Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1184 - 603: The Truth (Part 2)
Lian Shouyi and a few strong men pushed Yingzi, Yingzi’s father and mother into the crowd, right next to Lady Gu’s corpse.
"Oh my goodness!"
"Oh my, a dead body!"
The three seemed startled and instinctively stepped back. Yingzi and her mother were both pale with fright, while Yingzi’s father, being a man, jumped a little. Though he seemed somewhat afraid, he extended his neck to examine Lady Gu’s corpse.
"Is she really not breathing? Is she really dead?" Yingzi’s father asked, while looking over Lady Gu’s body.
"You killed my mother! You give my mother back! You pay for my mother’s life!" Lian Duoduo saw Yingzi, stood up, and rushed forward to attack Yingzi.
Caught off guard, Yingzi was initially overpowered by Lian Duoduo. By the time she countered, she was at a slight disadvantage. Yingzi and Lian Duoduo wrestled and turned on the ground. Xiao Qi noticed sharply that the back of Yingzi’s coat had a tear just below the collar.
"Sister, look quickly." Xiao Qi pointed at Yingzi’s back for Lian Manman to see.
Lian Manman also saw it with one glance, and noticed that the coat Yingzi was wearing matched the color and pattern of the fabric piece.
"Stop fighting." Lian Manman shouted.
Someone went up to separate Yingzi and Lian Duoduo, and Wu Lang handed the piece of fabric taken from the broken end of the pole to Han Zhong’s wife for comparison with the tear on Yingzi’s coat.
"The match is perfect; it definitely was torn from this piece of clothing." Han Zhong’s wife confirmed after the comparison and showed it to the surrounding onlookers, who all nodded in agreement.
"Yingzi, what’s the matter, tell us." Lian Manman asked.
"It’s not Yingzi’s doing, it’s not our Yingzi’s doing, Yingzi has been sleeping in the house, she just got up." Yingzi’s father and mother shouted, but their protests only made Lian Manman suspect they were trying to cover up.
The three of them were not very sophisticated people, and since it involved a life-and-death matter, there were flaws everywhere on their bodies and faces.
"Yingzi, Duoduo said you agreed with her mother yesterday to meet by the well today. This fabric piece was taken from that pole hook." Lian Manman said to Yingzi, "Are you going to explain it properly here or should we go to the County Yamen Main Hall, where you can be pressed for answers after a beating?"
"No, it wasn’t me, it wasn’t intentional, it was... I was forced, she wanted to kill me." Yingzi pointed to Lady Gu’s corpse on the ground and started crying.
Perhaps it was her first time killing someone, and the mental pressure was too great. After saying these words, Yingzi seemed less stiff and tense than before.
"Speak, what happened?" Lian Manman asked.
"Why don’t we go home to talk?" Lian Shouren hesitated to suggest.
Lian Manman didn’t look at Lian Shouren; in this situation, would going to the old mansion to talk be any more different than discussing it here? The villagers were already alerted to this extent, and such a grave matter regarding human life meant they certainly wanted to know the details.
What was there in the Lian Family Old Mansion that everyone didn’t already know or couldn’t guess? Trying to hide it from them was just a futile effort.
"My grandfather hasn’t recovered yet, if we go home to talk and upset him further, what would we do then?" Lian Manman said.
"Let’s just talk here," Lian Shouxin also said, "This situation... can it really be brought home?"
Lian Shouxin referred to Yingzi.
Lian Shouren said no more, and no one in the old mansion said anything either. As for the observing villagers, they clearly wanted to know the truth immediately.
"Speak then." Lian Manman said to Yingzi.
"...She betrayed me. I told her I would take the main position, she could take the lesser one, and I wouldn’t mention past matters. We didn’t settle it yesterday, but I wasn’t worried, she would agree sooner or later. As I was leaving yesterday, she stopped me to say we should talk, and said she’d come for water before dawn and wait for me by the well."
Yingzi’s narrative matched with Lian Duoduo’s account, only Lady Gu transitioned from being passive to actively arranging the meeting.
Lian Manman glanced at Lian Duoduo, who avoided Lian Manman’s gaze.
This part could be set aside for now, but Lian Manman’s heart leaned toward believing Yingzi’s words more.
"Continue." Lian Manman said.
"This morning, I got up early and left home. Upon leaving, I saw her there; she arrived earlier than me. I walked over to speak with her." At this point, Yingzi’s emotions surged again, "It was her, she took the pole and hit me when I turned around."
Did Lady Gu bring the pole out in order to attack Yingzi? Did Lady Gu arrange to meet Yingzi at the well before dawn to kill her?
"She aimed for my head, she definitely wanted to knock me out and push me into the well." Yingzi seemed to be somewhat fearful at this point.
The piece of fabric was likely torn at this moment. Lian Manman thought. The coat Yingzi was wearing should have been of good quality originally, but it was too old, and the fabric somewhat worn out, which was why a piece was torn off by the pole. Yingzi hadn’t noticed, perhaps due to panic at the time, and since the fabric was worn, it easily got caught and torn.
"And then?" Lian Manman asked.
"I grabbed the pole and pushed her. Yingzi said, "She stepped on something and fell back, and then...she was...out of breath."
"She wanted to kill me, I never intended to kill her. I just pushed her..." Yingzi cried.
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Here’s an extra update, it’s the fourth day before the end of the month, with over 700 monthly votes, asking everyone for pink votes/monthly votes support, seeking 800 pink votes, meow.
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Recommended is Ruoyan’s completed book "Most Charming", a fantasy version of My Savage Girlfriend, less than fifty thousand words, just the right length. Below there’s a direct link, click to go straight there.
Book ID: 2184407 (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)
