excited? It's like the person who was killed was their family member. It makes no sense."

"Everyone loves to watch the excitement. What does killing and being killed, revenge and seeking revenge matter to those who are reveling?"

"Ideally, the blood should splatter higher, the screams should be more agonizing, and in the end, the common people should clap their hands, say 'serves them right,' and go home to cook and have babies, regardless of any reasoning." Wu Qiong's words lacked any discernible tone.

Su Mubai, who hadn't spoken from the beginning, turned to look at Wu Qiong's profile, seemingly lost in thought.