After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 702 Suspicious
"impossible!"

Jin Jiashu blurted out subconsciously.

How could Jin Wu die so easily? Moreover, he fell off a cliff and died. Why did he run to the cliff for no reason? !

Ma Shangyi thought that Jin Jiashu just couldn't accept the reality for a while, and reluctantly advised: "Although Guard Lin didn't see Jin Wu fall off the cliff with his own eyes, he followed the footprints left by Jin Wu all the way up the mountain, and his traces were cut off when he found the edge of the cliff. If he didn't fall down, where else could he go? If Jin Wu just stayed at the edge of the cliff for a while and then turned back, there must be traces left on the cliff. How could Guard Lin not find it? What's more, Guard Lin wants to bring Jin Wu back to Chang'an. After all, Chang'an is much more prosperous and wealthy than Yunyang, right? His slave status has also been eliminated, and his life after returning will definitely be a hundred times better than when he was in Yunyang Prefecture. What reason does he have to run away? When Guard Lin said he was taking him away, he was obviously very happy..."

Jin Jiashu walked around the room twice and calmed down. "If he's alive, I'll find him. If he's dead, I'll find his body! If we can't find his body, then he's not dead! He might have tampered with the cliff in some way, making it look like he fell off the cliff and died. In fact, he's already escaped to an unknown place!"

Jin Wu was a son of a gentry family who had lived in a town in Zunhua Prefecture for many years. Even if he had been a child son-in-law in Yunyang Prefecture for several years and suffered a lot, there was no reason for him to master such methods that only gangsters and desperate criminals would use. He probably had helpers, and more than one person. The helpers might have horses and cars, so after Jin Wu faked his death, he didn't need to show up in front of people and could quickly escape from that area.

Ma Shangyi frowned and looked at Jin Jiashu: "Shu'er, are you thinking too much? Why did Jin Wu run away? Does he want to continue to stay in Yunyang Prefecture and live a life of being bullied? Or does he prefer to become a bandit and a refugee rather than come back to Chang'an to meet you? Even if he hates you for reporting his family, with his selfish personality, there is no reason for him to give up his good life and stay in Yunyang Prefecture to suffer."

Jin Jiashu turned around and looked at Ma Shangyi: "Jin Wu told Guard Lin that he wanted to go up the mountain to retrieve his parents' tablets and relics that he had hidden in his early years, so Guard Lin let him go up the mountain alone. This reason sounds reasonable, but Jin Wu's footprints extend directly to the edge of the cliff. Are there any caves or houses there? Is there a place to hide things? Does Jin Wu seem to have hidden his parents' tablets and relics there?"

Ma Shangyi paused.

Guard Lin did not mention these details in his letter, but it was a fact that he followed Jin Wu's footprints and found the edge of the cliff. As for whether there were caves or houses on the edge of the cliff, we would have to ask Guard Lin himself to find out.

Guard Lin returned quite quickly. He had just finished his work in Yunyang Prefecture and was about to return. Jin Wu's "fall off the cliff" made him stay there for a few more days. Only after he was sure that Jin Wu had not walked down the mountain alive and escaped secretly did he give up and return to Chang'an.

He brought back a few patched clothes left by Jin Wu. These were the last relics left by the young man in the world. He thought that if Jin Jiashu planned to build a tomb for his cousin, he could bury these old clothes in it.

As a result, he had just entered the room and had no time to apologize for his negligence before he was confronted by Ma Shangyi's questioning: "Are you sure Jin Wu really fell off the cliff and died, and did not fake the fall and secretly escape?!"

Guard Lin was stunned for a moment before he reacted: "I also suspected this, but I checked the surroundings and found no signs of him escaping, and no one saw him outside the mountain. If he is really not dead, where did he go?"

Ma Shangyi pursed her lips and called him to Jin Jiashu's study. The three of them sat opposite each other and discussed the matter in detail.

Guard Lin carefully recalled his experience on the mountain that day. He followed Jin Wu's footprints all the way to the cliff halfway up the mountain. There was no fork in the road, and judging from the traces left by Jin Wu, he had not stopped anywhere that day. The young man came directly from the foot of the mountain to the edge of the cliff, leaving behind an old straw sandal and a trace of blood on the cliff, and then disappeared without a trace.

Guard Lin actually suspected that he was really dead that day, because the old straw sandal was placed right on the edge of the cliff, there was no sign of slipping, and it didn't look like he was attacked or frightened by a wild animal. It was as if Jin Wu came to the edge of the cliff, took off one shoe and jumped down. Guard Lin was very sure that he had no problem getting along with Jin Wu at that time, and he didn't show any intention of committing suicide, so there was no reason for him to end his life.

There were no caves, houses or huts around the cliff, but the hillside next to it was covered with thick weeds and many broken rocks. If Jin Wu had left his shoes behind, he could have used the weeds and broken rocks on the hillside to cover his tracks and escape from the cliff. But why would he do that?

Guard Lin said solemnly, "I didn't tell him too much. I just said that Shu Ge'er received a letter from his relatives in his hometown and learned that Jin Dagu died of illness. Before his death, he was most concerned about his long-lost nephew, so he was kind-hearted and wanted to find his cousin and take him back to Chang'an to live. I also said that Shu Ge'er had set up a farm in Chang'an, but he had to study in the city on weekdays, so he had no time to manage the property. It would be great if there were reliable relatives to help. Although this kind of life is not as good as the days when Jin Wu was favored at home in the past, it is undoubtedly a hundred times better than when he was a servant in Yunyang Prefecture. He obviously looked very excited and kept telling me about his childhood, saying how close he and Shu Ge'er were at that time, and that he taught you to read... It didn't sound fake, and he said it in great detail. If I didn't know the truth, I might really believe it."

Now that I think about it, those words were lies. Jin Wu had no intention of coming to Chang'an to live with Jin Jiashu, right?

But... why?!
Jin Jiashu has been thinking about this problem for two days, and his thoughts are clearer than ever before.

He looked at Ma Shangyi and Guard Lin. Both of them knew his biggest secret. There was no need to hold back in front of them. He could just speak his mind.

He spoke in a hoarse voice: "What do you think...the Sun family sent people to track my family down from Zunhua Prefecture all the way to Chang'an, and then killed my family outside Chang'an City, and dealt with the second branch of the Jin family. After that, did they really give up? From then on, they ignored me, and I don't know what the relationship between the Jin family and Empress Xu in the palace is?"

Ma Shangyi and Guard Lin's expressions changed.

Jin Jiashu did not wait for their agreement and continued, "The spies that the Sun family had planted in Chang'an were certainly cleared out, but now... more than four years have passed, will they really not send new people? The case of the second branch of the Jin family was heard in the government office, and the news that my uncle's family was robbed in Yunyang is no secret. If someone wants to find out, they can find out with a little effort. Four years is enough time for the Sun family to find Jin Wu, right? I remember that Madam Gui's brother used to be an official in Yunyang Prefecture, which shows that there were officials who were attached to Lord Sun in the local area. Even if the Sun family finds it troublesome and does not send anyone there, it is enough time for them to use their followers in Yunyang to find someone, right?"

Ma Shangyi took a deep breath and said nothing. Guard Lin couldn't help but ask, "But what's the use of this? Even if the Sun family finds Jin Wu, what can they do?"

"There are many things we can do!" Ma Shangyi sneered, "Jin Wu is not very old, so it is impossible to ask him to go to the capital to identify Madam Xu's identity. But he was once loved by his family, so maybe he can hear some secrets? For example... the lady who was buried in the capital by the Jin family was not actually Madam Xu's eldest sister?!"

(End of this chapter)