Chapter 242: Eyewitness
Just as she was thinking this, the carriage suddenly started moving.
None of them were prepared. Hua Niangzi hurriedly hugged the baby in her arms tightly to avoid falling.
The cloth curtain was lifted, and cold wind blew in.
With a “bang” sound of a heavy object landing, a figure in plain clothes appeared in the carriage.
“Mother!” Yuan Yuan reached out her small hand toward the newcomer for a hug.
Shang Wan took her over and planted a kiss on her soft tender little face.
Yuan Yuan hugged her mother’s neck, her big eyes curiously staring at the large cloth bag wriggling on the ground.
“What is this thing?” Hua Niangzi shrank her feet back onto the bench in fright, hugging her knees and peeking over.
Niangzi Lou kicked it with her foot, and the cloth bag wriggled even more violently, emitting “mmph mmph” sounds.
“Oh my, it’s a person!” Niangzi Lou nearly jumped in fright and quickly pulled her foot back.
Niangzi Shu was slightly more composed. She scooted closer to Hua Niangzi. “Shopkeeper Shang, why did you tie up a… person and bring him back?”
“Oh, caught him on the way.” Shang Wan’s expression was indifferent. “He might be the murderer.”
The women: “!!!”
Murderer!!!
Seeing all the women staring at her with wide eyes, Shang Wan explained: “There are too many soldiers in the large courtyard, not good for interrogation, easy to be discovered.”
The women: “…”
Even so, no need to tie him back!
This is the murderer!!!
·
The carriage sped all the way back to the Red Plum Inn. Niangzi Lou ran up to the second floor with thumping steps and opened the window of Shang Wan’s room.
Shang Wan hoisted the large bag and leaped onto the second floor, flipping through the window.
“Quick quick quick, hurry and close the door and window!” Hua Niangzi feared being discovered and swiftly closed the window while speaking.
Niangzi Shu also hurriedly shut the door tight.
Niangzi Lou held Yuan Yuan, her eyes tensely fixed on the cloth bag on the ground.
Meng Niangzi, who had been dragged over, looked baffled. What was with all this panic?
Shang Wan squatted down and untied the mouth of the cloth bag, revealing the person inside.
A youth with delicate features, looking somewhat scholarly and weak.
The youth had struggled all the way and was already drenched in sweat. His eyes bulged wide, bloodshot eyes glaring furiously at Shang Wan, his mouth tightly gagged emitting constant “mmph mmph” sounds.
“Who is this?” Meng Niangzi leaned back in shock. How did they go out and come back with a tied-up person?
Niangzi Shu pulled her arm and took her aside, explaining softly.
After hearing the explanation, Meng Niangzi’s shocked and suspicious gaze darted between Shang Wan and the man.
“Don’t shout if you want to live.” Shang Wan yanked the cloth towel out of the youth’s mouth, while raising her hand, poised to punch if he dared shout.
The youth glanced at her hand, glared, and coldly demanded: “Who are you? Why did you tie me up?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter.” Seeing he didn’t shout, Shang Wan lowered her hand and stared into his eyes. “Did you kill the fat chef?”
“No.” The youth’s eyes flickered slightly, but his tone was firm.
Shang Wan scrutinized his expression. “Then let me change the question: did you see the murderer?”
“No.” The youth denied without thinking, but his gaze dodged, not daring to meet Shang Wan’s eyes.
Seeing this, Shang Wan flicked her wrist, and a black dagger appeared in her hand.
The dagger spun a fancy flourish between her fingers. Shang Wan curved her lips into an icy arc. “Liars get their tongues cut out.”
The cold blade gently traced along the youth’s warm cheek, drawing a thin scratch.
A trickle of bright red blood flowed down from the wound.
A slight stinging pain came from the wound, like an ice cube pressed against his skin, bone-chillingly cold. The youth’s tense body couldn’t help but shiver, his gaze involuntarily following the dagger.
“I’ll ask once more: did you see the murderer?”
The youth bit his lip, meeting Shang Wan’s gaze as if she were looking at a dead man, an boundless chill rising from his heart.
This woman wasn’t scaring him; she would really cut out his tongue, even kill him.
The surrounding women were all startled by the sudden killing intent emanating from Shang Wan. Right now, Shang Wan looked more like the murderer than the youth.
Hua Niangzi’s lips parted slightly as if to speak, but Niangzi Lou pulled her hand and shook her head at her.
Here, the youth couldn’t withstand the tangible killing intent and stammered: “I-I did see a shadowy figure, whooshing away in an instant. I didn’t see the face. I’m not even sure if that person was the murderer.”
Shang Wan stared at him for a moment, determining he was now telling the truth.
“What features did that shadowy figure have? Tall or short, fat or thin, any distinctive marks?”
The youth lowered his eyes. “I only saw a glimpse, didn’t see clearly.”
“Looks like you really don’t want this tongue.” Shang Wan’s eyes narrowed slightly. While the youth’s lips and teeth were still parted, she directly jabbed the dagger’s tip inside.
The youth’s pupils contracted in terror. Just as he tried to shout, his tongue was pinned by the cold hard object.
Shang Wan was extremely precise; even though the dagger was against the youth’s lips and tongue, it didn’t draw a drop of blood.
The youth strained to widen his eyes, looking at Shang Wan with pleading.
“No more than three strikes; next time this dagger slices off your head.” Shang Wan gently twisted the dagger, scaring the youth into keeping his mouth wide open, rigid enough that he didn’t dare even move his eyeballs.
The dagger was withdrawn. Shang Wan grabbed the youth’s lapel and wiped the saliva off it.
The youth’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, hoarsely saying: “Not tall nor thin. That person’s left ear was missing a chunk.”
“Missing where?”
The youth wanted to raise his hand to indicate, but both hands were bound behind him, unable to move.
Shang Wan tested with the cleaned dagger on his left ear, starting from the tip. “Here?”
“No, lower.”
“Here?” The dagger reached the middle of the ear cartilage.
“Yes.” The youth answered while tensely watching Shang Wan’s movements, fearing she might “accidentally” slice off his ear.
Shang Wan had no such intention for now.
“Since you’re not the murderer, why were you hiding?”
As the dagger moved away, the youth let out a huge sigh of relief. After experiencing Shang Wan’s methods, he didn’t dare conceal anymore and honestly said: “I was afraid the murderer would come back for me, so I wanted to find a place to hide first and come out after the soldiers finished searching.”
“Are you an idiot?” Shang Wan looked at him speechlessly. “Everyone else isn’t hiding, just you. Isn’t that like no silver here, three hundred taels? Doesn’t that scream to others that you have something to hide?”
The youth was stunned. Was that so?
Shang Wan continued: “Why didn’t you tell the soldiers you saw the murderer?”
“I didn’t see clearly, and no one to vouch for me. I worried they’d take me as the murderer.”
This reason was passable.
Shang Wan said: “Last question: what do you do in the merchant caravan?”
“Record accounts.” The youth answered. “I’m in charge of the merchant caravan’s accounts. The owner wants to sell the caravan and ordered me to tidy the accounts. I stepped out for a walk from exhaustion and unexpectedly saw a shadowy figure flash out of the room.”
Fear showed in the youth’s eyes. “I worried he already saw me and would come back to kill to silence.”
The women exchanged glances. If they were in the youth’s position, they’d probably hide or just run away too. Nothing is more important than life.
“Help me out.” Shang Wan placed her hand on the youth’s shoulder, her smile sweet and friendly.
The youth: “???”
Tomorrow is National Day! Happy National Day to everyone!
