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"That's exactly the sentence I've been waiting for, Brother Chang," Sheng Zihuo stood up and grabbed Chang Tai's hand. "There's no time like the present; let's go now. If we wait too long, we might miss all the evidence."
Chang Tai did not resist and followed Sheng Zihuo as they hurried to Sister-in-law Village.
Sheng Zihuo was already familiar with Sister-in-law Village, leading Chang Tai directly to Wang Laifu's home. When they arrived, it was just past noon. Although it was the end of Ten Months, there was still a hint of summer heat lingering. At this time, most people were resting at home, so they encountered very few people after entering the village.
Wang Laifu had been grieving the loss of his two nieces and had not gone out to conduct business in recent days, choosing instead to stay home to handle the aftermath. As they approached his house, before even entering, they heard Wang's voice inside cursing. She first scolded Wang Laifu for being incompetent and for having raised two nieces who were now dead. She berated him for still being at home dealing with funeral matters instead of working, implying that he was planning to let her and their son starve.
Then she began to scold her son for being useless. Despite her efforts to send him to a private school, he hadn't even managed to pass as a Scholar. Wang Laifu's son tried to defend himself but was met with an even more intense barrage of insults from Wang, who lamented that she must have been cursed in her past lives to end up with such a useless man and a son who drove her mad. She added that in just a year, it would be time for her son to marry, but with a husband like Wang Laifu, she feared they wouldn't even have money for the betrothal gifts.
Chang Tai and Sheng Zihuo stood at the door, listening to the shouting inside, unsure whether they should knock or not. Just as they hesitated, they suddenly heard a dull thud as a middle-aged man was pushed out of the house looking dejected. He stumbled slightly on the door frame, frowning in pain.
Wang seemed still unsatisfied and followed him outside. Upon seeing Chang Tai and Sheng Zihuo standing at the entrance, her expression changed instantly. "Who are you two?"
"Constable Chang Tai!" Chang Tai replied, pointing to Sheng Zihuo beside him. "This is Sheng Demei!"
"Oh! You are the Constable from the capital!" Wang's gaze lingered briefly on Chang Tai's face before she quickly put on a smile and clapped her hands as she approached them. "I remember now! Lord Chang is the one who saved us in the woods before, and I've seen Lord Sheng as well. Are you here today regarding my niece's missing body? Oh dear, you must have gone through so much trouble! We really didn't want to bother the officials; if we can't find her, it's just fate."
Chang Tai had encountered many people like Wang and couldn't be bothered to engage further. He directly asked Wang Laifu, "Is the spirit tent still there?"
"Yes, yes! We wouldn't dare take it down without your orders," Wang Laifu replied as he limped over. "But with these days of wind and rain, I'm afraid it might have collapsed."
"That's fine; we just want to take another look at the scene," Chang Tai said, gesturing for Sheng Zihuo to step forward and support Wang Laifu.
Wang Laifu smiled gratefully at Sheng Zihuo.
Wang huffed lightly behind them. Sheng Zihuo heard it and turned back to glance at her, only to see her forcing a smile while awkwardly explaining, "I'm just worried he might not handle things properly and cause more trouble for you two."
"Since you are so worried, why don't you take us there yourself?" Chang Tai said with a stern face, causing Wang to feel a sudden pang of anxiety.
"How could I possibly go to such a place? Oh, that's not what I meant. What I meant was, as a woman, my legs aren't very nimble, and I still have to take care of the child, Laifeng! Laifeng, you poor wretch, hurry up and lead these two adults to see that shed." Wang glanced at Laifeng with a fierce look, urging him on. "Quickly now, don't waste the time of these two adults. They are not like you; they have official duties and plenty to do."
Laifeng lowered his head in response and gave a slight bitter smile to Chang Tai and Shengzi. "Please follow me."
On the way, Chang Tai remained silent, while Shengzi and Laifeng engaged in continuous conversation.
"Is Wang often this fierce?"
"Not really!" Laifeng's voice was low, revealing his inner helplessness and struggle. "Actually, she used to be quite nice years ago. Ever since my sister passed away and I brought her two nieces to raise, her temperament has changed for the worse."
"Wang doesn't want you to raise the two nieces?"
"To be honest, any woman would be reluctant about such things. But my sister died young, leaving behind these two poor children. My brother-in-law is still alive but has remarried and had a son. If I don't take care of them, no one else will." At this point, Laifeng added, "I had no choice; my brother-in-law's new wife is even more formidable than my own. After having a son, she acts like a queen; whatever she says goes with him. Later on, I heard that she wanted to sell my two nieces to the city as servants, so I went to fetch them. By the time I got there, they were already being sold off as servants in the city. But who can guarantee they wouldn't end up in some terrible situation? I only have one sister and these two nieces; as their uncle, even if I'm not capable, I can't just watch them be sold into a fire pit."
"That's true!"
"Exactly! So I brought them back. Although my wife is fierce, she ensures they have enough to eat and drink and wear. It's just that her temper isn't great; she likes to scold people. It's also my fault for not being capable; we have many mouths to feed but earn little money, so we can't afford good food. Of course, she's going to complain! Just listen and endure; it will pass."
"Your older niece is named Qiao Qiao?"
