Chapter 59: Doubts
“Someone died again…”
As soon as Si Qingyu entered the town, she saw a crowd gathered at a fork in the street, their murmurs reaching her ears directly.
Si Qingyu had intended to pass by them and leave, but upon hearing this sentence, her feet suddenly turned and she slowly approached the crowd.
As she drew closer, the murmurs became clearer.
“I saw her just fine a few days ago, how could she end up like this after just two days?” One person said in a low voice, covering their mouth and glancing at the corpse with pain.
“Who knows, I remember seeing her gambling enthusiastically at the gambling house two days ago.”
“Could it be that she owed money at the gambling house again and was killed for it?”
“It should be. I heard a couple of days ago that she owed a debt to the gambling house, and they were going around everywhere trying to dig up money from her to pay it back,” another person chimed in, telling what they knew about the matter these past few days.
Si Qingyu frowned upon hearing this. She walked to the outer edge of the crowd. With her tall and slender stature, it wasn’t difficult for her to see clearly inside.
Looking through the gap between the shoulders of the two people discussing, she saw a woman lying on the ground. The woman’s eyes were wide open, the blood vessels almost completely staining the whites of her eyes red. A round, narrow-necked wine bottle was forcibly stuffed into her mouth.
Si Qingyu narrowed her eyes slightly. It seemed like this person had suffocated to death from the wine bottle being forcibly shoved into her mouth.
So it was likely that it wasn’t just one person who committed the crime? After all, this woman looked sturdy and robust, it would probably be hard for one person to subdue her.
The person in front of Si Qingyu seemed to have the same thought. They clicked their tongue twice, “I think, she definitely didn’t have the money to pay back, so someone was hired to kill her.”
“Ai, it’s one thing for this Niu Laozi to die, but it’s a pity that her spouse is widowed at such a young age.”
“Tsk, I heard that this Niu Laozi only gambled and drank when she was out, and even beat her husband when she got home. Now that she’s dead, maybe her husband won’t have to get beaten anymore. Isn’t that good?”
“That’s not how it works. As the saying goes, the woman is the backbone of the house. With this backbone gone, how will the man live?”
The townspeople’s topic was getting more and more off-track. Upon hearing this name, Si Qingyu’s brows furrowed even deeper.
Niu Laozi?
Wasn’t this the woman who got drunk at the tavern last time and was loudly shouting inside? Although Si Qingyu didn’t get a clear look at her face that day, she did remember her name.
She remembered that this Niu Laozi was shouting about the incident of someone dying at the brothel at the time.
Was it… a coincidence?
Just as Si Qingyu was lost in her own thoughts, she was pulled back by a loud voice.
“Go, go, what are you looking at? What’s so good about looking at a dead person?” A woman wearing a red-striped robe on a white background pushed open the crowd surrounding the corpse. Behind her stood two women wearing black-striped robes on a white background.
The red-robed woman walked over to the corpse, half-squatted down to take a look, clicked her tongue a couple of times with some reluctance, then stood up and glared at the crowd, shouting, “What are you still standing here for? Have you never seen a dead person before or what? Huh?”
Being yelled at like this, some people in the crowd scratched their ears and dispersed, leaving only a few who wanted to watch the excitement.
Seeing that most people had left, the red-robed woman didn’t pay attention to the remaining ones. She pointed at the two black-robed women and ordered, “You and you, take the corpse back to the yamen first.”
“Yes.” The two black-robed women nodded and started to move the corpse.
Si Qingyu stood behind the few people, took another look at the corpse indifferently, then turned and left.
Inside the clinic, Zhao Sixi was sweeping the floor with a broom. Seeing a figure entering out of the corner of her eye, she knew it was Si Qingyu. Without raising her head, she greeted, “Morning, Doctor Si.”
However, no one responded.
She stopped her work and looked up, seeing Si Qingyu frowning slightly and not responding to her. Zhao Sixi bent over to take a look at her and spoke again, “Morning, Doctor Si.”
The woman stood in front of the tea table, staring fixedly at the teapot, still not answering her.
Zhao Sixi walked over with small steps, stood in front of Si Qingyu, and secretly looked at her expression. After a moment of hesitation, she waved her hand in front of her, “Doctor Si?”
Si Qingyu finally came back to her senses, looking a bit dazed, “What is it?”
“Doctor Si, what were you thinking about? I called you several times but you didn’t respond to me.” Zhao Sixi held the broom handle with both hands, her mouth slightly pouting, and said with some grievance.
Si Qingyu sat down on the stool, propped herself up on the tea table and rubbed her brow, “It’s nothing.”
In just a few days, two people had died in the town. For some reason, she always felt like she had overlooked something.
She won’t say it again! Zhao Sixi pursed her lips. She always says it’s nothing, but no matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like nothing is wrong.
Si Qingyu looked at Zhao Sixi who had slightly puffed cheeks. After some thought, she couldn’t help but ask, “Sixi, do you know someone in town named Niu Laozi?”
“Huh?” Zhao Sixi, who was sulking and thinking about whether Doctor Si would get uncomfortable from holding things in, was caught off guard by her question. She tilted her head and scratched it, “Doctor Si, why are you asking this?”
“No reason, just curious.” Si Qingyu took a sip of tea, her expression indifferent.
