Chapter 522 - Chapter 522: Chapter 509: Important Matter (1/2)

Chapter 522: Chapter 509: Important Matter

And Hongyu’s uncle said that just two days ago, she had unexpectedly shown up at his door, her face full of tension and unwilling to explain anything. Despite his and his wife’s incessant prying, she had retreated into the house, not coming out. When they persisted in questioning her, Hongyu yelled wildly from inside. Concerned, they kicked open the door, only to find Hongyu laughing and goofing around, seemingly incoherent.

Unsure of what had transpired, but seeing their own niece in this state, and her father – known for his gambling habit and selling his daughter – disappeared, they thought him unlikely to care about Hongyu’s wellbeing. They decided to take Hongyu in, at least for now, and provided her with food and drink.

Fortunately, although Hongyu seemed to have lost her senses, she was not violent or prone to outbursts. She just laughed foolishly, calling everyone her parents, and put anything she saw into her mouth.

After learning about her condition, Ding Gaochang had no choice but to bring Hongyu back, find a place for her to live, and have the female prison guard look after her and try to question her.

But it seemed Hongyu really had become foolish. She laughed happily in prison every day, often singing nonsensically. At one point, if not for the quick reactions of the guard, she would have put a mouse, which she had caught, into her mouth.

Seeing that nothing could be learned from Hongyu, Ding Gaochang could only start investigating who Gentry Ma’s family had been in contact with before they were killed, what they had said, what they had done, and who had come and gone…

However, this task was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Gentry Ma was widely known for his generosity and had a good reputation in his surroundings. At the time, Gentry Ma’s only son was soon to be married and his wedding was set for the 26th of the twelfth month. The family was busy decorating the bridal chamber and shopping for wedding necessities. The house was full of people coming and going.

Moreover, there had been a lot of petty thefts in the neighborhood as the year-end approached. It wasn’t impossible that some gangsters eying Gentry Ma’s wealth decided to rob and murder him.

It was clear that Gentry Ma’s house had been ransacked. Gold and silver items were nowhere to be found, but no one knew how much had been stolen.

Ding Gaochang’s mind was in a whirl. He sighed, drained the cooled, strong tea from his cup, and called for Zhang Lin and Shen Quan to accompany him somewhere.

“Master, are we going to investigate Gentry Ma’s case today?” Zhang Lin stuffed a piece of dry bread into his bosom.

Going out at this hour, they didn’t know when they’d return. Dinner was uncertain. Anticipating this, they brought something dry so that Ding Gaochang could have a snack later.

“Hmm,” Ding Gaochang nodded.

“But we’re like headless flies, scrambling everywhere…” Shen Quan was preparing a water flask, looking frustrated.

The lack of progress in their investigation and the fruitlessness of their busywork were suffocating, like punching cotton— they just couldn’t bring themselves to be enthusiastic.

“Despite the lack of clues, we must keep investigating. So many people died; we must find the murderer,” Ding Gaochang said. “Even if we may not find anything immediately, we must still take action. Asking questions and observing around, being busy is better than doing nothing at all.”

“I’ve already reported this to Mr. Xu, who has submitted it to higher authorities. We hope to get more time, or have some competent personnel sent to assist us.”

“This year, we really won’t be able to relax…”