Chapter 543 - 203: Speculation 2
They searched everywhere for Xu Su Ying, using the excuse that they were looking for a missing young lady from their estate. They’d even misled them at first, making them believe that this was Xu Su Ying’s maternal family.
But now, the Xu family had suddenly appeared...
’When you compare the Yan family and the Xu family, doesn’t the Xu family—the one that shares her surname—seem more likely to be her maternal family?’
’When you think about it, if a person with amnesia vaguely remembers anything, and that thing happens to be a name, it must either belong to someone they care about deeply or be their own.’
’Xu Su Ying obviously believes it’s her own name. In other words, deep down, she thinks her surname is Xu.’
The Xu family was looking for her, and the Yan family was looking for her. Since both families were claiming to be searching for a lost young lady, one of them must be lying.
Zhao Jing believed that Mr. Chengyi was the most likely to be lying.
He had also uncovered another piece of information. "They say the current Mr. Chengyi is still unmarried. All social affairs at his estate are handled by his concubines and the old matriarch."
’And when you consider Xu Su Ying’s age when she disappeared, don’t certain things start to make sense?’
’Either Mr. Chengyi is deeply in love with Xu Su Ying... but even being deeply in love wouldn’t stop him from taking a wife.’
’After all, in this day and age, the status of the eldest son and daughter from the official wife is far above that of any child born to a concubine. If only to continue the family line, his family should have pressured him into marrying.’
’But he hasn’t married, which suggests another explanation: the Xu and Yan families had a marriage contract, and, as one might expect, Xu Su Ying was meant to be Mr. Chengyi’s fiancée.’
’In that case, even though he would still face pressure from his elders, by not taking a wife, he would be seen as honoring the betrothal. Wouldn’t the public think more highly of him? And wouldn’t this act of fidelity earn him support from the Xu family or others?’
Of course, without knowing the full story, all of this was just speculation.
De’an was utterly lost. After a pause, he cut to the heart of the matter. "You’ve said so much, but you still haven’t answered the main question: which family murdered my mother?"
Zhao Jing was at a loss for words. He gave De’an a light slap. "I’m only human, don’t treat me like a god. Even the Ministry of Justice needs witnesses and evidence to confirm a killer. I have nothing but a few scraps of information, and you expect me to identify who killed your mother? You’re asking the impossible!"
The two of them stared at each other blankly. After a moment, De’an asked in frustration, "So, what do we do now?"
"We do nothing. For now, everything is still under control. Let’s tell Mother about this first and see what she thinks."
"Okay."
Just as the three of them had decided on this course of action, the jet-black gate across the alley opened.
A young servant peeked his head out tentatively. When he saw the three of them standing there, he quickly ran out to pay his respects.
The servant asked eagerly, "Are you coming over for a visit?"
This was their only neighbor on the alley.
The old master of the neighboring house was fond of putting on airs of scholarly elegance. Though in his sixties or seventies, he spent his days pacing around the residence with his hands clasped behind his back, holding a book scroll.
Rumor had it that the household’s ancestors were also men of letters, one even having served as a fifth-rank official. But by the time it got to the current generation, the old master had been a disappointment, never once managing to pass the exam to become a Scholar. His descendants got a headache just looking at a book, so they all went into business instead.
The old master was insecure about his failure to earn an official rank, yet at the same time, he was arrogant because of his family’s past glory.
His arrogance made him disdain socializing with others, while his insecurity made him afraid to step outside, lest people say he had squandered his ancestors’ reputation.
So the old man just paced around his home day after day, turning left and then right. In the blink of an eye, thirty or forty years had passed.
Yesterday, the old man heard that Mr. Zhao of the family down the alley had become the new Mr. Jie Yuan at a young age. He personally wrote a formal invitation card, had a lavish congratulatory gift prepared, and sent it to the Zhao Family.
’This old man is not only advanced in age,’ Zhao Jing thought, ’but he has a heart as fragile as fine porcelain. If I’m not careful, I could easily make him cry.’
He couldn’t bear the guilt of offending an elder. So, he sent a reply stating that he was currently busy entertaining friends and classmates and that it would likely be a few days before he was free to host the old master.
Anyone with a discerning eye would know that an unspecified "in a few days" meant "never." It was a polite refusal, and there was no point in waiting.
But the old master didn’t catch the hint, and the younger generations of his family didn’t dare break the news to him. They could only watch as the old man, buzzing with excitement, ordered all the servants to clean the house from top to bottom, even scrubbing the cracks between the bluestone pavers.