Song Que asked again: "Do the two of them have any enemies that they don't deal with on weekdays?"
Cheng's father said: "Ali is a generous man and never has any grudges with others. We have not thought of any suspicious candidates."
Cheng Xiaomei suddenly said: "The Zhang family's daughter-in-law across from me has nothing to do with my sister-in-law. She has to learn everything my sister-in-law does. She is even better at everything, but she can't compare to my sister-in-law."
Cheng's mother frowned. The Zhang family were neighbors after all. Although the two families usually competed fiercely, they did not go to the point of becoming enemies. At this time, it was a bit too much to talk about it. But for some reason, Cheng's mother's words to smooth things over were swirling on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't say them out in the end.
Previously, Xiao Bing went to investigate the situation of the house opposite and had quietly reported it to Song Que. The family opposite has been here for more than 20 years and lives the best life in this area. His family has two sons. The eldest son works in the dyeing workshop with Cheng Li. The second son is still young. The Zhang family is supporting the family. He reads. Cheng Li is a skilled man and he catches up from behind. His monthly salary is a little more than that of Zhang Da. Don’t underestimate this. Unlike the Zhang family, the Cheng family has a younger son to support his education. With this extra money, his life can be improved. It's obviously booming.
The conflict between the two families also arose at this time. It's not enough for your son to overpower my son in the dyeing shop, but you also have to go out of your way to show me the good life you are leading? The Zhang family was unhappy, but it didn't escalate to the point of a fight, so they had no choice but to try their best to get through the trivial matters in their daily lives.
The Cheng family are kind-hearted people, but they are not people who knead dough. After all, they have a three-point temperament. It was okay once or twice, Zhang Jiaming pressed her four or five times, and the Cheng family also started. You said your wife is good-looking, I said she is not as beautiful as my wife; you said your wife is hardworking and capable, I said my wife is knowledgeable Dali. The two families secretly competed with each other from son to daughter-in-law, from daughter-in-law to youngest, and even the two old ladies were competing to see who wore brighter clothes. This kind of rivalry is not the main theme of life, but it has filled every aspect of the two families.
Song Que asked: "Who does Xiu Xiu interact with more often on weekdays?"
It was Cheng Xiaomei who jumped out to answer this question. She stayed at home all day long and didn't do as much work as Cheng's mother. She got along with Su Xiuxiu the most. The two sisters had a good relationship.
"My sister-in-law has a hand injury and can't do heavy work. She usually stays at home doing embroidery work and doesn't interact with outsiders very much. There are no ladies of similar age to my sister-in-law in the surrounding families. There is one from the Zhang family across the street. She prefers me. My sister-in-law is the opposite, she doesn’t like to quarrel, and she doesn’t like to go out when we come and go.”
The little girl seemed to have determined that this matter had something to do with the opposite door, and her words were biased.
Cheng's mother gently hit her and told her not to talk nonsense, so as not to cause embarrassment if the other door knew. The accidents of her son and daughter-in-law made her mentally and physically exhausted. In the past, she was very energetic when facing the Zhang family, but now she has no energy left and doesn't want to get into trouble again at this juncture. Cheng's mother was not a good person, and she didn't think her neighbor would be a good neighbor at this time, considerate of their difficulties, and sincerely mourn the murders of her son and daughter-in-law. She could fully imagine that the other party might sigh lightly and pass away, and even feel a little gloating in her heart, adding insult to injury. But Cheng's mother didn't believe that they would harm Cheng Li and Su Xiuxiu. Instead of wasting her energy on them, she hoped Song could find the real culprit.
Cheng Xiaomei and Cheng's mother thought differently. She felt that her sister-in-law had always been kind to others, and the one she could say she didn't get along with was the one across the street. Her brother was even more loyal and honest, and could get along well with Zhang Da, who was across the street. The problem must still be there. At his wife's place.
Song did not ignore Cheng Xiaomei's opinion, but Cheng Xiaomei mostly relied on personal conjecture and could not be cited as evidence.
Song Que said: "Zhang Da and Cheng Li work together, so he may know something about Cheng Li's situation in the dyeing workshop. I still want to go to Zhang's house."
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Cheng's mother glanced at Cheng Xiaomei and said nothing.
Song Que took his people out of Cheng's house. He sent two people to the dyeing workshop to find Zhang Da, and he knocked on the door of Zhang's house.
The woman who opened the door was still the woman who poked her head in the door just now. There were many wrinkles on her face. She seemed to be of the same generation as Aunt Cheng, the mother of the Zhang family.
Seeing that it was Song Que, Zhang's mother looked at the guards behind him and said, "What are you doing, sir? No one in our Zhang family has committed any crime."
Song Que said: "I'm here to investigate the murder case."
The people did not like to see the officials, and Zhang's mother was a little reluctant to let people in. She complained: "Their son and daughter-in-law are dead, why did they come to our house to investigate? Is it possible that you, sir, suspect that our family did it? In the clear sky, sir, you are talking empty words." Damn, you can’t talk nonsense.”
Next to Song Que, the officer sent by the Changlin County magistrate stepped forward and shouted: "Stop talking nonsense, open the door quickly, and cooperate with your Excellency in the investigation."
The guard pulled out a section of his saber and made an unpleasant friction sound, which startled Zhang's mother and forced her to open the door.
Obviously, Zhang's mother only saw Song Que's gentleness and felt that he was embarrassed to make things difficult for others, so she dared to act boldly and do not want anyone to come in. Although the officer's behavior was a little rough, the effect was immediate. Song looked on coldly and did not stop him.
At this time, only Mrs. Zhang and her daughter-in-law Cen were at home.
