Chapter 2059: I'll Delay Ruan Hai

Chapter 2059: I'll Delay Ruan Hai

With Shu Yu's assurance, Lou Shi's eyes welled up slightly as she nodded in response.

Soon after, she watched as Shu Yu and the others left the room. However, when they were about to leave the courtyard, she hurriedly whispered, "If there's anything else you need help with, County Princess, feel free to ask."

"I understand," Shu Yu replied.

Shu Yu, Ruan Chengqian, and Ying Xi quickly arrived at the field near the mountain at the base of the village. Ruan Chengqian was very familiar with the layout of Ruan's village, and he knew exactly which fields belonged to each family.

Ruan Jinqian's family had a field closest to the mountain at the village's base, with the terrain becoming increasingly rugged further up.

In the dim light of night, they couldn't see much, and considering it had been over half a month since the incident, with rainfall in between, any potential traces had likely been erased.

They circled around the area for a bit. Suddenly, Shu Yu stopped and looked towards the mountain.

"What if Ruan Kewei did commit the murder and buried the body? The burial site wouldn't be too far away, would it? Based on what Lou Shi said, even if they buried the body at night, there might still be people moving around outside, and Ruan Kewei wouldn't want to risk being discovered by going too far."

Moreover, the terrain around here was advantageous for such actions.

Ruan Chengqian nodded, "Right, Lou Shi also mentioned they returned early in the morning. At that time, with just the two of them digging a hole and dealing with the aftermath, time would have been tight. It wouldn't be possible to transport the body too far."

So...

Ruan Chengqian's eyes brightened, "It's possible that the body is buried somewhere nearby on this mountain."

"All of these are just speculations, and they are based on the assumption that Ruan Kewei did commit murder. It's just too late now, and we can't see anything, which is indeed inconvenient. Here's what we'll do: after old lady Ruan is buried tomorrow, I will find a reason to visit Ruan Hai's house and keep him occupied. When the time comes, you can go up the mountain to check this area for anything unusual."

Ruan Chengqian immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll handle that."

"Did the Ruan's will use this road to go up the mountain tomorrow?"

"No, there's no path around here for going up the mountain; it's not convenient."

Now that they had cleared things up, they headed back to the village together.

By this point, it was already past midnight. When the three of them reached the entrance of Ruan's house, the two villagers who had been watching Shu Yu were fast asleep in a corner, not wanting to disturb the barking dogs next door.

They didn't want to wake them up, so they silently climbed over the wall and re-entered the Ruan residence.

Ruan Chengchun and the others hadn't gone to sleep yet, but they didn't dare to light a lamp. Instead, they waited in the dark for Shu Yu and Ruan Chengqian to return.

"How did it go?" Ruan Chengchun asked immediately.

"We made some progress," Ruan Chengqian replied. "I'll explain later. It's quite late now, so let the County Princess rest. Tomorrow morning, during the burial, the County Princess will need to accompany her up the mountain."

Zhang Shi and Wang Shi immediately prepared water for Shu Yu to wash up and freshen herself.

They had about six hours until the time of the burial, but the procession would start from their house. So, Shu Yu would need to arrive at their house around 5:30 a.m. At best, she could get about five hours of sleep.

Fortunately, their house was a not that far from Ruan's house; otherwise, they would start the mourning rituals at around 4:30 a.m., and she wouldn't get much rest.

The next day, the sky was still gray when Shu Yu woke up. She calmly prepared herself, had breakfast, and informed Ruan Chengqian of her plans. Then, she set off for Ruan's house with Ying Xi.