“Please have him come in.”

After Ye Luo left, Yang Houcheng gave Shao Mingyuan a thumbs up: “Truly prophetic!”

Shao Mingyuan smiled: “It’s not that mysterious—just human nature. If our earlier speculation was correct, Shanzi and Tiezhu are currently in a state of indecision, so they would find ways to approach us and test the situation.”

Soon, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth walked in.

The youth wore a long robe that was somewhat too short for him. Standing before the group, though he tried his best to puff out his chest and raise his head, he still appeared somewhat awkward.

“I heard from the village chief that you’re called Shanzi.” Shao Mingyuan spoke, his voice gentle.

Shanzi was somewhat surprised and instinctively wanted to reach for his hem, but forcibly restrained himself, straightening his body: “Yes, I’m called Shanzi. This is my home…”

Shao Mingyuan smiled: “Please sit, Shanzi. You’re the master of this house. We came here to impose upon you, and we haven’t even thanked you yet.”

At this moment, Chen Guang stepped forward: “Please have some tea.”

Shanzi, who had just sat down, immediately stood up again, accepting the teacup with both hands, his face completely red: “Thank you, thank you.”

This blush fully displayed the simple honesty of a mountain village youth.

Shao Mingyuan’s attitude became even gentler. He gave Chen Guang a look, and Chen Guang quickly brought over a plate of osmanthus cakes.

“Shanzi, try these osmanthus cakes and see how they are. We bought these from the city.”

“No need.” Shanzi waved his hands repeatedly, his face even redder. “I just heard that people had come to my house, so I came to take a look.”

Shao Mingyuan pushed the osmanthus cakes in front of Shanzi: “Don’t be polite. We’re staying in your house, which already makes us feel bad. This is also a token of our gratitude. If you don’t eat them, we’ll feel even worse.”

Hearing this, Shanzi finally picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and ate it.

Though he was an inexperienced youth, he didn’t lose composure in front of these important figures. His eating manner was quite refined, showing a good upbringing, different from typical mountain youths.

Shao Mingyuan patiently waited for him to finish, handed him the tea, and asked: “Where will Shanzi sleep tonight?”

“The village chief told me I could sleep at his place.” Shanzi’s eyes flickered slightly.

“Shanzi could sleep here. You could squeeze in with me.”

Shanzi repeatedly shook his head in refusal. Fearing that the important figure before him might be displeased, he asked carefully: “Sir, I heard that Master Qiao’s family was murdered. You’re going to investigate tomorrow—could I follow along and watch?”

After saying this, fearing misunderstanding, he quickly explained: “When I was little, I learned to read from the Qiao family. It was also because Grandfather Qiao said I had talent that my mother gritted her teeth and sent me to the town school. Though I can’t do much to help with the Qiao family’s case, it would be good to personally see you catch the murderer who harmed them.”

The youth’s tone was sincere, showing that his gratitude toward the Qiao family wasn’t false. Shao Mingyuan couldn’t help but glance at Qiao Zhao.

Qiao Zhao sat there quietly, maintaining her composure, with only her gently trembling eyelashes revealing her inner turmoil.

“Sir, I heard you’re the Champion Marquis and very capable. You can catch the murderer, right?”

Shao Mingyuan’s gaze deepened as he looked at the youth: “That depends on whether we can find clues.”

Shanzi’s eyes dimmed: “A few months ago, an official came from the capital but left without finding anything.”

“Yes, which is why I came.” Shao Mingyuan said meaningfully.

Shanzi was stunned.

“Master Qiao is my father-in-law. They died with grievances, so naturally, I want to find the murderer more than anyone else.” After Shao Mingyuan finished speaking, he looked deeply at the thin youth before him and sighed heavily.

“Do you think it’s very difficult?” Shanzi murmured.

Why would such an important figure as the Champion Marquis sigh at him?

Shao Mingyuan smiled slightly: “No, I was thinking of you, feeling we’re somewhat in the same boat.”

Shanzi’s face changed dramatically as he exclaimed: “What do you mean by that?”

Shao Mingyuan sighed again, looking at Shanzi with gentleness mixed with pity: “When we moved in yesterday, we heard from the village chief about this house’s master, so I asked Coroner Qian to check—”

“The coroner who performed the autopsy on Master Qiao?” Shanzi couldn’t help interrupting Shao Mingyuan’s words, completely different from his careful awkwardness when he first entered.

Shao Mingyuan felt more confident and simply delivered a strong dose: “Yes, Coroner Qian speculated that your mother didn’t die by accident as the villagers said, but was murdered—”

Shanzi suddenly stood up, his jaw clenched tight, grinding audibly.

After a long while, the youth covered his face with both hands and began crying bitterly.

Shao Mingyuan was somewhat bewildered.

When he was Shanzi’s age, he had never cried like this in front of others.

Chi Can leisurely stood up, placed his hand on Shanzi’s shoulder, suppressed his aversion to touching strangers, and said unhurriedly: “What’s the use of crying? If crying were useful, we wouldn’t need to do anything—just cry would be enough.”

Shanzi’s crying stopped abruptly. He lowered his hands and looked through his tears at the person comforting him, becoming dazed at the sight.

There was someone this beautiful in the world.

Chi Can had seen such gazes many times. He raised his hand and gave him a light knock on the head, saying coldly: “Instead of crying uselessly, why not work hard to find the murderer who killed your mother? While we’re here, we might be able to seek justice for you.”

Shanzi’s eyes suddenly widened as he murmured, “Find the murderer who killed my mother?”

“Yes, don’t you want to avenge your mother?” Chi Can frowned. “I heard your mother was widowed young and raised you with great difficulty. In this kind of mountain village, she even sent you to the town school—something many children with both parents can’t enjoy. Your mother treated you so well, but didn’t have the fortune to wait for you to pass the imperial examinations and bring her honor. At least you should catch the person who harmed her, right?”

By the end of his speech, Chi Can was quite moved.

After hearing these words, Shanzi was dazed for a long time. No one disturbed him, letting the youth silently struggle internally.

Outside, the sky had completely darkened. The mountain village’s night was extremely beautiful, with scattered stars and peaceful tranquility.

But the youth’s heart seemed to have fallen into a pot of oil, being tormented repeatedly up and down, causing him heartbreaking pain.

He wasn’t sure whether he should speak. If he didn’t, would his mother remain unable to rest in peace forever?

But if he spoke, could these people be trusted?

Uncle Tiezhu had told him not to act rashly.

However, this Champion Marquis who came this time was different from the previous imperial envoy, right? The Champion Marquis was Master Qiao’s son-in-law and also an aggrieved party.

They were all people who wanted their relatives’ injustices cleared.

In the patient, long silence of everyone, Shanzi finally made up his mind. He raised his hand to wipe his eyes and said, “My mother was indeed murdered!”

His gaze slowly swept over everyone, finally settling on Shao Mingyuan as he said word by word: “Someone saw the murderer!”