Song Que and his group came in forcefully. Mrs. Cen was surprised when she saw it, thinking that something had happened at home. Zhang's mother pulled her and whispered a few words, and then she knew what Song Que and others were doing.
Mr. Cen was a little dissatisfied, but didn't complain. Zhang's father was not at home, so Zhang's mother was the one to entertain these officials. As a daughter-in-law, she didn't have the right to be at the forefront, so she served tea and water to others.
Mrs. Cen sent the tea to Song Que, who took it and said to Zhang's mother, "Is this my daughter-in-law? We don't need to entertain. We just want to ask some questions. Please sit down with us."
Zhang's mother wanted to say something more, but when she met Song Que's eyes, she lost her temper inexplicably. Mrs. Cen put away the tea tray and sat down next to Mrs. Zhang.
Song Que asked: "When was the last time you met Cheng Li and Su Xiuxiu?"
Zhang's mother said: "More than a month ago, the day before the Cheng family found out that no one was missing. That day, my youngest son failed in the exam in the bookstore. He got angry outside the door when he came back. The daughter-in-law of the opposite door had a good temper. She saw her in the bookstore. There to comfort him. I went out to buy some food, and when I came back she said hello to me, and I walked in first. Later, Cheng Li and my son left work together, and the wife across the street went home with her man."
Mrs. Cen said: "I met them in the morning when they disappeared. Cheng Li and my husband go to work together every day. I met them both when I sent my husband out. I didn't see Cheng Li again after that, but Su Xiuxiu and I I met her once. She was going out at lunchtime, and I thought it was strange and asked her. She said that her mother-in-law asked her to get something. After that, I never saw her again. "
The time mentioned by Cen is basically consistent with what the Cheng family said. The confession about this case obtained from the Changlin County Magistrate also proves that Su Xiuxiu was seen on her way to the river, but not again after that. . In other words, Su Xiuxiu probably had an accident by the river.
Song Que added: "From the morning to the afternoon of the day Su Xiuxiu disappeared, where were you two and what were you doing? Who can prove it?"
Zhang's mother still had no reaction, and Mrs. Cen's eyes widened. She was already impulsive and irritable, and the fact that the person in front of her was a member of the official family did not change her temper: "Sir, are you doubting me and my mother-in-law? I Zhang Although the relationship between the Cheng family and the Cheng family is not good, if you say that I dislike Su Xiuxiu, I will admit it, but if you say that I killed her, I will not admit it!"
Song did not react at all and said calmly: "Why don't you and Su Xiuxiu deal with it?"
Mrs. Cen subconsciously glanced at Zhang's mother and pursed her lips.
Song Que didn't care that Zhang's mother was still there, and directly pointed out: "Is it related to your mother-in-law?"
Mother Zhang turned around and looked at Mr. Cen, very surprised. Mrs. Cen suppressed her face and turned red, and finally said bluntly: "She is too soft-tempered, speaks in a formal manner, and is not straightforward enough. Although I don't hate her, I just can't get along with her. But she is also very popular with my mother, who is at home every day. When I think of her well, I either praise her for her outstanding appearance or say that her beauty is exquisite. If I say a few words about her fault, my mother will let me look at myself and ask me to learn from her. I consider myself to be agile and hardworking. , she is a straightforward person. Although she is not as good as her in some places, she is also better than her in some places. But in my mother’s heart, I am worthless compared to her. How do you think I feel comfortable? If I say nothing, brother-in-law My husband and I would also talk together, one for Su Xiuxiu and the other for my mother, but no one stood in my shoes and thought for me. I am not willing to accept it. If they like Su Xiuxiu, then they can go. If I don’t like it, then I will. Isn’t it okay?”
After hearing this, Mother Zhang's face turned red and white, her mouth opened and closed, and finally she said: "I didn't know you had such a big opinion against her..."
After Mrs. Cen said that, she felt much better. Seeing Zhang's mother like this, she turned to Song Que and said, "Sir, I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. It's true that I don't like to associate with Su Xiuxiu, but it doesn't mean that I will harm her. , she has nothing to feel sorry for me about. Not to mention that she has had a baby in her belly for several months. If anyone tries to harm her, wouldn’t she be worse than a beast? "
Song nodded and said: "You are right, murderers are indeed worse than animals. But you didn't answer my question, what did you two do on the day she disappeared?"
Zhang's mother said: "I went to the mountain early that morning to collect firewood. After working for most of the morning, I lost my waist and couldn't get down from the mountain. Because I never went back, Gu'er was afraid that something would happen to me and came to pick me up, so I went back. Home."
Gu'er is Zhang Da Zhang Gu.
Mrs. Cen said: "I was about to prepare lunch when Su Xiuxiu went out. Not long after the meal was ready, my father came back. Later, my mother and husband came back. I have been at home. Mother can prove it."
Song Que asked, "How much firewood did your mother and husband bring when they came back?"
Mrs. Cen was stunned for a moment, and tried very hard to recall the situation that day. In the end, she still couldn't recall it. Just when she was about to shake her head, Zhang's mother said: "I twisted my waist at that time and lost all the firewood. Come on, Gu'er." How could you care about firewood when you saw me injured? In the end, I went back empty-handed."
Song Que glanced at Zhang's mother. In her previous answer, the description of the details was too complicated, and now she was a little flustered and confused. The Zhang Gu mentioned in her words also made him a little concerned.
“Where are you collecting firewood, and how far is it from the shore where you wash your clothes?”
Before Zhang's mother had time to speak, Mrs. Cen said quickly: "It's on the mountain next to it, very close."
Zhang's mother's hand suddenly clenched into a fist, but Song became colder when he saw this detail.
Xiao Bing, who was guarding the door outside, suddenly ran in and said, "Sir, Zhang Gu has been brought back."