Qin Huairu, holding the chamber pot and cradling her belly, vaguely understood what had happened last night.
It seemed that Chen Jianye had gone out at night to relieve himself and happened to encounter the culprit who had killed the Deaf Old Lady, stolen her money, and was preparing to leave.
Then, by a strange twist of fate, Chen Jianye killed the culprit.
And the bloodstain at Jia's doorway belonged to the culprit.
Qin Huairu had indeed heard some noisy sounds last night.
But she was pregnant and very sleepy every day, so she hadn't gotten up to check.
Therefore, she knew nothing about these circumstances.
She only understood now.
"Granny Jia deserves to die; why didn't she clean up the bloodstains at the door? Now they've clotted."
"Who's saying otherwise? Her own daughter-in-law is heavily pregnant; it's not like she can make Qin Huairu clean it, right?"
"It's not good for Qin Huairu to see such a pool of blood first thing in the morning either."
A few old sisters finished their chitchat and started badmouthing Jia Zhangshi.
Anyway, Jia Zhangshi was definitely sleeping now and couldn't hear them.
"I'll clean up the bloodstains after I empty the chamber pot; it's really creepy to see them at the door."
Qin Huairu smiled and asked seriously, "Is the Old Lady really gone?"
"She's really gone. The Public Security confirmed it, and her front door is locked."
"I heard my Old Man say that the Public Security will have to come again this morning, and maybe they'll give Chen Jianye a reward."
"Chen Jianye truly has good fortune; you really can't disbelieve this kind of thing."
Several old sisters and Qin Huairu walked towards the Backyard together, talking as they went.
When Qin Huairu arrived at the Backyard, she specifically glanced at the Deaf Old Lady's front door.
Sure enough, a lock hung on it.
It seemed the Deaf Old Lady had indeed passed away.
Qin Huairu felt a deep sigh in her heart; the oldest and highest-ranking Old Lady in the Courtyard was just gone like that.
Her death felt somewhat unreal.
After emptying the chamber pot and returning home, Qin Huairu steamed breakfast.
She then dressed Bang梗 and Xiao Dang, telling them about the blood clots outside.
Bang梗 and Xiao Dang weren't scared at all; they even ran out specifically to see what the blood clots at the door looked like.
Qin Huairu, cradling her belly, went out, taking a broom and a wet rag, ready to clean.
"Qin Jie, what are you doing?"
Sha Zhu walked over.
"Such a big pool of blood at the door, it looks too creepy."
Qin Huairu let out a long sigh.
Working while squatting, her belly was squeezed, and she felt very uncomfortable.
"You should have called me; why do it yourself?"
Sha Zhu reached out and took the rag from Qin Huairu's hand.
He touched Qin Huairu's palm.
Immediately, he felt a tremor in his heart.
"Thank you so much, Sha Zhu. If it weren't for you, I'd have to do this myself, and who knows how long it would take."
Qin Huairu said very sincerely.
"Thank me for what? You're making it sound like we're strangers."
Sha Zhu chuckled.
Suddenly, both of them smelled the aroma of fried eggs coming from the Chen Family's house.
Bang梗 and Xiao Dang ran to the Chen Family's window, standing on tiptoes to peek inside.
Xiao Dang breathed deeply, savoring the aroma in her mouth.
"That son of a bitch Chen Jianye, what's wrong with closing the door when he eats? He always leaves the window open when he eats meat."
Sha Zhu said indignantly.
Qin Huairu forced a smile and said nothing.
Chen Jianye finished breakfast and then steamed a few more sweet potatoes.
Then he carried his breakfast and sat at the dining table.
Reviewing last night's actions, Chen Jianye was generally satisfied.
Due to the culprit's sudden visit, he couldn't go to the Black Market to sell the Lingquan Space's agricultural products, so he could only go tonight.
This delayed the Lingquan Space's growth cycle by one day.
However, thinking about killing the Deaf Old Lady and naturally framing the culprit,
He completely exonerated himself.
The benefits were enormous.
From then on, the Courtyard had one less annoying Old Lady.
Who should he kill next?
Three figures flashed through Chen Jianye's mind: Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu, and Jia Zhangshi.