Zhao Sixi was even more puzzled. Doctor Si usually wasn’t someone who liked to inquire about other people’s business. Although she didn’t know her intention, Zhao Sixi still told what she knew, “I only heard about this Niu Laozi from others before. She’s lazy, likes to gamble, visit brothels, drink alcohol and such. Anyway, I haven’t heard anything good that can be said about her.”
So this Niu Laozi gave people such a bad impression? Si Qingyu tapped her finger lightly on the table, “Then have you heard if she had any enemies?”
“Enemies?” Zhao Sixi tilted her head, one hand holding the broom, the other scratching the side of her ear. She hesitantly said, “I’m not too sure, I only heard that she often owed people money and was chased and beaten every day.”
“Is that so…” Then she was probably overthinking it. Si Qingyu didn’t know why she had associated Niu Laozi’s death with the incident at the brothel a few days ago.
Seeing Si Qingyu immersed in her own thoughts again, Zhao Sixi carefully asked, “Doctor Si, did something happen?” She rarely saw Doctor Si spacing out like this.
Si Qingyu was holding the teacup and drinking while looking at the girl’s curious gaze. She put down the teacup and didn’t hide it from her to satisfy her curiosity, “That Niu Laozi died.”
“What?” Zhao Sixi opened her mouth wide, looking incredulous and a bit at a loss, “How… how did she die? I still saw her when the sun set yesterday…”
“Oh?”
Seeing Si Qingyu looking over, Zhao Sixi hurriedly waved her hands, “I… I’m not sure if that person was her.”
“Yesterday?” Si Qingyu frowned at her, “Where did you see her yesterday?”
“I’m not sure if that person was her,” Zhao Sixi only felt her heart pounding. She didn’t know what was going on, how come two people had died in just a few days.
Zhao Sixi recalled yesterday. Doctor Si had said she wanted to go back early because of Young Master Luo, so she left her alone to watch the clinic.
Later, she forgot about the time because she was busy. When she hurriedly closed the clinic door, the sun had already set. She hurried home. When leaving town, she saw a figure at the fork in the road by the town gate, drinking from a bottle of alcohol.
It was already dark at the time, and they were some distance apart, so she couldn’t see the person’s face clearly at all. The only reason she thought it was Niu Laozi was because of the sturdy physique that left an impression on her.
In this town, only Niu Laozi had such a strong physique like an ox.
At the time, she didn’t think much of it, only glancing at that figure before leaving.
Zhao Sixi recounted yesterday’s events to Si Qingyu one by one. She timidly looked at Si Qingyu, on the verge of tears, “Doctor Si, I only took a glance at her from afar, it has nothing to do with me…”
Her appearance seemed to be afraid that Si Qingyu would suspect her.
What a child. Si Qingyu looked at her with amusement and raised her hand to pat the top of her head, “I didn’t say it had anything to do with you.” After saying that, she looked her up and down with a smile, unable to resist teasing her, “With your stature, you wouldn’t even be enough for a person’s slap if you went up.”
“…” Although Zhao Sixi was relieved, she was very unhappy being told this by Si Qingyu. Her dignity as a woman was wounded. She puffed out her cheeks, “Doctor Si, don’t make me sound so weak. Before… before I used to go hunting in the mountains with my mom!”
“Mm, very impressive.” Si Qingyu praised indifferently with a perfunctory tone.
Zhao Sixi became even more unhappy.
She pursed her lips, but in the end sighed and gave up. Forget it, arguing with Doctor Si about these things would only make her angry. Zhao Sixi walked over and sat down beside Si Qingyu, “Doctor Si, how did that Niu Laozi die?”
Si Qingyu glanced at her. This kid was so scared a few days ago when she saw Shaoxuan that she didn’t even dare to breathe loudly, but she was quite bold when it came to this, “If you’re curious, you can go to the yamen and take a look.”
The yamen? Zhao Sixi pouted her lips and muttered, “Then never mind, why would I go to the yamen to look at a corpse for no reason…”
Seeing the girl’s appearance, it was clear she had dismissed this idea. Si Qingyu rubbed her neck and stood up, “Alright, stop chatting. If you’re going to sweep, do it quickly.”
“Oh…” Zhao Sixi held the broom listlessly and swept the dust to the doorway. She sighed, pressed the top of the broom handle with both palms, rested her chin on the back of her hands, and stared blankly at the intersection.
Suddenly, she saw a woman in red-striped white robes walking from the corner. Zhao Sixi immediately stood up straight. She knew who this person was, “Officer… Officer Liu, do you have something?”
Officer Liu stopped in front of her and glanced into the medical hall, “It’s nothing. I’m here to see Doctor Si.”
The woman’s voice was clear and loud, making it hard for Si Qingyu not to hear. Her hand that was flipping through a book paused as she looked outside with a puzzled expression.
Officer Liu outside also saw her and waved, “Hello Doctor Si, our Lord Wei has something to ask you to come over for!”
Looking for her?
Si Qingyu frowned slightly and closed the book, looking at the woman who had walked in, “May I ask what your lord wants to see me for?”
Officer Liu looked around and then stared at Si Qingyu, “Rest assured Doctor Si, our lord only wants to ask you to come over for something. As for what it is… Doctor Si will know when you get there.”
“Doctor Si…” Zhao Sixi, who had followed in, looked at Si Qingyu with concern.
“It’s alright.” Si Qingyu walked over and patted her shoulder reassuringly, saying to the woman indifferently, “Please lead the way.”