Chapter 66: Many Men in Front of the Widow's Door

  The yamen runner hastily said after seeing Bao Gong: "Sir, we have inquired clearly that the deceased is named Yuan Fang, a widow. Now there is only one person left in her family."

  After hearing the words of the official, everyone finally understood.

  At this time, Hua Lang asked: "Yuan Fang is a widow, what about her character? Have you investigated?"

  "The yamen nodded: 'Yuan Fang's husband has been dead for many years, and three years ago her mother-in-law also died. After that, she had no income and could only rely on... selling her own body to make a living.'"

  A widow, if she has no income, may have to do this, but someone like Yuan Fang would not go to a brothel. The women in the brothel must be both beautiful and talented, and it's best if they are also chaste and unmarried. A widow like Yuan Fang would not have a good outcome if she went to a brothel.

  Besides, if there are other ways to make a living, who would go to such places as brothels?

  The crowd fell silent, and the bailiff didn't dare to continue speaking either. After all, the person was already dead, and speaking ill of her would only make people feel uneasy in their hearts.

  At this time, Bao Zheng asked: "What is the relationship between Yuan Fang and his neighbors? Has he ever had a feud with anyone?"

  When Bao Zheng asked, the yamen runner hastily replied: "Because Yuan Fang is a widow and often has relationships with men, her relationship with the neighbors is very poor. The neighbors don't usually socialize with her. As for whether she has any enemies or not, I haven't been able to find out."

  Yuan Fang's relationship with the neighbors was not good, and it was a bit difficult to find out about Yuan Fang's specific situation. At this time, Hua Lang suddenly thought of something and said: "Think of a way to find out who Yuan Fang's lovers are, they may know if Yuan Fang has any enemies."

  Hualang said that, and everyone expressed their agreement. This kind of thing Yuanfang wouldn't tell the neighbors, but to men she had slept with, it's unlikely she would keep it a secret. As long as they found those men, this matter would be easily settled.

  The official received the order and immediately ran out again in the sweltering heat.

  It wasn't until the whole afternoon had passed, and it was getting late in the evening, that the bailiff returned. This time when he came back, the bailiff was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and his clothes were soaked through.

  The flower boy handed a cup of cool tea to the yamen runner, who drank it and then said: "I've made some inquiries and found out that Yuan Fang often hangs out with a group of loafers. Every time they're done, she gets a few silver coins. Recently, those close to her include Hua Biaozi, Ah Gui, and Zheng Bing, the butcher from West Street. Zheng's family has money but he doesn't want to get married. He likes to steal other people's women, especially widows. He's been caught several times for stealing other people's daughters and was even thrown into prison."

  After hearing the words of the official, everyone felt that this Zheng was very suspicious. They had determined that the murderer was tall and strong, and now this Zheng fit the bill perfectly.

  It's just that solving a case requires evidence, and relying solely on conjecture is absolutely not enough. Therefore, whether Zheng Tuihu is the murderer or not must be determined after investigation.

  At this time, the temperature dropped slightly, and the evening breeze was also refreshing. Bao Zheng and others waited in the government office for an afternoon, feeling that they should go out for a walk. Under the leadership of the official, they came to Xijie Street. They wanted to investigate these three men to see if there were any murderers among them, and to see if they knew more about Yuan Fang's news.

  They first saw a rogue called Biaozi, at this time the temperature dropped, and the people of Tianchang County all came out of their homes. At this time, it was exactly when Biaozi thought of ways to make money. When Hualang and others saw Biaozi, his hand was already in a man's waist, wanting to take away the purse from his waist.

  Just as Biaozi was about to get his hands on it, two bailiffs suddenly rushed up and caught him. Biaozi was so scared that he immediately knelt down and said: "Sir, spare my life! I'll never steal again, never again!"

  Bao Zheng coldly shouted, "I won't hold you accountable for your thievery for now. But I have something to ask you, and you must answer truthfully."

  Boastful as he is now, how can he still dare not confess?

  "Do you know Widow Yuan Fang?"

  Bao Zheng asked, and Biaozi, who was prepared to confess the truth, hesitated. Seeing this, Bao Zheng let out a cold hum, and Biaozi immediately became fearful, saying: "I know her, I know Yuan Fang."

  "Do you know that Yuan Fang was killed by someone at noon today?"

  Bo Zi shook his head repeatedly: "I don't know, I really don't know."

  At this time, Hua Lang sneered: "I'm afraid you know, such a big thing as someone dying on West Street, how could a hoodlum like you not know?"

  Hualang's tone was somewhat cold, and Biaozi was immediately frightened after hearing it, and hastily begged for mercy: "I... I also heard others say it, I'm afraid you'll say I killed her, so I said I didn't know."

  This is human nature, and Hualang didn't say much else, but continued to ask: "At noon today when you were eating, where were you?"

  "I won a few pieces of silver and thought I'd go to the gambling house to play a few rounds, and just walked out now. The people in the gambling house can all be my witnesses."

  Hualang looked at Biaozi, sizing him up from head to toe. He was quite sturdy, almost as tall as Yuanfang. If he wanted to kill Yuanfang, it would be a bit of a challenge. After a long while, Hualang continued, "I'll send someone to the gambling den to verify this. If you're lying, then Yuanfang's death will be on your hands."

  Biaozi was so frightened that he hung his head and didn't utter a word, without even making an excuse.

  "Let me ask you one last question, do you know if Yuan Fang has any enemies?"

  Biaozi shook his head: "I'm just a hoodlum, I don't have that much spare money to find Yuan Fang for fun, whether she has enemies or not I really don't know, but it's true that there are men who are jealous of her."

  "Is there a man who is jealous for Yuan Fang?" The crowd was somewhat surprised, because they thought that a widow like Yuan Fang was just being played with, where would there be a man foolish enough to be jealous for her?

  Ke Biaozi's words were sincere and didn't seem like a lie.

  "That's right, I recently heard that Yuan Fang has found a new lover, and as a result, she has neglected Zheng Tuihu, who still likes her. In a fit of anger, Zheng Tuihu declared that if he finds out who Yuan Fang's new lover is, he will definitely kill him. Many people on West Street know about this."

  "Do you know who Yuan Fang's new lover is?" Huā Láng asked excitedly.

  Bozi shrugged and shook his head, saying: "How would I know? Yuan Fang is a thief, very cautious about stealing men's things. If not for keeping an eye on him every step of the way, who knows who she'd steal next."

  Hualang then let Biaozi go after he couldn't get anything else out of him.