Frankly, given the animosity between the Chen Family and those three, killing any one of them would be fine.
Next, it would depend on who was the most aggressive and who presented a better opportunity to kill.
Just like killing the Deaf Old Lady.
When an opportunity presents itself, one must seize it.
Otherwise, waiting for the next opportunity, who knows how long it would take.
After breakfast, Chen Jianye put the bowls and chopsticks into an enamel basin and took them to the Front Courtyard.
"Jianye, you're really amazing! You even killed the culprit."
Yu Li said with admiration.
"Amazing for what? I was almost scared to death by that person. I just pushed, and he died."
"It was all luck."
Chen Jianye said humbly.
"That's also because you have a great destiny; your parents are protecting you."
Yu Li said with a smile.
"Probably, this kind of thing is hard to say, impossible to explain."
Chen Jianye said vaguely.
After chatting with Yu Li for a few moments, Chen Jianye was about to return to his room.
Two Public Security officers stepped over the Siheyuan (Courtyard) threshold.
Chen Jianye and the leading Public Security officer's gazes met.
"Team Leader Deng."
Chen Jianye was the first to call out.
The person who arrived happened to be someone Chen Jianye knew, Deng Shoucheng, Team Leader Deng, a master detective from the Public Security.
This was somewhat unexpected for Chen Jianye.
And the Old Public Security Officer who led the team last night stood behind Deng Shoucheng.
"Comrade Xiao Chen."
Deng Shoucheng chuckled, raising his arm and waving at Chen Jianye.
"Team Leader Deng, I am Yan Fugui, the Third Master of the Courtyard."
"Last night, I heard Jianye's shouts and rushed to the crime scene immediately. The two Grandpas in the Middle Courtyard and Backyard didn't run as fast as I did."
"Just ask me if you need anything."
Yan Fugui quickly put down the watering can in his hand and walked over to speak.
Last night, he hadn't been able to seize any opportunity to show off, and Yan Fugui had been holding it in for a long time.
He decided he had to take the initiative and strive for a chance to make an appearance.
And this time, the person who came was even his 'acquaintance'.
"You're Teacher Yan, right? Alright, come with me to take a look."
Deng Shoucheng remembered Yan Fugui.
Yan Fugui smiled.
This time he had an acquaintance; let's see how Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong would try to steal his thunder.
"Comrade Jianye, you come with me too."
Deng Shoucheng said with a smile.
"Alright, I'll follow your arrangements."
Chen Jianye naturally wouldn't object.
The group entered the Middle Courtyard.
"Over there, that's where Jianye stabbed the culprit last night."
Yan Fugui pointed his finger at the Jia doorway, then adopted an arrogant attitude and shouted loudly, "Hey, Sha Zhu, what are you doing? Get out of the way quickly!"
"I... I'm helping Qin Jie."
Sha Zhu's first word was full of anger, but when he turned around and saw the two Public Security officers, his emotions immediately stabilized.
His hand holding the rag was somewhat at a loss.
"It's alright, you go about your business; I'm just looking."
Deng Shoucheng said with a smile.
Sha Zhu continued to squat down, wiping the floor with the rag.
"Comrade Police, you're here."
Yi Zhonghai also walked out of the room.
"This is the First Master of the Courtyard. Last night, the deceased's room was locked, and the key is in his hand."
The Old Public Security Officer next to Deng Shoucheng said.
"Please trouble the First Master to take us to see the deceased's room."
Deng Shoucheng said kindly.
"No problem, this way please."
Yi Zhonghai made a gesture of invitation.
The group walked to the Backyard.
Qin Huairu's eyes flickered, and she went back to her room to say a few words to Jia Zhangshi.
Jia Zhangshi had been sleeping but quickly climbed out of bed, put on her clothes, and ran to the Backyard.
Once the Public Security finished their investigation, Yi Zhonghai would naturally have no reason to lock the door.
That's when it would be her time to act.
She had to act immediately; if she was too slow, and other residents had already ransacked the Deaf Old Lady's room, she wouldn't even get a mouthful of hot food.
Yi Zhonghai unlocked the lock hanging on the Deaf Old Lady's front door and pushed open the room.
Deng Shoucheng's expression was calm as he stepped over the threshold.
