Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 453 - 451: Catching the Poisoner

An hour later, the Lin Clan Leader and his group brought back two suspects.

"Xiao Mingfu, these two people match the characteristics best; they are a mother and son from Dafeng Village," the Lin Clan Leader reported to Xiao Chong, "and we found Fish Vine Powder in their home. This Madam Fu has always been extreme and holds grudges with her neighbors."

"Alright, bring them to the courtyard. I’ll use my cousin’s place to hold a trial."

"Sure! Go ahead, cousin."

Lin Wanwan wanted to watch Xiao Chong interrogate, and Xiao Chong had no intention of avoiding people.

She expected to see some impressive interrogation techniques, but ended up disappointed.

The two quickly confessed the crime in detail, without putting up any resistance when they saw Xiao Chong sitting at the front with authority.

As the main culprit, Madam Fu confessed while crying bitterly, expressing how difficult her life has been. A widow raising a son and finally building a new thatched house, yet still being looked down upon when seeking marriage for her son at Lin Family Manor, blaming people there for looking down on them as orphans and widows...

Xiao Chong remained calm, used to such excuses from such people.

Ninety percent of criminals in this world insist they are good people and desperately justify their actions as righteous or unavoidable.

Being a noble, Xiao Chong had always had a high threshold for sympathy, and after judging many cases as County Magistrate, this threshold became even higher.

With everything clarified, the suspects were made to sign and put their fingerprint.

Xiao Chong left two Government Officials to escort the suspects back to the County Government to let County Captain Du handle follow-ups, while he rode ahead with his personal guard, Shuqi.

Though they found the owners of the poisoned ducks from Lin Family Manor, even after searching through the belongings of Madam Fu and her son, they couldn’t gather enough to compensate for the losses. Everyone was infuriated!

If not for the Government Officials, the people of Lin Family Manor would have definitely let this envious mother and son taste the people’s iron fist.

Some even murmured that they shouldn’t have alarmed the County Government and that dealing with it themselves would have been more satisfying.

After Madam Fu and her son were taken away, the people of Lin Family Manor went to their house in Dafeng Village and tore off their roof.

The mother and son were poor, but some grain was found, as well as thirty-two copper coins. All their firewood and door panels were taken by the people from Lin Family Manor, not even sparing some sour, smelly clothes and bedding.

The ducks were gone, so some compensation had to be obtained.

Watching the domineering Lin Clan members dismantling the house, people from Dafeng Village only joined in cursing the heartless actions of Madam Fu, not daring to interfere.

There was no organization in Dafeng Village to rely on, not even Lu Family Manor would dare to resist in such a situation; surely, they would expel the main culprit.

In rural families, hens and ducks that lay eggs are precious assets. Having them poisoned justified severe retaliation, and tearing down a house seemed minor in comparison.

Fortunately, Le’an Village Lady reported the case to the County Government, and they were arrested. Regardless of being exiled or sentenced to hard labor, they still retained their lives. Had it been local rural punishment, such a duck dispute would surely have ended with death as compensation.

Of course, the farmers wouldn’t consider whether the offenders could have been found without a report, using only rural methods.

When the County Government, led by County Captain Du, completed the formalities and came to collect the fine, nothing was left in the house.

No matter, since there’s nothing for the fine, the sentence will be extended by another year. Anyway, Mao County’s water project is in dire need of manpower.

Having caught the ones who poisoned, Lin Wanwan felt a weight lifted off her mind.

Unless the schemers hiding in the shadows were rooted out, she couldn’t be at ease.

Today they targeted the poultry; who knows if tomorrow they might target people?

As for the sob story from Madam Fu, Xiao Chong had heard it enough times, and Lin Wanwan wasn’t interested in listening at all.

With conflicting values, sympathy is impossible.

Madam Fu’s hatred towards Lin Family Manor stemmed from two incidents: firstly, the mother and son’s resentment from being driven out when they came to propose marriage last month. Madam Fu considered her son strong and a worthy match for Lin Family Manor, so why were they looked down upon? 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Secondly, Lin Family Manor became wealthier each day, with high-yield rice, sweet potato noodles, potatoes, and now even a cotton workshop. Clearly, until last year, everyone was equally poor, so why have they prospered?

Driven by a hatred of the wealthy and an extreme mindset, the poisoning wasn’t surprising.

She originally thought her crime done under the cover of darkness wouldn’t be discovered, yet it was caught within a day.

The incident also served as a reminder to others: Lin Family Manor is no longer the same as last year.

The previous Lin Family Manor was just a group of poor sea folk, troublesome, but not terrifying. This year, with Village Lady Le’an in charge connecting them to the government, they’ve become formidable.

Matters the rural government wouldn’t attend to elsewhere, here, the government would intervene.

Lin Family Manor is no longer an ordinary marine village.

As the property of Madam Fu and her son was cleared out, everyone realized this.

The Lin Wanwan who suffered all the rural people’s apprehension was sitting in the hall, listening to Hong Yan talk about matters concerning her fourth uncle’s wife.

"The conditions are so tough," Lin Wanwan murmured, "it seems like we need to set up a childcare class at the school; starting to accept children at five is too late."

However, if they were to accept children under five, there aren’t enough teachers at the school, so hiring a dedicated childcare teacher would be necessary.

Lin Wanwan herself couldn’t be a childcare teacher; she didn’t dislike children, but couldn’t imagine being surrounded by two or three-year-olds not yet independent in bodily functions.

When Lin Wanwan found little Qingyu, the kid was already four and could handle simple self-care. With younger kids, she had no experience.

It seemed like the childcare teacher would have to be selected from the town, but there wasn’t an immediate rush.

While she pondered, her fourth uncle’s wife brought her grandson over again, carrying a basket on her arm: "Wanniang, thanks to you from last night. Our family has nothing good, just these few eggs that I’ve saved. Please don’t mind."

Unlike other families with men who could go out to sea, her house relied on collecting some seafood off the coast and didn’t have much of real value.

What she could present to thank Lin Wanwan were just a few eggs she’d saved, intending to trade for Little Bao’s winter clothes during the market.

Lin Wanwan would not refuse a gift from the heart and immediately asked Hong Yan to prepare a bag of seawater rice and a piece of frozen lamb as a return gift.

Unable to decline, her fourth uncle’s wife left with endless thanks.