Fake Divorce Turns into Murder Case (21)

Chapter 73

In addition to having Yang Lao’er recount the disposal of the body that night, Yun Song also questioned him about the environment Yang Laowu grew up in.

The other villagers viewed Yang Laowu from an outsider’s perspective, and Huixiang’s account was of Yang Laowu as an adult. Yang Lao’er, as a brother who grew up with him, naturally knew more.

“I think he was just spoiled rotten by my parents. He’s the youngest, and with so many older brothers, it was always us older ones doing the work at home. If he did even a little bit, he felt like he was doing us a huge favor.”

“Actually, when he got married, Laosan lent him money too. But he didn’t feel any gratitude toward Laosan at all. He thought Laosan’s money was just sitting there anyway, and it wasn’t like he wasn’t going to pay it back.”

“He only cares about himself. Remember when we carried Laosan to the reservoir? He carried him for the last stretch of the road. Laosan somehow got a nosebleed and stained his clothes. He got so angry that he just dragged Laosan the rest of the way.”

At this moment, Yang Lao’er was especially willing to tell the police about everything Yang Laowu had done in the past. Speaking these words allowed him to reaffirm that he hadn’t made the wrong choice. This was all Yang Laowu’s fault.

Yun Song simply offered encouragement, knowing it was beneficial to keep the man in this emotional state.

After Yang Lao’er turned witness, Old Man Yang could only sigh incessantly upon hearing the news.

“I don’t care anymore. I don’t care about any of you now. Do whatever you want. If you want to take someone to be shot by a firing squad, then go ahead.” He held the mindset of the older generation, believing that family matters should be handled within the family.

He had always felt that raising five sons to adulthood and having them all obey him was a testament to his own capability.

Now, his youngest son had killed the third, and his second son was going to act as a witness.

He was resentful, and his words were driven by emotion.

Yun Song reminded him, “This isn’t a matter of whether you care or not, old man. You are all involved in a murder case now. You and your second son helped dispose of the body and cover up the crime. That is also a crime. Right now, there is only one path for you: confess the facts and strive for leniency.”

“Think about it carefully for yourself.”

Old Man Yang thought of the people the police had arrested before. He remembered the mobile court and how everyone had been talking about Mei Qiang from Sanli Village.

He was older than Mei Qiang and had crossed paths with him a few times in the past. Back then, everyone said Mei Qiang was a man of good character.

Now, because he had killed someone, the villagers were saying he had been possessed by something evil.

Some even said they saw him with their own eyes being handcuffed and taken to the city. To have to go to prison at that age…

In the past, he had been much more prominent in the village than Mei Qiang. If he were arrested and sent to prison, he didn’t know how much of a laughingstock he would become to the villagers.

An intense mental struggle waged within him.

Yun Song spoke again, “You’ve raised so many children. I imagine you are someone who knows how to make a choice.”

“Let’s be blunt. If Yang Laowu hadn’t killed anyone, your persistence right now would be justified, because you would know your son was innocent.”

“But is that the truth?” Yun Song emphasized, “Do you want to be handcuffed and taken away as an accomplice?”

Old Man Yang sighed inwardly. That wouldn’t do. He still had such a large family to support; he couldn’t be arrested and sent to prison.

In the end, it was Laowu who had done wrong.

Yang Laowu did not feel he had done anything wrong. After learning that his father and brother had identified him, he became completely listless.

Yun Song knew he felt betrayed.

“Your father and your second brother have both identified you as the one who killed your third brother. Do you have anything you need to explain?”

Yang Laowu was no longer willing to speak.

“Your third brother was a famously honest man. He was good to you. He even lent you money when you got married. Everyone knows this. For such a good man to be brutally murdered by you…”

Seeing his face turn ashen, Yun Song added, “He even agreed to something like a fake divorce. It’s clear he truly treated you as a brother.”

“You don’t know anything!” Yang Laowu was provoked by these words.

“I’ve asked the villagers. They all say he was an honest man, steady and hardworking. Originally, the matchmaker wanted to introduce Huixiang to Yang Laosan. But Yang Laosan felt you were closer to Huixiang in age and thought you two were a better match. Such a good man,” Yun Song deliberately stated something incorrect.

As expected, Yang Laowu grew even angrier. “Nonsense! Who told you that? It wasn’t like that at all! From the start, the proposal was for me. It was Yang Laosan who went to give the matchmaker money, wanting her to set him up instead. But he was too old, and the matchmaker wasn’t willing to do it.”

“But it’s true that he gave you money when you got married, right?”

“That was a loan! I paid him back!”

“The fake divorce… speaking of it would have been bad for his reputation too. But to help you, he agreed. You should at least remember his kindness for that.”

This was the thing that angered Yang Laowu the most. But at this moment, he knew he couldn’t argue back. His temples throbbed with rage, yet he kept his mouth shut tight.

Yun Song was not surprised by his refusal to confess. After all, the man didn’t think he had done anything wrong.

However, it didn’t matter. The interrogation itself was meant to keep them under control so that Tang Chao and the colleagues from the forensics department could go to their house to collect evidence.

Yang Laosan had drowned in a water vat. Under those circumstances, it was impossible for Yang Laosan not to have struggled. If there was a struggle, there might be marks.

According to Yang Lao’er’s testimony, there were bloodstains on the clothes they wore the day they carried the body to the reservoir.

As expected, without these three, Yang Laoda and Yang LaoSi couldn’t stir up any trouble.

Huixiang soon received the news. The police had taken away the three men from the Yang family and were sending them to the city.

She began to worry again about whether the remaining members of the Yang family would come looking for trouble.

She had been incredibly brave when she made the report, but thinking back on it afterward, she felt a bit afraid. Her heart had been racing constantly.

To stop being so afraid, she simply stopped thinking about the Yang family members being arrested. She began to think about the fields.

She was actually thinking that if Yang Laowu really went to prison, then the sacks of grain and corn stored at his house, as well as the four pigs he was raising…

Then there were the sweet potatoes, radishes, and winter potatoes in the fields… she had planted all of those together with Yang Laowu.

Now that Yang Laowu was going to prison, could she have those for herself?

The Yang family likely wouldn’t be willing. She was already seizing Yang Laosan’s fields; if she grabbed Yang Laowu’s as well…

She would certainly be cursed for being too greedy.

But she was a single woman who had to raise two children from now on. How could she survive if she wasn’t greedy?

She thought it over and over, and she still wanted to fight for the sweet potatoes and potatoes she had planted, as well as the pigs she had raised.

“I fed those pigs! The grain and corn were planted and harvested by me and Yang Laowu together. I don’t want more than my share, I just want half!” She began to plot how to seize them in her mind.

No, she shouldn’t say she only wanted half at the start. First, she had to make everyone believe she wanted everything. Then, when the two sides were arguing tooth and nail, she would cry, scream, and threaten to hang herself. She would say the Yang family had ruined her life, talk about how Yang Laowu made her do the fake divorce and the fake marriage, and claim the Yang family was trying to starve the three of them to death. She would start by making sure everyone lost face.

She had seen plenty of women throwing tantrums in the past.

Only then would she take a step back and say she only wanted half. It would definitely be easier that way.

If she managed to get all of it… even though she hadn’t actually secured anything yet, Huixiang already felt a sense of relief wash over her.

As it turned out, being a shrew was much more comfortable.