"Yes, her full name is Qiao Jie. In our rural family, we hope our daughters are skilled and can be well-regarded by their in-laws when they marry. In our household, for convenience's sake, we call her Qiao Qiao since we hadn't had time to give her an official name yet."
"Qiao Qiao fell into a well and died?"
"Yes!" Wang Laifeng raised her head and pointed to a house not far away, saying, "That water well over there! That house used to be the old ancestral hall of our Wang clan from Sister-in-law Village. This well is the deepest and most convenient for drawing water, so everyone in the family would go there to wash clothes and cook."
"Let's go take a look!" Chang Tai said as he walked over to the well.
At first glance, it was clear that this was an old well. The edges of the well had become very smooth due to years of use. The wellhead was slightly raised above the ground, with blue stones around the edge. According to Wang Laifeng, the well was usually half-covered because they were worried about accidents when drawing water. Typically, people would stand on the blue stones while drawing water, which provided some protection and cushioning.
On the day Qiao Qiao fell in, it had rained twice, making the edges of the well wet and slippery. Additionally, someone in the village had carelessly moved the stones that were used to cover the well and failed to put them back, which led to Qiao Qiao's accident.
"When did Qiao Qiao fall in?"
"At noon, right around lunchtime. So there weren't many people on the street, and since this is an old ancestral hall, usually only those who came to draw water would be here."
"Who discovered that Qiao Qiao had fallen in?"
"It was my family member," Wang Laifeng sighed. "That noon, she was cooking at home and sent Qiao Qiao to draw some water and wash clothes. When lunch was ready and Qiao Qiao still hadn't returned, she thought Qiao Qiao was just playing around and went looking for her while scolding her. When she reached the well, she saw the wooden bucket but no sign of Qiao Qiao. That’s when she realized that Qiao Qiao had fallen in. By the time they pulled her out, she had already lost consciousness and was icy cold all over. Sigh! After a hundred years, how can I face my sister? First it was Qiao Qiao, then my younger sister—oh!" Wang Laifeng squatted down in frustration, repeatedly slapping her face with her hands.
Chang Tai glanced at Wang Laifeng before walking over to inspect the well. Because of Qiao Qiao's fall, this well had not been used since; a thick wooden board had been placed over it. The ground around it was disturbed from when people were trying to rescue her and those who gathered to watch, leaving no useful traces behind. However, while examining the wellhead, Chang Tai noticed something.
"When was this wooden board placed over the well?"
"After they pulled Qiao Qiao out, the Patriarch worried about other people—especially children from the village—having accidents again and had someone bring this board over to cover the well. Once they found Qiao Qiao's body and buried her, they planned to fill in the well."
"So ever since this board was placed here, no one has touched this area?"
"Who would come here for no reason? Besides, after Hui Niang's incident, everyone in our village is afraid of being haunted. Since Qiao Qiao died from falling into the well—an accidental death—people like her cannot be reincarnated; their spirits linger around wells. Not just anyone else; even I as her uncle—White Fox—wouldn't dare come near here. It's not just fear; it's worrying about seeing Qiao Qiao's ghost—I wouldn't know what to do."
Chang Tai lightly hummed and carefully looked around. Suddenly, he noticed another odd detail: "How many buckets does Qiao Qiao usually use to fetch water?"
"One! She doesn't eat much and is quite slender, so she only takes one bucket. When it's full, it's a bit heavy to carry. That's why when I'm home, I always fill the water tank in advance."
"So, the reason Qiao Qiao went out to fetch water that day was because your water tank was empty?" Chang Tai recalled the situation in Wang Laifeng's yard. There was a simple wooden shed where a few chickens were kept, and next to the chicken coop stood two water tanks covered with something.
"No, when I left in the morning, the water tank was still full. Later, I asked about it. The reason was that while making breakfast, I forgot to cover the water tank, and some bird droppings fell inside. Since Qiao Qiao had nothing to do, I let her go to the well to fetch water."
"Is this something that happens often?" Shengzi interjected.
Wang Laifeng silently nodded. It seemed that while the Wang family treated the sisters decently, they were indeed strict and demanding.
"Alright, let me ask you this: didn't you just say that Mrs. Wang went to look for Qiao Qiao and discovered the bucket by the well, realizing that Qiao Qiao had fallen into the water?"
Wang Laifeng nodded again. "That's right."
"Since Qiao Qiao only took one bucket with her and it was found at the well's edge, what was she doing when she slipped and fell in?" Chang Tai fixed his gaze on Wang Laifeng's eyes, waiting for an answer.
Wang Laifeng was stunned. He stared awkwardly, unsure how to respond to Chang Tai's question. Indeed, people usually fall into the water while fetching it. But if she had already fetched the water, why would Qiao Qiao fall in? If she had already fallen in, then why was the bucket still sitting by the well? Logically speaking, if Qiao Qiao slipped into the well, the bucket should have fallen in too. Could it be that while fetching water, she noticed something in the well, put down her bucket to check it out, and then slipped?
Seeing Wang Laifeng's puzzled expression, Chang Tai realized that to uncover the truth behind Qiao Qiao's fall into the water, he needed to focus on Mrs. Wang. Once he clarified the cause of Qiao Qiao's death, perhaps the secret of her missing body would also be revealed!
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